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5/20/2018 Glossary extracts
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thepitch impressions in themind arelikethekeys ofthepiano key-
board.
Pleasingquality depends primarily upon accurateintonation.
M
MasqueSingingin theMasqueisactually a grandiloquent namefor a
throaty,nasal technic.When the voiceis really well-produced no
tangiblesensation is experienced,becauseit is perfectly "free."When
thevoiceis impaired,becauseoftechnical faults,sensations arise,and
as thevoicedeteriorates,thesesensations becomeprogressively more
clearly defined.Sensation can be"felt"in thenose,between theeyes
or "in themasque"ifthejaw is set and tensed in themiddleposition.
This tension is directed to thefront ofthefaced uringphonation.This
sensation is greatly abetted when theneck muscles arein a high degree
oftension,and this can beengendered by droppingt he head and by
developingtension on themuscles ofthechest and shoulders.
Thesensation ofsomethinghappening"in the masque"is associated
with thetransmission ofsound through constrictor tension.Itserves
only to destroy thequality and power ofthetoneand eliminatethe
voice.It has nothingto do with resonance.
Mellow Toneis a toneofvery finequality.It can bepr oduced only when
thetechnic has reached a high stageofdevelopment and it is the
result ofa very highly developed resonancesystem.Thus,thegenio-
hyo-glossus muscles must bedeveloped very highly and theregisters
developed and co-ordinated completely,or almost so.Thetoneis not
white,but it is not overly dark and tends to bewhitish.Theresonance
adjustment involves theuseofa large,widely opened laryngeal
pharynx.Beforethe stageofdevelopment has been reached at which
legitimate,mellow tones can beproduced,thepupil has to singwith
a somewhat overly dark quality, especially in themiddlepart ofhis
range.The lateEnrico Caruso was theperfect exampleofmellow
singing.
Any attempt to producemellow tones at too early a stagein the
technical development leads to a dropped tongue,hyoid boneand
larynx and to throatinesseven activethroatiness.Therefore, it is dan-
gerous.
N
Nasal Resonanceis patently absurd becausethenasal cavity is a non-
adjustable,highly damped cavity which could not,under any circum-
stances,function as a resonator.
Thenasal pharynx does form part ofthepharyngeal resonance
system,but this is notthenoseit is behind thenose.
Thefeelingofsomething happeningin thenoseis experienced when
thejaw is locked in themiddleposition and this lockingtension is
directed into thefront oftheface(thenose),and when theneck
muscles plus themuscles ofthechest and shoulders arein a high degree
oftension.
^
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sung.Both registers should becarried uprelatively slowly,onesemi-
toneat thetime.However,the octavereflection must,at all stages,
bemeticulously adhered to,or mixed registration and throatiness
will result with theaccompanyingloss ofvoice.
Theoctavereflection does not apply to men's voices,becausethey
cannot put forth sufficient energy to produceloud enough tones at
such high pitches.Physiologically, however,it is truefor both sexes.
UnbalancedRegistration is unbalanced when both registers have
been isolated and established,with onemoredevelopedstronger
than theother. It is absolutely essential that this condition becor-
rected immediately.No further development ofthestronger register
should bepermitted,until equalized development between thetwo
registers has been established.This is not co-ordination.It is a con-
dition which must persist through all stages ofthetrainingprocess,
onceit has been established.
RelaxingtheThroatIfthe throat werereally relaxed,a singer could
not producesound.SeeForward VoiceProduction and Focussingthe
Voice.
Ifproponents ofthis notion mean "relax themuscles oftheneck"
it would bemuch better to say so,becausethesemuscles come into a
high degreeoftension when themuscles ofthethroat,i.e.,genio-hyo-
glossus muscles,relax.
When thetongueis relaxed thetoneis throaty.Thethroat is the
resonator ofthetone in good technic.It is only out of action in phona-
tion,when thetechnic is bad (throaty).
Resonance Adjustment indicates theshapingoftheresonancecavities
for thepickingout,or resonation,ofthebands offrequencies which
determinethevowel.Resonanceadjustment is possibleonly when the
cavities can assumea widevariety ofshapes and sizes.
