C ;a0 HOTCHKI&S STRBT
PURE and EASY
TONE PRODUCTION
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
of SINGING
By
GEO. HOTCHKISS STREET
Singing Instructor at the
Institute of Musical Art
of New York City
1927
H. R. Elliot & Co., Incorporated
129 Lafayette Street
New York, N. Y.
Copyrighted 1927
By Geo. Hotchkiss Street
INDEX OF CHAPTERS
PART 1.
1. A definition of Singing—its origin—governing impulses.
2. Tone Quality.
3. Breathing—body position—poise,
4. Instructions for preparing the throat, neck and facial muscles for the Attack. The Larynx.
5. Establishing a standard of
A. Quality.
B. Attack.
6. Vocalises—Phonetic sequence of vowel sounds.
7. Registers, elimination of "breaks."
8. Nasal Sounds—certain bearings on diction.
PART 2.
9. Male Voices
A. Boys' Voices.
B. Baritones and Tenors.
10. Basses.
INTRODUCTION
The idea of adding another book on singing to the myriad already in existence came from the numerous requests of pupils for a written summary of the devices and explanations used by me in teaching, and the desire to treat in a public way the subject of the male voice. I find no other work on this latter subject treated in the same way, so feel it should be worth consideration.
In fact I shall be happy if it only evokes a lively discussion, but am sure that any teacher, who is willing to put my suggestions to the severest test, will find that they are founded on proved facts and therefore of considerable value.
There are so many books showing cuts of the larynx, vocal chords, resonance cavities etc. which also tell just what each part of the apparatus should do, that I see no reason for doing it this time. What I want to talk or write about is a way to get all the various co-ordinating parts of our vocal apparatus to work for us—a way to get artistic results with nothing in mind but the artistic. They say good writers do not repeat themselves; but I am not a writer, merely a vocal teacher and will repeat a number of things a number of times, and from a literary standpoint use many unnecessary words. This is all done with the idea of avoiding any appearance of ambiguity or equivocation. I know from experience how difficult it is to say things simply enough for the average student to grasp at once—that, frequently, what to me seems like baby-talk—to many others sounds like a lecture in a foreign language.
Throughout this book I speak of singing with ease. In this connection I like to think of the words "easy effort" which, when thought of as a condition or action, differs at various stages of the singers development. The long distance foot racer of several seasons training and performing can run off a mile very easily at a clip which would mean painful physical torture to a beginner or even to a veteran out of training.
Some students begin with a physical development that others obtain only after several years work.
Each student is apt to differ in mental power.
For these reasons both teacher and student must work to find out which devices are the best for illustrating a principle; how long to practice at a time; the most profitable dynamics and how much of the range may be used to advantage in the average practice period. "Look 'em over and pick out the good ones."
The singer, whether in embryo as a student or as a finished artist has only two infallible friends which are sound and sensation. The eternal question should be "Does it sound well and feel easy at the same time?" Many tones sound fairly well, are good enough to deceive an untrained ear but are not easily produced. Also nearly anyone can make tones without effort that no one would want to listen to.
These two friends should form a sort of double headed interpreter between teacher and student. When the teacher says, "that is good," these friends should be always ready to register the impressions in the mind of the student. One says "it sounds like this"; the other "it feels like so and so." It is the gradual acquiring of accuracy in duplicating a tone which sounds well and feels easy that per-
mits the student to become independent of outside criticism and suggestion or at least as near that point as a singer can ever hope to get.
I feel sorry for any artist who arrives at that state of self-satisfaction where he or she feels it unnecessary to seek criticism and suggestion from some one else—espec-ially a trained ear.
Neither do I want to quarrel with the teacher who claims singing is entirely a matter of the nose, or the diaphragm, the tongue, palate or any other part of the mechanism. They all have their place.
My idea is that all these parts act directly in response to the subconscious or conscious desire on the part of a human being to express some thing by vocal means.
A human being can be able to push his abdominal wall all around the room, raise his chest, hold the tongue down "gargle his larynx," play tennis with his palate or otherwise manipulate the separate vocal parts and at the same time be unable to make one respectable singing tone. H this same person were to keep his mind and will directed toward the production of a clear and easy tone either in speech or song, all the physical slaves of the will such as muscles, cartilages and other tissues will jump to the task which provides their only reason for existence.
Their ability to work as we command is in proportion to the development they have to begin with and that which we add by good use. These slaves also respond better if kept in good condition, through proper food, pure air and water etc.
We have also to learn the code used by our bodily telegraph system (nerves) which has a well regulated station in the throat, which advises us instantly and automatically
when we overwork our vocal organ or wrongly use it. As much as humans differ in each and every attribute of the singer, the emotions that put to work the fundamental principles of speech or song are necessarily the same in every case.
My complaint against the order of the day is that too many teachers are passing on a sort of instruction that is a resume of what the previous generation said was "the way to sing" without sufficiently probing the real worth thereof. There is too little "proving up" of the more recent traditions. It looks to me as if much modern instruction could be compared to gossip which substracts a little truth from a story with every retelling. Every conscientious teacher knows that the only phases of his "method" that have any real value are those which he has proved. He also knows, whether admitting it publicly or not, that no device such as we might call a unit of a method is infallible or universally applicable to every student. He knows that for every fundamental principle that he really understands he can find dozens of devices and means of making himself understood. Now let us go to work.
G. H. S.
CHAPTER I.
A DEFINITION OF SINGING - ITS ORIGIN
GOVERNING IMPULSES
As a first step it would appear rather important to ask ourselves the question "What is singing"? looking to the answer for a starting point for our reasoning. Too many singers, students and teachers take it for granted they know what singing is without being able to define the act clearly to themselves. Over a number of years I have asked this question many times, receiving about the same answer, and seeing the same more or less puzzled expression on the face of the person questioned. Available dictionaries give rather vague and altogether too• general definitions. In Italy "the cradle of song" the most authoritative dictionary gives a list of varied results to be attained by different kinds of singing—using about 1,600 words in fact, but the actual definition says, "To modulate the voice with rules and measures so as to form a musical motive."
That the average person could form any clear understanding of the act from that definition is beyond my belief. The American dictionaries are just as vague.
However, without intending to give the impression that no one else has a satisfactory definition I will give the one that satisfies me—one that nobody has as yet disputed. I contend that it gives a reasonably clear idea of the mental and physical activities involved, it is:
"The Artistic Intensification of Speech," accomplished by modifying the power, pitch and duration of the syllables. Several of those whom I questioned have asked,
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10	TONE PRODUCTION
"What about form, time, rhythm etc?" To my way of thinking these are in the same class with the staff, notes and other signs better used to describe "a song."
Referring to the above definition let us remember that all speech, even in the beginning had its accented or intensified words, but not necessarily artistically intensified. Our ancestors (I mean the speaking ones) became conscious that, in story telling, rejoicing, mourning or other forms of expressing emotions, the most effective results were obtained by intensifying important syllables and words by saying them mostly higher and louder than in ordinary conversation, especially for any emotion that might be called other than sombre. For a long time it was considered quite the thing for a mourner to sit on the ground hands clasped over the knees and while rocking to and fro to lament so as to be heard definitely. To many of these sombre sentiments, however, they also gave the other three characteristics that have come down to our own time: softer, lower and longer drawn out.
I think the only form we have added since then (for artistic reasons) is the high soft note in tender expression. We must not forget that for a long time it was considered weakness to display any soft or tender sentiments, especially on the part of a man. How could we get along today without the soft high tones?
Next in the order of vocal evolution or the evolution of vocal expression came the discovery of the value of sustaining the accented syllables or words. This of course brought into use all the different human means of intensifying our speech, viz: power, pitch and duration. All we have done since is to develop the artistic form of the intensification. And, we are still hunting for a universal way of doing it easily and well.
A DEFINITION	11
If you analyze a few standard songs, those which have stood the test of time, you will find that it is rarely if ever that a word is indicated to be sung either softer or shorter in duration than when used in speech and very seldom lower in pitch. The above facts have been public property for a long time, but I cannot recall seeing them used as a basis for vocal development.
In any event we see that most of the spontaneous or automatic intensification comes through our three friends, higher, louder and longer.
Some music critics and writers have frequently tried to indict the public on a charge of ignorance and grossness because the same public likes to hear long, high, loud tones. (Provided of course that the quality is not such as to take the joy out of life) .
With a few exceptions the public has declared a rating for singers havinc, the same average of good tone quality, about as follows:
	Class A	Mr. Mrs. or Miss High, Long, Loud.
"	B	 tt	t,	t,	tt	High, Long, Soft.
"	C	 t,	t,	t,	tt
High, Loud.
"	D	 tt	t,	tt	tt	High, Soft.
"	E	 tt	t,	t,	Loud, Long. (If not very
high) Attesting this statement is the fact that low voices try to give as many high, long, loud tones as possible, as well as the low tones at whatever dynamic or duration. One may change the above rating somewhat by adding "facility in embellishment" to any one of the classes, but give them all the same facility and average quality and the preference is as above.
A prominent opera conductor in Milan is trying to reform the Italian taste for "high, loud and long" by for-
12	TONE PRODUCTION
bidding tones or notes and cadenzas not written in the original score. As a matter of fact we know that the pioneer operatic composers did little more than supply the body of a work—that they left the embellishments and vocal feats to be supplied by the singers. A lot of the operas in the present day repertoire were written by men who probably expected singers to take certain liberties in a lesser degree of course than did their forefathers. The decrease in the number of embellishments in operatic music did not come about because some good director told the public that it was wrong to enjoy such things. If you go into the matter carefully you will find that vocal feats were omitted only in the degree that the necessary vocalists were found missing. Not many composers before Wagner would have knocked the singer's greatest undeveloped resource from between his shoulders for putting in a hold or a note or two of his (the singer's) own.
Our eminent Italian director is trying to do musically what the Pilgrim Fathers tried when they laid down laws for keeping the Sabbath. It just isn't natural for human beings to sit around all day with folded hands and long faces. The eminent director can have his way—but only until the world proves what I contend—that the demand for high, loud tones, if well sung, and also a certain display of vocal gymnastics, is founded upon the previously described "Artistic Intensification of speech." At' the same time let it be understood that I am not in favor of artists' inserting "holds" or cadenzas which would offend certain composers, and make their works sound other than as intended. The revulsion of our best critics to "the cheap appeal to the mob"; such as holds and fioritura, has led to a condition in the field of operatic composition where these two features as well as melody are practically abolished and
A DEFINITION	13
which if carried farther in the same direction will lead to the place where the actors will only talk their lines and all the intensification will come from the orchestra. You ask "what has all this to do with a work on singing"? Just this, in the same way that the world became fed up with an overdose of vocal feats, too much sing song melody, emptiness in the orchestra, will it become fed up with the extreme opposite. After a while the pendulum will swing back about half way to where singers will have to sing more and declaim less. There was, is, and always shall be that within the human heart which I like to call "a love for the sound of a beautiful voice" and an equal admiration for the technically perfected use thereof. To help to bring back to our teachers and students a recognition of the fact that purity of tone and ease in its production are inseparable; that they are direct ends and not to be argued about; that if they hold steadfast to these two principles there will be no chaos; this and this only, is my great desire and ambition, and the only reason for writing this unpretentious treatise.
CHAPTER II.
TONE QUALITY
Tone quality is the most important factor in the development of the voice, and I like to think of it as being the sum total of the following:
I. Condition and functioning of the organs of respiration.
2. Natural endowment as to size and texture of the vocal chords and all other parts of the larynx (the inton-ators) plus the condition and functioning thereof.
3. The existence or absence of interference by the tongue, jaw or neck muscles.
4. The size, shape and condition of the resonators.
Tone quality can never be purer than the ideal we have within us and the ideal will never be greater than our ability to discriminate between the good and bad tone qualities which we hear in our own or other voices.
The most valuable characteristic of tone quality is its intensity, which reflects the intensity of the thought, desire, will or impulse which precedes, then almost instantly accompanies the tone.
Any tone can have intensity, whether sung pp or ff or even "mezza voce," provided the thought back of it is intense.
No quality of tone is correct that permits escaping breath to be heard during phonation except when the mezza voce is desired and willed—mezza voce means half voice, and the other half is breath.
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TONE QUALITY	15
Clear pure quality is the key which opens the doors to range, dynamics, facility of execution and good diction.
When we hear in speech an accented or intensified word we recognize it as such most frequently because it is spoken higher and louder. This does not mean necessarily very high or very loud. Ex: F is higher than E and P is louder than PP. I want to show in this treatise how the artistic intensification of speech (singing) can be developed, going to the thoughts, emotions and impulses which govern ordinary speech and analyzing the resultant sounds and sensations. With this analysis, knowing both cause and effect, we can direct our vocal organ and co-ordinating parts to give the more intensified and artistic form of vocal utterance which we call singing without being obliged to think of controlling any one or more parts of the mechanism. In fact, it only requires a short trial of these principles, applied as later outlined, to convince any intelligent person of the utter absurdity of trying to control the voice by controlling each or any of the separate physical parts involved.
In defining "Quality" the first point mentioned was the "Condition and functioning of the organs of respiration" so I will devote the next chapter to this subject.
CHAPTER III.
BREATHING-BODY POSMON-POISE
All breathing exercises should be practiced to develop the body position and the muscles used in expelling the resisted breath so that breathing will be unhindered, easy and natural. By natural I mean according to nature's laws. Too many teachers and students have the idea that their particular habitual way of breathing is natural. Of course, all breathing implies the subconscious application of some of nature's laws. But what I call natural is that action in. inspiration and expiration which implies a maximum application of nature's laws which in turn is an important physical asset in any walk or activity in life.
One can find numerous treatises on body position with cuts, diagrams and all that. They agree that the chest should be fully expanded as a condition or position and that the weight of the upper part of the body be taken off the hips. A large number, I might say the majority of singing students as beginners are obliged to make the act of inhalation do two things, first, fill the lungs; second, raise the weight of a partly sunken or collapsed chest in order that the air cells may be completely filled. The development of the chest to a point where it "stays put" prevents all that woe and equally prevents the weight of the chest from squeezing or pressing inward against the lungs during exhalation. The latter causes a "caving in" sensation that vocal students know only too well, to their great annoyance.
