The record-union., 1898-05-04

FIRST or all, be cafefuI IN your Selec-
ton of teacher.
Good articles come high, you know
SO don't spare expense when you choose
your first guide in the cultivation of the
voice
For preliminary training and voice
production there is no reason on earth
why girl should not find good teach
ers near at home. There are advant-
ages in a Continental training which
must not be neglected. and which must
| certainly come at some stage in the
girls career, but for the first step much
! time and money can be saved by work
| ing hard under the best instruction to
be found near at hand. The general
education and home life need not then
/ be interrupted. Again, the would be
singer is better able to judge of her
possibilities after a few years of hard
preliminary work. She will then be
surer of her love and fitness for her
| chosen profession and will know bet
ter whether 1t is worth While to devote
| her life to the cultivation of her voice.
Much time will be gained by a calm
conviction of choice and rational un-
| derstanding of power
! Aside from that, it is not merely the
voice that must reach a certain stage
| Of development before casting adrift
the anchor Of home life, but the charac-
| ter must also be rounded by home
training before it is able to cope with
the difficulties of a professional life
! There are more things tnan good
voice needed, my child, in order to
| make a successful singer. The girl of
well rounded vocal, physical and moral
| development will be surer of success
| than her less fortunate sister
| Mind, do not decry the advantages
/ or foreign training. | will speak of
! that again later in your. work
! The study Of the languages is of posi-
! tive necessity, and that can best be ac-
complished in the country where the
| language is spoken. A singer should
always understand perfectly the Ian
guaSe in which she is singing Proper
! expression cannot be given without a
proper understanding. A singer should
| feel her parts
! BUT l fear l am travelling too fast for
! you. The study of expression we shall
| consider in our next lesson
/ Now then, my singer, let me see what
! you need.
SO. First freer, lighter, more buoy
ant carriage of the body
! Stand erect, with the weight carried
well forward on the balls of the feet
Straighten the spine and hold the
weight of the trunk well off the hips.
Don't settle down in a collapsed atti-
tude, with all the weight resting on the
small of the back
Hold the chest high Take a long
1 nH
Now hold up your head as though
proud of the consciousness of your God
given life
ready to go to work
Stop, though-just one thing
Forget, little one that life is such a
very serious affair. Relax those strain
ed muscles CT your face and neck and
look happy and contented
Music is harmony, you know. Unless
the mind and body are in harmonious
accord you cannot expect the tone to
be pure, smooth and sweet.
Let me see the light of happiness in
your eyes and on your lips. There,
NOW We have material for a singer.
Dld you ever little one see q really
! good singer with q cross. discontentad
expression of the face? Of course Won
never did A wise singer cultivates
amiability and contentment as the chief
requisites of her stock in trade.
Inc Don't Worry Club" of which 7
| hear so much over here. would he q
very good one for every singer to ioin.
Think of pleasant things. hold up your
head, open your mouth and throat and
let the tone gush forth like the song
ef bird. That is what we shall strive
for
| . If | were you I should take a few
little simple exercises every day of my
| life.
| Here are a few:
When standing in a good position rise
slowly on the toes and then sink grad
ually down again keeping the weight
always forward
Accompany this exercise sometimes
by raising the arms when you rise on
the toes and slowly inhaling at the
same time. Lower the arms, expel the
breath and sink to the normal posi-
ton. Repeat the exercise a number
of times. 1t is good one to secure
a proper position of the body
There are a great many breathing ex-
ercises which are beneficial. Slowly in
hale and slowly expel the breath
breathing as deeply as possibly and
using the abdominal muscles in so do
ing.
The force to produce tone should
come from below The muscles of the
chest should be used simply to sus-
tain and hold the tone
So! Stand easily, my dear, with flex-
Iible, relaxed muscles.
Now take tone-any note you like.
There You naturally take the tone
that comes easiest to you We shall
work from there.
Do not try to sing loudly, nor need
you endeavor to modulate your voice
Sing the note naturally, easily. Any
open vowel sound is good. We will
begin with the usual sound of "ah"
Very quietly and easily we will sing
up the scale a few notes and down the
scale a few notes. Just so far as the
tone comes easily we shall go. BY and
by you will find that your compass
will increase, your voice will place it
self. and the change of register will
be thing unknown to you You will
simply sing with a smooth, even tone
every note within your compass, glid-
ing from one to the other with even
skill.
Is that enough for to-day? Are you
tired? Then we stop. Frequent exer-
cises at short intervals produce the best
results. Never strain or tire the voice
Common sense is as important a quail
ity in the study of singing as it is in
every other pursuit
A thorough study of any one art en-
braces a comprehensive understanding
: ~ aI T. ,rn,,rcclf OF .o,-ar-1-