For thehuman voice,resonanceadjustmentis madewith thepharyn-
geal cavities when thetechnic is correct and with themouth when it
is throatyincorrect.
Resonanceadjustment implies the"tuning"ofcavitiespharynx or
mouthfor theresonation ofthevowel bands offrequencies ofthe
particular fundamental and its overtones which aregenerated at the
larynx.
Open
Major OpeningMost voices areconstricted,or throaty,at the
start ofthetrainingprocess.A first major changefrom constrictor
to openingtension must,then,beengendered. Thetonguemuscles
(genio-hyo-glossus muscles) must bebroughtinto tension,and
when this action is establishedfor thefirst time,thevoicesudd enly
"opens up"to a very marked degree.Theincreasein power,which
results when a constricted voiceopens up,may bevery startling.
This openingoften occurs suddenly.It may betermed a "major
opening,"andit must bemet with a very pronounced increasein
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theenergy or "drive"which thesinger must put into theproduc-
tion oftone.
Open Toneoccurs when thetonguehas pulled away from thepos-
terior wall ofthelaryngeal pharynx and has thus opened the
throat,i.e.,when pharyngeal resonanceadjustment has been estab-
lished.
Unfortunately,somepeoplebelieveopen tones areproduced
only in themiddlerangeofthevoice.By "open tones,"these
peoplemean relatively loud,white,shouty,throaty tonesand not
tones produced with thebaseofthetongue drawn away from the
posterior wall ofthelaryngeal pharynx.
When thevoiceis produced properly themiddletones are
slightly darker than thehigh tones.However,thescalecan be
ascended without any transition,or sudden changeofadjustment,
and with an evenly-risingintensity.
Opened Up"Opened up"indicates a tonesungwith thethroat
opened;when the baseofthetongueis held forward,away from
theposterior wall ofthelaryngeal pharynx,becauseoftension
on thegenio-glossus muscle;and thehyoid boneis held in posi-
tion becauseoftension on thegenio-hyoid muscle.When the
toneis opened up,theresonanceadjustment is pharyngeal and the
mouth cavity is out ofaction in phonation.
Openingoccurs when thegenio-hyo-glossus muscles developand
thetongueis pulled away from theposterior wall ofthelaryngeal
pharynx.Thestrengthening ofthesemuscles occurs in stages and
should besynchronized with thelaryngeal development.Thus,
periodic "openings"takeplace.Each timean openingoccurs a
larger resonancecavity is employed.Thefirst "opening,"in the
early stageofthetraining, is very pronounced and major vocal
changes occur.Such openings virtually never cease,but they
becomeless and less pronounced as technical perfection is more
nearly approximated.
Every timean openingoccurs,the power ofthevoiceincreases
and thequality is improved to a marked degree.At first thepower
increaseis most pronounced,but this effect becomes less as the
voiceprogresses.Later openings serveto improvethequality,i.e.,
themellowness ofthetone, rather than to increasethepower
which only augments slightly after real openinghasbeen attained.
Pharyngeal resonanceadjustment is employed when the t echnic is
good.Thepharyngeal cavitieslaryngeal,oral and nasalare
shaped,or "tuned,"to resonatethetone.The positioning,or
shaping,ofthesecavities alters with each changeofpitch,vowel
or vowel color.For thelowest tones,thet rachea and bronchi take
part in theresonanceadjustment.
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oftension on thegenio-hyo-glossus muscles.Theposition ofthe
soft palateand theopeningbetween thetongueand theuvula
also influencethe resonanceadjustment.When thepharyngeal
cavities areproperly "tuned"for theresonation ofthetone,
acoustic couplingoccurs between thevocal cords and the
resonator.
PositioningoftheResonance Cavities indicates that theresonance
cavities havebeen shaped or "tuned"for theresonation ofthetone,
i.e.,that they havetaken on theposture,or shape,necessary in order
that thevowel may beresonated.
