The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-02-11
SIMS REEVES on BREATHING.
Tenor Tells How 1t should De Done
And What to Avoid.
From the London Idler.

From the London Idler.
Breathing is an exercise in itself. Sing
ers should not purposeiy study the ana
tomical conditions OF the throat and lungs
it is with the emotional, not the ana omi-
cal side of his art that the singer has to do
For the practical purpose Of singing
knowledge of the muscles of the
throat Is as useless as
knowledge of the muscles of the arm Is
for the playing of cricket. Cases are not
infrequent where these anatomical studies
have a tendency to set up a sort of rer-
vous dread in the singer that the breathing
is not being done the correct way, In
correct breathing is an acquired habit. in
duced sometimes by an elaborate means
taken to avoid it. A few simple hints are
all that are necessary; the rest of what Is
called the art of breathing Is very much
matter of instinct.
Avoid breathing through the mouth;
whenever possible inhale through the nos
trils. This allows the nose 10 purify and
warm the air before reaching the throat,
which needs 10 be warm in order for the
| production of good tone. 1t is frequently
remarked that such and such an artist
voice improved later in the evening"
which means that the singers throat Re
came warmed as the concert or opera pro-
ceeueu, ana not tndI the voice improved,
though the tone may have done so. Breath
ing constantly through the mouth inclines
to dry the throat and make the voice
husky. But it is impossible to sing de-
clamatory music without breathing through
the mouth-it is even necessary, for effect.
that the breathing should at time be audi
BILE; and in long Handeian passages and
horid' music of that description what are
called half-breaths through the mouth are
allowed; otherwise the singer could not
inhale breath and keep in strict time
Never heave up the shoulders in the act
| of taking breath; theT q shou d be no pc; cep
| tible movement of the body at all. Never
| take in breath of a sudden when Only
| practicing, although the singing of certain
passages oblipes the performer to do So
| The ribs should expand sideways in the
| taking of breath-the chest rising and fall
| ing with each phrase. False breathing,
| such as when a lady's shoulders rise as If
| they were about to expand like wings, not
| only tires the throat but makes a disa-
| greeable impression on the audience. Sing
| ers should once a day practice before a
| looking glass in order to correct any faults
| arising from definite breathing or from
| grimace. Breath must never be taken be-
| tween a head note and chest note; the
| transition from the one voice to the other
| must be done with very little breath and
| very softly
| Nasal singing destroys the carrying pow
| er of the voice. Voices which are metallic
| in sound carry best. Singers whose voices
| are naturally soft in quality should, there
| fore, try to acquire a little stridency in
| tone, and, vice versa singers whose voices
are too strident should aim at a rounder
| and softer quality. In some halls the re-
| verberation blurs the tone of the voice,
| therefore the singer must accommodate
| the amount Of tone to the acoustic proper
| ties of the place where he is singing. In
| a warm, oppressive room 1t Is necessary to
| reserve the power of the voice, because
| forcing the voice under such circum-
| stances allows ii to become easily fatigued
| and used up. The best way of combating
| an echo in a hall is never to shout. 1t
| appears easy to sing in hall full of vibra-
| tion but this is a deception. The tone goes
| all round the singers ears, and he cannot
| hear properly when he sings aloud and so
he loses control of the tone. 1t is, there
| fore, advisable to sing piano and feel the
way, as the quieter tone travels better and
| the percussion is not so great as in loud,
| shouting tone.
Increase and decrease of tone are pro-
| duced by the breath alone. A man in a
| raging passion will swell the muscles of
| the throat and grow red in the fact in at
| tempting to give utterance to his anger,
| but he is, indeed, as the phrase goes,
| Choking himself with rage" because he
| Is trying to get terrific volume of voice
| by physical pressure on the throat, and the
| more he swells his veins and muscles the
| less able is he to speak at all. Singers,
| therefore, should not attempt to, get a
| crescondo by pressing the muscles of the
| throat Command of breath is the only
| method.