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The Voice in Singing
The Voice in Singing
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF EMMA SEILER Member of the American Philosophical Society A NEW EDITION REVISED AND ENLARGED PHILADELPHIA J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO 1879 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. , In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. Lippincott’s Press, Philadelphia. The translator of this book, desirous, in common with other friends of its author, that her claims as a lady of rare scientific attainments shoul
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TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE
[TRANSLATED] Mad. E. Seiler has made for herself an honorable name in Germany, not only as a practical teacher of singing, but also by her valuable investigations in regard to the culture of the musical voice. By her own anatomical studies she has acquired a thorough knowledge of the vocal organs, and by means of the laryngoscope has advanced, in the way first trodden by Garcia, to the establishment of the conditions of the formation of the voice. We owe to her a more exact knowledge of the posi
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
The Voice in Singing It is a matter of complaint among all persons of good taste, who take an intelligent interest in art, and especially in music, that fine singers are becoming more and more rare, while formerly there appears never to have been any lack of men and women eminent in this art. The complaint seems not altogether without reason, when we revert to that rich summer-time of song, not yet lying very far behind us, in the last half of the last century, and compare it with the present. T
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I VOCAL MUSIC ITS RISE, DEVELOPMENT AND DECLINE
I VOCAL MUSIC ITS RISE, DEVELOPMENT AND DECLINE
On the other hand, how sad is the condition of vocal music in our time! How few artistically cultivated voices are there! And the few that there are, how soon are they used up and lost! Artists like Lind , and more recently Trebelli , are exceptions to be made. Mediocre talent is now often sought, and rewarded far beyond its desert. One is often tempted to think that the public at large has wellnigh lost all capacity of judgment, when he witnesses the representation of one of our operas. Let a s
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OBSERVATIONS WITH THE LARYNGOSCOPE BY MANUEL GARCIA
OBSERVATIONS WITH THE LARYNGOSCOPE BY MANUEL GARCIA
“At the moment when the person draws a deep breath, the epiglottis being raised, we are able to see the following series of movements: the arytenoid cartilages become separated by a very free lateral movement; the superior ligaments are placed against the ventricles; the inferior ligaments are also drawn back, though in a less degree, into the same cavities; and the glottis, large and wide open, is exhibited, so as to show in part the rings of the trachea. But, unfortunately, however dexterous w
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EMISSION OF THE CHEST VOICE
EMISSION OF THE CHEST VOICE
“If we emit veiled and feeble sounds, the larynx opens at the notes do re me (c d e) , and we see the glottis agitated by large and loose vibrations throughout its entire extent. Its lips comprehend in their length the anterior apophyses of the arytenoid cartilages and the vocal chords; but, I repeat it, there remains no triangular space. “As the sounds ascend, the apophyses, which are slightly rounded on their internal side, by a gradual apposition commencing at the back encroach on the length
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PRODUCTION OF THE FALSETTO
PRODUCTION OF THE FALSETTO
“The low notes of the falsetto show the glottis infinitely better than the unisons of the chest voice, and produce vibrations more extended and more distinct. Its vibrating sides, formed by the anterior apophyses of the arytenoid cartilages and by the ligaments, become gradually shorter as the voice ascends; at the notes la si (a¹ b¹) the apophyses take part only at their summits; and in these notes there results a weakness similar to that which we have remarked in the chest notes an octave belo
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MANNER IN WHICH THE SOUNDS ARE FORMED
MANNER IN WHICH THE SOUNDS ARE FORMED
“As we have just seen—and what we have seen proves it—the inferior ligaments at the bottom of the larynx form exclusively the voice, whatever may be its register or its intensity; for they alone vibrate at the bottom of the larynx.… By the compressions and expansions of the air, or the successive and regular explosions which it produces in passing through the glottis, sound is produced.” ( The London, Edinburgh and Dublin Phil. Mag. and Journal of Science , vol. x. 4th Series, pp. 218–221, 1855.