"Set"oftheResonanceCavities indicates thepositioningor "tuning"
oftheresonancecavities for theresonation ofthetone.When the
technic is correct,thepharyngeal cavities are"set"and when it is
incorrect(throaty), themouth cavity is "set."
ShapingtheResonanceCavities indicates that theresonancecavities
haveassumed a certain posturefor theresonation ofthetone.In
correct technic thepharyngeal cavities are"shaped"and in throaty
technic the mouth is "shaped."
Throaty
ActiveThroatiness designates any very intenseformof throatiness.
It sounds throaty and actively unpleasant.
Activethroatiness may be"dark"or "white"but in each case
thedegreeofcon striction is very great.Thegenio-hyo-glossus
muscles arerelaxed and their antagonists arein a high stateof
tension.At thesametime,themu scles oftheneck and jaw are
very strongly tensed and mouth resonanceadjustment is much in
evidence.Generally,thechest andshoulders aretensed and the
head is forced into an unnatural posture(thenatureoft heposture
varies with theindividual).
Thebreath is, ofcourse,"blown"out as it is with all forms of
throatiness.Thebreath expulsion is generally rather low because
oftheintenseconst riction.Theconstriction ofthethroat is ex-
tremely great,and thetongueis drawn back in a high degreeof
tension.
Constricted Toneis a throaty tone.Constricted refers to the tension
which occurs duringtheproduction ofa throaty toneon the
muscles oftheneck,chest,shoulders,jaw and thosetongue
muscles which areantagonistic to thegenio-hyo-glossus muscles.
A constricted toneis produced under conditions ofstrain and
effort.
Diction Singer is onewho concentrates on thewords with complete
disregard for themusic or import ofthecomposition.Each and
every syllableis carefully and deliberately articulated and one
syllableis sungat a time.Theconsonants areover-articulated,and
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the"m's,""n's"and "l's"aresustained and over-accentuated,be-
causetheadded vowel,or hum,with which they are associated is
over-sustained to a ridiculous degree.Thevowels aremouth
resonated with careful and exaggerated mouth and lipgesturing.
Theintensity level employed is generally that ofspeech,and even
below that ofproperly produced speech.Thetechn ic is always
throaty.
Jaw Lock occurs when a mouth resonanceadjustment is employed.
Most jaw locks areestablished when the jaw has been dropped
into themiddlelockposition.This middle,locked position is
determined by theposturewhich the jaw assumes when it is
opened easily,in a relaxed manner,i.e.,without effort, as an idiot
drops his jaw.
When themouth is opened,thejaw drops down a certain dis-
tanceand then can bepulled further down and back.Thelock
position is established when thejaw is dropped d own and the
"further down and back"gesturehas not been accomplished.
No toneshould ever besungwith thejaw in themiddlelock
position.Thejaw is always either nearly closed or completely
opened,when the technic is correct.
LipPositionNo matter which vowel is beingsung(there are
about 83),thelips should beopened slightly,raised off theteeth
and neither spread nor pouted when the technic is correct.When
it is faulty (throaty) a mouth resonanceadjustment is employed.
Thelips takepart in this adjustment,and assumedefinitepostures
for thediversevowels as essential factors in "tuning"themouth
for themouth resonanceadjustment.All such lippositions must
bebroken down and eliminated ifthetechnic is to becorr ected
and a pharyngeal ("open") resonanceadjustment is to be attained.
MouthWhen thethroat is closed (constricted) thevowel must
perforcebe mouth resonated.Under theseconditions theshaping
ofthemouth cavity is brought about by means ofthe position of
thejaw,lips, cheeks,thefront ofthetongue and,possibly,the
soft palate.Whenever mouth resonanceadjustment occurs the
toneis throaty and thejaw is locked.
Mouth resonanceadjustment must bebroken down and elimi-
nated in theprocess oftrainingthevoice.
Mouth Position indicates theshaping,or positioning,ofthecheeks
and lips plus thejaw lock for a mouth vowel,resonanceadjust-
ment.