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CONCEPTS OF DICTION |
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benefits of clear spoken diction are also transferable to singing. Hence certain speaking techniques are recommended as having possible values for cultivating diction in singing. Other techniques discussed include the use of mental imagery or the proper conception of vowel sounds as a basic approach to the intonation of integrated verbal patterns; sol-fa training; certain lingual controls; vowel alteration; and various consonant techniques which already have been adequately described.
In general, techniques for cultivating a singer's diction represent two different schools of thought which may be described as follows:
a) Tone is subordinated to text. Sing-as-you-speak methods are favored by this group. At first, vocal and musical values of the song are entirely ignored, while the meaning of the text is studied. The words of the song axe then "tried out*' by utilizing them in appropriate speaking situations in which their communication values are made obvious to the singer. As a final step, the musical vocal pattern is grafted onto the spoken message, only after the student has captured its essential meaning. Thus, before he attempts to execute the vocal requirements of his song, the student will have learned to emphasize the interpretation of the text. (See Chapter II) This indirect approach employs whole methods of instruction. Verbal expression in singing is improved, not by practicing the vowel and consonant sounds separately, but by a phrase-wise approach in which whole ideas and their accompanying moods are expressed at once. Vocal exercises may be practiced separately, to improve abstract tone production, but not so as to disturb the integrity of verbal expression.
b) Text is subordinated to tone. In this procedure, the song is first stripped of its verbal context and then treated as a series of vocal exercises. The emphasis is now laid upon the various vowel forms, individual consonants and syllabic combinations of these, that will provide vehicles of vocal tone in the rendition of the song. Part methods of instruction are employed, in a teaching procedure that first analyzes the text of a song into parts or units of technique embodying various technical problems such as vowel resonance, covering, tongue position, etc The individual parts are then practiced separately until reasonable skill has been attained and these separate skills are finally synthesized into the continuous pattern that represents the finished song.
In conclusion, it might be advisable to caution the singer against the common tendency to acquire an artificial style of diction for singing. One of the most common failings of singers is their inability to impart the meaning of the text effectively to their listeners. In most such instances, this failure is not caused by lack of comprehension but rather by inattention to factors of communication in song. Weeds are studied with me- |
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