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MY OWN OBSERVATIONS WITH THE LARYNGOSCOPE
MY OWN OBSERVATIONS WITH THE LARYNGOSCOPE
In giving an account of my own observations with the laryngoscope, I premise that laryngoscopy has of late attracted much attention among the learned, and that Czermak , Turk , Merkel , Lewin , Bataille , &c. , have published a series of valuable observations, all of which, however, with the exception of Bataille’s, were made in the interest of science, for pathological purposes especially. My aim, in the employment of the laryngoscope, has been directed exclusively to the discovery of t
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THE CHEST REGISTER
THE CHEST REGISTER
When the vowel a , as in man , was sung, I could, after long-continued practice, plainly see how the arytenoid cartilages quickly rose with their summits in their mucous membranous case and approached to mutual contact. In like manner, the chordæ vocales , or inferior vocal chords, approached each other so closely that scarcely any space between them was observable. The superior or false vocal ligaments formed the ellipse described by Garcia in the upper part of the glottis. Representation in th
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THE FALSETTO REGISTER
THE FALSETTO REGISTER
All the tones of the falsetto register are produced by vibrations only of the fine, inner, slender edges of the vocal ligaments. In this action the vocal ligaments are not so near together, but allow of a fine linear space between them, and the superior ligaments are pressed farther back than in the production of the tones of the chest register. The rest of the action of the glottis is, however, entirely the same. With the beginning of the falsetto register at fa ♯ (f♯¹) , the whole glottis appe
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THE HEAD REGISTER
THE HEAD REGISTER
When in the observation of the falsetto register I had sung upwards to its highest tones, and then sang still higher, I became aware with the fa ♯ (f♯²) of a change in the motions of the organ of singing, and the tones thus produced had a different timbre from the falsetto tones. It required long and patient practice before I finally succeeded in drawing back the epiglottis so that I could see the glottis in its whole length. Not until then was I able to observe the following: With the fa ♯ (f♯²
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ABNORMAL MOVEMENTS OF THE GLOTTIS
ABNORMAL MOVEMENTS OF THE GLOTTIS
Garcia states, in his observations, that sometimes when the rims of the vocal ligaments have come together, there remains between the arytenoid cartilages a triangular space, which does not close until the tone is produced. Czermak likewise describes this process in his pathological investigations, and also a similar one with the laryngoscope. While, namely, the arytenoid cartilages seem to be wholly closed, one sees just before the beginning of the tone the vocal ligaments standing apart in a s
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RESULTS OF THE FOREGOING OBSERVATIONS
RESULTS OF THE FOREGOING OBSERVATIONS
In consequence of the observations above described, the following facts may be established: I. We have found five different actions of the vocal organ: 1. The first series of tones of the chest register , in which the whole glottis is moved by large, loose vibrations, and the arytenoid cartilages with the vocal ligaments are in action. 2. The second series of the chest register , when the vocal ligaments alone act, and are likewise moved by large, loose vibrations. 3. The first series of the fal
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PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THESE OBSERVATIONS TO THE CULTIVATION OF THE SINGING VOICE
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THESE OBSERVATIONS TO THE CULTIVATION OF THE SINGING VOICE
In teaching the art of singing, it is now-a-days very generally the custom to endeavor to raise the lower registers as far as possible toward the higher. This is especially the case with the tenor voice. It is considered a special advantage in a tenor voice when it can sing the a 1 on the first leger line (commonly written a²) with the chest register. Upwards of a hundred and fifty years ago, when every good tenor was required to sing a 1 with a clear, full chest tone, this note, according to th
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THE PROPERTIES OF TONE (KLANG)
THE PROPERTIES OF TONE (KLANG)
The sounds produced by such periodic agitations of the air have three peculiar properties: 1. Strength , 2. Pitch , 3. Timbre . The strength of the tone depends on the greater or less breadth of its vibrations, that is, of the waves of sound, the higher or lower pitch of the tones upon the number of the vibrations; that is, the tones are always higher the greater the number of the vibrations, or lower the less the number of the vibrations. A second is used as the unit of time, and by number of v
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THE TIMBRE (KLANGFARBE) OF TONES
THE TIMBRE (KLANGFARBE) OF TONES
