TwelveLessonsintheFundamentalsofVoiceProduction 10007893

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TW E L VE L E SSO N S

IN

TH E FU N D A M EN TA L S OF
V OIC E PR OD U C TIO N

BY

AR TH U R L .

M A N C HES TER
DI R ECT OR OF M USI C A N D P RO FESS OR OF V O ICE
C ULT U R E A T C O N V ER S E C O LL EG E

BOS TO N
O L I VE R D I TSO N C O M PA N Y
N EW Y OR K : C H A S H DIT S O N
. . CO .

C H IC A G O : L Y O N HE A LY
P H IL A D E L PHIA : J E DIT S O N
. . CO .
PR E FA CE

Th e following series o
pp earingfi rst in The M usi
f lesson s , a

ciam , h as been rev is ed and


p ublish ed in th is fo rm at th e request
of m any reade rs .

Th e book is n ot in ten ded to be a treatise on s in


ging, n or does
it profess to be an exh aus tive treat m en t of to n e production I t .

deals y with th e fun dam en tals, th e basis on wh ich all m ore


on l

a dv anc ed work m us t rest Its p urp ose is to.


p resen t simp ly an d
in easily un de rstood term s the essen tials — an d essen t ials on l
y
fg
o o od tone p roduc tion in such order , an d t h e accomp anying

i nstruction a n d exercis es with such defin iten ess, th at th e difi cul


t ies which dis co urage s o m an earnest v oice studen ts m ay be, at
y
leas t , m in im ized .

Th e lesso n s are th e
!

outcom e of practical s tudio ex erience,


p
a n
d the exercises ha ve been tested again an d a
gain with m any

s tuden ts f varying degr ees of vocal talent


o .

A RTH U R L M A N C HE STE R . .

Sp artan burg, S a , October, 1 9 07


. .
CO NTENTS

FOR EW OR D . The Problem

PA R T I

E SS EN TI A L S OF T HE ST UD Y O F VO I CE CU LTUR E

CH A PT ER ON E . Percep tion of Conditions


CH A PT E R Two . Th e Foundatio n of To ne Production ,
— R elaxa
l io n and B reath Control

PA R T II

L E SS O N S IN T H E FUN D A M E N T A L S O F VO ICE PR O DUC TI O N


LE SS O N ON E Prep aratory Exercis es fo r In ha lation
. and R e tention

f B reath
o
L E SS O N Tw o In h alation. and R e ten tion fB reath
o

LE S S O N TH R E E Greater Tes ts .
f B reath Control
o

LES S O N FO U R App lication .


f Preceding Work to Tone Production
o

LE SS ON FIVE Tone . Placing


L ESS ON S Ix Forivardn ess
.
f To n e o

LE SS ON S EV E N Freedom of Tongue and J aw


.

LESS ON EI G HT Freedom of To ngue an d J an) (con tinued)


.

LE SS O N N IN E App lication of Previous S tudies to th e Scale


. and

B ro ken Ch ord

fTon e Production to SustainedPassages


LESS O N TEN Application o
.

LESS O N E LEV EN Good Tone Th e Conditions which p roduce it


.

L ESS O N TW ELVE Final Sugges tio ns .

PA R T I II
S U IT A B LE S ON G S
G R O U P ON E
G RO U P Tw o
GR O U P TH R EE
F0 REW O R D

TH E PR O B LEM
Pr op er ly sp eakin g, it is n o t th e t each er n or outside i ns truction wh ich causes
t h ings to be com p r eh en ded ; th ey do n o thi ng m ore th an ex ose th em t o th e ih
p
teri or ligh t f th e m in d
o ,by w h ich alon e they ar e com p reh en ded ; so th at wh en
th ere is n ot th e co n cu rrence of th is ligh t, in s tr ucti on is to n o m ore
p urp ose
t h an as th ough exhi bi t
on e w ere to p ictures in th e n igh t . N I COLE .

N no branch Of instruction does the teacher feel the e xt e


rior nature o f his position more forcibly than in Voice
C ul tu re W hile in all forms o f education the mental activity
.

o f the student is important in the training o f the singing


,

voice it is particul arly so for the mental state Ofthe student


,

is often separated from t h e instruction o f the teacher by a


great gul f Of misunderstandi n g C omprehension Of tone pro .

duction and the correct association with it Of physical acti


,


v it is an act o f the student s mind in which the intuiti v e
y,

and reflective faculties interpret the exercises given by the


teacher and the interpretation is right or wrong according
,
.

t o the understanding o f the student W hen the interior light


!
.

o f the ( student s ) mind by which alone the correct associa



,

tion Of physical activity with tone production is compre


hended h as n o t been reached by the instruction the ills t o
, ,

which vocal students are heir thrive abundantly This is why .

methods o finstruction which have imitation as their basis fail


to make singers Of all but the e xceptionally endowed This is .

why so many earnest students spend weary weeks and even ,

months Of practice on the discouraging task of uniti n g the


,

registers or overcoming so m e other difficulty .


2 OREW ORD
F

The problem which con fronts the teache r o f v oi ce culture


is the conversion Of abstract ideas into con crete re alities to ,

make his instruction so cl e ar so definite that it re aches the


, ,

innermost recesses o fthe student s mind I n his e fforts to do ’


.

thi s he use s certain terms as indic ative o fq ualities o ftone he


,

desires the pupil to produc e striving by their means to e sta


,

blish the relat ionship between the physical act and the result .

But these terms do not awaken perception o f the tru th b e


cause they do not reach the interi o r light o f the mind They .

are abstract they present n o clue which the uninitiated mind


,

c an grasp The stu de nt endea v o ring to perceive the relation


.
,

!
they bear toward h is act o f singing stri ves t o Open cover , ,
!
,
!

!
place o r otherwi se modi fy the tone each e ffo rt giving ri se
!
, ,

t o s o me physical act whi ch he does n o t realize and t o o O ften ,

resulting in condition s whi ch hav e to be corrected with great


expenditure o f ti m e and labor I n such case something worse.

than exhibiting pi ctures in the dark h as been done ; positive


h arm has re sulted Failure to re ach the mind to awaken per
.
,

ce t io n has resulted because the abstract nature of the in


p , ,

struction prevented the reception by the student o fa distinct


idea o fwhat is involved in the production of the tone sought
by t h e teacher .

Perceiving may be accomplished through the organs o f


sen se or through the intu iti v e o r reflecti v e faculties The .

teacher who u ses term s whi ch do not convey a distinct sharply ,

defined meaning fails t o appeal t o these faculties and failing


, , ,

to arouse them t o activity preve nt s the perception o f the


,

tru th he W i shes t o m ake known The same terms used after .


,
TH E PRO B LEM 3

perception has taken place may c o nvey meanings which


, m ake
them useful The trouble with much voice teaching the diffi
.
,

culty which many teachers experience in making things clear ,

lies in their reliance upon these inadequate (because indefinite)


and mistimed terms I t is hoped that a perception o fthe es
.

senti als Of tone production will be awakened through imita


tio n and many repetitions Of exercises which cause a phy
sical activity whose character and relation to its intended

purpose are not unders tood This manner o f teaching prae


.

tically ignores sensation which is a powerful awakener Of


,

perception S hould an attempt be m ade to derive instruction


.

or warning from some condition existing during the act o f


S inging the failure to make cl ear its cha
, racter and bearing
upon the act of singing n ullifie s the value Ofthe attempt .

I t is ex tremely hard fo r the inexperienced st udent to cor


rect l
y guage the conditions w hich accompany the making o f
vocal tone He may hav e a theoretic al knowledge o fthe func
.

tions Of the various organs involved but their employment


,

in singing necessitates a prac tical application o f his theori es


fo r which he i s n o t prepared B ecause the mechanism o f the
.

voice consists o f e xquisi tely sensitive muscles whose action is


dependent on a delicat e adj ustment wrongly directed physi
,


cal ef fort by preventing this adjustment defeats the S inger s
, ,

purpose ; yet physical e ffort is always involved in singi n g .

The muscles o f the larynx should act unconsciously to the


singer in response t o the Will yet in controlling the breath
, , ,

which is essential t o the tone m u scular ac tion is strong Here


, .

in is the difliculty: He cannot move the muscles o fthe larynx


4 F OREW ORD
consciously his c o ntrol Of them is indirect an d h is develop
, ,

m e nt Of h is voice must be by indirection The t e m ptation t o


.

wrongly directed muscular e ffort is well nigh overpo wering


- .

N O amount o f theory expl anation o r ill ustration with the


, ,

voice Of the teacher will make clear the fault from which h e
is su ffering He needs something so
. definite that it permits
o fn o misunderstanding .

I t is the furnishing such instruction that makes the


of

teacher s task a hard o ne W hat can he expose t o the interior



.

light o f the mind that will assure the student a right direc
tion o feffort by making clear what is right and what is wrong ?
E v ery student at some time o r other h as sung a tone whi ch
, ,

he knew to be right the result o f a harm onious adjustm ent


, ,

a proper direction o f effort A ttempts to repeat it fail because


.

he did not perceive how it was done H o w shall this percep


.

tion be awakened ?
ESSENTI A L S
C H A P TER ON E

P E R CE P T IO N OF C O N D I T IO N S

HE beginner i n the study Ofv oice cultu re is very quickly


consciou s Of restrictions from which he seems utterly
unable t o esc ape If he attem pt to sing the tones o fthe scale
.
,

his throat becomes more an d m ore contracted his face grows ,

more tense an d tongue and jaw become rigid and un m an age


,

able His efforts to free himselffrom these conditions do not


.

bring the relief he seeks yet he fondly hopes by persistent


, ,

and long continued practice Of S pecified tone studies and ex


-

ercise s,
finally to overc o me these obstacles an d O btain the
freedom Of tone produ cti o n and the facility in the use o f his
voice which he now lacks He works earnestly and patiently
.
,

applying t o the best Of his ability the instruction and su gge s

tion s o f his teacher i m itating his tone production as closely


,

as possible but he works blindly with no cle ar id e a o f what


, ,

he is doing o r o fhow it should be done Ifhe does make some .

progress it is only comparative and does not make him cer


, ,

tain and confident .

The secret o fhis trouble is that he is dealing with results and


n o t with their causes The tone t o whi ch he listens and whi ch
.
,

he uses as the basis of his criticism the means by which he ,

hopes t o acqu ire vocal freedom trying so to manipulate it as


,

t o remove the restrictions which hamper him is a result o f ,

preexisting conditions and n o amount o f manipulation Of


,

tone minus a kno wledge Of what lies back o f it potent in ,

its formation will bring h i m to the con summation o f h is de


,
8 TH E F N U D AM EN TALS OF VOI CE PRO D U CTIO N
sires The act of singing n o m atter h o w persistently it may
.
,

be done will not Of itself c ultivate the voice and enable the
,

student to produce tone with certainty and free from these ,

restrictions .

Tone is a product and unless the student knows what


,
eu

ters into its formation is able to distinguish between the


,

product and its cause understands what e ffect any m o difica


,

tion Of these causes wi ll have upon the tone and knows h o w ,

to produ ce and control these modifications h is efforts to cul ,

voi ce will not result satisfactorily This knowledge


t iv at e hi s .

must precede as well as accom pany his singing oftone studies


, , ,

&c It is a knowledge which does not co m e from practi ce al one


. .

I n too many instances this is working with results the mind ,

o f the student being con c entrated on the tone which once ,

made is unchangeable The tone is heard success is estimated


.
,

according to his judgment o f it and all e f fort is expended


,

on the result itsel f oblivi o us o f the predetermining causes TO


, .

clearly unders t and the essentials Of tone production a first ,

requisite is that the s tudent shal l perceive the principles on


which tone is based and is sure that he comprehends their
,

nature knows the determining causes o f certain conditions


,

which arise during the act o f singing and is able to recog nize ,

the processes which result in tone Unless the student be .

thoroughly acquainted with the conditions which O btain dur


ing the act Of tone production an d is able to perceive their
,

bearing on the tone he sings t h e subject will not be clear


,

in his mind and his efforts will b e purely experimental He


, .

will begin blindly trying t o fashion a tone in accordance


,
'

PER CEP TIO N OF C O N DI TIO N S 9

with a more o r less hazy notion Of what it should be but with ,

n o well de fi n e d idea o f the successive steps involved in the


-

development Of voice .

Elaborate explanations o f the anatomy Of the throat and


larynx will not supply the knowledge needed Enough o fthis .

should be given t o enable the student to work intelligently ,

but the knowledge he needs includes more than this Certain .

distinct definite an d close ly related phases Of the subject


, ,

must be presented in clear unmi stakable terms They m ust


, .

be made so logic al in their sequenc e that t h e student s mind ’

is helped in grasping thei r signi fi cance W hen understood


.
,

they afford reliable data fo r the testing o f tone production ;


they prepare fo r right conditions and remove the student s
,

e fforts fro m the groping experi m e ntal stage


, .

S tudents O f voice cultu re c annot l e arn t o o early in their

voc al careers that no fo rmul a Of exerc i ses no routine o f in


,

struction wi ll avail in e very case — n o m atter how efficacious


, ,

it m ay hav e been in some — that n o cut an d dried form Of


,
- -

teach ing can be relied upon in all instances E xercises are only
.

a means t o an end ; their relationship to that end should al


ways be made c lear an d the process by which the end is
,

reached Should be impressed upon the student N O exercise .


,

o r seri e s O f e xercises however ingenious they may be how


, ,

e ve r much tr uth they may contain will give the pupil control
,

Of tone and en able him to overcome O bstacles to its produc


,

tion that are peculiar t o him unless h is intelligence h as


,

grasp e d their obscurest meaning and its relationship to h im


p e rsonally Here in lies the di ffi culty ; for h o w shall theori e s
.