Many times we hear the injunction "Don't raise the chest." In this regard I can say that one cannot raise the
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BREATHING	17
chest any farther than it has fallen below its rightful position without throwing the body off balance. No singer of the golden age (1600-1750) felt himself physically balanced or poised unless his chest was so set through proper exercises that the act of respiration was practically unnoticeable. It is a matter of growth like any other needed development in any part of the body which is not standard or sufficient.
By this development I mean more that of the internal than of the external muscles. Most of the products of athletic training and physical culture schools show a very great external muscular development which of course is more or less desirable, but the condition and functioning of our breathing apparatus is more dependent on the internal strength. We must have a proper adjustment of our frame and internal strength is absolutely essential. Many prize fighters and professional ballplayers have plenty of visible muscle but sunken chests and a slouchy carriage. A singer could never get his best results in such a condition. On the other hand I do not want to imply that a living skeleton, be he ever so well poised, could deliver 100% of himself as a singer. The external development should be good if not model.
There are four exercises that I use because they contain the fundamental principles required in singing. They are the following:
1. Fill the lungs completely, rather quickly, but easily and so that there is no discomfort, then exhale, slowly, the slower the better, through the nose, completely relaxing and releasing the breath just as it begins to be an effort to hold it. In a very few days you will notice how much longer you can continue to exhale without the feeling of overtaxing the muscles. As a rule weak chested persons
18	TONE PRODUCTION
will find that a little of this exercise is enough, but as with all other exercises, do it as many times during the day (while you are awake) as possible. When your nerves say "enough" stop and give them a rest. During the slow exhalation do not try to do anything with your diaphragm, chest or anything else. Just cultivate repose and allow whatever was displaced by the inspiration to return to its starting position provided that it was easy and erect.
If you are inclined to be weak or hollow chested, in a couple of weeks you will feel a strengthening of the tissues along the inner walls of the chest, which makes the latter want to stay nearer the expanded position.
The complete filling of the lungs acts on the chest like the stretching of a rubber band to its limit—it immediately wants to get back to rest. Singing and the playing of wind instruments are the only two physical activities which call for an intercostal muscular development sufficient to resist the desire to "cave in." The above exercise will do the business. The head, neck, arms and legs must be absolutely at ease all the time. You can form the habit with great profit, of doing the above exercise while sitting waiting for an appointment, in the theatre, on street cars or in autos and while walking. It is very simple and the more you can do (without discomfort) the sooner you will get your desired development.
2. Fill the lungs as before then exhale with lips compressed just tightly enough to allow a small current of air to come out, which should be cold if blown against the hand at 3 or 4 inches from the lips. To do this the average person is compelled to allow only a narrow opening between the lips about Y8 of an inch long. The resistance thus offered to the stream of breath is about the same as
BREATHING	19
that offered by the vocal chords during the singing of a "p" or "mp" tone. Please notice that the wider the lip opening the warmer the breath. The slight compression of the lips must accompany the blowing, as mere blowing of the breath without any corresponding resistance causes only about half of the activity of the breathing apparatus during singing.
The degree of blowing and the corresponding lip resistance can be varied between the minimum and that degree used in singing a "mf" tone. To blow harder than that would cause a stiffening of the cheeks and neck. The next exercise takes care of the greater effort.
3. Same complete filling of the lungs as before, then exhale with more force than in ex. 2. against the position of mouth and lips obtained when pronouncing the letter "f" as an initial consonant. The upper teeth rest on the lower lip. This position will withstand considerable pressure without unnecessary effort. The degrees of pressure in this exercise can vary between that needed for tones at "mf" to "ff."
4. The panting exercise. Take a comfortable upright position of the body, then commence to inhale and exhale a small amount of breath, through the nose. About two breaths to the second is fast enough for the beginner. As soon as the ability to keep up the regular repetition of the respirations at the "two per second" speed, try to increase the number per second.
We need this development for two reasons, first: for every quick attack such as is demanded between phrases where no rest or interruption is indicated in the music; second: for the staccato. The faster one pants the less breath is used in a "round trip" of the respirators. The
20	TONE PRODUCTION
panting exercise, especially when done rapidly, develops a sort of steel spring condition of the muscles, and reflects itself in the ease with which one can make any vocal attack. The staccato tone is no more than a sudden attack and equally sudden release.
For the average student this exercise is probably the most tiring. In other words it shows that the average student has no "steel spring condition of the muscles" and tracing the result we find the average student beginner has difficulty with the attack. Think how many times you have heard or said "Oh let me try that again, I did not get a good start."
Once more the warning—don't go at it too strenuously at first—grow like a tree and you will have a chance to profit by the growth. In any phase of singing, the one who tries, and apparently succeeds in going up like a sky rocket with a flash, usually comes down like one, a stick of wood with a burned end.
CHAPTER III (Continued)
A STUMBLING BLOCK TO AVOID
I defy anyone to show me a singer who can sustain a pure tone quality and have good control, even though an advocate of the singers chest, who tries to force the solar plexus and abdominal wall down and out while singing. If, when our bodies are straight and well poised, the "lower regions" reflect the action of the diaphragm when we inhale, how can we expect them to return to repose for the purpose of repeating the action if we try to push them farther in the direction taken during inhalation? Test yourself. Analyze the muscular action when you exclaim forcibly or call to someone at a distance. Suppose you were standing on a street corner conversing with a friend or acquaintance and saw something of interest happen that your companion did not see and you were to say "Look quickly" or "Oh look at that smashup." The first thing you would do would be to fill your lungs almost if not actually by a gasp, next the lower wall, from the breast bone down will apparently set with the utterance of the first vocal sound. The longer the phrase the more the wall will recede towards its starting point. It is when we are "off guard," with mind unencumbered with any artificial plan of action that nature's laws are automatically obeyed.
You will also notice that even the least developed person, physically, will show the same reaction as someone well developed.
The sneeze and cough show natures way of driving breath through the air channels at a maximum efficiency to a degree far in excess of that used in singing but the principles are at work 100%. Analyze for yourself.
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22	TONE PRODUCTION
I am convinced that pushing down and out against the lower wall during phonation does more harm to vocalists than any other "method" of breathing being taught at the present time. Like all destructive theories, this one sprang from a misinterpretation of a truth. Any correctly developed singer, allowing nature's laws to work unhampered during phonation, feels or can be more or less conscious of the setting of the muscular area around the solar plexus, waist line and abdomen and what might be called a bulge at the S. P. This is due to the resistance offered by the (vocal chords) intonators to the outgoing breath. Prove it by first blowing against a small mirror or eyeglass lens in order to "steam it" before wiping with a soft cloth or chamois skin, this will give you the illustration of the non-resisted breath. Then say in a mezzo-forte tone of voice "Now the intonators are offering resistance" and you will see exactly what I mean. Repeat it louder and the "setting" and "bulge" will be accentuated. At first it appears as if the expellors were going in the opposite direction to that of the breath which they are expelling.
Unless a conscious effort be made to press down and out, the above illusion will only last until the breath begins to leave the body. Then, unless the chest is weak and "caves in," the expellors will gradually compress toward what might be called the center of the breath supply.
This is one truth upon which the old Italian singers and masters laid great stress. They knew that, unless the chest was as intended by nature, a solid case to protect the condition and functioning of our two most vital organs the heart and lungs, that the expellors would be subject to all sorts of misuse and abuse. Witness the oldest axioms handed down from generation to generation. "A voice not supported by the Chest will not carry" or "The young
BREATHING	23
student must be given simple exercises, (vocal) at first, because he has not the necessary strength of chest, etc." or "The singer must live a life free from dissipation or he will destroy forever both chest and voice." Yea verily a good chest is like virtue "a pearl without price."
It is ridiculous to suppose that a weak chested student can hold his chest up during singing at the first moment he learns this is desirable and necessary. It is a vain effort at best. The student should never try to do anything with his chest or expellors during phonation. That is why I started this chapter by saying all breathing exercises should be used to develop and make permanent the body position and the action of the expellors.
This development should be made a separate obligation and activity, as the results will automatically show when the student is directing his attention to phonation. To ask a student to think about where he is supposed to "place" a tone, to keep his throat open, cover or close on such and such a note, to hold the ribs out, the chest up, push out and down with his "diaphragm" or yank it up and in other such instruction all at the same time is about as reasonable as to ask him to play a pipe organ and the jazz orchestra traps in one cacophonous swipe. No wonder the public thinks singing is a mysterious thing.
In the course of sustaining a tone or phrase one of three things will have to occur, (1) either the expellors will follow the course of the breath; or (2) the torso from the top and sides above the solar plexus line will fall or cave in at the ratio the breath passes the intonators; or (3) the singer is doing himself internal injury by trying to make his expellors work contrary to natural laws.
24	TONE PRODUCTION
I think most of the present day confusion on this subject is due to the careless and thoughtless why the word "diaphragm" is bandied about. Ninety-five percent of the people I have heard use it were talking about the outer wall or region below the solar plexus, many having only a very remote idea of the real action of the diaphragm. I think all such harangues as I have just finished would never be written if singers could but realize that they cannot control the action of the diaphragm. It goes down, or better, flattens from this position in repose /°"'''.% to this - in an easy, complete inhalation and returns to the former during exhalation in spite of anything one might do to or with the abdomen.
I am reminded of a student I knew once who had taken daily lessons for two years from a teacher who told him to hold his chest up and at the same time to push down and out with or on his diaphragm and neither of them could understand why it could not be done.
A great many singers endowed with a splendid laryngeal equipment and large resonators, are today using the "pushing down and out" idea of support and on account of the two above mentioned assets "get by" well enough to be quite satisfied with themselves. This type of singer probably thinks he or she is about as good as can be and sees no reason for questioning the breathing operation. I contend that such a singer would profit immensely by trying out the ideas herein suggested.
An interesting case, illustrating my point to that of a well known and capable European opera singer who told me he was taught to "push down and out" as a student, made his debut and sang in opera for ten years thinking it was the only way to do it. However, he knew he was
BREATHING	25
being pushed down and out by something. One day he went to a teacher in Berlin, practically unknown outside his own circle, who called his attention to the unnecessary strain he was under and showed him the logical way to allow the muscles to do their own work. This singer said it revolutionized his whole idea of singing—that the added physical ease reflected itself in his mind and voice to such an extent that he now considers that simple breathing truth the greatest vocal boost he ever had.
While combating the "down and out" idea of localized control of the expellors I wish to speak with equal emphasis against the conscious "pulling up" of what is usually called the diaphragm, or in fact against anything that savors of the little boy taking daddy's watch to pieces "to see how the wheels go round."
It is the willing of vocal utterance which sets all the machinery going and the operation of each unit has been established by God or Nature as you wish. It is heart-sickening to notice the number of vocal students all over the world with their minds so occupied with how .each little factor does its work that they can give no thought as to the results which ought to be purity of quality and absolute ease of manner.
CHAPTER IV.
PREPARATORY INSTRUCTIONS
Every vocal student knows what it sounds like to hear the teacher say "Relax," "leave your throat alone," "don't squeeze your throat," "open the throat," etc.—but does he know how to obey these commands? If he obeys the "relax" order literally he won't make any sound at all. Relax means to release and relaxed muscles are in a state of repose without activity of any kind. Now I know the teacher does not want that. What he wants is, that the student relax only the muscles which when tense, act as an interference to the intonators. We know that the latter cannot be relaxed during phonation, in fact they are extremely active but when correctly so we should be practically unconscious of their actual flexion of tension. We can directly control all the factors that make interference but only indirectly through the willing of tone can we control the intonators. Any thought of relaxing or loosening has to be directed to the interference and my idea is that like breathing, the necessary relaxation of the interfering parts should be made a habit, one cultivated to a large extent aside and apart from the act of phonation.
Then in nearly every case the student can utter at least some one sentiment in a way that embodies an intense and pure quality emitted through a free passage. My idea is to find out in what mood or sentiment or in what form of expression this can be brought about—then make him repeat the utterance until the principles involved are recognized and then proceed to extend the application thereof.
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PREPARATORY INSTRUCTIONS	27
All the physical parts that shift around during vowel changes or in the enunciation of consonants were intended by nature to function without interfering with the intona-tors. For example, we can form all the vowels and consonants by using the tongue, lips, jaw, etc., without making any vocal tone whatever. Now let us get to the practical part. The only thing I want to say about the tongue is that any stiffness or unnecessary action thereof that interferes with the intonators is felt under the chin from the point back to the "adams apple" or outer, upper and center part of the larynx. It is strange but true that the majority of persons cannot open the mouth without tension at this place. Try it. If true in your case, practice opening and closing the mouth or in other words lowering and raising the jaw without changing the condition of the muscles under the chin from that which exists when the mouth is closed and they are in repose.
As soon as this can be done easily try willing a short clear "Ah" in the open mouth position of course. As long as the under chin area shows any tendency to stiffen you can continue with the silent lowering and raising of the jaw even while trying to make the attack. For the latter, as explained in the next chapter, use the initial "ah" sound of some word so you will have a reason for the utterance.
You will notice I have said nothing about looking at the tongue in a mirror, "grooving it" or holding it down or otherwise mistreating the poor slave, because if there be no tension felt under the chin or along the jaws and neck it will conduct itself in a most impeccable manner.
The trouble is that most students, I can also say persons, try (of course in different degrees) to push the jaw down
28	TONE PRODUCTION
with the tongue when asked to make a tone. They add to this a certain tension of the jaw muscles which causes unnecessary effort. Get the habit of feeling the jaw drop of its own weight as though the muscles that hold it in closed mouth position merely let go or relaxed from the points directly in front of the ears down along jaw bones. During the lowering and raising of the jaw in singing or, I could say, during the various degrees of opening and closing the mouth these muscles should feel like very flexible rubber. Only when the lower teeth are compressed against the upper in the biting or chewing act should they take on the denser characteristic of leather.
It seems useless to add these other things but as their existence often escapes both teacher and pupil, they are:
Practice standing erect without stiffness in the shoulders, arms or hands. They should hang from the frame like clothes on hangers. Be conscious that the knees are not locked and please do not try to curl your toes up or under. If there are any muscles in the body that escape the student's ability to unnecessarily stiffen, I have never discovered them.
In the following suggestions for the attack and vocalization the above described physical freedom has to be, perhaps in a small degree at first, but I am satisfied that any student or singer who will take pains to acquire the "small degree" will not stop until the joy of a complete freedom is experienced. Any student can accomplish this in less than three weeks if (s) he puts his mind and will to work in an authoritative manner.
