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CONCEPTS OF DICTION |
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conversational speaking that the singer's diction has acquired a style of its own and is now "looked upon as something quite different from
it.- M
Whispering as a device. Whispering is a type of non-vocal speech that employs only breath sound without tone. (W) Because it does not possess the carrying power of vocal utterance, whispering requires an especially distinct type of enunciation in order to be understood. In a loud whisper the organs of articulation move with exaggerated precision which results in a clear cut delineation of all essential vowel and consonant sounds. Audibility of whispering is accomplished by the background sound of rushing breath as it is forced past partial obstructions in the glottis, throat and mouth. Since the vocal cords do not vibrate, whispering is considered restful to the voice and conducive to relaxation and freedom of the vocal organs. Howe recommends whispering as a technique for testing and practicing vowels. He calls it "an infallible guide to the correct shaping of all vowel sounds." [284, Introduction] Vale considers whispering a cure for indistinct diction. Loud whispering should be audible eight or ten feet away from the singer for best results. [619, p. 34]
Chanting as a device. Chanting is the recitation of the words of a song in a musical monotone. (W) The chanter undergoes all the correct actions necessary for singing except that he does not have to concern himself with variations in pitch, intensity and interpretation. Thus relieved of the control of several variables in singing he can give more attention to problems of intonation and diction. According to De Bruyn, chanting is one of the oldest of vocal methods. It combines "speaking and singing into one unified . . . phonation process." [131]
Mowe recommends chanting as "a good introduction to the use of words" in singing. [405, p. 14] Grove prescribes a monotone (chanting) treatment for all vowel sounds. By separating the vowels from the words of a song it is possible for the singer to scrutinize them individually, thus developing "a keen sense of exact vowel form." [216] Finally, Greene suggests that diction difficulties in a song may be overcome by practicing the intoning (chanting) of an entire phrase on that note which is easy and pleasant to produce, thus diverting attention from the music to the diction and the meaning. [209, p. 142]
TECHNICAL APPROACH
Value of sol-fa training. According to Websterr the term sol-fa (also called solfeggio, solfege and solmization) denotes an exercise based upon the singing of the tones in the scale by the syllable names do, re, mi, etc. |
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