10 TH E F U N DAM EN TA L S OF VOI CE PRODU CTIO N
and principles containingtruths applicable to all those wh o
wi sh t o master the art o f voice control be given personal ap
plication in a study so intangible and vague ?
I n the e f
fort to so apply them certain term s have become ,

associ ated with certain sensations in singing These terms are .

used in the attempt to convey a definite description o f the


modification o ftone and sensation and from their use the stu ,

dent is expected to perceive the physical aspect Ofthese modi


fi cat io n s and to recognize the conditions which accompany
,

the m . Open
!
Covered D ark
,
! !
Wh ite ,
!
Head tone!
,
! !
,
! !
,

Forward Back Placing the tone N asal and other


‘ ! ! ! ! ! !
, , , ,

expression s are thus used being repeated ad infi n itum How


, .

definite is the meaning they co nvey t o the inexperienced st u


dent who is dominated by conditions which he hardly per
,

ce ives and which if he be vaguely conscious Of them he do e s


, , ,

not at all properly relate t o t h e act o f singing ?


12 TH E F U N DAM EN TALS OF VOI C E PRODU CTIO N
I n fact the mind
,
ust be exceedingly active an d alert and
m ,

the m u scles mu st b e so ready fo r acti o n that they res pond t o


the slightest impulse Of the will I n truth the crux Of the.
,

whole m atter is the training o f m ind and m uscle t o act vigor


o us ly without undue exertion .

The usual method is t o begin with the S inging o f some


vo w el sound which the teacher uses believing it to assist in
, ,

O pening the thro at and freeing the j aw and tongue all the ,

while exhorting the pupil to maintain this looseness S ome .

more or le ss definite instru c tion as to breath taking and breath -

contro l may b e gi v en b ut m ain reliance is placed o n a long


,

co rit in ue d repetition o f certain exercises w hi ch in time are ,

expected by reason o fthis repetition to establish the desired


, ,

c o nditi o n Hence tone studi e s are follo we d by an innumerable


.

selection o f voc alises Of gradually increasi n g c o m prehensive


ness an d diffic ulty until the pupil hav ing acquired som e fa
, ,

cilit
y is c on sidered ready fo r songs and arti stic development
, .

W e know fro m observation that thos e pupil s who are


blessed with unusual natural e ndowm e nts de ri v e from this
treat m ent som e degree Of cultu re while the large m ajority ,

fail to recei ve an y real be nefit from it at all and the impres ,

sion is abroad that m any cannot hope to cultivate their voices .

Yet there is no re ason why any one whose organs Of song an d


speech are n o rm ally de veloped should be un able t o acquire a

p roper manner o f pro duci n g vo cal tone .

The troubl e is work is begun at the w rong point ; t h e ac


,

tu al produ ction o f tone should foll o w gro w o ut Of— breath


c o ntrol ,
and n o t pre ce de it That is the co ndition s which
.
,
OU N DA TIO N
F OF TO N E PRODU CTIO N 13

should prevail during the act o f singing are dependent almost


entirely upon breath action and can best be established
,

through a careful study Ofbreathing before the act Of singing


is undertaken The first thing t o m ake clear to the student
.
,

therefore is what these conditions are and how through the


, , ,

act o f breath taking and breath control they can be per


-
,

ce iv e d and established .

I t will require little Observation to Show that it is the e f


fort t ocon trol breath which is productive Of m uch Ofthe want
Of freedom that S O disturbs the st u dent ; that f ailure to pro
perly control breath before and during the act o fsinging causes
pres sure at the larynx giving rise to sti ffness o fjaw and tongue
,

an d lack Of control over the tone These f aults cannot be over


.

come by the repetiti o n Of tone studies ; the ca use must be re


moved before the sym ptom s will disappear .

Thi s m eans that the subject Ofbreathing must be presented


t o the student in such way as will m ake clear t o his in t e lli

gence its connection with the condition o fthroat tongue and , ,

j aw He must be taught how t o control breath and be given


.

exercises wh ich wi ll give him this control This control must .

be m ade automatic acting under the direction Of the Will


,

with such certainty and ease that it becomes a second nature ,

and this must be done before the actual production Of tone is


attempted W hen that point is reached the appli cation o f
.
,

thes e principles t o this next step must be made clear and fur ,

ther exercises given to confirm the student in it .

Fo r all ordinary purposes the act o f breathing is automatic


,

and gives no trouble ; it is done without thought on o ur part .


14 THE FU N DAM EN TAL S O F VOI C E PRODU CTIO N
But in singing where t h e am ount o f breath used is greater and
,

the manner of its retenti o n an d supply to the vocal bands is


o f vital importance to the n atu re o f t h e re sulting tone ordi
i ,

nary bre ath taking and control is wholly insu ffi cient and when ,

attempt is ordinarily made to manage the larger supply Of


air the fa
,
ults to which all usion h as been made in previous
paragraphs at once Show themselves .

S tripped o fall unnecessary detail instruction in the proper


,

management o f breath fo r singing is simple and does not call


for comple x ex ercises The student prepared to concentrate
.
,

his mind upon the work and realizing that it is a question o f


mind control should be impressed with the fact that success
,

depends upon h is clear unde rstanding Ofthe details ofinspira


tion retention and giving o ut o f breath The establishment
, .

o fcontrol is com aratively easy when the principles governing


p
it are understood Iftrouble arises it wi ll be from the failure
.
,

o fthe student to understand an d apply the instruction .

A nd now what are the principles on which proper breath


,

control rests ? A t the root Of all is the fact that the act Of
breathing Should never entail physical strain shoul d never ,

involve the throat and voc al organs in t erision that it shoul d ,

be so performed that the body the throat the vocal bands


, , ,

the tongue and j aw are e ntirely un conscious Ofit The student .

should understand that any ten sion o r rigidity Oft h e walls of


the body any sti ffness o f t h e abdomen any contraction o f the
, ,

throat in an e ffort t o re tain breath is wrong and will defeat


,

h is purpose This m ust be emphasized until it is thoroughly


.

impressed as vital Th e stude nt must be taught to recognize


.
FOU N D ATIO N OF TO N E PRODU CTIO N 15

and locate improper tension and to realize the di fference be


t ween rigidity an d freedom He is then ready to perceive the
.

value o f a mode Of breathing which leaves the walls Of the


body free and responds promptly and certainly to the dictates
o f the will
. He will then realize that the act Of brea thing is
from within the result o f the mo v ements o f the di aphragm
, .

I t is evident that he must be taught what the diaphragm is ,

h o w it acts how it is controll ed exercises being given to this


, ,

end.

The power to use the diaphragm to take in an d retain


breath and t o control it s outflow leaving the w alls o f the body
,

free from u ndue muscular e f fort an d the relation Ofsu ch breath


,

control t o the act o f to ne production can readily b e m ade


clear The act Of singing involves certain physical processes
.

which seem complicated but which when thoroughl y mastered


, , ,

become simple and automatic These processes are accompanied


.

by sen sations which can be recognized and their rel ati o n to the
di fferent phases Of tone production made perfectly cle ar This .

physical as pect Of singing is its only tangible demonstration ,

and affords the best approach by which the inte rior light o f!

the mind can be reached The following lessons endeav or t o


.

u se thi s approach in as simple and definite a way as possible .


20 TH E F U N DAM EN TALS OF VOI CE PRODU CTIO N
breath , o ur first lessons will deal with breath control this first ,

lesson being devoted to the preparation o f the body and the


act o f inhalation .

The student must bear in mind that freedom at the vocal


bands (larynx) is dependent o n the manner Oftaking and con
troll ing breath hence that form o fbreath taking which raises
,
-

the upper chest and shoulders must be entirely avoided b e ,

cause it inevitably induces strain at the throat The shoulders .

must be absolutely quiet Hence Of the various methods Of


.
,

inspiration which have been advocated from time to time dia ,

h ra m at ic breathing with ability to use the muscles whi c h


p g ,

come into play in rib b feat h in g is best adapted to singing


-
,

purposes .

The diaphragm is the large muscle which acts as a floor to


t h e chest separating it from the abdo m inal cavity I t is
,
.

fastened to the breast bone just above the soft spot or pit o f
-
,

the st om ach an d to th e ribs and backbone (S ee FI G U RE


,
.

I n di aphragm atic breathing when the lungs are empty the


, ,

di aphragm is shap e d ne arly as t h e black line (E) indicates .

W hen it is de si red to take in breath the diaphrag m in re , ,

spo use t o the impulse o f the will contracts and gradually as


,

su m e s the shape indi cated by the dotted line F I t is with thi s .

acti o n o f th e di aphragm that L E SS O N ON E is conce rned Our .

purp ose is t o secure so perfect a control over this muscle th at


we can c au se it to do its work without disturbance Ofthe u pper
chest and th roat W hen the lungs are e m pty it is arched up
.

w ard ; when breath is taken into the lungs it contrac ts and in ,

doing S O descends upon the content s Of the abdomin al c av ity ,


EXE RC I S ES FOR I N H ALATIO N . &c . 21

FI G U R E I
TH E D I A P HR A G M

D ES CRI PTI ON : A . The I/ungs B Th e R oot


. . o f th e N eck . 0 Th e R ibs D Th e
. . .

B reas t-bone . E Upp er.


f
sur ace o fDiap h ragm .

pu shing its walls outward This m anner o f inspiration is called


.

diaphragmatic breathing and leaves the throat entirely free,

from strain I t shoul d be the principal reliance o f the singer


. .

The use o f diaphragmatic breathing is made more controllable


by a knowledge o f costal or rib bre athing .

The ribs are j oined to the backbone shoulder blades and ,


-
,

to each other by muscles which raise and pull the m out ward
,
.

By the use Of these muscles in rib breathing the sides espe -


, ,

c iall
y toward the back are expanded and when diaphragmatic
, ,

breathing is ac companied by this expansion Of the sides well


up toward the armpits and the bac k t o under the shoulder
,
22 TH E F U N DAM EN TALS OF VOI C E PRODU CTIO N
blades and a distention o f the soft spot under the breast
,

bone the s inger can inhale an d control breath witho ut in v o l v


,

ing the thr oat leavi n g the larynx free to do its work
,
.

FIG UR E 2

RI BS A N D R IB - M U SC LE S
'

D S
E CR I PTI ON : A R ibs
. . B A ttach m
. en t o f ribs t o backbon e. C R /ib-m
. uscles

con n ectin
g th em extern ally . D JlIus cles
. attaching upp er ri bs to p oin ts f
o

sh ou lders (E ) . F . Mus cles j oin ing r ibs in tern ally .

Th e best form o f breathing fo r singing is a combined use o f


diaphragm and ribs The strong m u scles attaching t h e u pper
.

ribs to the points o f t h e shoulders must be well con trolled ,

else with eve ry full breath t h e upper chest and Should ers will
be li fted a condition destructive t o freedom of throat A ll
,
.

feeling o f sti f
fness in the sides should be av oided the e xpan ,

sion caused by the mov em ent Of the ribs and the subsequent
, ,

contraction as the diaphragm is raised be ing entirely free ,

from strain w hile firm and ste ady


, .

A danger which m ay ari se in rib breathing an d which must -


,
EXE RC I S ES FOR I N H AL ATIO N , &c . 23

be avoided is a tendency , to raise the upper chest and the


shoulders This as has already been said is fatal to an easy
.
, ,

throat I t is this tendency which makes it advisable t o use the


.

diaphragm chiefly in developing breath control But a know .

ledge o f the action Of the muscles Of the ribs and back is


v aluable in establishing the co m plet e control o f breath which
m ust be had in singing N o t only must the throat be f ree from
.

strain the wall s of the body also must be relieved o f rigidity


, .

The act o f breathing is best done whe n the body is at ease ,

the muscles being in com plete subjection t o the will an d used


automatically Before this subjection to the will can be co n
.

summated an d the automatic action established the muscles ,

must be located and their functions understood and practice ,

had in their use The exercises o f this lesson are directed to


.

thi s end .

E XE R C I SE S

EX E R C I SE ON E S tand
with one foot in advance o f the other
.
,

bal ance the weight Of the body o n the forward foot poising ,

it firmly but lightly with a feeling o f fl e xible control o v er the


,

entire body The muscles should be free from all tenseness but
.
,

ready for instant use th e shoulders Settled firmly Take this, .

position a half dozen o r more times keeping it long enough


-
,

to establish the feeling Of ready repose ; persevere until the


body can instantly be placed in this completely controlled
position .

Two Take position and balancing firmly on the


E X E R C I SE .
,

forward foot bend over extending the arms forward and o ut


, ,
24 TH E F U N DAM EN TAL S OF VOI CE PRODU CTIO N
ward with the elbows in an d the palms Of t h e hands upward
,
.

Take bre ath and notice the action o ft h e muscles o f the back
,

under the shoulder blades R epeat the exercise until t h e ex


- .

ist e n ce Of these muscles is cl e arly perceived and their action as


breath is taken in easily recognized .

EX E R C I SE T HR EETake positi o n place hands on each side just


.
,

a b ov e the w ai st and inhale slowly for several seconds D O


,
.

n o t take too deep a bre ath N ote the expansion Of the sides . .

Le t the breath escape and repeat the inhalation D o so until


,
.

the m o vement o ft h e side s is free .

FO UR Take position place hands at the small Of


E XE R C I S E .
,

the back an d inhale as in previous exercise N ote expansion


,
.