Quite a number of students may get some benefit from the sensation of an "open throat" and it can only be felt
PREPARATORY INSTRUCTIONS	29
in one way—i.e., when you inhale and exhale without making any sound whatsoever whether you breathe through the mouth or the nose. It must be remembered that during correct singing it is only the sensation of the open throat position that is possible. When we breathe, we know the passage is cylindrical and open clear down into the trachea or wind-pipe. During phonation we also know that the vocal chords approach each other leaving only a narrow slit or glottis about /8  of an inch long (in the average larynx) for the breath to come through.
In spite of this cloture the sensation of the open passage always accompanies pure tone quality and an effortless manner.
CHAPTER IV (Continued)
THE LARYNX.
ITS ACTIVITY AND POSITION
Many vocal teachers and students have been confused in their work owing to an idea that something must be done to locally or wilfully control this little organ (the larynx) . The most confusing and destructive act is to hold it in one position. I admit it does not look very aesthetic to see a man's larynx bobbing up and down, but when it is so noticeable as to cause amusement it is not the owner's fault—nor contrary to the laws of nature; it merely happens that the cartilages in his larynx are large and his neck thin.
The upward and downward movement is not a trick or even a fault of any sort which is confined to a few throats. This change of position is merely the action required by nature for the functioning of the pitch mechanism. The front and the back cartilages move in opposite directions in order to increase the tension of the cords during the execution of an ascending interval. No matter how he may struggle against this it is bound to happen. The expression "sing with a loose throat," might better be "sing with an unhampered larynx," free to function without interference from the surrounding throat and neck muscles. All tones that are pure in quality and easy to sing are the result of the normal functionini, of the larynx without being hampered by tension of the above mentioned muscles or the backward and downward pressure of the base of the tongue.
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THE LARYNX	31
I think the best proof of this statement is the fact that no one can sing slowly up the scale on a pianissimo tone and keep the vowel sound the same if there be any tension of these surrounding muscles.
The surest way to test one's own tone work is to sing up the scale pianissimo without changing the vowel sound and see to it that nothing interferes with its slight upward movement during ascending passages or scales, nor with the opposite (downward movement) during descending passages.
On the other hand, anyone who tries to consciously raise or lower the larynx as a physical effort only, is apt to cause unnecessary tension, not alone in the neck and throat but in the larynx itself, which makes a form of interference which would be disastrous to good singing.
We must realize that the upward movement of the larynx always accompanies the upward inflection of the voice. Anybody can test this in speech. Therefore, in order to give the necessary routine or training to the muscles which operate during the intoning of an ascending interval, the student should practice the speaking of up-. ward inflections, such as are in questions, comments, denials, affirmations, etc., as further indicated in other chapters of this book. All the following expressions: "Sure" (meaning "certainly"); "Of course"; "Why, no"; "Who?"; "I told you so"; "Yes, indeed"; "What for?" are usually spoken with the rising inflection.
The striking of these upwardly inflected notes in speech merely sets the apparatus in position, and this apparatus, just as soon as the syllable is made, is released and ready for the next one. To develop the necessary strength required for sustained tones or phrases, it is not only nec-
32	TONE PRODUCTION
essary to use the inflection as a start, but to continue to hold the position gained by continuing the projection of a thought or motion. This can be a two or three word exclamation or a long phrase or merely a single vowel with the thought of the exclamation or phrase running through it.
A descending interval or, in other words, "downward inflection," requires nothing more than partial release of the legitimate tension required for the note or syllable above. The degree of release depends upon the size of the interval and is in proportion to the distance of the tone from the point of rest, which is the position that prevails during silence.
CHAPTER V-A.
COMMENCING EXERCISES
The following few pages I consider to be the MOST important in the book, on which everything else depends and to which all other observations and instructions are intended to be related. What can be accomplished by following these fundamental instructions should be the basis of all further practice and development.
Based on the established fact that the intonators function most perfectly when producing an absolute minimum of tone.
The writer has heard a lot of teachers giving "soft work" and "mezza voce" exercises but so far has not found any presenting a minimum tone nor a student who had ever heard the expression, let alone able to sing one.
Take the position of absolute repose either standing or sitting, and after choosing a pitch which you consider the easiest in your chest voice try making the smallest continuous vocal sound of which you are capable.
Basses will probably find it easiest somewhere between
low G and Bb;	Ir.33111111111•1111 I OrAINI10111.111 I	baritones between C and Eb ;
		
403111111 MINI 1	tenors between F and Bb.	
•LIIM Al."111		
ondir.amme		
		
In each case the student should hold these little tones without crescendo, changing pitch a half tone at a time until the slightest "pull" or effort or lessening in purity informs him that he must "let go" and begin the attack
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3 4	TONE PRODUCTION
in the same manner in the upper voice quality (usually called the falsetto) . Where this change occurs is the point the real work should begin. As stated elsewhere, work on the strong part of the voice should be only enough to keep the elements of purity and ease present—all other time and effort should be spent on the weak part. The following exercises can be done with equal profit in either part, but as ninety-nine out of each hundred students have weak head voices it will be understood that most of the comments will apply to the notes therein.
In repose with the mouth closed you will find that there is only one sound that can be made without disturbing the jaw, tongue or palate, and that is the sound of the letter "m." By this sound I mean its phonetic pronunciation as used to teach spelling in the first grades. Some may call it a hum—but one can make the same sound with the tongue raised for the "n" position or with the palate and tongue joined as when prolonging the "ng" (see explanation in Chap. 8). I suggest the undisturbed position as the most likely to bring results.
Allow the lips to barely touch each other but the teeth must never touch for this or any other sound in song or speech. As the continued use of any one sound is only advantageous when that sound is clear or pure and sung without any feeling of strain, do not repeat unless these latter qualities are heard and felt. If you feel satisfied repeat the sustaining of one note three or four times before changing either pitch or vowel.
If the "m" sound does not get results try the "n" sound as described in Chap. 8, and so on through the vowel sounds, doing the most of your practice on those sounds which are most satisfactory. The majority of students
COMMENCING EXERCISES	3 5
can get one or more correct in the first few minutes. The more tense and nervous ones get started in very little more time. The trouble with those who do not get results so quickly is that they sing what to them seems the smallest tone but, their minds not being used to commanding such a tiny thing, they order more than is necessary. The only way to test the tone is to start a diminuendo after the attack—what you can diminish to should be your starting point.
There are only two physical activities involved in making a tone; one is the vowel or cavity formation and the other is the starting of the vocal tone. Suppose we take one thing at a time to make sure.
From the position of repose think the vowel sound and allow the lips, tongue and jaw to form the cavity with a minimum of effort—no quick jerking or twitching—with-out even a whisper. An illustration which brings splendid results is to form the cavity or mold with the. same slow deliberate action you see on the screen when a moving picture machine operator "slows her up."
It is a positive help to any singer or student to sit quietly and do this and nothing else for five or ten minutes at a time.
When you "get the feel" of the formation of a sound the adding of tone is simple. It is most easily illustrated by bringing the tips of the thumb and index finger to within a sixteenth of an inch of each other and after pausing a moment, bring them lightly together—just enough to feel the contact. Now make your vocal attack with the same minimum of effort.
The attitude of mind during this work must always be that of "saying something" or speaking, never whisper-
3 6	TONE PRODUCTION
ing. Some students get a clear tone when thinking of the mezza voce (half voice) , but the great majority make breathy sounds when trying this plan.
The clear, clean thread-like tone which is made by thinking the absolute minimum tends to throw off all unnecessary effort as the latter comes from an attempt to "do something" with a tone, either to hold it steady, place it, make it loud or big in volume, etc. Just allow the little stranger to drift out at the slowest rate of speed you can imagine. This process should be repeated until set in mind and voice. The pitch won't make much difference as soon as you are used to an effortless and clean attack.
All voices should work on the six or eight half steps above the lowest possible head tone until the pure quality feels set. To provide a variety or slight change in the exercises, sing down the major scale from one of the best sounding notes once or twice after three or four minutes of sustained work in that area.
I have been unable to find any record of the old masters having tried out the head voice on down into the range where the chest voice is perfectly easy (in male voices) and on this subject I can claim to be a pioneer, if not in fact, at least it will mean the same to vocalists generally.
The majority of male singers with whom I have come in contact have difficulty in carrying the light head voice
(or falsetto) as far down as C usually written (actual pitch an octave lower).	
When practiced in the minimum degree it is positively astonishing how it will gradually descend until disappearing in the chest tone somewhere around middle C, or in actual
COMMENCING EXERCISES	37
pitch.	Irrit131111111111 IRE MIMI WII/W0111111 11111111111111111111 I	With continued use this tone becomes as
solid as a rock, keen in quality, but with a smoothness like velvet. Let me state again clearly that the minimum tone or the smallest continuous vocal sound is the only one which will bring this about. All other degrees of tone cause imperfections in the adjustment of everything used to make the vibrations with the resulting escape of unused breath, etc. In the beginning this sort of work should be the entire vocal "diet" for a week at least, before testing a crescendo.
The second phase is the use of the minimum tone for the attack and when a crescendo is attempted and found to be possible, without destroying the quality, to sustain the tone at the increased dynamic. The first degree is of course ppp, (pianissimo) , the softest; the next above that is pp (piu piano) , or softer; then comes p (piano) or soft; then mp (mezzo-piano) a little louder than p; then mf (mezzo forte) which is meant to be (unequivocally) half way between the softest and loudest tone in the voice; next comes f (forte) a loud tone, and finally ff (fortissimo) the loudest. It should be borne in mind that these distinctions of dynamics were used by the singers who developed the art or they would never have been applied to vocal music. Also we are compelled to face the fact that students are insufficiently trained in this regard and that very few present day singers have anything but a pp, mf, and ff. The young singer striving for success should realize that the greater variety of dynamics, color, tempi, rhythms, mood, style, etc., the more chance he has of keeping the interest and attention of an audience. Therefore learn to know what each of these degrees sounds
38	TONE PRODUCTION
and feels like in your own voice, actually catalog each one mentally and be able to bring them into service at will. To do this easily means to start at the beginning, the minimum.
Women's Voices.
All the previous observations and instructions can apply equally to women's voices. They can usually find a good
beginning in the chest voice around middle C,	
and in the head voice somewhere between Ab and C,
The head voice soon becomes blended with the chest so that no actual point of separation is recognized.
CHAPTER V-B.
THE ATTACK
To be read and studied as a sequence to chapter V-A—a sort of interlocking program.
My main effort on the subject of attack concerns vowels —the sounds you might want to sustain on one note or carry up and down the full range as vocalises.
Referring back to my first summary and the definition of singing, let us begin to apply the intensification by beginning with what we already know as speech—leaving out the artistic thought—for the first few moments. My contention was that we become conscious of intensifying words by saying them higher and louder, or to turn the statement "the other end to" the higher and louder words reach our consciousness (through the ear) as more concentrated and intense.
If someone were to ask "Where have you been?" and you were to answer "outside," "upstairs," "in the kitchen" in an ordinary frame of mind, the tones would probably be ordinary; but if the questioner did not hear you and repeated his question, you would most likely "raise your voice" in pitch, if not also in power, in order to be distinctly understood. Suppose the case, and do the answering as suggested and note the results. With that idea as a starter, take one of the answers and repeat it "pp" (and this means an absolute minimum tone) a number of times with the idea of speaking only a little higher each time, not louder. Go as high as you can without effort. Then return to the starting point and repeat the exercise a number of times. After a certain amount of practice at
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40	TONE PRODUCTION
the lesser dynamics, you will be able to go to the louder tones without difficulty, provided you work toward them gradually and do not try to produce the loud tones with a different or more strained position than that required for the soft ones.
Soon after beginning the above speaking exercises, if you find you understand the principle, leave off all but the initial sounds (don't think of the letters) taking only the short "u" in "upstairs," the "ah" in "outside" or the short "i" in the word "in" and go through the pitch and power changes with them alone. If following the latter plan, remember to keep the mental attitude of answering a question. So far I have suggested using the unsustained tone as used in speech, with the understanding that the pitch be varied without following the musical scale. As soon as you are satisfied that you can recognize the elements of clarity or purity and ease in the previous exercises, go to the keyboard and locate the pitch of your average speaking tone. I am taking it for granted that you know that all our speech, every syllable, has a definite pitch, whether we are conscious of it or not. When you have located your average speaking tone, repeat the same vowel sounds used before—on that note—maintaining the same frank, easy manner, same thought in mind, holding the sounds no longer than in the spoken form. If they can be intoned consciously on that pitch with the same elements of purity and ease, try extending the duration of each tone a little more each time until both the principle and its application are plain and satisfactorily demonstrated.
Following these instructions, the student, whether male or female, will be obliged to use head voice where it ought to be used if any high tones are spoken or sung, because
THE ATTACK	41
without force or strain, no one can carry one register over onto the notes of another. This applies principally when raising the pitch, which is where 90% of the vocal difficulty lies. Don't forget we are studying the attack, for the sole purpose of learning how a good tone sounds and feels, that is why I just touched on the sustained tone and now go ahead with some other ways of approaching the subject of "attack."
As different minds grasp fundamental principles through different means, a conscientious teacher will try to meet this condition by varying his explanations and illustrations to the extent of his knowledge and ability.
Go through the same process with words (and the thought) of command such as "open (the door) !" "en-
ter!" "easy there!" etc. .	.
Or take your choice of:
Questioning, to obtain important information
Recounting, or plain statement of an interesting fact
Denying, or definite negation
Affirming anything in a positive manner.
Francesco Lamperti advises along this same line. He says: "I would advise the pupils to inspire his selfeggi with some sentiment; love, prayer, irony, etc."
Remember that at no time, nor at any stage of development should a student or singer continue to sing tones at any pitch or power that causes a loss of quality or a feeling of discomfort. Taken in another way, this advice means to sing from one end of the piano to the other at any dynamic provided the tone remains clear and effortless. Watch carefully the effects of all this. If an hour and a half in one day causes you to start the next with any
42	TONE PRODUCTION
thickness, soreness or stiffness, either cut down on the amount of loud singing, or on the time spent in practice. Don't ever get stubborn or arbitrary with your voice; don't make it work when it says "I'm tired." It takes a tremendous amount of legitimate use to tire the vocal organs; they are surely the original willing workers when treated kindly, but they won't stand any slave-driving.
