The San Francisco call., 1904-02-05
VOice Control
BY VERNON D'ARNALLE

lN0IE.-IEls Is the nrst OF several 6rucleS D4
Mr. d. Arnslle the art Of singing)
In the study of the voice one of the
principal ideas TO be considered is the
fact that it is a musical instrument
Therefore one should use the same
practical common sense in its develop
ment that one would apply to the me-
chanical building Of any other instru-
ment II is difficult to differentiate
the purely physical from the psychical
in voice production, and yet the intel
Iigent singer must be able TO accom-
plish this
The vocalist depends upon two great
guiding principles. namely. sensation
and hearing. And in the development
Of the voice il must become his re-
ligion Il do nothing that violates the
sense Of beautiful tone or the feeling
Of naturalness in the use of that organ.
Roughly speaking. the voice may be
divided into three Compartments trio
of graces: Breath, the control OF the
throat and the use Of the resonance
cavities The greatest Of these three
is breath. In fact. a majority Of the
faults in voice production may be at
tributed directly TO poor breath control
And here the same practical principles
guide US which We would use in the
building OF a satisfactory bellows for
a wind instrument
First. for a good bellows, we demand
the power of taking in a large amount
0f air in the shortest possible time;
then the power to hold that air, without
allowing il 70 escape, and third. the
power 10 ecOnomize as much as pos
sible in givins it out These three
principles esve call. first, inspiration;
second. poise; third, expiration.
AS 10 the mechanical act Of breathing
much has been written and discussed
Proper breathing means natural
breathing. and is as much means of
health as il is the cardinal principle Of
voice production. A prominent ply
Gician recently said to me that if he
did not pity my musical ears SO much
he would send me at least $50 patients
whose physical condition reQ9lred prop
er breathing more than medicine.
Now. as TO the faults commonly en-
countered in the use of breath. First Of
ali. we are faneliar with those singers
who when taking a breath elevate their
shoulders and chest with great physical
short Of breath. This use OF the upper
chest and the shoulders, commonly
known as ''clavfcular breathing" is
most detrimental TO the voice and is
productive Of serious faults otherwise.
Then comes the ''breathy" tone, where
the air seems to escape over the vocal
chords. And. third. the worst Of all the
vocal faults, the deadly tremolo. The
frer Infa Hrrr
the most usual cause is an overlooking
Of the lungs with breath in the act Of
inspiration. In the case Of the tremclo
besides being the result of bad breath
control and a weak diaphragm it may
sometimes be produced by relaxed
muscles in the throat itself.
But now. as to correct breathing. Ma
ture has constructed the upper chest
ON Of firm bones and cartilages, which
are more or less unyielding. Below the
chest proper the ribs branch out, the
breast bone stops and the abdomen,
composed Of muscles which are capable
Of tension a8d relaxation. begirs. Be
sices this the lower lobes Of the lungs
are more sDongelike and capable Of eK-
pansion and contraction 1t is the sing
er's first aim to acquire control Of these
muscles in deep breathing. This is not
difficult to do and the rewards. both
voCally and physically. are very great.
In singing TIE singer should elevate
his chest and strive to keep it elevated
always good practice is to put both
hands behind the head and take in
slowly a full breath without overload
ing the lungs. In contrast TO this an
other useful practice is TO gasp breath
and hold il awhile. Again. 10 take a
long. slow breath through the nostrils,
hold il awhile and expel the air sud
denly In the act Of inspiration the
greatest care should be taken not to
overload the lungs and not to raise
the shoulders The body while taking
the air should be relaxed. and especial
care should be taken that the muscles
around the neck and chest are not con-
tracted.
Another much neglected point in
breath control is holding the breath.
BY practicing how TO maintain the
lungs full Of air their elasticity and
strength are much helped. 1t is useful
for a singer 10 practice holding his
breath continually. But the great art
of the singer lies principally in know
ing nov 10 give Out DIealn properly
Taking il for granted that he has taken
in the air properly and filled the lower
lobes Of his lungs. then comes the
proper emission Of breath. The mus
cles Of the diaphragm and the ribs
should be so controlled as to quietly
and steadily supply a stream of breath
to the vocal chords. Having reached
the vocal chords breath turns into tone
and must be rroDerlv guided IN the va
riOus resonance cavities, such as the
roof Of the mouth and the nasal cav
ity, besides many other auxiliary cham
bers.
BY overcharging the lungs it will be
easily seen how one loses control of
the muscles and blows cut too much
air for the vocal chords. This viii pro-
-....-.....- l--..-