Of the b ack R epeat this exercise until the back expands f


. reely
with each inhalation D O not li ft the Shoulders but leave them
.
,

free an d quiet A s freedo m is gained the back will expand


.
,

well up to the shoulder—blades .

These exercises locate the muscles o fthe ribs and back used
in breathing W atchful practice o fthem will give strength and
.

control The mind should be concentrated o n each but all


.
,

practice should be done eas ily an d without undue effort The .

mind should control the thought should be confident and , ,

each exerci se done without hu rry A fter a well poised position .


-

is secured by the use o f E X E R C I S E ON E it may be varied by ,

various mov ements Of the body above t h e waist taking care ,

not to disturb the firm poi se o n the feet The idea is to give .

freedom to that part o fthe body which is involve d in breathi n g .

The next exe rcise deal s with the diaphrag m .


EXE RC I S ES FOR I N H ALATIO N , &C . 25

E XE R C I S E
FIV E Standing with the u pper part o fthe body free
.
,

take rapid short breaths as one does in panting Place the


, , .

finger o n the soft spot and notice its p ulsations Le t the move
, .

ment al so be at the waist freeing the walls o fthe body keep


, ,

ing the upper Chest quiet Have the shaking extend upward t o
.

the armpits and around the back well up to the shoulder


,

blades Let the thought go to the diaphragm around its edges


.
, ,

noting h o w it rapidly shakes up and down .

This is a v aluable ex ercise fo r establishing a conscious con


trol Ofthe di aphragm and for loosening the walls o f the body
, .

W ith the preceding exe rcises it will prepare the body fo r re ,

tention and exhalation o f breath .

E X E R C IS E S IX S tand
as in previous exercises place the fingers
.
,

on the soft spot and take three q uick breaths pausing at


, ,

least three seconds bet ween each breath N otice the quick o ut .
,

ward j um p Ofthe soft spot Le t breath escape and repeat D o


.
,
.

the same placi n g the han ds on sides and back N otice the out
, .

ward movement in each case .

These exercises should be studied until their purpose is


thoroughl y understood and practised until the body is free
,

from sti ffness and under control Of the will Students are apt .

to hold the body sti ffly The muscles Of inhalation cannot do


.

their work well until all sti ffness is banished Hence the first .

requi site is power to stand with the body pliable the waist ,

relaxed The exercises which deal with inhalation are very im


.

portant fo r the muscles which are active in exhalation are


,

more powerful an d active and a control o f breath which will


,
26 TH E F U N DAM EN TAL S OF VOI CE PRODU CTIO N
le ave the throat free comes only when the muscles Of inhala
tion are so strengthened that they will balance the activity
and strength of the muscles Ofexhalation .

The exercises should be practised in the order given until


the student has no doubt about their action Then EX E RC I SE S
.

T HR EE F O UR FIV E and S IX should receive most attention A s


, , ,
.

strength and freedom are gained give increased attention t o


,

EX E R C I S E F IVE aiming to prod uce a rapid fluttering o fthe so ft


,

spot an d sides and back The amount o fpractice at first should


.

be abo u t thirty minutes in three portions o ften minutes each


,
.

W hen the student begins t o feel certain that he quickly and


surely recognizes right conditions he may increase his practice
,

t o forty fi v e minutes a day


-
.
28 TH E F U N DAM ENTA LS OF VOI CE PRODU CTIO N
The lesson should have a foc al point a defin it en e ss o fpurpos e ,

which is clear to his m ind A slight misconception o f any part


.

is enough t o cause trouble Th e di f ficulty in pursuing a co urse


.

o f study such as this arises f


,
rom the liability Of the stu dent

to think he understands fully when perhaps he h as misappre


,

hended some explanation misunderstood some exercise o r


, ,

misinte rpreted some sensation Th i s must be guarded against


.

by care ful and discriminating study an d a tho ughtful and


watchful application of the exercises W ith the purpose o f .

L E SS O N ON E clearly fixed and its ex ercises practised until rea


,

sonable readiness o f perception is acqui red we may take the ,

next step .

Begin by doing EX ER C I SE Two ; notice how the back ex


pands when breath is inhaled The upper chest is still the
.
,

shoulders do not rise and the movement o f the bac k from the
,

w aist t o the shoulder blades is freely outward The mind is


-
.

concentrated taking in every detail o fthe action registering


, ,

the sensations ; but is fre e fro m anxiety is quietly confident , ,

and the face is smiling and ple as ant A fter this review o fEx .

R E C I SE Two take
,

EXE R C I SE S E V EN D rop
.the arms still leaning forward with the
,

weight on the ball of the forward foot and inhale slowly D o , .

yo u now feel the expansion of the back as freely as before ? Can

yo u take in the details o f the inhalation as re adily as before ?


If not practise the exercise until you are as cognizant o ft h e
,

ac tion Of the muscles o f the bac k as when the f orward p o si


tion Of t h e arms assisted you The position continues to b e
.
I N H ALATIO N , &c . 29

easy the mind maintains control but is com fortable the arms
, ,

hang loosely the face is pleasant D O not inhale too deeply


, .
,

and never li ft the shoulders or uppe r chest .

E X E R C I S E E I G HT N o w
apply this instruction to EX ER C I SES
.

TH R EE and F O U R C onditions must be the same The mind


. .

now takes note n o t only o fthe expan sion Ofthe bac k but als o ,

o f the sides Th e student shou ld be able to draw in breath


.

with a conscious but perfectly free and comfortable expansion


,

o fthe body at the si des an d b ac k from the waist upward to the


armpits and th e shoulder—blades He should be able to recog .

nize thi s action Of t h e back an d rib muscles readily without -


,

inducing any tendency t o rigidity o f body or tense effort o f


mind I t should be a pleasant physical e xercise
. .

W e are now ready to devote a little more


,

EX E R C I S E N I N E . at

tention to the action o fthe diaphragm as shown in EXE R C I SE


F IVE Take quick short panting breath s until the soft spot
.
, ,

under the breast-bone and the S ides and the back t o the shoul
,

der-blades quiver in unison with them The shoulders are


, .

quiet, the upper chest still the face pleasant an d the eyes
, ,

smiling There is n o tenseness anywhere The throat is Open


. .

an d com fortable .

A fter a month s prac tice o n the exercises o f L ESSON ON E


and the application o f this union an d amplification o f them ,

the student should be able t o inhale freely using the muscles ,

o f the b ac k and ribs and the diaphragm quite fully with body , ,

chest and throat free from strain an d undue effort The mind
,
.

should be in the attitude it naturally assumes toward any


30 TH E F NDAM ENT U AL S OF VOI CE PRO DU CTI O N
thing in which it takes ple asure Power to inhale properly with
.
,

the mind in easy control Ofthe muscul ar action being acquired , ,

we are ready to give attention t o the retaining o fbreath Here .

we meet a tendency which must be overcome at once The free .

do m Of throat acquired during the practice in inhalation is in


danger Unless we are careful we will try t o retain breath by
.
,

putting a lid on o ur breath box ; in other words we will cl ose ,

the throat To do this will spoil all prospects ofgood tone pro
.

duction The throat must be left as free as it is during inh ala


.

tion I nde ed a chief reason for o ur care in establishing control


.
,

o f the muscles governing inhalation w as to gain and establish

this freedom ofthroat N o w if we permit our efforts to retain


.
,

breath to result in undoing our previous work we will be sadly ,

remiss .

R etention Ofbreath and the regulation o fits supply to the

vocal bands must be accom plished through o ur control ofthe


muscles Ofinhalation ; it must be the result o f the O pposing
o fthese muscles t o those o f exhalatio n The practice we ha ve .

given to these muscle s in L E SS O N ON E is a direct prep aration


fo r this important part Of o ur work A ll this must be done .

unconsciously to t h ethro at I t will req uire careful and persis


.

tent prac tice The muscle s o f e xhal ation are more used as a
.
,

ru le and consequently are stronger


, .

E X E R C I SE TEN S tand
in position take b re ath slowly but not
.
, ,

too deeply noting the expansion o fback as in EXERC I SE S EVEN


, , .

R etain breath an instant with the throat unconscious the j aw ,

hanging loose then exhale slowly c o ntrolling the inward move


, ,
I N H AL ATIO N , &C . 31

ment Of the muscles Of the back M ake them move at your


.

wi ll avoiding tension and keeping the throat free D o not


, , .

hu rry be easy and deliberate keep the mind easy the face
, , ,

pleasant the eyes confident and smiling N O matter h o w much


, .

t endency there may be at first f o r the breath to rush o ut or

fo r sti f
fness to creep in oppose your will t o all these faults
, ,

and persist until the exercise is mastered .

E X ER C I S E E L E V EN R epeat EX ER C I S E TE N ,
. noting the inward
movement Of the S ides and back R eproduce all the desirable
.

condition s Ofthe preceding exercise W atch the soft Spot and .

control its inward movement .

E X E R C I SE TWE LV E . Pant until the body is free take breath


s lowly open the throat and j aw and retain the breath fo r
, ,

from five t o ten seconds D o n o t close th e thro at Be sure th at


. .

the eyes are plea sant the body poised on the forward foot
,

lightly and free from all tenseness S imply stop breathing and
,
.

keep the throat and mouth O pen C ontrol the outgo o f the .

b re ath Oppose the m in d t o the tendency o f the muscles Of


.

t h e b ack and ri bs to forcibly contract .

D evote earnest attention to these exercises until the breath

can be retained co m fortably with Open t h roat and mouth .

W hen this can be done standing move quietly about the ,

ro om retaining breath in the same way


,
M ake it a habit t o .

control the outgo Ofbreath by means Ofthe diaphragm and


the muscles Of the ribs and back Think o f the throat as e m
.

t irely divorced from an y activity o f the breathing muscles .

An d with it all keep the body free from even the approach o f
32 TH E FU N DAM EN TA L S OF VOI CE PRODU CTIO N
strain W hen the breath can be retained easily
. fo r ten sec
o uds increase the time
, .

EX E R C I SE T HIRTEEN
Test the control Of breath by holding a
.

mirror in front o f the mouth while retaining breath D O not .

pe rm it it s s urface t o be moistened .

I n all these exercises keep in m ind the fact that they are
o nly m e ans to an e n d I t is the m ind back o f them which does
.

the work They are something on whi ch we depend to give de


.

fin it en ess and tangibility to o ur instruction They are directed


.

toward the cau ses o f the troubles which afflict us v oc ally The .

re sults the y produce come because they reach the cause s an d


c o rre ct those that are wrong On the other han d they may
.
,

fail to touch the cause to get at the root Of the tro uble b e
, ,

cause they are wrongly applied I t is the mind the intelligence


.
,

o f the student perce iving c onditions which m u st b e corrected


,

o r made perm anent whi ch m akes them helpf


, ul Study them
.

then t o pe rcei ve an d make yo ur o wn the ideas they convey


, .
LESSO N TH R EE

G R E A TE R TE S TS O F B RE A T H C O N T ROL

F the s tudent has understood and properly applied the in


struction o f the two preceding lessons he should be able
,

to take breath properly using the diaphragm and retain


, ,

b reath with an unconscious throat by m ean s Ofhis control o f

the diaphragm and the as sisting muscles o f the back and ri bs .

He should now be quick to percei ve the approach Of tension


at any part Ofthe body or at the throat He should find himsel f
.

be coming able to take a gen ero u s qu antity o f breath and re


tain it fo r ten to twenty seconds without c o n scious e ffort .

His will by this time should be establishing quite firmly an


adequate subconscious control Of the entire act o f breathing ,

which leaves mind and body free He should ha ve reached the


.

point Of instantly placing himself in singing condition .

But thus far no effort has been made to produce tone W e .

have been concerned solely with the task Of preparing body


an d mind to perf orm and c ontrol the physical acts necessary
t o tone production Beyond the natural tendency o fthe mus
.

cles o finhalation to contract after breath has been taken and ,

o f the exhaling muscles to drive o ut t h e air f rom the lungs ,

no demands have been m ade upon breath control W e have .

had only preliminary training W hen breath sufficient to cause


.

t h e vocal ban ds to vi brate is t o b e delivered to them still ,

greater control will be required an d the real test o f the work


,

already done will come Our present work will serve no pur
.

pose unless it has been so perfected that it is ready to stand


34 TH E F U N DAM EN TAL S OF VOI CE PRODU CTIO N
these sever-er tests and m ee t e v ery e mergency That this is so
, .

makes clear the importance o f this pre liminary work .

This lesson will be devoted to pre p aring the student fo r


these greater tests Before proceeding t o the making Of voc al
.

tone we will give the bre ath control acquired in the first les
,

sons further practice by making s omewhat greater demands


on the muscles which we have trained to regulate the outflow
o f breath A s . prelude t o the exercises which follow review
a ,

E XE R C I SE S E L E V EN and TW E LV E R etain breath as in E XE R C I SE


.

TW E LV E while moving about the room Be certain that the .

entire body is free from rigidity that the mind is easy the, ,

face comfortable the lips being parted and the throat entirely
, ,

unconscious while breath is being retained A fter thi s sel f .

exam ination proceed to the work Of the present lesson


, .

EX E R C I S E
FO URTEEN Take a weight in the hands — a heavy
.
~

book will do — and inhal e with free extension Of waist back , ,

and sides Keep the thro at open and retain breath while li ft
.

ing the weight abo v e the he ad an d lowering it until the arms


are straight down Th e e f fo rt in v olved in moving the weight

must not produce any tightening at the throat or any rigi ,

dity Of body The mu scle s act just strongly enough to m o v e


.

the weight steadily The bre ath is retained because the t e n


.

de ncv Of the e xhaling muscles to push o ut the bre ath is co n

trolled by the will o f the student D o the exercise deliber .

ately with easy concentration o f t h e m ind on the control o f


,

the body Th e tendency o n e has to tighten the throat when


.

li fting a w e ight mu st b e o vercome .