After acquiring a certain amount of facility in attacking vowel sounds, try words beginning with consonants—unless you happen to be a dumbbell, there will be only a fraction of the difficulty you had with the former.
Before leaving the subject of attack with pure quality and the means of establishing it by a study of vowel sounds, I want to give my idea of the phonetic sequence of these sounds. It is a very frequently demonstrated fact that many students hit the rocks while changing from one to another.
When a student can sing a number of vowels purely and easily over a reasonable range, the next step could be made —that of singing all or a number of the other vowels on the same note in one flow of tone, (one breath) applying the same quality and ease.
The "ah" as in "far" is the only sound one can make with the mouth open, tongue, lips and cheeks relaxed, or I might say, "merely by releasing the muscles that keep the mouth closed." I like to think of this as a neutral sound which is like a broad highway where two equally important roads converge. (See diagram further on) . The required position for "ah" is only slightly disturbed to pronounce or form the short "u" as in "up" and for each of these succeeding sounds, only a slight variation is needed: "aw" as in "saw" "e" as in "her" "o" as in "go"; the short sound of "oo" as in "good" the long sound of
THE ATTACK	43
"oo" as in "cool"—then to the nasal sounds "ng" "n" and "m," the latter being the closed mouth position in repose just as "ah" requires the open mouth position in repose.
By looking at the diagram, you will see that from "ah" to "m" over the first described route, one passes all the more cavernous sounds.
The other road, that of the narrower sounds, starts on the main highway and emerges with the pronunciation of "a" as in "hat" then proceeds, the cavity narrowing a little more for each of these: "e" as in "met"; "a" as in "mate"; "i" as in "sit"; "ee" as in "see" then to the same nasals "ng" "n" and "m" which brings us again to a point of
rest. This is the diagram:	
Let me recall to your attention the fact that the formation of the cavities for the different vowel sounds does not depend on the intonators. One can "talk in a whisper" as we know, without making any tone at all. This is not a new idea of mine, of course, but while many teachers use the whispered vowel sounds, I have an observation and suggestion to make. The observation is that the whispering, like all other exercises, can be done in different ways. Some are good and some are bad in their influence on the sung or spoken tone. My contention is that what we usually call whispering, is no more than a hissing; it can only be done when the breath passage is partially closed so that the breath literally "rubs against the walls." The only act that can be unquestionably advantageous to the singer or student, is the silent formation of the cavities. Don't blow the breath through them. If in speech, think
44	TONE PRODUCTION
or will the vowel cavity into being; if you wish to relate it to singing, think or will both the cavity and pitch.
This simple exercise has a double value. One for beginners as above stated, the other for advanced students or singers not under the regular supervision of a teacher. It will show up tension like a mirror reflects your face. Singers fall into so many habits of twisting and contorting the face as a result of an over eagerness to put expression in their singing or effectiveness in their diction.
All intensity of dramatic expression should be first in the mind, simulated, but so well that it appears to an audience that the soul is experiencing the intensity they hear. Facial expression is an auxiliary art and should only help to express the intensity of thought. In this way, the desired emotional effects can be obtained and the singer's dignity and poise maintained.
Lamperti comments very plainly in this regard: "Let him (the student) remember that feeling in singers must be subordinate to art, for untutored feeling chokes the voice. Sing with a warm heart and a cool head." A coloratura soprano, who vocalises sweetly through one of the "mad scenes" with mouth stretched from ear to ear in a silly grin, thinking about her "method" will never lift an audience out of the seats, except to rush to the doors marked "EXIT." I doubt if even an audience of Morons would condone such inconsistency.
Ascertain at the earliest possible moment, which moods get the best results, and use them as models for the others, —in quality and ease of course, not color. Bright moods generate a bright color; dark moods a dark color, and neutral moods (matter of fact) a neutral color.
Now for the next step, the application of our principles to vocalises.
CHAPTER VI.
VOCALISES.
Not to be used until a correct tone standard has been established.
By this I mean the form of vocal exercise used by the old masters to give the vocal organs flexibility and agility. In the unhampered state, the organs are both flexible and agile, but they require a certain amount of routine to cause them to respond instantly to the mental command of the singer. In other words, facility and agility in the singing of all intervals must be made habits. The arrangements of notes may vary, but with proper training, the principles of varying the pitch of the voice without breaking the flow of tone, will always be the same.
It is very frequent that the purpose of vocalises has been misunderstood. At least I know a lot of teachers and students who are using them to "place the voice" or, as I think the originator of that expression meant, "To establish a standard quality."
Vocalises are usually arranged in definite musical forms, with the necessary notation, key signature, time, rate of speed, intervals, etc. For example: one will be written in intervals of a third, another a fourth, sixth, octave, etc., or in groups or runs such as arpeggios, scales, 9 and 11 tones, trills and turns, etc. Each one of these can be analyzed at a glance to represent the difficulties of execution encountered in compositions for the voice. They were intended to be used after a good quality, over a useful
range, had been established.	For this reason, all vocalises
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46	TONE PRODUCTION
should be prescribed by the wise teacher according to the needs of each pupil.
Even after a reasonable tone standard has been acquired, each student will find certain intervals and forms easy, others difficult. His duty and task is to practice the difficult ones until all are equally easy. It would also seem a matter of common sense for the student to practice the easy exercises enough to keep them in this category. Don't spend all your time on the hard ones. Analyze the easy ones as to both sound and sensation, and apply the underlying principles to the more difficult forms.
The old timers were always taught to express all the emotions, as Mancini says, "fierce, grave, tender, gay, all at will." At present, it seems as though one type had to stick to sweet scented sentiment and keep away from dramatic moods for fear he might spoil his voice. (Please understand the "he" is only figurative.)
Then we have the opposite type which considers it his duty to rip, snort, snarl and yell his head off and act as if someone held a piece of limburger cheese under his nose when confronted with a delicate or tender song or musical passage.
I am not at all in sympathy with the idea that a heavy or dramatic voice should be limited to heavy or dramatic exercises or repertoire. If a big voice be incapable of agility, it is either undeveloped or improperly used. Basses and contraltos as well as the other voices, were taught to trill for 150 years. Why should they not be taught to trill today? It is not so much that they would use it on the slightest provocation, but that they would profit by the resultant flexibility.
VOCALISES	47
Vocalises necessarily must be practiced with vowel sounds, preferably at first the five fundamental sounds found in all languages, generally called the Italian ah-e-i-o-u; and later with all the vowel sounds (not the letters) contained in whatever language the singer wishes to use. My belief is that no vowel sound has any real value unless accompanied by a thought as outlined in the previous Chapter. This sounds like hard work, but try it awhile and note the results. The idea of practicing hours and days on "ah" or some other one vowel with the expectation that one can suddenly and miraculously sing all the others equally well, is as futile as it is preposterous.
In spite of that statement, I do not want to leave the impression that I think the acquisition of one vowel sound clearly and easily produced, whether on one note or over the whole range of the voice, will not have a beneficial effect on the other vowels. That is just what I am preaching, but not to stay forever on that particular vowel sound, as the only one to use in practice. When one is perfected, the pronouncing of the rest is mostly a mental effort.
Another observation: Figs do not grow on cactus plants, neither do good tones come through practicing ugly noises. The weak or undeveloped parts do not become strong and developed without use and this use must always have more good features than bad.
Why evade an issue, beat about the bush or hunt for short cuts, when there is nothing to be gained by such methods? I believe in going straight to the weak spots and strengthening them. The same principles apply to every act that requires co-ordination of brain and muscle. Consider piano or violin playing; the first thing a student
48	TONE PRODUCTION
is given are exercises to develop the weak side of the hand. If the 4th and 5th fingers are weak, they can only be made strong by proper use.
Let me repeat: All vocalises must be sung with some meaning or sentiment for the reason that the human voice is nothing more than a means of expression. The only way it is used otherwise, is by vocal students, yes, and singers also, who "ah" or "ee" up and down the scale in an absolutely meaningless manner, looking for the response that can only be the result of the thotight or sentiment in the brain when properly stimulated. It seems almost need less to say that art in this form is based entirely on simulation. But I will include the preceding statement because many young singers try to "feel what they sing." You know that if you were really grief stricken your vocal control would be gone.
As before stated, most of the difficulties in singing occur in ascending intervals or passages. Let us try a three tone progression upward on the vowel that seems "the best" merely thinking an upward inflection of the voice, as in the
question "Did you try?" Take the notes,
or any others on which you feel at home.
Run up those three steps three or four times at the same speed you would speak the words—with the question in mind. Take a breath between each set, not holding the top note longer than the others. Then the next time run up the three steps and pause on the top one; in other words, hold the top note and analyze the sound and sensation thereof. As soon as you get the idea and know
fop ,1710191111 Ell Eli I
ihdt,	NEP .1111[41111 WANE, Illimill111111
1111111111111111111111111111.1111111111.11111 I
VOCALISES	49
what you want, change the location of the group until you have covered a reasonable range. The use of all the vowel sounds and different dynamics would be the next step.
After this, go back to the same starting point (pitch of the group) and start on the upper note (as per previous example No. 1—A in 2nd space G clef) and take the vowel sounds down (in turn) with some such thought as "come on in"; "go on home"; "yes, I do"; or "no, I don't." All you need is to recognize the falling inflection and the meaning of the words. After trying this a little, you will understand what I mean by saying it does not feel like work. The tones seem to come out of their own volition instead of yours. The more analytical students will see in those two examples the working of the principles of rising and falling inflections according to the meaning of the text, and the unlimited possibilities of elaboration. For instance, if the student sings the 3 tones up maintaining a rising inflection, it is a very logical conclusion to suppose he can apply the same principle to an ascending passage containing 11, 13 or more tones.
But for the sake of variety, let me give one more illustration. Take a five word sentence in speech containing both the upward and downward inflections such as "Did you try to win" as if you were suspicious of the loser in a contest. Select your favorite vowel and while keeping the thought or meaning of the phrase in mind,
sing,		or,		These ton-
alities are only suggestions. If you have a preference for some other, use it as long as it allows you to start in that
so	TONE PRODUCTION
part of the voice where you feel most "at home." Afterward, apply the principles over the rest of the range in as far as can be done with purity and ease. Please remember it is the thought that causes the rising and falling inflections. You can see how this can be applied to any musical figure. I think it would be wasting energy to write out a long list of arpeggios, scales, that are so easily found in separate volumes or in other available works.
It ought to be sufficient to add that all the various vowel sounds and dynamics, shading, etc., should be added in their turn, according to the results obtained step by step.
When a definite amount of purity and ease have been acquired, I consider it imperative to start on the "Messa di voce" (not to be confounded with "mezza voce") . Choose your easiest and best vowel sound at the most comfortable pitch and work this ancient device; attack pp
 	mp stop; attack mp,	pp; then after
this becomes quite easy over a large part of the range, go back and begin this: attack pp and swell to mp; then in one breath decrease to pp (morendo) . However, in making the crescendo, never at any time continue it if the tone becomes less pure in quality, or if the effort to produce it is uncomfortable. As long as the purity and ease remain intact, go as far as you like. There is nothing in the list of devices used to develop the voice that has the value of the slow or gradual Crescendo from pp to mp on one note for strengthening the weak part of the voice after the clarity and purity are established on the pp. I think this applies especially to the head tones in all voices, which is a generally recognized
VOCALISES	S 1
"weak spot," and to the middle voice tones of a mezzo-soprano or contralto where they are conscious of a "break" between those and the chest tones. It takes more patience to work over and over on a certain few notes, but in the end it takes less time to do the developing or equalizing. The principle is very evident. I like to compare the vocal organs to a small tree growing in a parking, we will say. If it has grown at a wrong slant, it will do very little good to stand by it and give it a push, or even a number of shoves toward the straight position, as it will only fall back again to the slant. In fact, the sporadic efforts might rather tend to loosen the roots. To make it grow straight, in other words, change its course, it must be tied to a straight stake. If the present position of the vocal organs is not desirable, they can best be brought to the desired position by compelling them to function therein.
It is also highly important that, as you try these various exercises, sort them out, discarding the unprofitable for the time being, and make mental or written notes of the profitable, whether a state of mind, musical figure or form of exercise, dynamic, speed or duration, etc., and practice these latter (the profitable) first. From time to time, later on, try again those that were not so good at first. If your progress has been real (not imagined) it will show itself very plainly.
Some readers of this chapter will say, "Oh, why doesn't he say, practice on songs or text and be done with it?" That is an important point. Many teachers work on that theory and on the theory that "singing is entirely a matter of diction." Texts, or the words of a vocal number, vary greatly in their meaning. One song may have half a
52	TONE PRODUCTION
dozen forms of emotion or sentiment to be expressed. Students vary in mental and physical endowment and in habits of speech. Therefore, the mental attitude and the words used to express it, must be selected with a definite constructive purpose. Let us suppose that you are in the nervous, high-strung class. A lot of your speech for quite a number of years has tended to make your organs of speech work in a tense and exaggerated manner. It would be plain vocal murder to give you an exercise, phrase or song which held the thought of anything dramatic. With such a type, I would start your mind along the line of indifference, simplicity, quiet action, things you would think about when chuckling to yourself or otherwise "smiling on the inside." When you would be able to recognize the principles of purity and ease through such means, I would gradually add the dramatic in such doses as could be assimilated to advantage.
On the other hand, if you were the "lazy voice type" with the "low, soft drawl," I would first dwell upon the purity so that it would be recognized. The ease would very likely be pretty much in evidence. To add to your equipment, I would be obliged to suggest such attitudes of mind as incisive command and authority, positive affirmation or negation, etc., possibly the questioning tone used by "Mamma" at 3 a.m. when "Papa" comes home from the "directors' meeting."
My idea is that generally what the student needs the most in his equipment is that which he has in the smallest degree.
The nervous type usually has certain unpleasant qualities in the speaking voice. This ought to be corrected at the
VOCALISES	53
very first contact with a teacher, as any irregularity or defect in the speaking voice constantly and insidiously combats or counteracts regularity and perfection in the singing voice. Don't forget that we have only one vocal organ. Prove all this by asking any vocal teacher which he prefers to start with; a sonorous, easily produced speaking voice, or one that is high pitched, breathy, nasal or throaty.
CHAPTER VII.