Strength and pitch were the first two distinctions of different tones. The third is the timbre. When we hear one and the same tone sounded successively upon a violin, trumpet, clarionet, oboe, upon a piano, or by a human voice, &c. , although it is of the same strength and of the same pitch, yet the tone of all these instruments is different, and we very easily distinguish the instrument from which it comes. The changes of the timbre seem to be infinitely manifold; for, not to mention th
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OVER-TONES (OBERTÖNE)
OVER-TONES (OBERTÖNE)
That timbre is dependent on the form of the vibrations is confirmed by Helmholtz, and acknowledged as so far correct that every different timbre requires a different vibratory form, but different forms sometimes correspond to nearly the same timbre. But how far the different forms of vibration correspond with different timbres, Helmholtz shows by a fact which has hitherto escaped the notice of physicists, although it forms the foundation of all music. We have learned by the stereoscope that we h
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THE VOWELS
THE VOWELS
Every tone in singing usually takes the sound of some vowel. By the greater or less distinctness of one or another of the over-tones, sounding with the fundamental tone, various timbres of the vowel are produced. But certain vowels in certain parts of the scale can be sung far more easily and sweetly than others. The investigation of this fact has taught us that a tone gains in richness when the tone corresponding to the vowel belongs to the over-tones of the fundamental tone. In the human voice
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PARTIAL TONES
PARTIAL TONES
But beside the over-tones, which sound with every good, simple sound, there are other partial tones , which, like the long-known combination tones, do not usually present themselves to our consciousness. Combination tones were first discovered in 1745 by the organ-builder, Sorge . By an act of concentrated attention one hears these tones at the accord of two different tones. They lie always lower than the interval to which they belong, and arise from the meeting of the nodes of vibration of the
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BEATS (DIE SCHWEBUNGEN)
BEATS (DIE SCHWEBUNGEN)
We have explained the movements of the waves of sound by the movements on the surface of water, and we know that, instead of the billows and hollows that we have in the water, the air is condensed and rarefied. We know further that if two different lines of waves run along with one another, their crests and hollows fall together, and their crests become as high again and their hollows as deep again. So two tones from different sources of sound are twice as strong when they are both equally high,
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APPLICATION OF THE NATURAL LAWS LYING AT THE FOUNDATION OF MUSICAL SOUNDS TO THE CULTURE OF THE VOICE IN SINGING
APPLICATION OF THE NATURAL LAWS LYING AT THE FOUNDATION OF MUSICAL SOUNDS TO THE CULTURE OF THE VOICE IN SINGING
The parts of the human voice that generate tones are the membranous vocal ligaments or chords, which are subject to the same natural laws as all sounding bodies; of this we may satisfy ourselves by observing the different registers of the voice by means of the laryngoscope. The lower, stronger tones of both series of the chest register show the ligaments in full vibration, and becoming more strongly stretched with every higher tone. In the second series the glottis appears, by the inaction of th
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THE CONTROL OF THE BREATH
THE CONTROL OF THE BREATH
By a too great pressure of the breath, the form of the waves of sound most favorable to a good tone is disturbed. One then hears the high over-tones sounding strongly up to the sixteenth, while the lower over-tones with the fundamental tone sound weak or not at all. Thus the tone takes a shrill, sharp and disagreeable sound when the form of the vibrating waves is more or less disturbed by too great a pressure of air. Too little breath deprives the tone only of its strength, but not of its agreea
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THE CORRECT TOUCH OF THE VOICE (TONANSATZ) 14
THE CORRECT TOUCH OF THE VOICE (TONANSATZ) 14
Having stated the first condition of a good timbre of the tones, we come now to the second—the right direction of the vibrating columns of air. A correct touch of the voice consists in causing the air, brought into vibration by the vocal ligaments, to rebound from immediately above the front upper teeth, where it must be concentrated as much as possible, rebounding thence to form in the mouth continuous vibrations, which are, at the same time, communicated to the external air. The quicker and th
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FORMATION OF VOWELS AND CONSONANTS
FORMATION OF VOWELS AND CONSONANTS
The sound of the vowels depends, as we have seen, upon whether one or another of the over-tones takes precedence in sound. But the conditions by which the formation of the vowels is determined lie in the form of the cavity of the mouth, and of the contraction of the same in some one place or another during expiration. These places are different in different languages and dialects. They are among the English, Germans and French farthest back in sounding a , as in father ; farther forward in a , a
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FLEXIBILITY OF VOICE
FLEXIBILITY OF VOICE