36 TH E F U N DAM EN TALS OF VOI CE PRODU CTIO N
exhaling muscles and a consequent greate r dem and made
,

upon o ur control Hence it is that a steady o utflow o fbreath


. ,

keeping the flame steadily bent over indicates an increased ,

ability to control the action Of the exhaling muscles by op


posing t o them those which are used in inhalation W hen .

breath is delivered to the vocal bands in su fficient quantity to


m ake t o ne this power to oppose the one set Of muscles t o the
,

other e ffectively is vital .

Take breath as before establish control


EX E RC IS E S E V EN TEEN .
, ,

and aspi rate ( whisper) A h with throat Open jaw hanging , ,

loose tongue lying limp in the mouth A gain use the mirror
,
. .

D ecre as e the amount o f m oisture o n the surface until none

mists it M ake the A h audible across the room Be sure O f


. .

conditions and that breath control is the same as in EXE RC I S E


,

S I XTEE N D O not permit the upper Chest to collapse and keep


.
,

the soft sp o t under control .

Thi s exercise embodi e s all the conditions Of tone produc


tion except the pressure o f breath on the v o cal chords n e ces
,

sary t o make vocal tone The same conditions should o h .

tain later w hen ton e is m ade as are n o w existent when this


, ,

exe rcise is practised The aspi rated A h should be heard across


.

the room and Should be made without the e scape Of a par


,

tie le o f w aste breath .

EXE RC I S E EI G HTEEN GO
through the motions o f counting
.

on e t wo th ree fo ur
, , fi ve six adding A h without sound D o
, , , , , .

this three times in the one breath Perm it no esc ape Of breath .
,

ke ep t h e thro at o pe n j aw l o ose tongue li m p and face easy


, , , .
TES TS OF B R EATH C O N TROL 37

M ake movements o fj aw and tongue free , breath all the while


undisturbed by the activity Of the organs Of speech U se the .

mirror keeping it free from moisture There should be n o


, .

break between the counts and the A h This exercise demands


.

plenty o f activity above the throat wit h undisturbed control


below .

Th e m as tery Of these lessons prepares us fo r the next step


in o ur work namely tone production A s has been said in a
, , .

previous paragraph we have been doing preparatory work


, .

Future success depends on h o w well it has been done I t is cer


.

tain that ifthe control Ofbreath which relieves the throat fro m
,

strain and delivers just t h e right quantity o fbreath to the V0


,

cal chords and insures steadiness Of breat h pressure h as been


, ,

gained many o fthe troubles which so persistently block pro


,

gress and cause discouragement will be entirely avoided .


LESS O N FO U R

A PPLI C A T ION OF PRE C E D I N G W OR K


TO T O N E PRODU C T I O N

ITH this lesson we are to begin the actu al production


Of
tone The importance o f the preparatory work o f
.

the preceding lessons has been emphasized and it is taken fo r,

granted that those who are following these lessons have taken
p ains to master the exercises and establish t h e condition s set
forth.

Before proceeding with studies in tone produ ction it is not ,

o ut Of place to call attention t o a condition which the most

thoughtful painstaking student is liable to encounter at this


,

stage o fh is work — a condition which will interfere with his


,

progress and Of which he may be practically unaware


, .

I n h is e fforts to retain breath with O pen throat h is atten ,

tion being concentrated o n the various organs and ac ts in


v olved he may more o r less unconsciou sly hold back This
,
!
.
!

!
holding back is usually so slight that the phy sical effort is
!

almost unrecognizable Indeed it is m ore an act o f t h e mind


.
,

than a co ncrete physic al act I ts e ffect is to produce a h o lding


.

back o f the tone a s o rt o f suspending it in the back Of the


,

mouth a preventing it from flowing out freely The couse


, .

q ue n c e is a light immature unnatural tone which cannot be


, , ,

properly de vel o p e d .

Ofco u rs e thi s is a co nditi o n which must be guarded against ,

an d cert ainly it is always best to av o id it rath er than be co m

e lle d to cure it TOO gre at anxiety o n the part Of t h e stude nt


p .
APPLI C ATIO N OF PREC EDI N G W ORK , &C . 39

results in over consciousness and over effort I t is t o prevent


- -
.

this that insistence h as been made on an easy pleasant ex ,

pression Of face and emphatic warnings given against ove r


,

e ffort The mind must first recognize and th e n control until


.

automatic action is established and there is no danger Of sel f

consciousness C are must be taken to avoid the evils o f over


.

con sciousness which can and must be avoided If the nature Of


, .

the instruction has been clearly apprehended by the studen t ,

an d his application o f the exerc ise s C losely scrutinized and if ,

care h as been taken t o av oid this over exertion the evil o f


.
-
,

!
holding back will not trouble the student in future work
!
.

R e tention o f bre ath me ans m anagement Of the muscles we

h ave de scribed and have been exercising ; it does n o t m ean a


h o lding in Of the breath Le t the breath flow o ut evenly
!
.
,

ste adily firmly ; let it alone do not j u ggle with it ; simply so


, ,

contro l the muscles th e m sel ve s that the y n aturally an d co m


fo rt ab ly regulat e the outflow permitting n o waste o r uneven
,

n e ss but maintaining a steadyforward pressure There should


,
.

neve r be a feeling Of st uffin e ss in the upper chest the sho u l ,

de rs should not feel li fted up the re should be no sense o fsus


,

pension connected with the retention o f breath The feet .

shoul d be fi rmly planted on the floor the body resting o n ,

them in an easy well —poised position the arms hanging with


, ,

all their natural weight from the shoulders .

A good test as t o wh e ther breath is be ing retained without

this holding back is to speak a se ntence in a conversational


! !

tone while retaining breath as dire cted in these lessons Ifthe .

voice is emitted naturally an d sounds and feels like the natii


,
40 TH E FU N D A M ENTALS OF VOI CE P RO DU CTIO N
ral speaking voice ifthe face and eyes and speech organs are
,

com fortable and natural the vo ice appearing to come freely


,

and distinctly from the lips the conditions are good No bet
,
.

ter ex ercise in breath control and natural emission o f voice


can be had than the systematic application Of these e x ercises

t o the daily use o fthe convers at i onal voice R etain bre ath just .

as we have directed while t al king to your f riends G ive the .

muscles Of inhal ation practice in controlling the outflow o f


breath while transacting the ordinary business o f the day .

G reet a friend with the th ro at relax ed the inward and ap ,

pro xim at ing movemen t o f the ribs quietly controlled with ,

throat unconscious the mind intent on the conversation S uch


,
.

application o f the exercises will prevent the evil o fwhich we


have spoken and when it comes to the production Of a sus
,

t aine d singing tone there will be no radical di f


, ,
ferences Of
condition to be corrected or se t up .

Taking up the production Of tone our fi rst work will be to ,

make sure this holding back is avoided and our first e xer
! !
,

cise will be an application o f the las t on e Of the preceding


lesson .

EX E R C I SE N IN ETEEN
Take breath being sure that conditions
.
,

are easy and natural re tain it an instant to establish e as y


,

control and count aloud in an easy natural speaking v oice


, , ,

but with breath well contro lled on e two three four fi ve six
, , , , , , ,

Ah in o n e breath th re e ti m e s M ake sure tha t the counting is


, .

done in your! natural co n v ersati o n al tone with eyes and face ,

wearing an expression as if you were telling a friend a plea


A PPLI CATI O N OF PR ECEDI N G WORK , &c
. 41

sant story The j aw moves loosely the tongue and lips


.
, freely ,
the roofOf the mouth is com fortable and the tone rests down ,

There is

on the breath . no
efi ort in the breath con trol, the

breath sim p ly stays in . Th e act o f counting has no apparent


connection with retention o fbreath There must be no break .

between the counts ( j e rkines s ) o r between the counts and Ah, .

The voice moves al ong smoothly and evenly ; all eflort is at '

ftongue,
th e lips and tip o and the tones sound at the lips .

E X E R C I S E TwEN TY
Thi s is a development Ofthe preceding e x
.

ercise and takes us a step neare r a pure singing tone Wh en


, .

the spoken counts can be done in a perfectly natural manner ,

without hurry breath controlled by will power and without


, ,

interfering with the quality Of the voice do the e xercise sus , ,

taining the voice at a definite pitch beginning with middle ,

C or D Keep the tone at the lips and conditions as they were


.
,

in the purely conversational exe rci se .

If in doing these exercises the mirror shows too much


, ,

moisture do not attempt t o decreas e it by holding breath


, .

C oncen t rate the will on q uietly regulating its outflow by co n ,

trolling th e muscle action and be pers istent and patient until


,

all was te is overcome .

E X E R C I S E TW EN TY-ON E A spirate in EX ER C I SE S EV ENTEEN


. as ,

and when aspiration is well started without disturbance Ofcon ,

dition change to sust ained vocal A h That is change the as


,
.
,

pirat io n OfAh t o a vocal A h The tone should be forward com


.
,

ing from the lips just as it did in counting the conditions


, ,

being the same .


42 TH E F U N DAM EN TALS OF VOI C E PRODU CTIO N
E X E RC I S E T W EN TY Tw o S i n g A h
-
three times in o ne breath
.
,

pausing three seconds between each A h There will be there.

fore two pauses S tart each tone without mo v ement o f the


.

thr oat o r o f the j aw and tongue The eyes and face should be
.

relaxed and pleasant in expression D uring the pauses there


.

must be n o escape Of breath no sti ffening Of the body nor


, ,

closing Of the thro at C onditions throughout the exercise


.

should remain as in the counting exercises .

This exercise may be begun o n M iddl e C and carried up ,

ward by hal ftones as far as it can be done without rigidity .

These ex ercises are intended t o teach the student to make


tone naturally with conditions unchanged from those that
,

have pre vailed in previous lessons M ost practice should be


.

given to the fi rst t wo N ineteen and Twenty


, .

W ith the warning Of the first paragraphs in mind review ,

the exercises Of preceding lessons practice the retention Of


,

breath while talking and then give this lesson confident at


,

tention .
44 TH E F U N DAM EN TAL S OF VOI CE PRODU CTIO N
pose in vi e w it is imperative that power to produce tone with
,

out holding back while at the same time keeping effort from
!
,
!

the throat be gained To obtain this power the student must


, .
,

be abl e t o recognize beyond doubt the slightest mani festation


o f this tendency t o hold back He must be sure that h is breath .

is retained naturally without holding in and that it is de


, ,

livered freely and firmly t o the v ocal bands To this end he .


,

c annot t o o thoughtfully study the meaning and practise the


exercises o f the last lesson always remembering that they are
,

v alueless unless the thought back Of them is perceived and


applied .

Take EX E RC I SE N I NETEEN : D O you really understand what


is m eant by the directions C ount aloud in an easy natural
,
!
,

speaking voice with eyes and face wearing a pleasant expres


,

sion the tongue and jaw moving freely the roof o fthe m outh
, ,

com fortable the tone coming freely and with n o t the slightest
,

rasping in the throat the counts being sounded clearly and


,

!
easily at the lips ? D O the exercise quietly scanning the condi ,

tions involved in complying with these various points I s the .

throat free from the slightest pressure from the tone ? I s there
no f eeling o fweight at the laryn x ? IS the breath retained with
o ut e f
fort o r holding in ? Is t h e breath controlled by will and

not by physical e ffort ? S et your intelligence at work ; make


n o haste C once ntrate you r attention quietly eas ily R epeat
.
, .

until yo u are sure o f the accuracy Ofyou r recognition and the


character o f your e f fort If it takes several days a week or
.
, ,

longer t o reac h thi s point Of cert ainty do not begrudge the ,

time fo r thi s is the crucial point Of your work and patience


, ,
O
T NE PLA C I N G 46

and persistence will save y o u weary days Of d iscouragement


later .

A pply
the same tests t o E XE R C I SE TW EN TY Can yo u sus .

tain the counts at a certain pitch keeping the same conditions ,

as in the previous exercise ? D oes the tone fill the mouth issu ,

ing from the lips without effort rather than being forcibly ,

pushed o ut ? Can you count with t h e inside o fthe mouth free


from tenseness f eeling as com fortable an d free from effort as
,

when you speak in ordinary conversation ? R epeat this also


until you are sure o fyourself and the singing Ofthese counts ,

is as easy and pleasurable as th e conversational tone .

Three exercises are given in this lesson to carry this ease Of


tone production fu rther that is t o more certainly establish
, ,

the conditions described in this and the previous lesson .

E XE R C I S E T WE N TY -T H RE E R etain
breath as in previous e xer
.

cises and pronounce in a free conversational tone with no e f


, ,

fort at throat fulfill ing all the conditions o f E XE R C I SE S N IN E


,

TE EN and TW ENTY Za B e sure that the Z is vib rated an d does


, .

not approach S in sou n d Keep the j aw lo ose and fee l the v i


.
,

bration o f the Z at the teeth the inside o f the m o u th being ,

comfortable D O not pu sh the tone o ut but vibrate it freely


.
, .