VOCALISES AND REGISTERS-BREAKS
When practicing vocalises as I have outlined, most students will be brought face to face with the difficulty of keeping the quality even over the entire range of the voice. In other words, the so-called registers will be encountered. Regardless of the physiological explanation of registers, which may be found in dozens of works on singing, it has not meant a great deal to the persons who have to blend them. But perhaps it will help some if we take their existence as a friendly tip from nature that the position of the intonators changes slightly with each variation of pitch. We are so anxious to have the voice sound even and of equal texture up and down that we try to sing a lot of notes with the same position—we get so far then, flop! We find it won't play any more, and we have to use another adjustment. If the voice is to be equalized, we have only the choice of making the strong notes weak, which, on its face, is a silly idea, or the oppo-site—to make the weak notes match the strong. I prefer to think of the voice as having only two kinds of notes; those that are nearest our ideal of what they should be at that time, and those that are not. I know from observation that most of the student practice today is done on the notes that are the most developed. This practice keeps the distance between the used and unused notes at least the same if not actually increasing it. I agree with the old masters that there is no short cut to the strengthening of weak or previously unused notes. There is only one way and that is to use them with the fundamental prin-
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REGISTERS	55
ciples that each note be pure in quality and sung without effort. But the important condition attached to that method of development was and still should be, this: as long as the student is working on the weak notes, he must stop any extended work on the strong ones, only spending enough effort and time on them to keep the purity and ease evident. As soon as the weak notes have assumed their rightful proportion of quality and power, then and not until then, should the voice be exercised as a single unit.
Let us take a mathematical view of the matter. Suppose your voice is soprano. You have been studying two years and still the head voice or upper part is not well developed or controlled. During the two years, let us say you have averaged an hour a day in lessons and home work, making a total in round figures of about 700 hours. You have done all the conventional scales, arpeggios, etc., generally starting in the lower or middle part of the voice, "working up," perhaps you have even begun on the high part and "scaled down." Maybe some octave jumps, holding the high notes, etc. Well, anyway you like, a good liberal estimate of the time spent on that part which is still "not right" would be one-fifth of your total or 140 hours, —the entire lesson and practice time spent during your first 150 days or 5 months study. I can say absolutely and unqualifiedly that if you had spent the first four months developing those same upper notes, as previously outlined, and one month on scales and arpeggios, you would be miles ahead of your present state, and further, the road ahead would be clear. If you have been studying two years and are not sure as to how the upper notes should be sung, that road ahead is full of rocks and ruts of uncertainty and doubt.
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The surest way to perpetuate a break in a voice is to try to extend the range of the strong notes upward by force. If this is what you have been trying to do, stop it!
Most teachers advise "don't force" or the opposite expression, "sing easily," but if this were literally insisted upon by the teacher and applied by the student, this pushing up of the strong register would never happen. In Italy today, on the operatic stage, they demand that mezzo-sopranos and contraltos sing certain words in chest quality
or position as high as and woe to her who
does not. As a result, I only know of one case where a voice of this classification has an even passable middle voice
from	
Consider one more proof of my statement. I have assured myself that in every case where I discovered a singer who had had a break eliminated, had either used sustained tones on the weak notes, or started on the weak notes and "scaled down," or had used a combination of these two. The importance of working thus is better brought out, to my notion, in the chapter on "Men's voices."
It is absurd to suppose that while the weak parts of a pianist's or violinist's hand, weak muscles in the athlete, etc., must undergo a gradual strengthening in order to withstand the highest demands of a career, that the vocal organism can be shot into position and condition without a corresponding development.
REGISTERS	57
I don't think serious and ambitious students would object or resent being held to exercises that directly and continually showed good results. It is the year after year of misdirected effort, the glossing over of weak spots, that brings discouragement and makes singing seem an eternal mystery.
Exercises that are correctly applied, show their influence in an astonishingly short time. If a student has been unconsciously using too much effort and producing an unpleasant or impure quality, his first conscious attempts to sing pure and easy tones should cause results that awaken a dormant discrimination.
If a thoroughbred horse were put in a pasture with a lot of range ponies, it would not require a horse breeder to tell which was which.
Sometimes, in very weak parts of the voice, the student may not hear any beauty, clarity or purity in the tone that is produced without effort. In this case, he need only keep his mental or will powers concentrated on the production of the desired tone quality, and the good results are inevitable.
For students who think my suggestions about saying over phrases or words is more or less bunk, try this. Suppose you held the question up before you, "What vowel am I going to use?" Your sung or spoken answer, if given in the spirit of an answer, will bring a quick co-ordination of everything involved.
Try doing this first unsustained as in speech, at various dynamics and inflections, high and low. Then establish your keyboard pitch and make your answer a sustained
58	TONE PRODUCTION
one. The spontaneity of giving out the vowel as an answer to the question is most valuable. One point is absolutely true, power of the right quality is easiest and best acquired by increasing the intensity of mental pronunciation. A good sustained tone is dependent on the proper prolongation of the thought of pronouncing, and any forcing or conscious blowing of the breath against the pronouncing position will ruin it, and consequently damage the quality of tone. As long as the mind stays on pronunciation, the intonators and breath stream work in harmony.
CHAPTER VIII.
NASAL SOUNDS
It seems to me that I have encountered more different students working on nasal sounds or stunts than any other purportedly magical device for "placing the voice." Nearly always, a nasal sound preceding a vowel is held up to the student as a key to the difficulty of acquiring clear, pure, vibrant tone quality. As in the case of the "down and out" breathing method, this nasal "open sesame" had its origin in a big truth. This truth is that all singers, great or small, whose vocal organs are allowed to function reasonably well or better, are inclined to be conscious of the resonance in the head cavities. I can easily imagine the originator of the "put it in the nose" method must have been a very good singer who recognized the sensation in that part of his anatomy and proceeded to keep his pupils' minds on the same thing.
Such an idea is, to my mind, very destructive, because it does not deal with the whole truth. It implies the hypothesis that when the resonance is felt in the nose, the tone is correct. We know this to be wrong because anyone can make a number of most horrible sounds, that will feel as if the nose were filled to bursting with the resound. One of the oldest maxims handed down to us is "the voice should never be held in the nose or choked in the throat." No bad sound (badly produced at its point of origin) resounded in any sort of cavity or partially-enclosed space, will become a good sound. The resonators are not "refiners" which absorb the bad and send forth only the
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60	TONE PRODUCTION
remaining good. The value of nasal sounds as models for vowel sounds depends on their value when considered alone. Or I could say on the degree of pure quality and ease of production that prevails. If you examine my definition of Quality again (Chapter II) , you will easily see that the conditions and functions are obliged to be the same, whether the mouth is open or closed.
I believe in nasal sounds (the m, n, ng) because they are in every language. We have to study them to make the quality pure because, when it is not, our diction cannot be good, and it is bound to affect the other sounds. To me, these nasal sounds are to be developed primarily for their phonetic value. I believe they should be used as models for quality, only if they are the best sounds that a given voice can produce. Some students can make a splendid quality on the closed mouth positions (nasal sounds) and have very little success with the open mouth positions (vowels) . Sometimes it is just the other way around. If you have been working a long time on nasals and still feel they "go dead on you" try starting on a vowel preferably one of the two nearest, "oo" (cool) or "ee" (see) if they are of clear good quality, and carry the purity and intensity into the "hum" using words such as "room, soon, seem, dream, lean," etc. In many cases students use nasal sounds without discrimination, so perhaps this little outline of the proportionate physical adjustment for each position, will help. The sound of "m" is best produced in a state of repose, no tension anywhere, no adjustment of anything above the intonators. For this reason, it would be supposed that it could always be produced easier than the others, but this is not necessarily the case.
NASAL SOUNDS	61
For the "n" the lips separate, the jaw drops slightly and the tongue expands, almost filling the mouth cavity and there should be only a gentle touch of the upper front part of the tongue against the upper frontal gum line.
Most untrained singers and a great many experienced ones stiffen the tongue in a pressure against what should be merely its resting place. Any rigidity of the tongue which can be felt or recognized, is unnecessary and simply causes the base to press against the larynx. This pressing impedes the proper action of the intonators and tends to damage the tone quality. Many students find the voice becoming hard or harsh and stiff from using the "n" before vowels with the tongue rigid. I have heard teachers say "the tongue must be absolutely loose" and then proceed to allow pupils to say "nah," "nee," "na," "no," "noo," with the tongue so stiff during the pronunciation of the "n" sound that only a wizard could sing the following vowel with purity and ease.
The "ng" sound should be made with the same ease as the other closed mouth sounds (when correct) but usually the student puts too much pressure of the tongue against the soft palate and the quality and ease of production suffer. I wonder if the reader has ever realized that the closed mouth, or nasal sounds, "m, n, ng" are all alike, while being sustained, that the differentiating feature of each comes when you finish. For example, the "m" when sustained, is nothing but the sound made by the intonators passing through the nose—the mouth cavity being elimin-ated—it cannot be recognized as the alphabetical letter
"m" until the lips fall apart at the end. The sustained
"n" is the same neutral sound going through the same passage with the mouth cavity closed off by the tongue,
62	TONE PRODUCTION
which latter organ is only waiting to fall to rest in the mouth to acquaint the listener with the fact that you intended to pronounce the alphabetical letter "n". In the same way you must allow the separation of the tongue and soft palate in order that the sound "ng" be distinguished. There is nothing to be gained by accentuating the completing movements of these three nasal sounds. The clarity and purity thereof is damaged to whatever extent you indulge in this accentuation.
The student who thinks he can develop a pure and concentrated tone quality which can be used without effort, by practicing day after day on nasal sounds, is "Chasing a myth." The truth is, if the vowel sounds are good and the voiced consonants, nasal or others, are of less value, there is only one thing to do; viz: apply the principles of the sound and sensation of the good to those not so good. To obey this rule, one needs persistence and good judgment. There are no short cuts. There is no way in which you can kid yourself along with profit. In most cases, the counsel of a teacher who understands this, is invaluable, because he should be able to tell which vowel sound or sounds are to be most advantageously used with certain consonants.
On the other hand, for those students who make better nasal sounds or other consonants (in quality and ease) than they do vowels—the task is to work from the consonants. Of course, it is understood that in either of the above cases it is only necessary to work from one to the other as long as a disparity exists. When the average is about the same the student need only watch to see that it remains.
When practicing nasal sounds, use the same rules as previously outlined for vowels. Always have in mind a
NASAL SOUNDS	63
word in which the sound occurs. Make it mean something. For instance, try sustaining the sound with a sentiment of joy or pleasure, then contrast it with one of grief; try again with the attitude of merely relating an interesting fact or happening; then with the thought of a question or answer. Try answering the question "What is the sustained sound of the letter "m" or "n" or "ng". If the sustaining gives you trouble, revert to the spoken pronunciation until the desired sound and sensation are clear in your mind. Be sure and try various dynamics; never get stuck on one. Remember the natural way is to grow gradually. The average student is safer with a "pp" or "p" beginning—neither high nor held a long time at first. But again, I make no hard and fast rules for this. If you happen to be a student who can get better first results on a "mf" or "f" go to it, fix your standard or model wherever and however you can, then work away from it in all directions.
Last: When reading over this or any other work on singing, take a sheet of paper and write down the statements or arguments that seem to attract your attention. The same with the exercises. After working a while, if you decide to experiment with them, read the whole thing over again carefully and see if you discover something you did not notice during the first reading. No book on singing can be read like a novel—for amusement—with any profit. Every writer has some message, but his work should be studied and analyzed, otherwise it (the message for you) may remain forever unrevealed. I wish I had the power to stop the practice of students hunting through volumes on singing for some trick or stunt which would take away the need for conscientious and persistent study
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and practice. Every stunt, trick or device used in teaching or practice to be of value, can only have two objectives; one is that the tone quality be pure, and the other is that it must be done with ease. And these two objectives must be in front of the student or artist from the beginning to the end of his career.
CHAPTER 1X—MALE VOICES
(A) THE BOY'S VOICE
There have been so many works published on this subject which give detailed exercises and instructions that I will only touch it lightly, more as an introduction to the men's work than per se.
When all these books have been read and the subject matter digested, I do not see that we can do better than to follow the laws of purity of tone quality and ease of manner in dealing with the boy's voice. There may be a disagreement as to the most advantageous vowel sound to be used on exercises, etc., but when the above two laws are put into operation all vowel sounds are equally facile. The most influential book of our age is that of John Dawson called "The Voice of the Boy", in which he treats the difficulty of training boys to sing continually during permutation.
Only since the first public announcement of my work, in April, 1926, have I learned that several of the leading choir masters in New York City are using his ideas for a basis and working them out in their own way. Also the little book and its gospel is at work in the public schools of Philadelphia, credit belonging to the supervisor.
As far as I know, the most prominent pioneer teachers endeavoring to carry out Mr. Dawson's ideas in this coun try are Elizabeth Van Fleet Vosseler and Bessie Richardson Hopewell, organizers and directors of the Flemington (New Jersey) Choir School. In this village of 2800 inhabitants they have an enrollment of about 300 students,
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(boys and girls) . Responding to an invitation, I had the pleasure of visiting this school and seeing a demonstration of their work in all grades, even that of the alumni. To thoroughly appreciate the condition of the voices one must realize that it was not a group of vocal students studying for professional careers, merely the young people of the village who were sufficiently interested in improving them-selves—though nearly all of them sing in one of the six or seven church choirs.
Nevertheless, it was very evident that they had been taught case and good quality along with good musicianship. I could not help thinking what a hot house of budding vocal material the Choir School is—what a priceless thing it would be to have at least one school of this type in every city of 28,000 inhabitants ten times the size of Flemington. Is it possible for vocal teachers to realize what it would mean to their "batting average" as producers of singers were this condition to be brought about?
The work with the boys deserves special comment. Following Dr. Dawson's plan the voices are allowed to sing up as high as possible easily and as the signs of change appear let them sing as altos and so gradually become tenors or basses when the change is accomplished. The adult voices are trained to lighten the pressure as the break is approached on ascending scales and to scale down from the "boy voice" to the "man's voice" without effort. The proof of the system is the fact that they actually unify the two parts of the voice. While this work has attracted attention as a means of training boys' voices, its real value to the world at large has not been stressed. I mean the unifying of the registers after the change. Probably the only reason the graduates of this choir have not attracted
THE BOY'S VOICE	67
more attention is primarily because very few of them have any intention of becoming artists and secondly because of the limitations in Dr. Dawson's book. He did well as far as he went, but he stopped short of the intensifying phase which can and should be the climax. Boys, even before the change of quality, should be taught that the tones they sing can have a maximum of intensity at any dynamic that does not cause a sacrifice of ease or purity. Then the tissues of the larynx will become more flexible and vigorous at the same time. Thus will it be possible to cease worrying about spoiling the boys' voice.
