While I am no longer a singer I have had the great
advantage of working with some of the finest singers of the 1960s and
1970s and studied with many of them as well as studying Sir Adrian Boult,
a fine conductor whose ability extended to choral conducting. My studies
with Humphrey Searle introduced me to both modern singing and advanced
singing techniques and I had the pleasure of working with the incomparable
Jan de Gaetani.
There are many problems in singing which do not exist
in other forms of music making. For example, if you play the piano you
can see it and if the instrument goes wrong you have it repaired. Not
so, the voice. We cannot physically see any possible damage to it. And,
in singing, breathing is vital and yet we cannot see how our lungs and
larynx are working. We can, however, see a broken string on a violin
or when a reed in a clarinet needs replacing. A French horn player knows
when to tip his instrument up and let the saliva out and so on. But
not so, with the voice.
When an instrument gets old it can be replaced. When
we get old we cannot replace our voice but it takes on a different colour
and, as with most things in our mature years, it becomes restricted.
It is lamentable to find that some sopranos and tenors who have reached
mature years yet still believe that they can get get their top As and
beyond.
This is proved with great singers. Dame Janet Baker,
who was born in 1933, started her career intending to be a soprano and
then became a mezzo soprano and, finally, for the last years before
her retirement became, in effect, a contralto. She is one of the finest
singers of our time who brought intelligence to all her roles. She was
made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1970, a
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1976 and
a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in 1976.
Singers voices drop in their register as the years
go by. Very few singers at 60 can reach their high notes. Of course
there are exceptions. But most sopranos and tenors no longer sing their
top register when a certain age and some who continue to sing do so
in their lower range.
The greatest soprano I ever saw and heard was Maria
Callas who only lived for 53 years. In her youth she was a brilliant
coloratura. The word coloratura really means a singer who is agile and
can perform runs, trills and other demands such as high notes in the
extreme of the register. But the life of a coloratura is limited, as
are the days of a great footballer whose average age of retirement is
33. The great Callas, in effect, retired from very high notes in 1965
at the age of 33!
But there are charlatans about who call themselves
voice mechanics and give false hopes to ageing would-be singers asserting
that, despite the fact that they are over 35 years of age, they can
get top notes! And what happens is that the voice becomes tired and
damaged as do the victims of such so-called teachers!
Even in a basic book How to Sing by Graham Hewitt
he writes, "The voice you have now is unlikely to change either in type
and range. The vocal apparatus you were given at birth is fully developed
by your late 'teens'. There are very few cases of a voice extending
its compass after that age. You must accept that the range you had at
nineteen is roughly the same range you will always have."
As we have said, there are a few exceptions but it
is also true that the older you get the lower your notes and your high
notes will be no more.
Even in normal and correct use of the voice, singers
and public speakers such as clergymen and lecturers are frequent sufferers
from throat and respiratory troubles. Similarly singers who are wrongly
taught and who ignore nature's signs will ruin their chances of even
singing a simple song.
Practice in singing implies repetition so that what
is practised becomes a habit. The words and music are not required as
a result. But practice on the wrong lines and you will acquire bad habits
and some may never be corrected. We can hamper singing a song by faulty
diction, faulty breath control, forcing our voice, tightening the throat,
raising our shoulders or being tense. Of course, if we don't know the
song that is another disadvantage.
The other problem is the mistake of singing something
that does not suit us. We have our own distinctive makeups and will
not be in sympathy with some songs and we must not be pressured by others
or ourselves to sing them. Often students come to me saying that they
have heard so and so sing this piece and they want to do it. This competitive
spirit is in one way commendable but in other ways foolish. A good song
sung badly is a disaster and a good song sung with a sharp or split
top note is another disaster. It works the other way too. A song in
which the low notes are not clear is also bad.
Good singing depends on the singer being natural and
avoiding being self-conscious and refuse to be impressed with suggestions
that they can achieve something beyond their range.
It is the same for other musicians. Beethoven's piano
music is far more difficult to play than that of Mozart's yet my Mozart
playing is not as good as my Beethoven. I have refused to conduct pieces
that I am not in sympathy with because I know that I will not do them
or myself justice and the audience will be disappointed.
One of the main problems that we teachers have is 'unteaching'
singers and players and correcting bad habits, the responsibility for
some of which lie at the hands of other so-called teachers, vocal technicians
and coaches. Sometimes the bad habits are so ingrained that nothing
can be done. Other people learn to sing from recordings and when they
are faced with singing it as it is written the previous years of their
singing it incorrectly is often difficult to overcome.
Although some may disagree, it pays to learn the song
as it is written and to pay attention to every detail. That may be a
chore but it brings its rewards and it also means that any new accompanist,
if competent, can follow you and the performance will not suffer.
The role of the accompanist is also important. His
part is an equal part and has the essential harmonies and some accompaniments
have an interaction that adds to the song.
I have had to play for performers over many years who
have given me the music which I have followed faithfully but they have
not!
If you want to know how "not" to sing watch
pop stars and the like. It reminds me of the famous quote, "If you want
to be a pop star the essentials are to sing out of tune and take no
care for your voice,larynx and lungs."
In singing any song or role, you must know it. It must
be in your range. It must appeal to you. Music that you love you will
invariably sing better than music you may not be in sympathy with. If
you love what you sing and have the technique to sing it correctly with
every detail, that, in itself, will be the best communicating factor
to which the audience will respond . This will also give the music character
and the essential ingredient in any performance of a song is you and
your devotion to it.
This introduction also emphasises the need for a good
teacher and your faith in him. You have to trust your voice and your
body to him in the sense that breathing affects most of the body and
poise certainly does. You cannot sing a song in a rigid poise and some
songs positively need movement. Some make the mistake of going to singers
who are not teachers and some go to several teachers at the same time.
Of course, this is madness. Do we go to three GPs about the same ailment
and at the same time?
A good singer does not necessarily make a good teacher
despite pedigree or experience. And people who can not longer sing can
make exceptional teachers.
1.
Introduction
2. General information
3. A Brief Introduction to the anatomy of the
voice and how we breathe
4. Ranges and register; Diction and
expression
5: Style and interpretation