W hen this sp eaking be done with the v ibration Of


Of Z c an

the consonant at the teeth the throat remaining entirely free


,

from e ffort sing


,
Za to the following
46 TH E FU N DAM EN TAL S OF VOI CE PROD U CTIO N

Za-za—za—za Za-za-za-za Za- za-za-za Za-za-za-za

Za-za-za—za Za-za-za—za Za-za-za—za Za-za-za-za

Th e flow Ofthe tone in this exercise should be uninterrupted ,

as i s indicated by the four Za s being su n g t o a whole note The



.

breath should be taken deliberately between each tone and


gotten under c o m plete c o ntrol be fore the next tone is sung .

S hould there be any di f ficulty in carrying the exercise through

the o ctave it sho uld be sung o nly SO far as can be done with
,

o u t loss Of control A s power is gained the higher tones can


.
,

be sung .

E XE RC I SE TWE N TY -FO UR U se t h e
. syll able La Keep the entire
.

tongue free from sti ffness rai s e the tip only with a lightning
,

like motion to the roofOft h e mouth between L s having it lie


,

perfectly limp Proceed as in previous exercise


. .

L a- l a—la—la La- la-la—Ia La-Ia-l a-la La—la-la—Ia

L a-la-la—l a La- la- l a—la La—la-Ia—l a La—la-Ia—l a

The flo w o f the tone in this exercise should be uninterrupted ,

as is indic ated by t h e fo u r La s b e ing sung t o a whole note



.
T NEO PLA C I N G 47

The breath should be take n deliberately between each tone


and gotten under com plete control before the next t o ne is
sung Should there be any di fficulty in carrying the exercise
.

through the octave it should be sung only so far as can be


,

done without loss of control A s power is gained the higher


.
,

tones can be sung .

E X E R C I SE TW EN TY-F IVE U se
the syllable N a Feel the vibra
. .

tion o fN in the nasal chambers D O n o t push and keep the


.
,

tongue limp I n the first two exercises the chin may move in
.
,

this it must be kept quiet .

Na-n a—na—na N a-n a-na-na Na-n a—na—


na Na—n a—na—
na

Na-n a—na-n a Na-n a-n a—na Na—na-na-na Na-na-na-na

The flow Ofthe tone in this exercise should be uninterrupted ,


as is indicated by the fou r N a s being sung t o a whole note .

The breath should be taken deliberately between each tone


and gotten under com plete control before the next tone is
sung Should there be any di fficulty in carrying the exercise
.

through the octave it should be sung Only so far as can be


,

done without loss o fcontrol A s power is gained the higher


.
,

tones can be sung .

This and the precedi n g lesson are very important an d the ,

manner in which the work outlined in them is done will have


much to do with future progress .
LES S O N S IX

F ORW A R D N E S S OF T ON E

F the text Of the two preceding lessons has been studied


carefully its real meaning extracted and the exercises ac
, ,

companying it practised u nderstandingly and watch fully the ,

student should be able by this time t o p e rceive any tendency


, ,

t o hold back tone by too great a m u sc ular e f fort to retain


! !

breath He should be qu ick to recognize the pull ing in


.
! !

which keeps tone in the back Of the mouth He should be able .

t o appreciate the feeling o f com fort and recognize the sensa ,

tion o f forwardness whi ch arises when Za is properly pro


! !

n o un ce d an d sustain e d o n any tone withi n reasonable li m its

o f pitch He should h av e b e come conscio us o f the f


. reedom O f
jaw an d lips necessary t o the Vibration o f the Z with its re ,

sult an t freeing tone o f the .

W ith such recognition established and the ability to sing ,

Za so that the vibration o f the conson ant is forward and the

succeeding A h (which should be so blended with the Z as to


b e a p art Ofit ) full and free filling the mouth with tone which
,

overflows at the lips a fundamental o f good tone production


,

is established whi ch will have a most benefi ci al effect upon all


succeeding work W hen the student h as re alized that retain
.

ing breath does n o t mean holding in with forcible obstrue


! !

tive e ffort but is simply the q uiet confiden t regulating by a


, ,

s i m pl e act o f the Will the inward movement o f the sides and

the upward movement o f the di aphrag m an d that it can be ,

done with o ut c o n scious m uscul ar action and that in singing ,


ORW ARD N ES S
F OF TO N E 49

the l Vill
/

controls all movements without undue muscular effo rt ,

he will have brushed aside o n e o fthe greatest O bstructions t o


good tone production and wi ll open his mouth and sing ,in
,

st an t l
y setting u p right conditions .

The exercises an d instruction Oft h e last lesson were parti


c ularl
y intend e d t o awaken the student to such a recogniti o n ,

and are especi al ly help ful in bringing it about S tudents o fthis .

s e ries Of lessons therefo re cannot be t o o thorou gh in the i r


, ,

stu dy Of that an d the preceding le ss on A n d again I w ould .

impress the truth that the exerci se s are only the o utcom e the ,

tangible prese ntation Of a thought a prin ciple which m ust


, , ,

fi rst b e se ized and completely mastere d be fore the exercise will


,

do its re al work .

B e gin the work o fthis lesson w ith a w at ch ful pract ice OfE X
'

E R CIS ES TW E N TY
,
T W EN TY T HR EE and T W E N TY F O UR A pply
- -
, .

to them the in struction o fthe preceding paragraph s and secure ,

the conditions therein e m phasized Fill the mouth with Za and


.

L a S ing the syllables with firmn e ss an d virility but never with


.
,

a push Ofthe front wall o ft he abdomen o r a sinking in Ofthe


soft spot (under the breast-bone) o r a falling Of the upper
chest L et the expression o f the face and eyes be that o f one
.

who is saying pleasant thi n gs to a friend Extract pleasure and


.

comfort from the exercises Be certain that the sides are steady
. .

in their inward movement but never tense or constrained M ak e


, .

the singing o f Za as natural as t h e p ronunciation Ofthe syl


lable when it occurs in conversation C ompare your pronuncia
.

tion Ofit with your singing and m ake both equally free and
,
50 TH E F U N DAM ENTALS OF VOI C E PRODU CTIO N
comfortable Practise u ntil these syllables can be sustained ten
.

o r twelve second s with e a se the vibrati o n c ontinuing forw ard


,
.

Follow with fu rther practice OfN a This induces v ibration .

in the nasal cham bers and is n o t qu ite so easy t o locate There


,
.

m a
y be a more or less prono u nced t e ndency to push the t o ne

in the e ffort to feel it in the nasal cavities Beware o fany such .

tendency Ke ep the j aw loo se and quiet Place the tip o f the


. .

tongue against the roo fo fthe mouth very lightly and sing the
N with the tongue there D rop the tongue and let the tone dis

solve into A h Be sure that t h e tongue is limp and that soft


.
,

spot side s and front o f abdomen are as in previo us exercises


, , .

TH IN K the tone forward W ith the N and sing confidently ,

and quietly .

E X E R C I S E T WE NTY -S IX Follow
this review with the next . e xer

cise which is a continuance o fthe practice o f vibration


, .

Oh - ah

Breath is t o be retained as we have brought out in the last two


lessons There mu st b e no pu shing in at the abdomen but there
.
,

must be a firm quiet control Of the movement Ofthe sides and


,

di aphragm Breath m ust be delivered t o the vocal bands


.

freely avoiding all pushing but wi th a steady pressure W atch


, , .

the soft spot se e that it keeps fi rm and under control Then


, .

induce a feeling o ffreedo m in all parts o f the body The lips .

must be rounded t h e j aw hanging loose the throat O pen and


, ,

free from strain the face an d eyes easy S ound the Oh with the
, .
L ES S O N S EVE N

F REE DO M OF T ON G UE AND JAW

HE thought of the last le ss on w as the production of a


tone which fills the mouth an d overflows leaving
free ,

the throat unconscious o fall e ffort W hen such a tone is pro .

duce d the throat will feel O pened well down the tube will be
, ,

relaxed and the bu rden o fcontrol will be found to rest with


,

the breath The throat being well relaxed the breath will be
.
,

rapidl y exhausted unless the control o fthe diaphragm is good .

The so ft spot under the breast bone will reflect the action o f
-

the diaphragm and the student should soon realize what the
,

expression rest the t o ne o n the breath m eans The tone will


! !
.

apparently hav e it s beginning in the action whi ch releases


the breath and betwe e n the diaphragm and the lips nothing
,

will be interposed to interfe re with its free emission The tone .

will be felt to re st on t h e breath floating o ut freely with it


,

and with no sen se Of dri v i n g or effort .

This is the thought I would fix in the student s mind It is ’


.

this understanding o f tone production I would have the stu


dent Obtain A ll previous exerci se s have been directed to ward
.

this purpose They have been planned t o se t up in spite o f


.
,

the inability Of the st ud e nt to p e rcei ve c onditions such co n ,

dit io n s as wo uld sooner o r l ater impress themselves o n the st u



dent s c onsciousness A s h as been said many ti m es the E xer
.
,

cise m e an s n o thing unless it s p urp o se is fully understood and .

e v e ntually achie v e d The ordin ary m ethod Of beginning the


.

singing o f A h with no clear id e a o f t h e c onditions involved


FR EEDO M OF TO N G U E A N D J A W 53

does much to confirm conditions that are bad The exercises


.

here given present such conditions in a way t o aid t h e student


in recognizing them W hen the tones are sung in accordance
.

with the instructions given the mind is dire cted t o the pur
,

pose o f each exercise in a manner calculated to quicken its


perception o f right and wrong condition s .

EX E R C I S E
TW ENTY SIX is valuable in increasing freedom o f
-

tone in releasing it from the trammels o f throat j aw and


, , ,

ton gue when the ability to produce it without co ntraction o f


,

the throat has been secured Care m u st be taken to av oid push


.

fo rt Unless the student is


i n g and to prevent all throat e f .

watchful there may creep into his practice some little throat
,

ac tion The pushing o f tone is insidious and is indulged in


.
,

almost unconsciously .

C ontr o l o f breath
being established the danger o f pressure
,

o n the l arynx f rom above must be prevented This cannot be .

do ne without proper control o f breath having f i rs t be en est a

b lish e d The freeing o f tongue and jaw cannot be accom plished


.

while the breath is held at the throat Our present lesso n will

make a beginning at obtaining freedom o fjaw and tongue .

S ome o f the exercises already given have been preparing the

student for more definite instruction in this particular EXE R .

C I SE S N I N ETEEN and TW ENTY were useful in this respect The .

free use o f the lips in counting whil e a tone is be ing sustained


is very helpful in freeing them W hen it is remembered that
.

si n ging is speaking to su s tained ton e the counting to a gi ven


,

pitch will be recognized as containing the essence o f singing .


54 TH E F U N DAM ENTAL S OF VOI CE PRODU CTIO N
The pupil frequently overlooks the fact that in pronouncing
words while singing two distinct yet related acts are being
, , ,

performed ; namely the sustaini n g o f a to n e and the use o f


,

the speech organs in pronouncing the consonants &c These , .

acts are being perf ormed si m ultaneously yet are distinct , .

W hen the two are done togeth er there a rises the li abil ity o f
,

inte rference The action o fthe j aw tongue and lips in pro nun
.
, ,

i
c at o n is apt to bring pressure o n the laryn x and to interfere
i
with the production o f the sustaine d tone Hence it is not .

enough to become proficient in singing the vowels to certain


tones ; there must also be acquired power to use the tongue ,

lips and jaw without undue muscular effor t and leaving the
, ,

act of tone prod uction untrammelled For this purpose our .

nex t exercises are introduced (S ee FIG UR E .

A study o f these mus cles o f the tongue will greatly assist

the student to understand the purpose of all e xercises which


have to do wi th the freedom of tongue and j aw The power to .

u se the to ngue without rigi dit


y or interference with the con
dition of the throat is an absolute necessity in good tone pro
duction .

EX ER C I SE TW EN TY-SE VEN S ing L a four


. times in one breath ,

the jaw hanging loose the chin still Only the tip o ft h e tongue
, .

should be used The rest o f the tongue should be limp and


.

free from all e f


fort The student must keep in mind that he
.

is singing a sustained A h interr upting it s even flow with four


,

L s made by a lightning like mo ve ment o f the tip o f t he



-
,

tongue The throat sh o uld fee l as it h as in previous ex ercises


.
.
F EER DOM OF TO N G U E A N D J A W 55

FI G U R E 3
M U SC L E S O F TH E TO N G UE

D ESC R I PTI ON : A . Tongue . B M us cles


. con nectin g t ongu e with ch in . C Ch in
. .

D M us cles
. run n i n
gf rom sides of tongue to tongu e-bon e . E . Tongue-bon e .

F M uscles
. con n ectin
g t ongu e w ith s ku ll at ba ck fm ou th
o , G .

Th e ttention o f the student should be directed t o the back o f


a

the tongue t o make sure that it is lying lim p an d undisturbed


by the m ovement o f the tip The La should not have a pro.

longed roll o fthe L Th is exercise is o n e re quiring care to get it


.

right I t will do m uch to free both ton gue and jaw from rigidity
. .

La-la-la-la La-la-Ia-la La-l a-la-l a La—l a—la—l a


56 TH E F U N DAM EN TAL S OF VOI C E PRODU CTIO N
C are should b e t ake n in this e xerci se t o have the t o ng ue pro
no un c e the L at t h e sam e ti m e th e larynx produces the t o ne .

W atchfuln ess will discover th at t h e tongue is ve ry apt to


m ain at t h e ro of o f t h e m o u th t o o l o ng I t should chi e fly be
.

at re st o n t h e fl o o r o ft h e m o u th be i n g li fted q uickly to fo rm
,

the L at the exact in stant the larynx starts the ton e .

E X E RC I SE TWE N T Y E I G HT
-
. S ing Ga fou r
ti m e s in o n e bre ath ,

chin still t h e tip o f t h e to ngue lying clo se but l o ose ly to t h e


, , ,

l o we r front tee th The back o ft h e tongue toward the m iddle


.