The effect of all this on the mind and physical parts involved after the change to the adult quality can be readily imagined without any more observations on my part.
I only want to emphasize one more fact, which is: If the present generation of parents, who have children in school in the grammar grades, wish to see the vocal endowments of these children bear the artistic fruit which the world has a right to expect and enjoy, they (the parents) will have to agitate, demand and insist on vocal instruction in the class room which has as its ideal purity of tone and ease of manner. No if's, and's or but's.
So many people have asked me from time to time about the advantages and disadvantages of boy choirs that I must reply directly and say that if the above treatise does not satisfy I will list a few of the practices which I condemn, deplore and fight against whenever I have an opportunity.
1. When choir directors, desiring to make impressive effects on the clergy or worshippers, call upon these young voices for power, "louder, louder", that they may sound less "girlish" or ethereal.
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2. When these directors force the lower voice up past the point where it is comfortable—which amounts to the same as No. 1, as the apparatus will not function wrongly except when forced.
3. When they are taught to get cheap, vocally climactic effects which are inartistic, such as breathing in the middle of a word in order to have more breath to sing louder and longer at the end of a phrase.
4. When they are not given standard instruction in the fundamentals of music, (first year theory) .
5. When they are coaxed or bribed into an organization where music is only the bait. This has happened in one instance where 5000 boys were made the goats for an organizer and director who, unfortunately, was able to convince a lot of people that he was the real thing. The bubble burst, only after a lot of damage had been done, not only to the boys themselves, but to the cause of boys' choruses in general.
CHAPTER IX (Continued)
BARITONES AND TENORS
At first I want to talk about Tenors and Baritones.—The Basses can have a turn later. Why is it that in face of all the scientific research on vocal matters, there seems to be such a hazy idea of what differentiates a baritone from a tenor? After questioning hundreds of singers, male and female, and a number of instrumentalists and orchestra directors, I am convinced that the general idea is that a tenor is a male singer who, by some freak of creation, had his range installed about four or five tones higher than the man whose voice we call baritone. Those who said "a tenor is a male singer with his head voice developed" hit the nail on the head, but none of these seemed to think all male voices could develop the head tones by practice, to a point where they might equal and even surpass in value, the notes of the man who had his head notes handed to him, ready for service.
Present day teaching of baritones and basses seems to be based on the supposition that their intonators are formed differently than tenors which is not true. The upper notes of a tenor voice are made by an adjustment which can be used in the same way by baritones and basses. The difference in classification would then be actually determined by the quality, not the range. There is a lot of talk now about "quality" classifying a voice, but the "classifiers" do not live up to their theories.
My contention, proven to my own satisfaction, is that all men's voices have the same potentialities, and that today
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this fact is generally unknown. I insist that any man with a good ear and practice, can develop the upper notes to a point where he would be capable of intoning somewhere near three octaves. The scientists have claimed for years that this is the potential range—that is, the distance between the lowest and highest tone.
Personally, I don't care for the extreme notes on either end.—I don't think the public does either.—The average person is quite content to hear a singer give a good high C—once in a while we hear a set of intonators give a D or E with approximately the same quality as the C—and that usually gets a good hand. If you analyze your sentiments the next time you hear a note above C, you will find that you admire the unusual feat on the part of the singer and you will thrill to the added vibrations, but I doubt if you could rave over the beauty or sensuousness of the tone. The same applies to the very low notes of the bass, minus the thrill of added vibrations, because the lower the tone, the fewer vibrations per second.
As a matter of fact, nature or God, as you wish, has limited the range of the human voice (except in a few isolated cases) to notes through which sentiment or emotion may be transmitted from one person to one or more others—or, if you please, the range is limited to notes which can be said to have the element of beauty, as understood by the average person. To my notion, beauty is something that is appreciated through the eye—but as long as we are accustomed to hear about "beautiful souls, characters, music, etc," I shall let it stand. I think most of my readers will agree that there is seldom beauty in the tenor's or soprano's tones above high C, and most certainly not many try to pronounce words up there. The topmost
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notes of these voices, like the notes below F in bass voices, are for effect.
I believe the vocal scientists are right and wish to show in these pages the way the scientific theories can be translated to applied vocal practice.
Another point, we have no record of there being any baritones until the early part of the 19th century, and only a comparatively few people seem to know this. What do these few people think, that the Creator suddenly discovered a dire need on the part of humanity, to hear some of its w. k. members sing around on eight or ten notes in the middle voice, and that the aforementioned Creator equally suddenly began to fill this need by sending us a few men minus upper notes?—"Tutealtro."
Do they think that for over two hundred years, all the male singers (other than basses) were given four or five more upper notes than are allotted to the majority today?—"Tutt'altro."
In the beginning of the art of singing, those who did the experimenting tried out every sound made by the vocal organs and discovered the reaction to treatment thereof. Thus they found that all men had upper notes, and though less robust in quality, in the average they were capable of development so as to be proportionate to the others in power and control; or I could say, they found that in the majority of cases, the higher notes were weak, although a few voices had notes of a strength proportionate to the middle and lower ones. Less frequently, they found strong upper notes and weak lower notes.
Now these pioneers had nobody to tell them to hold the tongue down or up, to raise the palate, to pull, push or
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otherwise directly misuse some of the physical parts involved; nor could they get pupils by advertising the fact that they were recommended by the Almighty, or endorsed by David Orpheus, etc.
They knew nothing about physiology to speak of, and since they had no laryngoscopes or mechanical tone testing or registering apparatus, how in the world did they ever develop singers? My, but they must have been an ignorant lot! But an ignorant person, even according to our present method of judging, thank God, can have a lot of common sense and a good ear. These men knew that the tones of the voice, to have a real value to their fellows, must be pleasing to the ear of the listener; and in trying for this result, they found that beauty of tone would only come when no exertion or force was evident. This is where they were compelled to recognize the fact that they could not have either ease or purity of tone by trying to force the vocal organs to intone a certain pitch with the same adjustment required by a tone at a lower pitch.
My investigations make me sure that in ascending or descending the scale, whether by whole or half steps, there is a slight change in the adjustment of the entire vocal apparatus for each intonation. I am only one of hundreds who are of the same opinion, but this belief is not put into practice in teaching to any extent, or we would not have so much confusion in the vocal world today. Baritones and basses are taught to do what would be comparable to playing all the notes of the violin on one string. Most of these voices who can sing with a semblance of ease as high as F or F# or even above that seem to be under the delusion that their so called covered tones are head tones. Nothing could be more destructively untrue. We read any num-
BARITONES AND TENORS	73
ber of books whose authors say "don't make any effort" or "there must be no strain" but in the same work they tell the baritones to sing up to "g" and if possible, "a flat" with about the same adjustment and volume (not to be confused with power) as in the middle voice, except that when he reaches "d" or "e flat" he is instructed to "cover" or "close" the tones. I don't believe any just God ever devised the uncomfortable and insecure adjustments used by the average baritone between "d" and "a flat," with the idea that the sounds produced thereby would be an oral blessing to the human race. There are a few exceptions, of course, —men whose vocal and physical endowments permit them to do what the average man can never accomplish. Just because a few can do this does not make it the correct thing to do or even productive of the best tones by those who practice it.
Even these favored ones can't stand the strain. It is appalling to recall the number of once beautiful baritone voices who, at an age between forty-five and fifty, are wrecks. It isn't the orchestra, nor singing loud,—unless you wish to imply that all these "wrecks" are brainless fools. We all know that a strain coming from trying to sing thru too thick or heavy an orchestration, or trying to make too much tone, is an effort the singer is conscious of at the time, and if he persists in repeating such attempts, he is certainly both foolish, and consciously betaking himself to the devil.
It is the abuse of Nature's laws that does the most effective wrecking. The trying to carry the bulk of the middle voice up into the high which they were taught to do, and are being taught to do every day of the year, and in every country I know of. Instead of being taught, as
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were our vocal forefathers, to develop the upper voice to a point where it would be proportionate in quality and usefulness to the lower part, they are taught to put it in the nose, behind the palate, choke it in the pharynx, sing "ah" in the o, oo, or ee position, or a dozen other stunts which are bound to wear out the natural resistance of the vocal organs, and will rob any language of its beauty.
Any form of vocalization which cannot be adapted to all vowel sounds is wrong. Suppose we consider some average instruction for the average baritone voice. He is asked to sing the "c" scale; as he gets past the "a" he begins to feel something pull—nature telling him he has the wrong combination. He is told "with a little practice it will come easier", "now don't tighten", "keep the throat free", "sing like you wanted to yawn (lovely sound!) " "place it farther forward", "sing it against the teeth" and perhaps a hundred other suggestions and admonitions—perhaps some about pushing or pulling his diaphragm or ribs. Well, perhaps after a while, some of these magical phrases are translated by the victim in such a way that the "b" and "c" come easier, and we say he has "made progress".
But ding bust it all, the same difficulty seems to pop up on "d" and "e flat". Here we tell him he can't sing a pure "ah" any more; from this point up it must be colored by o, oo, or ee, and he begins to occupy himself with the conscious "covering", "closing", "modifying" or "darkening" the tone. Well, without going any farther, I am willing to state that as a result, a baritone who can make reasonably good tones on all the vowels on an "e" (2nd leg line bass clef) is a "genus homo" that the world meets only too seldom.
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We had better pause a moment to consider this word "cover." It originated at the time men began trying to push the chest voice up beyond its natural limits.
Somewhere between, [CI:	11 (C and D) , the
chest tones become blatant or "too open", and there is a choice of but two ways to remove this blight. One is to sing in the head voice, which takes a reasonable amount of time and work to build a lasting strength, and the other is to partly swallow the tone, stiffening the tongue and larynx and preventing the singer from ever gaining freedom and mastery. The way this evil has spread is quite obvious when we listen to our baritones and basses es-pecially—but tenors and all types of women's voices are also victims of this mushy, deadly tone producing fad. Those who use it actually believe it makes the tones fuller and rounder! What a terrible standard!
If necessary, return to what the modern teacher says: "Keep the throat free," "Don't tighten", etc. I would like to see the student or singer who can make one of those ugly sounds without radically changing the position of the throat from that of repose.
For the reader: Take the position of repose and put a hand on your throat, thumb on one side and first two fingers on the other side of the larynx, and note how it feels; then form several vowel sounds, without even whispering, as you would in plain speech. Then pronounce them as when singing the mushy, "covered" tones, and you will see what I mean. As for the fear of making an open, or "blatant" tone, you need not worry if following my instructions as to the "how." No one can make a
76	TONE PRODUCTION
blatant tone in either head or chest position without tensing the larynx and tongue, and going contrary to the instructions regarding the free throat as described in Chapter 4.
Going back to the originators of the artistic use of the voice it is easy to understand how at first they discovered by elimination and experimentation that all good sounds were easily made, and for a long time each cycle of students who later became artists, approached the task with a deep reverence for the wonderful possibilities therein. Just like two men newly acquainted, who call each other "Mr." and discuss neutral topics, if thrown together frequently, this reserve wears off, and they address each other as "Jack" and "Jim." I can imagine very easily how, when the public began to realize that artists were only human beings after all, how the first traditional methods became mixed with the different artists personal sensations of how it was done. For instance, the first curious student who started the digression said, "how do the wheels go round?" and the artist may have said, "Why, I am not conscious of anything moving but my abdomen". So the student thinks he has discovered the secret of a short cut and gives himself over to wiggling his tummy with more or less success, if all his other equipment is in good shape, and tries to make all those who later come to him for advice, do the same thing. Or it could have been that an artist, who in his student days had an unruly tongue and conquered it by following his teacher's instructions, had told the curious one that it was only a matter of loosening the tongue. The curious one went out and tried to make singers by giving all his pupils a nice assortment of tongue exercises. Just a result of the disastrous effort of human beings to find a short cut to some worthwhile achievement.
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But let us go ahead with our subject. Again available vocal history shows that about 1830, one man, a Neapolitan, with an enormous voice, unusually endowed as to chest and vocal apparatus, was able to make a great impression by the use of his middle voice only. His influence and example immediately showed in the fact that others tried to imitate him and to parallel his achievements, thus starting a new voice classification. The now called baritone voice is none other than that part of the average man's voice developed from the time it "changed", through the use of the vocal organs in speech.
There are only two parts (or registers) in any male voice. They are the used and comparatively strong part, and the unused or weak part; we have gained nothing by knowing the physiological explanation of registers. The real cause of the decline in the number of fully developed voices ought to be charged to the human tendency to follow the line of least resistance, what appeared and appears to be, the easiest way.
For over one hundred and fifty years, no man thought of going out to sing, with only half of his voice trained. After the first "baritone" it was the most human thing in the world for a large number of men to forego the time and pains required to develop the upper voice, and to get out before the public much sooner than had they waited to finish the job.
Francesco Lamperti said: "The fact that modern music (1830-1870) affords such facilities to artists contented to arrive only at mediocrity is one of the chief reasons why the ranks of the art are crowded by worthless, half taught singers and is the origin of the general ruin of voices for want of fundamental study," and further: "A theatrical
78	TONE PRODUCTION
speculator hearing a good voice, even tho it be wanting in the first principles of art, engages it, offers and sublets it in the musical market."
We are not made differently (physically constructed) today, and we all know that when a man who we say has a baritone voice tries to sing a little higher than his speaking range, he is confronted with the necessity to do one of two things; either overtax the position, adjustment or development which functions during speech, or to "let go".
If he obey the inward promptings of nature and "let go", or in other words stop "holding on" to the habitual speaking position, his voice appears to "break" into a weak and colorless tone. The very sound of this tone in comparison with the more developed tones of the speaking voice, has caused it to be called "false". The sound was recognized by the originators of singing as an art (the Italians) and called "falsetto" and synonymously "head voice" owing to the sensation of being in the head. They found, however, that this weak false tone, (when unused) , became strong when used in a certain way and that as it became strong, it seemed to reach down and fasten itself in the chest. In other words, it became a part of the speaking voice, or the used part; at the same time, like all true tones, retaining a sensation of resounding in the head cavities.