We hear it continually said that it requires a special natural gift to acquire a certain ease and flexibility of voice, and that this natural gift is peculiar to the Italians. But the flexibility of the voice depends upon a physiologico-physical process of the organ of tone, which, among the Italians, goes on in their common speech, and hence is more easily transferred by them to their singing. In trills, roulades, turns, and all tones quickly succeeding one another, the breath must set the voca
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SPEECH
SPEECH
The vowels and consonants are, in speaking, produced by certain noises ( Geräusche ), which in singing sound together with the tone. These sounds are produced by local diminutions of the cavity of the mouth, or by the opening or closing of the lips and teeth, as well as by movements of the tip of the tongue, &c. , while a single pulse of the air passes through the tolerably wide open glottis and through the cavity of the mouth without regular vibrations. For the air rushes more directly
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RHYTHM
RHYTHM
To the principles of beauty belong, above all things, order and regularity. In music this order consists in measures of time. All measurement by time, even the scientific, depends upon rhythmic, regularly returning results, as in the revolutions of the earth, of the moon, and in the vibrations of the pendulum, &c. Thus, by the regular interchange of accented and unaccented sounds in music and poetry, we obtain the rhythm of the work. But while in poetry the structure of verse serves only
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CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF THE TEMPO
CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF THE TEMPO
To give the pupil the feeling for the correct tempo of a composition is more difficult than to teach him to understand rhythm. Our best musicians, whose merits deserve the fullest acknowledgment, often fail here, making the tempo of a piece of music either too slow or too quick, and so weakening its whole effect. This happens especially with the old compositions which preceded the introduction of the metronome. The old Italian vocal compositions are in this respect treated the worst by our music
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COMPOSITION
COMPOSITION
Classic art sought as the only aim in its works to represent pure beauty. In the compositions of the old masters regard was had only to the sweetness of melody, and everything was excluded from them that did not fall agreeably upon the ear. But in modern music what is even unfavorable to sensuous pleasure is accepted, and we have accustomed ourselves to a more vigorous and powerful mode of representation, the aim being to excite by sudden contrasts. In so far as music is to represent the most se
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EXTERNAL AIDS TO A FINE EXECUTION
EXTERNAL AIDS TO A FINE EXECUTION
A teacher must see to it at first with the utmost attention that all the tones according to their pitch are struck with purity, and this can be done only by his repeating them over and over again to his pupil, because, as we have already remarked, our pianos, according to the present method of tuning, are never sufficiently pure to form a singing tone. When the learner has once become familiarized to the fine sound of pure tones, he will hear and distinguish them, and learn to strike them correc
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TIME OF INSTRUCTION
TIME OF INSTRUCTION
The old Italians began with quite young pupils, commonly when they were in their ninth or tenth year. The great demands which were then made in regard to the technical culture of the voice required a long time for instruction, usually five or six years. The extraordinary fulness and power of tone possessed by the earlier artists could be acquired only by persevering and adequate practice of the vocal organ, taken while in the process of growth. Those singers, men and women, whose voices have bee
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CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
An artist can be formed only by his own intelligence and practice, under the direct guidance of a master. But here, more than in any other art, the constant watchfulness of a teacher is a necessity. For, as one gets only an imperfect idea of his own personal appearance from a mirror, so the singer and dramatic artist can form but a partial judgment of his own performances. They are too subjective, and cannot be viewed as an external whole, like the works of the painter and sculptor. It is, moreo
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STRUCTURE OF THE VOCAL ORGANS
STRUCTURE OF THE VOCAL ORGANS
The larynx may be regarded as the funnel-shaped termination of the trachea. It enlarges upward and is composed of various cartilages more or less mobile, connected by ligaments and moved by muscles. The exterior of the larynx is formed by the The cartilages in the interior are: To the cartilages of the larynx must be further added the Epiglottis, with the little cartilage at the centre of its inner side. 1. The thyroid cartilage is the largest cartilage of the larynx, and consists of two four-co
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