Shou ld b e raised li m ply to the ro o f o f the m o uth t o u ching t h e ,

upper back tee th I t should n o t be sti ff an d the sound o f G


.
,

sh o uld be so ft an d not guttural This is a hard e xercise and


.

will test the stud e nt s patience b u t it will free t h e back o f



,

the tongue from sti ffness an d re lieve the l arynx from pre ssure .

I t is esp e ci ally help ful in S inging high tones .

Ga-ga—ga-ga Ga-ga—ga-ga Ga—ga-ga—ga


'

Ga— a— a- a Ga— a— a- a
g g g g g g

Th emovement o fthe tongue Should be forward and u pward .

The j aw should be kept qui e t b ut entirely free fro m sti ffness


,
FREEDO M OF TO N G U E A N D J A W 57

or a sense of holding The tone should flow steadily during


.

the pronouncing o f the four Ga s If sti ffness becomes marked


’ '

as the upper tones are approached leave them until further


,

practice gives a control which will prevent strain .

A review Of the ex ercises given thus far sho uld be had regu
larly I t will be well t o begin t h e practice at frequent intervals
.

with EXE R C I SE TWE LVE Foll ow with E X ER C ISE S FO U RTEEN


.

S E V EN TE EN , T W EN TY-ON E , TW E N TY-TW O, and TW EN TY T HRE E


-
.

Then take up the work o f L E SSON S FIVE S IX and S EV EN


, , .

I n all practice remember that study is more than prac tice


, ,

that it is the m ind the will that conquers and not mere repe
, , ,

tition .
LESS O N E I G H T

ED )
F REE DOM OF T O N G UE A ND J A W (C O N T I N U

HE training Of the tongue and j aw an d lips in the fo r


m ation o f conson ants without disturbing the produc

ti on o f vocal tone is exceedingly important I t requires espe .

c ial attention and exe rcises particularly a dapted t o that end .

C ontinued vocalization w ill not do it I t is a fact that some


.
,

students whose vocalization is remarkably good wh o can sing ,

vocalises with good tone do not produce the same results


,

when songs are sung The combining o fconsonants and vo wels


.

into words seems to cause deterioration o f tone The two dis .

tinct yet related acts mentioned in the last lesson fail o fproper
, ,

C o Ordinat io n because attention is principally directed to the

acquirement o f good vocal sounds There is as much if not


.
,

more value in the use o f consonants ; and the exercises which


,

are here used are intended t o give control o f both the produc
tion o ftone and the pronunciation o f consonants They give .

the training Of tongue jaw and lips which i s necessary in


, ,

uniting the t w o acts o fsinging .

The two exerci ses o f the last lesson were fo r the tip and
the back o f the tong ue The exercise with G a is particularly
.

v al u able I t enables the student to rai se the back o f the tongue


.

without p roducing tension at the back o f t h e j aw and frees it ,

(the tongu e ) fro m the jaw If conque re d it will relieve the


.
,

larynx o fmuch o fthe pressure which the young voice student


is apt to suf fer from and assists in securing a rel axation at the
,

back o f the to n gue which is essential to good and easy tone .


60 THE FU N D AM EN TAL S OF VOIQ E PRO D U CTIO N
The balance o fthis le sson will be devoted t o what we may
call a practical application o f the results o f these ex ercises .

W ith bre ath control established and with the ton gue and jaw ,

freed to a considerable degree at least tones made on the


, ,

various degrees o fthe scale should show results .

First sing A h sustaining it from six to eight se conds or


, , ,

longer if it can be done easily o n the degrees o f the scale , ,

be ginning with D fl at an d going as high as can be done


,

without contraction of the throat o r tension at the bac k


Of the tongue N ote the conditions o f attack and r eleas e
.
,

recognize all tendencies t o change conditions during the


sustaining Ofthe tone or in taking a new o ne L et the mind
, .

analyze all that pertains t o the production o f the tone with ,

out arousing over selfconsciousness Finally listen t o the


-
.
,

tone noting whether it be mellow full round and easy lo


, , , , ,

cat e d in the front o f the mouth the inner lining o f which is ,

relax ed the breath firmly supporting the tone with n o ten


, ,

deney to pushing .

Follow this with a succession o f tones f i rst taking thirds , ,

as D o Re M i beginning on D fl at and going as high as can


, , , ,

be done without strain Then the fifths D o R e M i Fa S ol


.
, , , , , ,

in the same way N otice whether the brea th pressure against


.

the tone remains firm whe n the pitch is changed that is when , ,

the change from o n e tone to the next is made W at ch also fo r .

Changes o f condition be sure that e ach tone is taken without


,

throat action and with t h e tongue limp and lying naturally


,

in the mo uth each t o n e fl o ating o ut o n the breath A s the


, .

tones grow higher in pitch be careful that the tongue does not
,
F REEDOM OF TO N G U E A N D J A W 61

draw back Should it do so the result will be pressure on the


.
,

larynx which will prevent good tone


, .
69 THE F U N D AM EN TA LS OF VOI CE PRO D U CTI ON

If the higher tones o f th ese exercises can be sung wi th ease ,

they can be carried still higher but there Sh o uld b e no sti ffen
,
'

ing o f the j aw and tongue No accompaniments are given to


.

any o fthese exercises They shoul d be practised stan di ng and


.
,

with attention concentrated solely o n the conditions obtaining


d uring the singing .

W ith the work last outlined carry on t h e review suggested


,

in the previous lesson G ive much care ful attention t o ExER


.

C I SE S TW EN TY-S E VEN and TWE N TY-E I G HT They react directly


.

o n the work o f this lesson R emember that


.
vocal ization is n o t
enough that the consonants are very important in developing
,

tone Think s tudy and practise


.
, , .
L ESS O N N I N E

APPL I C A T I O N OF PRE VI OU S STUDI E S TO

T H E S C AL E A N D B RO K E N C H ORD

HE work o f the last less on w as e x ceedingly important in


it s ap plication o f the powers gained from the study and

use o f preceding exercises t o the singing of a succession o f


tones A s h as already been said it is necessary t o becom e
.
,

keenly alive to the conditions which accompany right and


wrong tone production This sensitiveness to conditions with
.
,

an accompanying unders tanding o f what is right can best be


,

gained by the ex ercises given in p receding lessons S ingle tones


.

produced under right conditions may be followed by these


successi o ns o f tones in which the ability to maintain proper
,

conditions is more severely tested The underlying thought


.

is that the control o f breath the freedom of throat tongue


, , ,

and j aw have become so habitual that they can be maintai ned;


with a little prac tice during the singing o f longer phras es
, .

I t is hardl y nee dful to say that this is absolutely essential t o


the singing o f songs .

I t h as been the purpose o f these lessons to impress t h e


s tudent with the thought that such control is dependent upon

his mental attitude that the Will must be educated to main


,

tain a steady firm but reposeful co ntrol over all ac tivities


, , ,

so governing the breath action that it automatically meets


the varying demands keeping the tone firmly forward With
,

fort there being at no time any sense o f


o ut undue physical e f ,
-

physical strain If this control Of Will be acquired the bas is


. ,
64 TH E F U N DAM EN TAL S OF VOICE PRODU CTIO N
o f vocalization will be sure and the to ne will be such
,
as is sus

ce
pt ib le growth and increased reso nance
of .

If the preceding studies have b e en thorough ly understood

and the w o rk they de m and properly done the student will ,

fi nd little di f
fi culty in their application to successions o f tones .

Ch anges Of regi ster which u su ally give so much trouble mak


, ,

ing the sm ooth and comfortable singing of a scale impossible ,

will adjust themselves n aturally without effort o r thought on


the part o f the singer Th e tendency which Shows itsel fwhen
.
,

the upper medi um and head regi sters are approached to per ,

mit the tone to fly back producing a hard who o ping quality


, , ,

will be easily overcome and tone placing will be done easily


,

and practically unconsciously .

If the student h as di fficulty in S inging fi fths and scales

without the intrusion o f these faults he can rest assured that ,

previou s work h as not been well do ne and that so m ewhere h e ,

h as failed to understand and conq u e r some con dition which

interferes wi th easy control o f tone Failure to control breath .

through the opposition o finspiratory muscles to those o f ex


pirat io n with the throat open and unconscious sti f
, fness at ,

the base Of tongue a Slight withdrawal o f breath pressure b e


,

tween tones a slight setting Of the j aw will effectu ally pre


, ,

vent the singing o f a smooth scale with the tones forward .

Th e remedy is obvious : Take up the work in which failure is

fou nd an d m aster it .

Proceeding with the application o f previous work to sing


ing we take
,
S C AL E A N D B RO KEN C H OR D 65

E X E R C I S E TH IRTY A bility
. to sing thirds and fi fths with steady
breath pressure relaxed quiet throat and jaw being ac quired
, , ,

sing a scale beginni ng on D or D fl at fo r S opranos or Tenors ,

C or B fl at fo r A ltos and Baritones and A fo r Bassos S ee that


, .

conditions remain as described in the last lesson throughout


the entire scale Take care to maintain such breath control that
.

the tone is kept forward by it without pushing D o n o t sing .

with force but with quiet firmness and be particularly at


, ,

t e n t ive to the ment al attitude Ifthere be the slightest shrink


.

ing o f the IVill before any tendency to chan ge o f co ndition


as the higher tones are approached the breath will feel it and
, ,

sti ffnes s o f tongue an d jaw and a loss o f control o f tone will


re sult W hen the Will is quietly firm anticipating each tone
.
,

and preparing the S inger for it the singing Ofthe scal e will
,

be easy and delightful .

E X ER C I S E TH IRTY-ON E Follow
. the scale with broken chords ,

firs t taking the fi fth D o, M i S ol then D o M i S ol D o


, , , , , .

This exercise should als o be sung ascending and descending .


66 TH E F U N DAM EN TALS OF VOI CE PRODU CTIO N

These exercises S hould be be gun o n lower keys and carried ,

higher according to the voi ce with which they are u sed The
, .

basic thought is to be able to apply to them in whateve r ,

re gister the principles o f preceding lessons an d t o sing them


, ,

without sti ffness o ftongue thro at o r j aw and with quiet easy


, , , ,

c ontrol o f breath The studen t should not understand that


.

the se exercises and the various parts o f each exerci se S hould


, ,

b e sung hastily and in rot ati o n Take each variation o f each


.

e xercise and repeat it until po wer to S ing it with s atisf acto ry

co nt rol is gained Thus take a scale be ginning o n C : sing it


.
,

u ntil the points brought o ut in the instruction have been

re asonably m astered an d only th e n take the next key S o in


, .

t h e other exercis es I t is t h e su bstance that we want J ust as


. .

t h e S inging o f many voc alises will not necessarily gi v e c ontrol

o f tone S O the singing o f these exe rcises in routine f


, ashion
will n o t acco m plish the w o rk they are intended to do M uch .

de pe nds o n the care and judgm ent o f the stude nt W atchful .

n e ss and c areful thought are absolutely esse ntial .

EX E R C I S E
THIR TY Two Sing fi fths and scale s as last described
-
.
,

u sing the syllable La with e ach tone D o n o t let the L inter


.

fere with the su st ainin g o ft h e tone o r t h e c ontrol o f breath .

M aintain the s ame ste ady bre ath pressu re as in t h e v ocalized


e xercise Use the same syllable with t h e scale and broken
.

cho rds .
68 U N DAM EN TAL S
TH E F OF V OICE PRODU CTIO N
W ith the work o this lesson practi se the exercises in
f ,

breathing in L ESS O N ON E the counting exercise in L ESS O N


,

FO UR and EX E R C I SE S TW EN TY THREE and TWE N TY F OU R The


,
- - .

e xe rci ses in as pirating


(E XE R C I S E S S E VEN TEEN and TW EN TY
ON E) are a good study fo r control o f breath an d freedom o f
throat .

I n EX E R C I SE S TWE N TY TH R EE and TW EN TY FO U R watch the


- -

lips free ing the m fro m sti ffness The exercises of this lesson
, .

should also be sung with the syllables M a an d N a an d Za .


LES S O N TEN

APPLI C A T I O N OF TO N E PRODU C T IO N
T O S U S T A I N E D PA S S A G E S

HE work o f p ast lessons h as been directed toward the


maintenance o f right c o nditions during the singing
o f successions o f tones Th e practic e o f scales and broken
.

chords & c should be a part o f each day s work the sugges


, .
,

,

tions given in L E SS ON N I N E being c arefully followed G roups .

o ftones including the v arious S kips an d combin ation s gene r


,

ally used by voice t e achers Should b e practi s ed syste m ati cally


, .

S ieber s Eight M e asure Vocalise s



be Op 9

or Co n co n e s . can

used to good ad v antage at thi s st age o f the work Th e syll a .

bles which Sieber h as used with h is vocalises are very helpful


in following out the thought of these less ons The pronunci a .

tion o f the consonants involved in thei r use is a great aid in


tone pl acing and also aids in distinct en un ci ation
, .