Perhaps it would be wise to state here that the original use of the term "falsetto" was not to describe something despicable or undesirable, as seems to be the case today. The word "f also" in Italian means false or the opposite of the true; the termination "etto" implies youth, prettiness, grace, etc. It is not hard to understand that the tone the
BARITONES AND TENORS	79
old masters described as falsetto was one that was not the true or complete tone, but nevertheless one which had the necessary potentialities to become true, mature, and beautiful when sensibly and correctly used.
Tosi, one of the great Italian teachers, wrote in, or about 1750: "If more of our present day teachers knew how to unite the feigned with the real, we would not have such a scarcity of sopranos" (meaning high voices) .
The originators of singing could hear at once that the same principles were present in the "false" tone as in the one that sounded "real". To produce it they had to take breath and go through all the other motions and that while there was a poor imitation of the true sound coming from the throat, it did not take them long to discover that this imitation was not the same in all voices. That in some it appeared very poor, in others a little better, and in others very good, and in others it seemed quite securely allied to the speaking voice in which case (the latter) they called it a voice of "one register only".
The men who had the latter type of voice were the easiest to train and the first to be turned out as vocal artists. Those whose upper voices were weaker than the ones just mentioned were in a second class, who required a little longer period to complete the development up to a certain standard; and so on down to the weakest they trained them all to acquire the union of the weak part of the voice with the strong by working on the weak notes until they were of proportionate quality and strength.
We have absolutely no different conditions today as far as voices go. We can hear the four types above-mentioned around us every day; but how about the manner of training them? The only classification that is trained by
80	TONE PRODUCTION
all teachers to sing the upper notes, is the last, or those voices in which the head tones are so strong that they appear to be united to the rest of the voice. Once in a while teachers with more than ordinary vision and knowledge, take a chance with the second class and develop them also; but they are far in the minority. The others, the great majority of men's voices, are told they are baritones and are taught to push up the speaking voice so they may have the pleasure of choking to death on "f" "f sharp" and "g", and occasionally "a flat".
It is a glaring inconsistency of present-day teachers, that if a man sing up into the high voice, be the tone very weak and in fact very little firmer than the average falsetto of a baritone or bass voice, but without any hiccough or break he is classified as a tenor and developed as such.
To my mind the stumbling block is the apparent or audible difference between the tones that are at the time usable, whether called chest or middle tones and the tones which at the time are not usable, in other words the falsetto.
Also, when a teacher hears the break or flop, he immediately abandons the poor weak little sound made by the position that needs development and strengthening the most and returns to work on the strong part, causing the upper and lower parts of that voice to become more and more separated. Even as recently as Manuel Garcia we find this statement: "The first task is to unite the registers. . . nature does this sometimes, but rarely"; as the only tenors we have today are those voices in which nature has done the work, is it any wonder that we have to say "tenors are so scarce"?
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Garcia also says: "Neither need the pupil fear the kind of hiccup (his spelling) which occurs in passing from one register to another." Where in a male voice can we hear a kind of hiccup except in going from the speaking voice to a falsetto? Now then Garcia was a very successful teacher and a recognized authority. Is it that his words have been read and unheeded? I think so. I think we have been in the class of those to whom a certain man said, about 2,000 years ago: "Eyes have ye and ye see not; ears have ye and ye hear not."
The testimony of these old timers from Mancini down, such as the above, convinces me I have not stumbled onto something new but rather an old truth obscured in the rush of an impatient and commercial era.
One object of this article is to make an appeal to all teachers to be more careful in "trying" voices. Examine the so-called falsetto of each man who feels his voice "break" between "d" and "g" and where there is any clarity or purity, be the tone ever so small or weak, develop it.
As far back as I can remember, vocally speaking, I have heard "don't sing falsetto" or "leave the falsetto alone, it will ruin your real voice" or in the books on singing, it is passed over with a touch like one gives a hot baked potato, too hot to hold. I will admit it has taken fifteen years of the strictest observation, study and experimentation to enable me to say what I have, but being sure of my ground, I offer the results to the world for what good it may do. It is not a new plaything with which singing students with half-baked ambitions may amuse themselves. It is a positive and definite way by which all men, who are able to sing at all, can use the upper voice with ease and
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beauty of tone, as well as power; but it takes conscientious practice and persistent application. While I am going to give a few suggestions as to exercises later in the book, I do not think I have found the only -way. I will be willing to stake my life on the fact that as teachers begin a systematic use of this form of training, many others will discover ways and means that have never entered my thoughts.
To satisfy those who have studied the physiology of the voice, let me make this resume regarding the physical action that is involved—both in the falsetto and the "legitimate tone", even if it does seem superfluous. Surely there is no one in this class (the voco-physiologists) who does not know that when the falsetto is produced, the vibration of the thin edges of the chords occurs, and that the full tone (proportionate in fundamentals and overtones) wherever it can be sung, is produced by the entire width of chords and accompanied by sympathetic vibrations of the larynx.
My investigations and proofs show that it is a matter of progression from the falsetto to the standard tone. As the vocal chords and their supporting co-ordinators, which I call intonators, grow in strength through proper use, the act of intensifying the pronunciation of vowel sounds, engages more and more of the tissues of these intonators, adding strength and vibrating power until it reaches certain natural limits.
Garcia goes into the physiological phase of the change or re-adjustment between the falsetto and head voice position and describes it as follows: "As soon as the length of the glottis is diminished from the back by the action of the arytenoid cartilages until only the vocal chords are used
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(to form the glottis) the falsetto ceases, producing the head register."
For those who like an illustration less physiological but based on a physical law, allow me to submit this one:
The tissues that function to produce the male falsetto in an undeveloped condition are very much in the same class as a new born baby's legs; meant for use and service, but not strong enough. Please note the progression toward the simple and very necessary act of walking. First, baby kicks around and pulls and twists his little legs until one day on the floor he uses them in a bent position with the aid of his hands to push himself around the room. In a little while he stands up to a chair or table. About that time someone is usually there to suggest that he try a step or two and in incredibly short time he is running all over the house.
So it is with the falsetto position which engages only a small part of the vibrating tissues, but if this action is repeated regularly and without force, in a short time they will be able to resist a greater breath pressure. Each degree of strength added to the vibrators means another degree of vitality to the resultant tone.
Any man whose voice would be developed from the falsetto to a standard tone, will show the same action of the intonators as in the one who could be judged and endowed or natural tenor by the poorest critic in the world.
In order that the reader may have some additional testimony, let me quote from Dr. Farrar's book (1881) p. 56. "The two series of tones have not, however, any distinct line of demarcation separating them, but merge insensibly the one into the other, so that in notes of the middle pitch we may have either the chest notes or the falsetto."
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Holbrook Curtis-1910:
"We are, however, convinced that one mechanism may be cultivated throughout the entire compass of the voice, that the relation of the chords is not necessarily disturbed in passing from the chest to the head register." (See foot note) .
Dr. Leo Kofler-1897:
"From experience and from the testimony of the best singers of all time, I can state that falsetto practice is the fundamental work for the developing of the high tones of all male voices and for equalizing them with the medium range."
Recently Dr. Marafioti of New York, who has been the advisor to many of the singers at the Metropolitan Opera Company, has brought out certain results of experiments with the emission of tone that seem to have been founded on his doubt as to the value of the vocal bands during phonation. He attaches great importance to the fact that a man had made vocal sounds that were audible with a tube in his larynx which prevented the vocal bands from functioning.
The proportionate development of the weak tissues of the intonators destroys forever the difference of action between the speaking voice and the falsetto, so that both the action of the chords and the vocal sounds produced are of relative value over the entire range. The upper notes even feel like near relations of the lower ones, as if sung with the same mechanism.
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This is to me a terrible waste of time and effort because the tones were not musical and were the product of the breath being blown through the passage without having any resisting surface. Furthermore, suppose it were proved that we could speak and sustain a few tones without the aid of the vocal bands, we would either have to go around with a rubber or metal tube in the larynx or else have the vocal bands cut out. We have no nerve control which would permit them to lie dormant while we talk or sing.
One thing is certain and that is the slightest discoloration of, or growth upon the bands affects the tone quality —bad singing makes them inflamed and weak, and good singing keeps them in condition. The whole question simmers down to: "What does the learned Doctor want?" or "Has it not been sufficiently demonstrated that the human throat can make beautiful sounds as it is?"
All the efforts of vocal scientists to date have not added one jot or tittle toward making the study of singing easier— in actual result these efforts to take the watch to pieces have only tended to confuse both student and teacher and develop an incredible number of charlatans in the teaching end of it. In addition to this it has, by inference and claim, given the impression that there are all kinds of short cuts to vocal proficiency and that sooner or later no one would have to go through the developing process—can we be so far afield that we cannot appreciate the value of real vocal study to character and mind? No Creator, however kind and loving, could have meant otherwise than that it be a creative force.
Think of the thought, time, concentration, application, routine, research, etc., required to make a real artist—and the possibilities of attaining a degree of perfection
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that makes the artist a messenger from on high. How about the resultant physical and mental poise, the practice of patience, the overcoming of self-consciousness, the becoming acquainted with the best poetry, details of history as required in opera, such as costumes and customs of different eras, etc., etc?
Then again, remove the necessity for prolonged study, the test of ambition, and let us have some means of becoming expert vocalists at a stroke, what would become of the profession? There is a fundamental law applying to singers as well as to other musicians, lawyers, doctors or plumbers, and that is there must be a variety of artistic or professional stature, every individual having a sum total of his particular natural gifts plus what is added thereto by work, study and experience.
My advice is to stop hunting short cuts and spend the same amount of time making a habit of producing pure and easy tones, which are right at hand and easily distinguished from the ugly, impure and difficult.
Among the famous singers of the past were a few who allowed themselves, or were allowed by parents or guardians to be unsexed in order to keep the adolescent quality. This fact has led many teachers to believe that this operation worked some kind of a miracle permitting the victim to have great facility and range without going through the arduous studies of his fecund competitors. I can only say that the inevitable law of supply and demand worked to perfection in this instance. If the colorless and (according to their old ideas) , cherubic notes of the Castrati had made any permanent market for themselves, we would still have Castrati today. And if unsexing a youth already past the adolescent stage would help to make a great vocalist, I
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am sure we would find quite a goodly number of tenors, baritones, yea, even basses ready and willing to exchange the joys of fatherhood for the favor and patronage of the public. The longer I study the matter and see the proofs of the truth all around me, the more I marvel that there is not a greater general practice of it. There are numerous cases of men who started out to sing as baritones, who, at various stages of a career have changed to tenors. What in Heaven's name does the vocal world think they did—push up the middle voice? Not one of those I have heard did. The few who have tried that sort of a stunt have failed miserably. I call the successful ones men who discovered that the only adjustment other than for the speaking voice, produced a tone with enough quality to warrant its development.
The reader, up to this point, will probably think I want to do away with baritones altogether. Let me be rightly understood. By this form of development, all male voices can have pure tones in the upper voice sung with ease and security; but the tone quality which is only the indication of the quality, quantity, condition and functioning of the different parts of the vocal organ, plus the size and shape of the resonators, should not change except for the better. In other words, a voice rich in the middle will be correspondingly rich in the upper part if properly developed. Now then, this does not mean that a voice of power and beauty in the middle would be better received by the public if the high notes only be used. Many rich voices, especially those which extend downward to an
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"a flat", bid 11111111111111
with ease, would find a warm re-
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ception if the voice be used artistically, and the majority
88	TONE PRODUCTION
of the repertoire for such a voice could be used in the present baritone range. But how much more satisying would these same voices be if they could also sing a brilliant and well controlled "b flat" above (over two octaves) .
However, with the training I suggest, many so-called baritones, who are today singing with limited range and poor control, would find their "forte" or the greatest public appeal in their upper voices, and hence would become tenors. The law of supply and demand would control this as it does all human products and activities, and always will.
There are so many ways in which singers may appeal to the public. One has a tremendous volume, another scintillating brilliancy, this one a lot of sympathetic quality, that one excels in diction or delivery, others in dramatic expression, etc. etc. . . .
I think all the good teachers I know agree that quality decides the classification of a voice. Yet, at the same time, I think that 95 out of every 100 present day baritones would be singing tenor repertoire, had they the high notes and ability to hold the tenor tessitura, be it the result of their own wishes or the advice of the teachers. The reason for the present demand for high tones is due to two facts; that they are not very plentiful, and ( 2 ) that human senses are more thrilled by them than by low or middle tones. There are only a few male voices today which can give out a clear, free high "c". Think how many tenors are cast for operatic roles today, whose principal reason for being is that they can sing the notes in the score. This ought not to be. Many vocal stars of the present time hold their places in the firmament because there are so few com-
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petitors in the matter of range. Wide range and purity of tone quality can and should be available for all voices, and the differentiation between artists should be the obvious difference in their artistic talents, fields of endeavor, style, etc. . .
One more little speech and then to tone exercises: In the "Land of Song" Italy, today most male vocal students become such about 20 or 21 years of age. I don't know that it is very different anywhere else. In this same country, at the time singing was developed into a fine art, they took the boys just as soon as the voice showed the masculine quality, at 13, 14 and 1 years. At that time they started developing the weak part of the voice and by the time they were 20 or 21 they were accomplished vocalists, if not mature artists. No instruction in the world can take the place of the maturing process involved in public performance.
Today the teachers in Italy say they don't like to take students at an early age; they are not strong enough. Not strong enough! Just look at the poor delicate little things with legs like young oak trees and bodies used to all kinds of work. Singers do not come from the pampered class. Just listen to their poor little voices at a football match or some of their other games. Any one but a deaf person could hear them a mile away. Even then maybe they are not strong enough to stand being given a few vocalises, then thrown headlong into operatic roles which were written for seasoned voices. I have talked with an astonishing number of tenors between the age of 3 and 40 who are "finished", who have emphatically expressed the wish that the law would permit them to take physical revenge upon the teachers who put them out without being seasoned.
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The old story—go after glory, fame and money through the shortest and crookedest alleys, or straight up the mountain side instead of along the smooth highway that winds over a longer route, but leads surely and definitely to the top and gradually takes one down the other side into the Valley Of No Regrets.
