Training the Singing Voice - online book

An exploration of the theories, methods & techniques of Voice training.

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	»4t                        TRAINING THE SINGING VOICE unity that compositely functions to provide suitable vehicles for vocal depression. The keystone of such technical training is coordination and its mainstays are flexibility and freedom. According to Webstar, "that is flexible which adapts itself readily to change/* while freedom represents "ease and facility of execution." The singing teacher would do well to weigh the importance of these two attributes of the student's performance. Flexibility and freedom are the technical lubricants that promote instantaneous vocal coordinations re­sembling the smooth and effortless, unstudied responsiveness of reflex actions. Such ease of performance develops full-functioning artistic stature in the vocal instrument and spells freedom of expression for the singer. It is "the art that conceals the art/' creating an illusion of impromptu utterance that is characteristic of all vocal virtuosity. For these reasons, the use of vocalises, trills and scale passages are often advocated as tests of iexibility and freedom in vocal practice, and such exercises are com­monly regarded as prerequisites to the study of interpretation. Finally, the teacher of singing is reminded that the specific applica­tion of the foregoing principles and techniques of interpretational study may raise additional teaching problems that would require further inves­tigation. Ultimately, methods of experimental research and scientific testing can lead to the standardization of most pedagogical procedures for training the singing voice. But the adoption of tested or standardized methods of teaching interpretation should not be construed as an attempt to standardize the actual interpretations of songs. Individual differences m performance always are to be encouraged as evidence of creative abil­ity and artistic initiative in the student. Although the acquisition of cer­tain vocal techniques may be reduced to routine procedure, the stand­ardization of performance would be less desirable in the interpretation of a song than in any other aspects of vocal training. [Henderson op. cit]