Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-03-30
STUDIO TALKS
ON SINGING r
, NO. e-PLACEMENT
by JOHN w. PHILLIPS

, fore, is lack of patience in devel-
oping and beautifying their voices
| bringing the voice gradually to it's
full power and beauty without un-
due strain and taxing of the vocal
chords, and the delicate tissAes in
VolVed.
The best American teachers know
| all this, but cannot persuade stu
dents that learning to sing is not
hurry up process, but a slow, pa
tient studious growth that should
develop mind, heart, and body.
! When we learn this lesson, we will
have better singers, and more of
| them.
Placement of Voice
Many many chapters could be
written on the placement of the
voice, becaGse it involves the mater
| of registers which has interested
scientists and musicians alike. How
| ever, many doctors and scientists
have said and written on the SUBJ
| ject of vocal registers We. merely
wish. to suggest that nobody goes
! to them for voice lessons. A scien-
tist may be able to take the voice
! apart, but it takes the voice teacher
to put it together again. According
to the old masters-and some of the
new ones-there are three registers;
and some have found five; and even
one or two have discovered as many
as seven. Ordinarily the three ac-
cepted registers are-chest, medium,
and head; but few teachers are re-
| ducing it to two-medium and
heads-A few heroic souls have cut
the idea of registers out of their
teaching material, greatly to their
| advantage, and to the advantage of
their students.
We have already pointed out
briefly in another article, that the
mouth is the chief acoustic chamber
of the voice.
All tones, whether high or low in
pitch are directed into the mouth.
| The tones of low pitch will come
against the upper front wall of the
mouth-the gums ana upper teeth.
AS the tone gets higher in pitch, it
is placed against the forward roof of
the mouth, and the higher pitches
from upper + on the staff up-are
placed slightly further back in the
mouth. The higher the pitch the
further back-but, always in the
mouth, singing with a free open
throat, the soft palate and uvula
raised to allow. free passage of the
tone into the mouth. Think the
tone, generally speaking, high and
forward. Support the tone with a
firm breath stream. controlled from
the diaphgram, let the tongue lie re-
laXed and fiat in the mouth when
not forming consonants; let there be
no tenseness in the lips or lower jaw
and you will have conditions right
for producing a good tone. The first
attempts will bring breathy tone.
especially on the lower pitches, but
by keeping the idea of focus in mind
that is thinking of the tone as a
compact ball of sound-the scatter
ed or 'breathy effect will soon dis
appear, and glow and ring that al
ways accompanies q healthy tone,
will take it's place. Placement is q
mater of feeling-if the tone feels
right in the mouth, it will sound
right. Tone color is produced by
slightly changing the placement of
tone in the mouth, and singer
nowadays is not well equipped un-
less he commands all the resources
of light and shade in tone produc-
ton. Correct placement enables the
singer to produce the heroic, dram
attic, poetic, sorrowful, or joyful, and
so voice placement is absolutely
necessary. to sing we'll.