This leads to the second appeal to American teachers, and to my mind the more important of the two. Encourage the idea that boys can begin to study as soon as the voice has changed to the masculine quality. Explain that the exercises at first will be simple and appropriate to the physical condition of the student, and that songs, when deemed advisable, will be indicated on the same basis. Any teacher can afford to try to develop the upper or weak voice of each male student for the first year, if at the end of that time the results are not satisfactory and it looks as if nothing could be gained by continuing, let him proceed as best he can with the speaking voice only.
I would like to call attention to the fact that practically all our front rank baritones sing pp on the upper notes with the head voice, or in other words with the chords just a little more firmly segmented than in a falsetto. I can also state as a positive fact that these same men could continue the development of that position to where their loud tones would be produced by an intensified activity of the parts involved and have a completely controlled voice up to a "b flat" if not to "c". Only this past year I have heard two baritones who sang "f sharp" "g" "a flat" and "a" with the head position slightly clouded by the effort to "cover", who thought they were still singing "chest". This leads to one of the facts that confuses both teachers and pupils. The head tones, when
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developed, contain much of the character of the middle and lower notes, and therefore, this causes the impression that the developed part can be extended upward. To disprove such a contention, we merely have to remember that the upper part of the speaking voice is also weak. We have almost been led to believe that the upper part of the speaking voice is the strongest, because in the average use thereof, the tones are spoken louder—but always with more physical activity. Unless the laryngeal action and breath pressure are simultaneously increased, the chest tones would be produced with a gradual decrease of power when ascending the scale from any tone which could be established as the average speaking pitch of the person making the experiment.
The contention that the use of the speaking voice position has already developed a singing range which can be used as a nucleus and that the same position can be "pushed up" a few more tones, is causing more heartaches and disappointments among male singers today than any other destructive theory in the vocal world.
We are at the crossroads, so to speak, either the system of teaching is wrong or else the range demands of composers who write music for the average man's voice—bari-tone?—are exorbitant. My investigation, plus available vocal history, make me believe it is the former difficulty that is causing the trouble. There have been some sporadic efforts along the method of instruction that I am trying to suggest, but we will not discover its real value until generally tried. One teacher cannot know or experiment with all its possibilities in one earthly existence. The sporadic and indefinite efforts of which I speak are exemplified by the instruction in a book by Charles Lunn, a generally recognized English authority.
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He says "to develop the high tones of a man's (tenor's) voice. Keep the position of the open (middle note) "b flat" and absolutely without any feeling or effort think the octave above, but think and imagine yourself pinching downward. If this production will not come in this way, take the high note falsetto, then think and squeeze downward from the false chords, the true chords will synchronize in time."
He evidently had something like the right idea, but the reason the vocal world has not accepted his idea is because I don't think many persons could make head or tail out of such a paragraph. Who can consciously "squeeze downward from the false chords?" At any rate, he knew that singing the note falsetto first would lead to the real tone, so would anybody who tried it for any length of time.
The trouble with him, as with Kofler is that, while admitting the value of the falsetto, the exercises given and the instructions for treatment have been too vague and indefinite. Quite a number of persons, who call themselves "male sopranos" have each made a living in vaudeville over a period of several years, by singing falsetto, but they had to keep thinking in falsetto in order to do it, and none of them can keep it up long. The tone loses its feminine, or, I might say "flutey" quality. Furthermore, you, nor I nor anyone else ever heard one of these "male sopranos" who did not have a rather heavy and clean sounding middle or speaking voice. I can say without any fear of contradiction that the resultant strengthening of the vocal organ from using the position which causes only the approximation of the edges of the chords, affects the whole range of the voice, and very favorably. This
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has shown in my own voice, and with every voice I have worked with in this way.
While I expect a lot of opposition to all I am setting down here, I will not feel justified in arguing with anyone who has not experimented along the lines suggested.
With all these arguments, let us proceed with the exer-
cises.
First Read and Study, Chapter SA.
Let us suppose you are an average student, either tenor, baritone or bass. Sing up the scale without any effort added to the first note, until the voice "breaks" into the
falsetto. This will probably occur around	I 	
—stop— make an attack with the "ah" sound on this note in a most frank and easy manner in the falsetto, at the smallest degree—ppp—with a state of mind of "relating an interesting fact"—then while holding the tone, move the jaw up and down a very short distance about once per second in a very free way. You should be able to move the tongue around in the mouth without any interruption of the flow of tone. This does not mean to do it incessantly. (Naturally, any movement of jaw and tongue will slightly change the vowel sound, but not the flow of tone). There is no need to keep on with the jaw or tongue movements after the sensation of freedom is recognized. Here the student must be able to recognize the difference between (1) trying to increase the tone by blowing more breath against the position, and (2) the thought of intensifying the pronunciation which involves automatically the needed breath. If this difference cannot be made plain on a
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falsetto tone, accomplish it in the speaking voice. I know of nothing that will as efficiently prevent the escape of unvibrated breath as does the vowel or nasal consonant pronouncing act. (The nasal consonant being nothing but the functioning of the vocal organs with the mouth cavity closed off) .
As soon as you know this difference, try to increase the intensity of your pronunciation—without having any idea of sustaining it. It is a matter of the teacher's judgment as to when he can ask the student to prolong the pronunciation of the vowel being used.
As Mancini (1776) says, "attack the tone at that pitch which seems weak and unfriendly and press it a little," and further, "Here is where the teacher and pupil must both be very much in earnest," and also, "Not to be discouraged at the feebleness, etc." or "This will enable the singer to fasten the voice, thus enabling him to sing with ease in any style—sing to the heart of his audience," etc. . .
Some of the above admonitions show that the old masters know the trials of combating superficial ambitions, but at the time Mancini wrote, they were just beginning to find out that partially trained singers could "get by" and at least make a living, if not able to become famous.
Another good way to begin is to try out all the notes in the falsetto range and find the clearest tone or tones. Also try all the vowels, at least the five, ah, e, ee, o, oo, and the three nasal sounds in, n, ng (see previous remarks on nasal sounds) .
It sounds like terribly stale and uninteresting work to sing one note over three or four times, only trying for
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the utmost freedom and ease of manner and pure tone quality; but it is the quickest road to success. Three or four attacks to feel the position and hear the quality on any one note ought to be sufficient. Then sustain each tone three or four times, (1) without crescendo, for three or four seconds, ( 2 ) then try a slight crescendo; if successful, see how much of a crescendo you can make. It is possible for some voices to do one tone well, with considerable increase, in which case sing three or five tones up and back or some other moving figure. Above all else, while working on the upper voice, do not work the lower or middle tones (speaking voice) more than enough to establish the same qualities of ease and purity and never long at a time. Teachers should develop the pupil's ear to hear the fine differences of tone quality which will begin to show in the upper voice very soon after the first attempts. As soon as the quality sounds clear and firm enough have the student "scale down", that is, come down the major scale from the pitch begun in upper voice and see whether there is still enough difference to make a "break". As long as a "break" shows, I know quicker progress can be made by working entirely on the upper voice; but many students will probably make considerable progress by feeling the upper voice gradually melt into the lower through down scale work. As soon as the upper voice quality is proportionate to the lower and the break has been eliminated, all the various exercises for agility and control can be used. It may get on the nerves of some students to repeat over and over attacks, sustained tones 2nd crescendi, and the wise teacher can use his ingenuity in inventing some variations to these simple exercises.
It will keep any student busy doing as above outlined for all the time usually allotted to purely vocal practice.
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I think the fascination and satisfaction of hearing and feeling the steadily increasing value of the tones, will keep any ambitious student on the straight and narrow path. Until a satisfactory tone quality is established over a range of two octaves all work on songs should be taboo!
The success of the development of the upper voice from the small ethereal tone of the falsetto to the standard tone, can only be brought about by the direct action of the will power of the student in intensifying the pronunciation. There is only one other thing he will try to do and that is to push against the tone as if to force it out, using too much breath, and thereby cause the chords to separate. One thing is certain, no tone, at whatever stage of development must ever be increased beyond the point where everything involved seems to be functioning normally and easily. In other words, never sacrifice ease and purity for power. This is the constant temptation of the student, because just as soon as one hears and feels a clean cut, easily produced tone, it seems second nature to try to "swell 'er till she busts".
My experiences have taught me that nothing is gained by working all the time on one dynamic after the clarity and purity in the pp is established. In listening to many. lessons in large and small music centers, I have been impressed with the prevalence of this fault,—which is also to be my criticism of the average pupils's home practice—they get on one degree of power, generally the loudest, and stick to it. In this upper voice-work the quiet clear tone is the thing that results from a good co-ordination and it is comparatively easy to obtain. Even after the student can make a good crescendo, he should always exercise the voice three quarters of the time in the degrees be.
BARITONES AND TENORS	97
tween "pp" and "mf" to one-quarter "f" and ."ff". The old Italians believed in this thoroughly because no singer was complete without the "messa di voce" or from
1313, aw"""	pp-
As soon as the ability to sustain a small clear tone has been acquired, the student will probably find the crescendo of which I have already spoken, very advantageous. Work
it this way a great deal, viz.: pp.	mp; breath,
then attack mp,	pp, then in one breath from pp
to mp and back to pp.
This exercise is old stuff and appears in a lot of books, but it is usually given as a means of controlling the gradations of power, but I think it is all of that and in addition, the greatest of all ways to develop the power without destroying the quality.
The reason I have not given much instruction regarding the crescendo from p to fff is because any student accomplishing the first step will sense and hear that he can keep on to the limit of his possible development by following the same principles. No one can use a degree of strength that does not exist in his organ. The trying to sing a mf when the organ is only capable of giving out a mp is very destructive. Put in another way, continued practice on the dynamic which taxes the organ to the limit results in a tearing down, while practice on the dynamics which tax the organ less than one-half of its strength is constructive. As soon as the student reaches a point of surety and independence he should
98	TONE PRODUCTION
practice his loudest tone of pure quality, easily sung enough to know it is there and subject to his will. This law is seen in every form of physical training such as boxing, wrestling, running, swimming, etc.; also in the playing of musical instruments.
During the attempt to make a crescendo even from the very beginning when it seems as if no response is evident, there must be no clamping of the jaws, no attempt to assist with the tongue or any muscles that can be seen. As explained in a previous chapter, the muscles under the chin must be as relaxed during phonation as when in absolute repose—there are no "ifs" "and?' or "buts" about it—even though the tone seem very good with a little bit of tension in that region, it will be better without any.
The extreme simplicity of this way of developing the upper male voice (or for that matter the female voice as well) makes it sound as if anyone could accomplish it. I am convinced that anyone with a good ear can; but like any other profession or business, there will always be those who will not give the time and conscientious effort. A. great many bank clerks who have had every other qualification for big positions have lacked patience and conscience. They have taken their big money out of the vault and then the first train out of town, selling their chances for real success for a proverbial mess of pottage.
So will a large number of baritones and basses continue to sing well in the middle voice and fake the upper notes. But the number of real male vocalists of sterling worth will only increase when the fact is recognized by all teachers that 100 per cent of the male students can develop the upper voice as such, if they will use the smallest tones as
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a starting point. Everything in the animal and vegetable kingdoms whose growth we observe daily follows this law.
The reader will see that I have only pointed out the general direction of the goal—having left the most of the details to the wisdom of the many capable and conscientious teachers of America. There is no question in my mind as to the outcome, if each one of these will do some experimenting of his own along the lines suggested by me. Now let us go down to the cellar.
CHAPTER X.
BASSES
The percentage of good bass voices is very low as we know. (I do not intend a pun, either) . By basses I mean that type of voice that can intone clearly down to and sometimes below "d" below the bass clef—not the pushed down "heavy baritones".
Here again we notice the comparative facility in the use of the tones used most in speech, and the difficulty in producing and controlling the tones above this zone. The world seems to have taken it for granted that because the bass voice sounds heavy that it must actually possess weight like something composed of lead. Also from the average bass singer's performance, we must assume that the public has taken it for granted that it is necessary for basses to make their tones sound as though they came from their boots, and otherwise muffled or growled out.
Whether we blame the teachers or the singers themselves, it is a colossal crime against vocal art. For some unknown reason the opinion has been frequently expressed in my hearing that a heavy voice should be more or less confined to a more ponderous type of vocal composition and that we cannot expect the same performance that is demanded of higher voices. Let us try and change this idea so that at least a properly proportioned facility shall be demanded by both teachers and public.
Now then let us return to the generally admitted method of classifying voices by the quality—nothing could be more along my line of thought—but let us stop at quality,
(100)
BASSES	101
without demanding that a bass voice must have a certain hollow, mushy, half swallowed character in addition. The physical characteristics of the bass singers vocal equipment are responsible for his ability to sing lower and have that heavy vibration which is his chief asset. This heavy quality should not exempt him from singing pure vowel sounds.
To me, the bass voice used in ordinary speech has a great charm and beauty, far more than has the average voice of any other classification. Every one I have heard can speak distinctly and without damaging the language whether English, French, German, Italian or Russian, etc. According to my experiences, when the speaking voice is used well the singing voice can be used with equal facility. I would like to see a wholesale attempt made by our teachers to develop a universal clarity and purity of enunciation and pronunciation among basses—a treat for the public ear now to be heard only from a few.
As to the upper voice, I can say that owing to the quality and character of the middle and lower voice, that it is not so necessary to a successful career for basses to develop it through the falsetto, but it would have the same results as in other voices, ease and control over the entire range, if they did. By range, I mean the possible range, not the accepted. The falsetto of a bass voice shows a proportionate heaviness to his lower tones, that is present in other male voices. If you will listen to our foremost basses sing "pp" on the upper notes, you will notice that they go into a tone only one or two degrees removed from the falsetto. Any bass now using a head voice acceptable in public, could develop that same tone to a "ff" in a year or year and a half, which would provide
102	TONE PRODUCTION
him with the means of obtaining a much greater artistic stature and added public favor. The stage of development which is apt to cause a doubt about the possibilities of success is the first, or the development of enough tone to use in public.
A most gratifying feature of practice in the head voice, which shows itself in all voice classifications is the subsequent improvement in the extreme lower notes, both in quality and facility. This fact ought certainly to appeal to the basses. The reader must remember that these statements are not unsupported theories, but established facts based on theories that I have proved correct by practical experimentation on both men's and women's voices.
My appeal is to establish a standard of tone production which will permit a maximum of tonal beauty, facility and diction. It cannot take any more time than is at present expended in fruitless struggling, muffling and choking to death.
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