The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1909-03-26


habit of practicing in front of
B mirror in order to get an idea of
the effect of facial expression
and to see that 1t does not take away
from the correct position of the mouth.
The young singer should practice
constantly in front Of mirror as soon
rs she begins to sing songs or TO ex-
press emotions in her music, for the
girl with the expressive face Is likely
to comfort her mouth so that the cor
rect emission of tones is impossible.
The dramatic artist depends largely
for her expression on the changing
lines of the mouth. chin and jaw, and
In any lines spoken which denote com.
mand or will you will see the actors
jaw setting and becoming rigid with
the rest of the facial mask.
Now, a singer can never allow the
facial expression to alter the position
Of the jaw or mouth. Facial express
sion for the singer must concern itself
chiefly with the eyes and forehead.
The mouth must remain the same
and the jaw must ever be relaxed,
whether the song is one of deep inten.
sity or IA merry scale of laughter
The mouth in singing should always
smile slightly. This slight smile at
once relaXes the lips. allowing them
free play for the words which they
and the tongue must form and also
gives the singer a slight sensation Of
uplift necessary for singing
1t Is impossible to sing well when
mentally depressed or even physically
indisposcd slightly. Unless one has
complete control over the entire vocal
apparatus and unless one can simu.
late smile one does not feel the voice
will lack some Of its resonant quality.
particularly In the upper notes, where
the smiling position of the mouth ad-
Justs the throat and air passages for
the emission of light tones.
The lips are of the greatest aid in
shaping and shading the tones. Wag-
merriam singers, for instance, who en-
ploy trumpet-like notes in certain pas
sages are often seen shaping their lips
like the mouthpiece Of trumpet, with
somewhat square opening, the lips
protruding.
However, this can be practiced only
after perfect relaxation of the jaw and
control Of the tongue have been ac-
complished.
A singers mouth must always look
pleasant, not only because 1t creates a
disagreeable impression on the audi
ence- to see crooked and contorted
mouth, but also because natural and
correct voice production requires a
mouth shaped almost into a smile.
Too wide smile often accompanies
what is called 1.-The white voice" This
Is voice production where a head
resonance alone is employed, without
sufficient of the appogio or enough of
the mouth resonance to give the tone
a vital quality. This white voice"
should be thoroughly understood and
is one of the many shades of tone a
singer can use at times, just as the
impressionist uses various unusual col
orS to produce certain atmospheric eff
feCts.
For instance, in the mad scene in
Lucia" the use of the white voice"
suggests the babbling of the mad wo-
man, as the same voice in the last act
of "Traviata" or in the last act of
"Boheme" suggests utter physical ex-
haustion and the approach of death.
An entire voice production on these
colorless lines, however, would always
lack the brilliancy and the vitality
which inSDire enthusiasm
One of the compensations of the
white voice" singer Is the fact that
she usually possesses a perfect diction,
The voice itself is thrust into the head
cavities and not allowed to vibrate In
the face and mouth and gives ample
room for the formation of vowels and
consonants. And the singer with this
voice production usually concentrates
her entire attention on diction.
The cure for this tone emission is,
first of all, the cultivation OF the
breath prop, then attacking the vowel
sound in the medium voice, which
requires a low position Of the larynX
and exercises on the ascending scale
until the higher notes have been
brought down, as It were, and gain
some of the body and support of the
lower notes without losing their quail
ity.
The singers expression must con
Germ itself chiefly with the play OF
emotion around the eyes eyebrows
and forehead. You have no idea how
much EXPRESSION YOU can get out OF