I n singing these exercises and v ocalises the student should ,

keep a quiet confident control o f breath the uppe r chest b e


, ,

ing kept firm without muscular rigidity The breath pressure.

should be steady the tone resting o n the bre ath A ll the se co n


, .

dit io n s should be m ani festly the result o f a compl e te c o ntrol


-

o f the action o f the diaphragm and rib —muscl es A s was inti .

m ated in the comments o n EX ERC I S E TH IRTY this firmness o f ,

breath control is dependent on a q uiet confidence which keeps


the mental attitude unshrinking in it s attack o feach tone I t .

is this sense o f reposeful control o fcertainty in attack which


, ,

produces mellow res onant tones and keeps t h em w ell placed


,
. .
70 TH E F U N DAM EN TALS OF VOI CE PRODU CTIO N
TOO gre at stres s cannot b e placed o n the i m po rtance to the
s t u d e nt o f thinking t h e ton e an d e st ablishing the c ondition s

which go v ern good ton e as a preli m in ary t o it s actual p roduc


tion W hil e at fi rst thi s m e ntal pre p aration re qui res co n sid
.
, ,

crable attenti o n an d care it will e v entu ally become second


,

nature an d be do n e instinctively an d autom atically .

These sugge sti o ns are reiterate d be cause v oice students are


pro n e t o o verlook the m an d fall into the h abit o f striving after
to nes se tting up wrong conditions and flo u nde ring more an d
, ,

m o re d e e ply into f aults that cause serious trouble W e are .

de aling with the fun dam en tals of ton e p roduc tion and if we ,

would h av e th e se fund am e ntal s w e ll e stablished w he n w e wi sh


,

to j oin the act o f t o ne pro ducti o n w i th that o f S inging in the


interpretati o n Of so ng we cannot too carefully w atch the de
,

tail s.

I t is i m portant that t h e power attained by the prac ti ce of


the exerci ses o f pre v ious lessons should h e certainly and pro
perly applied t o t h e S inging o f such scale s an d other tone
studies and vo cali se s as are use d at vari o us st ages o f o ur pro
gress The mind Sho uld b e ale rt t o p e rceive an d co ntrol The
. .

j o ining Of tone t o to n e sho uld b e do n e with ste ady breath pres


sure and qu iet ass urance .

Our n e xt exerci se s will deal with t h e v ibrat o ry consonants ,

the first be ing a de v elop m e nt o f E X E R C I SE TWE N TY T H R E E -


.

E XE R C IS E THIRTY T HR E E
-
. S ing Za fo ur
time s in o n e breath .

Vibrate the Z at the teeth as in E XE R C I S E TW EN TY T HREE t ak


,
-
,

ing care that a bu zzing Z is sounded an d n o t t h e hi ssing sound .


S U S TAI N ED PA SS A G ES 71

K ee p t h e
j aw loose the tongue limp Le t the vibration o fthe
,
.

Z extend t o the entire j aw Fill the m o uth with the tone and
.
,

let it overflow Be sure that the bre ath is steady ; do not ex


.

plo de the Z a and do not push it Keep the vocal tone sounding
, .

continuously during the exerci se bringing the tee th l o o sely


,

together t o vibrate the four Z s This is an excellent study in



.

freeing the tone and getting it well forward There is likely t o .

be a tendency t o push the syll able in t h e attempt to vibrate


the Z Th e cau tion already given to avoid this should be kept
.

in mind .

Za-za—za—za Za-za-za-za Za-za-za-za Za-za-za-z a

Za-za-z a-za Za—


za-za-za Za~za za-za
~
Za-za-za-za

F O UR Sing Va fo ur times in o n e breath vi


EX E R C I S E T H IRTY -
.
,

b rat in g the V st rongly This is si m il ar to the preceding e xer


.

ci se except that the v ibrati o n is fe lt at the lips Fle xible lips


,
.
,

very fre e from sti ffness are abso lutely e sse ntial to go o d tone
, ,

an d th is exe rcise will be in strum e ntal in b ri n ging about this

flexibility if it be properly practised fo r it is obvious that the


, ,

lips c annot vibrate the consonant unless they are free from
rigidity I t is also helpful in tone placing filling the mouth
. ,

with the tone Th ere Should be n o j um pi n g o f the diaphragm


. ,

f breath

with its resultant unsteadi ness o pressu re .


79 TH E FUN DAM EN TALS OF VOI CE PRODU CTIO N

Va-v a-v a-v a Va-v a-v a—v a Va-v a-v a-v a Va-v a-v a-v a

-V -v
a a Va-v a—v a-v Va—v a—v a-v a Va-v a-va-v a

Both these exercises also have the merit o f preparing fo r the


pronunciation Of words I n this connection it will be well for
.

the student to review all exercises introducing the use Ofcon


sonants taking care t o enunciate each consonant di sti nctly
,

ac c ording t o the directions given A s an additional study .


,

pra cti se A E I as in E X ER C I SE T W EN TY N I N E then sing it on


- -
,
-
,

t w o tones in t h e one breath Thus .

FIVE S ing A E —I o n the tone C ; then with


E XE R C I S E T HIRTY -
.
-
,

out break or chan ge o f condition repeat it o n D Proceed up , .

the scale as high as can be done without strain repeating the ,

v owe ls t o two tones W ithou t inte rfering with the proper con
dit io n s W hen these second s can be sung well sing it in thi rd s
.
,

( C E ) &c ; th en in fourths and even fi fths W atch the breath


-
,
.
,
.

at the change o f pitch ; se e th at there is no jump o f the dia


ph ragm b ut a steady pressure Ofbreath which keeps the tone
,

quietly but fi rmly to the front


, , .

a- e -i a—e -i a-e -i a- e -i a—e -i a- e -i

a- e -i a- e - i a- e - i a- e - i a- e - i a- e - i
SUS TA I NE D PAS S AG ES 73

a -e - i a-e -i a-e - i a- e -i a-e -i

a -e -i a-e -i a-e - i a-e -i a- c ‘


i a- e - i

a-e -i a-e -i a-e -i. a-e -i a-e -i a—e —i

a-e -i a-e -i a- e -i a-e -i

Th e ex ercise may be sung in fi fths &c when smaller inter


, .
,

val s are maste red .

The freed om Of tongue and control o f tone which re sul ts


fr om the use o f this e xercise is very val uable both as an aid

to pronunciation of words and in improving the qu ality o f


the tone A vari ation ofthe exercise is to sing La four times
.

to the first tone and A -E I to the second


-
.
LESSO N E LEVEN

G OOD T ON E — TH E C O N D I T IO N S W H I C H PRODU C E IT

T is very important that the student o fvoice cu lture should


understand what is meant by good tone The familiar ver .

dict al m ost invariably given when some voice is under dis


,

cussio n that he ( or she) has such a strong v oice as if that


! !
, ,

summed up all the attributes necessary to a singer is simply an ,

indication Of the pre vailing idea that a voice to be good must


be loud Un fortunately too many voice students are like minded
.
-

and stri v e after v olume at the expense o fall that makes a vo ice
really desirable They think that in S inging a tone which is not
.

loud an d strong they are failing t o derive any b enefit from


the ir studies Their voices must S how immediate gain in vol
.

ume o r their work in their e stimation is radically wrong This


, , .

is a serious mistake and as h as again and again been pointed


, ,

out the se are i deas which interfere with the produc tion o fgood
,

tone The effort involved in the attempt to pro duce loud tone
.

is certain t o give rise to a mu scular action which results in ten

s ion an d s train The th roat will be contracted the tongue st if


.
,

fen e d and the l arynx placed under a press ure which leads to
,

multiplied di fficulti e s and the tone will invariably be strident


,

and harsh These conditions we have been particularly trying


.

t o avoid Our steps h ave been taken cautiously an d with minds


.

cl o sely conce ntrated on o ur e ndeavor to establish a condition


of f reedom an d ease The mistaken notion that tone must be
.

loud defeats us .

G ood tone is not necessarily loud tone ; m ore often it is


76 TH E FU ND AM EN T AL S OF VOICE PRO D U CTIO N
out increase Of muscular effort greater resonance will be o b
,

t ain e d without inducing strain or rigidi ty and t h e tone will ,

ste adily gro w fuller without losing any of its mellow expres ,

sive qu ality until the full power o f the voice is available


,
.

Q uality o f tone is affected by the condition o f the mem


b ran o u s lining o f the mouth and pharyn x . If this be sensitive ,

the tone quality will be right ; whereas tenseness at the roofo f


the m outh a hardening o ft h e membranes will cause deteriora
, ,

tion o ftone The exp ression o fthe face and eyes is indicative o f
.

the c ondition ofthe roofo fthe mouth Hard Staring eyes and a
.
,

rigid face are the accompani m ent Ofa ten se n e ss Ofthe pharyn x ;
hence the repeated directions t o practise e x ercises w ith easy
face an d smiling eyes .

There is an exceedingly close relationship ex isting between


all the acts involved in singing which the student must recog
,

nize an d understand if he wo uld truly cultivate h is voice .

Freeing the laryn x from strain t hrough proper control o f

breath involves independence o ft ongue and j aw and a sensi


t iven e ss o f the surface o f the membranous lining Of mouth

and ph aryn x which in it s power is like that of the tea taster


, , ,
-

wh o me re ly touching the sample to his tongue instantly di


, ,

vines it s qu ality and grade N o o n e part o f the work can be


.

mi sunderstood or neglected withou t i njury to the whole and ,

any e ffort to driv e t on e in Orde r t o make it sound big will


'

! !

result in a derangement o f it all .

These le ssons have been based o n this foundation principle ;


quality h as been sought as the fi rst requisite o f all singing ,

with t h e kno wledge that t h e co nditions which are pote ntial in


G OOD TO N E — C O N DI TIO N S 77

producing tone Of the right quality will also bring at the


proper time the full reson ance o f the voice The e xercises have .

been planned fo r this purpose their order has be en determined


,

by it and the accompanying instruction h as aimed to


, em
ph a
size it .

P ractise the exercises of


the last three lessons w atching ,

closely the quality o f tone Is there enti re absence o f strain ?


.

D oes the mind firmly c o ntrol all actions involved ? A re the


tones easy m e llow full without being loud ? IS the breath
, ,

pressure steady supporting the tone fi rmly ?


,

I t shou ld be remembered that the tone should neve r be


louder than the breath can support when perfectly under con
trol If in t h e effort t o sing l o udly there is any loss o f breath
.

c o ntrol any pressing in o f the abdomen a greater demand on


, ,

the breath than can be m e t without strain the quality o f the ,

to ne will suffer I n the practice o fall work given in these le s


.

so ns le t this thought be constantly in mind


,
.

P ractise sc al e s sl o wly noting the character o f the e f


,
fort and

o f t h e resulting tone S ee whether t h e pharynx and ro o f o fthe


.

mo uth are sensitive Kee p breath firmly against the tone but
.
,

do n otpush .

I t will be helpful t o practise the exe rcises fo r the breath (in


spirati on and retention ) alone If the control o f breath is to .

be eq ual to the largest demands o f full voice t o o m uch work ,

cannot be pu t on the exe rcises which gi ve this contro l Keep .

at it until the power t o retain breath easily fo r thirty seconds


o r m o re is h ad the face and th roat rem aining easy and f
,
ree

fro m ,
even the approach o f strain all the ti m e .
78 THE FUN D AM EN TAL S OF VOI CE P RO DUCTI O N
Then apply this power to the exercises in tone production ,

on the quality and reson ance o f tone always


,

keeping conditions right The exercises which develop reso


.

nance may be given especial attention They are numbers


.

TWENTY-TH REE T WENTY —F O U R T W EN TY -FIV E TW ENTY-SIX


, , , ,

and TH IRTY -FO U R .


LESSO N TW EL VE

F NAI L S U G G E ST I O N S

T has been the purpose o f these lessons dealing as they ,

have with the fundamentals o f voice production to pre ,

sent the factors involved in the proper use o f the S inging v oice
in such way as will make them easily understood and readily
and effectively applied W ith the study Of songs and vocal
.

ise s for the purpose o f acquiring style and facility they have

had nothing t o do e xcept in the e xceedingly important par


,

t icular o f thorough vocal preparation and control o f voice ,

and the equall y important m atter o f acq uiring ability to so


use the organs of speech in conjunction with tone production
as to make distinct enunciation with undisturbed tone qual
,

ity an assured fact


, .

The study o f singing of song interpretation is the work o f


, ,

a li fetime Ar tistic excellence comes with growth in kn o wledge


.

an d gain in experience But the vocal f


. oundation on which ,

the arti stic interpretation Of songs rests is a matter o f con


,

centration on certain conditions w hich must be understood


and controll ed with automatic eas e and certainty This is a .

study distinct from singing and should precede it yet is so ,

closely allied to it that while the pri nciples o n which it rests


are being developed the artistic thought may be inculcated
,

at the same time Care should be taken however t o avoid


.
, ,

c on fusion o r any distraction o f the attention from the real


w ork in hand .

These lessons have been based o n the singling o ut o f the es


80 TH E F U N DAM EN TAL S OF VOI C E PRODU CTIO N
i l
sen t a conditions o f tone production ; and their presentation
in a clear definite m anner has be en the aim L E S S O N E LE V E N
, .

contains instruction v ital to the successful pro secution o fthe


series I n the light o f that instruction the preceding lessons
.

Should be st udied and the exercises suggested in them be


,

practised The student should have clearly in mi n d that satis


.

factory issue from h is work can resu lt only when the fo un da


tion is well laid ; everything depends upon a complete mastery


o f the lessons in breath control If trouble devel o ps later in
.

the course in nearly every case it will be possible t o trace it


,

to a failure t o master some detail o f the act Of inspiration or


breath retention as given in early lessons o f the serie s Hence
, .

it is i m portant that frequent examination o f the habits o f


breathin g and breath control Should be had with constant ,

practice o f t h e breathing exercises .

