The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1909-04-30

use OF the half voice" Is very
valuable adjunct In all singing. 1t
may be defined simply as the natural
voice produced softly. but with an ex-
ira strength of breath II is this
breathy quality, however-which one
must be careful never to exaggerate
or the tone will not carry-that gives
that velvety effect to the tone that is
40 delightful.
Mezza voce Is just concentration
OF the full voice. and II requires, after
ALL as much breath support. A soft
note which Is taken with the head
voice" without being supported by a
breath taken from the diaphragm Is a
helpless sort of thing 1t does not car
ry and is iuaudible at any distance,
whereas the soft note which does
possess the deep breath support is
penetrating, concentrated and most
expressive.
Another important point Is that, with
n ''piano" note properly taken In the
register which Is proper to 1t, there Is
no danger of having to change the po-
the real character Of the note when
making crescendo and again dimin-
fishing 1t. 1t will be the same note con-
tinuing to sound.
On the other hand, with soft note
taken in register foreign to 1t, as soon
as its strength Is augmented the reg
lister must suddenly be changed, and
the result is like Tyrolean yodel.
So remember In mezza voce to
see that the register is right and to use
double breath strength. speak Of
the matter of register here for the
benefit of those who must keep this
constantly In mind. myself have
been blessed with what is called nat
urally placed voice and never had trou-
BILE with the mezza voce. The majority
of Italian singers come to 1t easily.
There are number of wrong sorts
of voices which should be mentioned
to be shunned-the white" voice. the
"thrOaty" voice, the nasal" voice and
the "bleat." The nasal quality Is the
most difficult to correct. Many teach
ers. especially the French, make a
point of placing the voice in the nasal
cavity on the pretext Of strengthening
1t, and this nasal quality. partly on ac-
count Of the sound Of many of the
French words, Is only too prevalent.
The voice, however, can only be
strengthened by legitimate means; 9TH
erwise II can easily be ruined. One
can breathe through the nose. but never
attack or sing through 1t.
) The white voice" (voce blanca) Is
head voice without deep support and
consequently without color: hence its
appellatiOn. One can learn to avoid it
by practicing with the mouth closed
and by taking care to breathe through
The nose, which forces the respiration
10 descend to the abdomen.
The "throaty" voice comes from sing.
Ing with the throat insufficiently open.
ed. so that the breath does not pass
easily through the nose and head cavi-
ties and. again, from not attacking the
tone deeply enough.
To cure oneself of this throaty quail
tty attack your notes from the abdo-
men, the mouth well open, standing
In front Of mirror. The force Of the
inspiration will keep the tongue de-
pressed and the throat will remain free
As for the fault Of iiasality, 1t is, as
i have said, the most difficult to get
rid Of. Sometimes one never does lose
1t. The only rrmedy Is what have
N nsl nj
the abdomen. with the throat open.
and carry the voice over the soft
palate. for II the voice is placed In the
nose 1t indicates that one is singing too
far forward, which is against the rules
of song. If the student has tendency
to sing in this way 1t is well to prac-
tice In vowel sounds only (ah-eh-ee or
la -lay-lee. etc. in order to be cured of
this serious fault.
After all, however, those who have
practiced the art Of right breathing
need have none of the defects men,
toned above.
The "bleat" or goat voice, a partic-
uIar fault Of French singers, proceeds
from the habit of forcing the voice,
which, when 1t is of small volume. can
not stand the consequent fatigue of
the larynx. Many singers with voices
suitable only for light opera are con-
stantly trying to branch out into big
dramatic arias. Such performances are
assuredly distressing to hear and are
certainly disastrous for the voices con-
cerned. 1t is no wonder that these
people are often i'll, for one cannot
make such efforts without injuring
the health. realize that they often
do II to please their directors and to
be obliging IN an emergency, but when
they are down and out others will
easily replace them and they are heard
from no more.
10 keep the voice fresh for the
longest possible time one should not
only never overstep his vocal means"
but should limit their output as he
does the expenses of his purse.
There Is only one way to cure a
bleaty voice. and that is to cultivate an
absolute rest. then, on taking up sing
ing again, to use the CLOSED mouth"
method until the time the strength
of respiration shall be- such that one
can open his mouth and let the re-
.tnro1 x.niaa fala ffa nnnrSa