A letter re cently received by the writer states that the st u


, ,

dent is troubled by a fatigue o fthroat despite y e ars Of study


with some o f the best teachers in A merica and E u ro pe Ifthe .

throat be healthy which we conclu de fro m the letter it is al


, ,

most certain that the trouble arises fro m a failure in some act
Of breath control I t is difii cult t o prescribe definitely fo r a
.

tro u ble without hearing t h e student S ing but I am quite sure


,

that thi s case is typical and that there has been failure in cer
tain fundam en tal exercises in breath c ontrol which ifstudied , ,

an d practis e d u ntil m astered would cau se the di f


,
ficulty t o dis
appear I n this l ast l ess on I desire to stress as strongly as possi
.

ble the i m portance Ofthe e arly lessons and o fthe absolute n eces

s it
y Of be ing sure th at b re ath is t aken and co ntroll ed properly .
F NAI L S U G G ES TIO N S 81

Al lusion was made in the fi rst paragraph to the relation of

the work of these lesson s t o enunci ation The common fault .

o f A mericans nam ely disagreeable s pe aking voice and S lov


, ,

e mly pronunciation can be overcome through the use o fthese


,

lessons The relax ation o f thro at the re sting o f the to ne on


.
,

the diaphragm and the control o f tongue j aw and lips which


, , ,

will result from the exercise s will be productive o fa pleas ant


,

speaking voi ce and a distinct enu nciation for the speaker as


well as the singer .

A s a last word I would u rge the care ful use o f the lessons
,

relating to breath action until there is no doubt that breath


is properly taken retained an d d e livered for use ; then t h e
, ,

study and prac tice of all exercise s which have t o do with free
ing throat tongue and j aw from sti ffness or constriction
, ,
.

W hen these essential s are establishe d the application may be ,

made as in L E SS ON E I G HT and whe n the student is able to


,

diagnose his condition an d can distinguish the feeling Ofcom


,

fort and certainty o fplace m e nt in h is production o ftone the ,

systematic use o f vo c alis e s and songs m ay be begun .


P A RT III

S UI T A B L E S O N G S

H I S little work is n o t intended to furnish instruction in


the singing o f songs ; in fact to attempt t o sing songs
,

before tone produ ction is well m astered and the voice placed
is decidedly harm ful and will retard vocal progress The book
, .

is simply what it s title indicates : Twelve Lesson s in th e Fun


dam e n tals of Voice Produc tio n ,purely a seri e s o f preparatory
lessons leading t o m ore advanced work which in due time ,

would include t h e S inging o f songs .

To m ake t h e m anual more use ful however the following


, ,

list o fsongs suitable fo r an early and comparatively un de ve l


,

oped stage o f voice control is added The songs included have


, .

been selected with a view to their ad aptability to a degree o f


advancement whi ch does not permit such freedom as later w ill
be gained Therefore no songs requiring particular vocal tech
.
,

nique great bre adth o f tone unusual range o f voice o r tone


, ,

c o lor or great dramatic delivery have been included This does


,
.

n o t m ea n that wh e n the student has acquired such powers they

may n o t b e effectively employed in Singing these son gs I t is o h .

vi o n s that the simplest so ng can be made much more effective


by their application Th is list is intended t o suggest such s ongs
.

as can safely be u se d when the absence o fsu ch vocal equipment


m ust be taken into a ccount I t co m prises only t h e l ate r so ngs
. .

The songs have be en divided into three groups —the first ,

comprising those simple in melody and m usical sentiment the ,

second and third advancing to so m ewhat higher grades o fmu


86 THE FU ND AM EN TAL S OF VOI CE PROD U CTI ON
sica l and vocal requirements and demanding a better control of
,

voice .

G ROUP I
The son gs in this group have clearly defined melody e asy ,

accompaniments with harmony quickly caught They are sim


,
.

ple in form and the voice parts contain no intervals that are
,

particularly difficult fo r the voice They require little or no .

dramatic breadth o fdelivery The teacher can easily select from .

the list songs which will as sist in the management o fvoice in


connection with the regular work in tone production Wh ile .

none o fthe songs are trashy they vary in real musical worth , .

They have been selected fo r their adaptability to the purpose


mentioned above .

Tit le Com pose r Key <2 Com pass


A s DroopingFern for De wdro ps Wm . A rm s Fish e r Eb (c-E b)
Beaut iful L and ofDre am s, Th e A . G e rt rude Clark F ( c-F )
G b (db-gb)
Daddy s

Litt le Bab y Boy W H . N e idl inger D b (ab-E b)
E b (b b-F)
C . B H awle y E b (b b-D b)
G (d—
F)
D e ar Littl e H eart A b (cl-E b)
B b (E-F )
Do lly M andarin Fran cis Bo h r E b (c—
E b)
F (ct-F )
Dream ofth e R ose P e rle y D un n Aldrich E h (b b-C)

G (d—
E)
Dut ch Lullab y R egin ald de Kove n A (E-E )
0 ( 9 -9 )
Ever ofTh ee 0 m in (c-E )
.

E m in (E —gfi)
.

In givin g th e com pass n o tes on th e stafi


.

a re d
i n icate d by CAPITAL le t ters ; n o tes
ab ove or b elow th e stafl by sm al l le tt ers

.
S U I TAB L E S O N G S 87

Ti t le Key ( 2 Com pass


Ferry for S h adow To wn, Th e Reginal d de Kove n Ab (c—Eh)

Fo rgott en Euge n e Cowles E b (b b—C)


F (c-D )
A b (E b-F )
G o od N igh t , Little G irl J C
. M acy A b (g-E h)
Bb (at-E b)
C (b—F )
C (
ch C')
D (d—
D)
E (E-E )
Lit tle Bo y Blue Flore nce B J o yce . E b (b b-D )
6‘ G6
G (cl-Fit)
Be rth a Re m ick F ( c—
)D
Francis Bb h r E (b-C il)
6‘
G b (d b-E b)
L o ve s Co n q uest A ugust W m H offm an n

. 0 ( Ge )
L uck y Four-L eafClover H W ak e fi e ld Sm it h
. E b (b b-E b)
F (c—E )
Lull ab y A , Lo uise Kee ler
Lullab y G as to n Borch E b (E b-Eb)
Lullab y o fth e N igh t, Th e Frank H Brack ett . E b (b b-E h)
F (c—F )
G (dc )
M adrigal Carlo Mine t ti F (d-F )
M r D re am -M ak er
. R H W o odm an
. . A (E -E
)
M erry Bro wn Th rush , Th e Dudl e y Buck E (a ll-E)
66
F (b F )-

G (o n )
My H eart is S inging G e rtrude San s-Souci B b (b b-E b)
C (c-F)
D (o r)
M orning G lory - So ng, R H untington Woodm
. an G’ (b-Ex )
M ot h er s S o ng A

, C (c—E )

In givin g t h e com pass no tes on th e star? are in dica ted by C APITAL lett ers
. n o t es

a bove or b e lo w th e st af
f by sm al l letters .
88 THE FU N D AM EN TAL S OF VOI CE P RO DU CTI ON
Tit le
Past and Fut ure Re gin ald de Ko v e n
66

Pict ures in th e Fire

Port ofD re am s Th e , Frank H Brack e tt

Fran k H Brack ett

Rob in Th e
, W H . N eidlinge r

E . R Kro e ge r
.

M ary Turn e r S alt e r

S le e py S ong Kat h e rin e Ro ch e


Sh o ogy-S h o o, Th e G race M ayh e w

S um m er N oo n A nice Te rh une
( 6

Twiligh t Lullab y , A C M aw so n—M ark s


.

‘S

Ve spe r Prayer, Th e F H Brack e tt


.

66

Wind is A wak e Th e , Ho m er N Bart lett


.

$6 ( 6

G ROUP I I

Th e songs included in this group are but slightly more diffi


cult than those o f the first group I n fact some o fthem may .

In givin g th e com pass n ot es on th e s taff are


. d
i n i cat e d by CAPITAL let ters ; n ot es

a b ove o r b e low th e s t at? by s m all le tt ers.


S UI TA B L E S O N GS 89

be used in place o f those first nam ed But as . rule they will


require a somewhat greater control o f voice broader tone
an d fuller powers .

Tit le Key ck Com pa ss

Ab se n ce B (b- C’ fl)
E ( E -F w
A lm ond Blosso m G uy d H ardelot

s F ( c—F )
Bo rdere r Th e , D . K S t e ve n s
.
(a h F ) Db -

C o n st anc y Ch arle s F W e b b er G b (b b D b)
.
-

66 ‘6
A (oil-E )
0 (E y) -

C o uld Rose s S pe ak Ch arles W ak e fi eld Cadm an E b (b b-D )


D aisy-ti m e L D e n za
. E b (c—F )
Ct

D e ar D id Yo u Kn o
, w ? Euge ne C o le s w F (a—
D)
Ab (c—F )
A ugust Mign on F (d-g)

J . C B art lett Db (a b-D b)


E ( b—E )
F ( c-F )
A b (E b—a b)
D re am y D ays Rob e rt A sh ford F (c D )
-

G (d—
E)
A E—F f
( !)
D rin k t o M e o n ly wit h Th ine Eyes L o uis R . D re ssler D (c it E )-

Ev e n in g Love S o ng, A n Flo re n ce Edn ah Ch ipm an C’ (c—E )


D b (d b-F )
E b (E b-g)

Fo rge t -M e- N o t R H unt in gt o n W o o dm
. an A b (d—
E b)

G e n t ly Swayi n g Carl Busch Ab ( c-F )


G o o d-b ye Brun o H uh n F ( c-E b )
A b (E b-gb)

In gi vi n g th e com pass , n o t es o n th e s ta fi

a re d
i n i ca t e d by C APITAL le tters n o tes

a b ov e or b e lo w th e s t afi by sm al l le t ters

.
90 TH E FU N DA M EN TA L S OF V O I CE P R O D U CTI O N

Ti t l e Co m poser Key <2 Com pass


G yp sy D aisie s R H unt ingt o n W o odm an
.
(
D m in) . Fit
cl -

In t h e D ark in t h e De w
, C W h it ne y Co o m b s
. A b (d— F)
I vy-le af Th e
, Alb e rt M ilde nb erg E b (b b-E b)
G (M )
J apane se Lullab y Regin ald de Ko ve n G (cl-E )
A (E Ft ) -

Litt le Boy Blue G y u d H a rde lo t



B b ( )
a -C'

D b (c-E b)
Longing W C E S eeb oec k
. . D (d—E b)
.

Love s W h ispe r

W Be rwald
. E b (b b-E b)
G b (db-gb)
Lullab y A , W E Mac Clym ont
. . D b (F-gb)
Moon Bab y Th e , Edit h D alt o n 0 (c-E )
D (cl -F t )
M y Lo ve ly Rose Ch arle s W ak e fi e ld Cadm an D (a— D)
My R ose ofYe st ere e n ’
Marie Rich D (b-Ffl)
O nce in t h e Purple Twi ligh t Euge ne Cowle s F (b— D)
A (dit-F it)
R ose in t h e Garde n Th e , W H N e idlinge r
. D (b b -Fit)
F (db-aj
J C Bart le tt
. . E b (E b-E b)
G ( 9 -9 )
H W ak e fi eld S m it h
. E (6
G (d )

(c—E )

S um m e r G irl A , Co ra D ec k er S a r
ge n t C
'

Swee t Little M aid St epan Esipo fi F (b-D )


'

Tru e L ove So ng A , A do lph Fre y B (cit-D 10


W h at wo uld you say De ar ? C S Briggs
, . . E b (b b—E b)
F (o— F)
0 (d y) r

W it h in t h e R oses Blo om G e o rge B N e vin F (c-D )


.

W it h You D e ar
, Ch arle s P S cott C’ (cl -E )
.

D (E -F fi)
W e said G o od-b ye Flo re nce Edn ah Ch ipm an E b (b b-E b)

In gi vi n g th e com p ass n ot es on th e s t at? ar e i n di cat ed by C APITAL le t t ers ; no te s


.

a b ove or b e l ow t h e st afi by sm all le tt ers



.
92 THE FU N D A M EN TA L S OF V O I CE P R O D U CTI O N

Key cf: Com ass p


I love you D b F—a b ( )
M ine O nly, M in e A lone D (b-F # )
F ( cl-a)
My Lady M ary Turn er Salt e r
6 6
A b ( E b-a b)
My Lady s G arden
'
F. W Ch e e swrigh t
.
F (c-a )
Po ppie s Re gin ald de K o v e n E (b-E )
‘6
G
E E Starr
. .
(a il-B ) E
G (cit-D )

Ro se Once G re w A , M arie v on H am m e r B b (a— E b)


6‘
D b (c— gb)
l

Lillian T S h e ldo n 0 (9-D )


E b (b b-F)
Spanish S ong Co ra D e ck er S arge n t 0 m in (c— E b) .

S weet e st Flower , Th e A rt h ur Lieb er D (b—E )


G (E—a)
S weet is Tippera y r W m A rm s Fish er
. 0 (9-D )
66
D (a— E)
F (tr y)
Tire d A ugu st M ign o n A b (d— F)
U n der th e Ro se W m A rm s Fish e r
. C’ ( b-D )
( 6 ‘S
D (cit-E )
F (E-y)

W h y do I lo ve You Flo re n ce Edn ah Ch ipm an C (c-E )


Db (d b-F )
E b (E b-g)
W int e r Lullab y , A R e gin ald de Koven A b (o— E b)
66
B b (d-F)
W istaria M arie Rich G m in (c— g)

.

Ingi vin g p
th e co m ass , n o t e s o n
th e s ta y

ar e i n di cat ed by C APITAL le t ters ; n o tes


a b ov e o r b e lo w th e at af by sm all l e t t e rs .

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