Chapter III: Physical View (1)

FORMATION OF SOUNDS BY THE VOCAL ORGAN

For the artistic culture of the singing voice the knowledge of the physiological processes during the formation of tones does not suffice. This knowledge brings us acquainted only with the instrument, the artistic treatment of which is to be learned. Having, therefore, in the preceding pages stated the most important points in the formation of tones, physiologically considered, we are now to consider more nearly the physical laws relating to the same, especially as the physical view of the subject, through the latest investigations and discoveries of Prof. Helmholtz, in Heidelberg, has so much importance for music in general. In order, however, to present a clear view of this branch of our subject, in so far as the recent advances of science can be practically applied to the improvement of the art of singing, we must recur to those natural laws which are doubtless well known to most of our readers.

In order to bring the external world to our consciousness, we are provided with various organs of sense; and as the eye is sensible to the light, the ear is sensible to sound, which comes to our consciousness either as noise (_Geräusch_) or as tone (_Klang_). The whistling of the wind, the plashing of water, the rattling of a wagon are noises, but musical instruments give us tones. When, however, many untuned instruments sound together, or when all the keys within an octave are struck on the same time, then it is a noise that we hear. Tones are therefore more simple and regular than noises. The ear perceives both by means of the agitation of the air that surrounds us. In the case of noise the agitation of the air is an irregularly changing motion. In musical sounds, on the other hand, there is a movement of the air in a continuously regular manner, which must be caused by a similar movement in the body which gives the sound. These so-called periodical movements of the sound in the body, rising, falling and repeated at equal intervals, are called vibrations. The length of the interval elapsing between one movement and the next succeeding repetition of the same movement is called the duration of vibration (_Schwingungsdauer_), or period of motion.

TONE, AND ITS LAWS OF VIBRATION

A _tone_ is produced by a periodical motion of the sounding body--a _noise_ by motions _not_ periodical. We can see and feel the sounding vibrations of stationary bodies. The eye can perceive the vibrations of a string, and a person playing on a clarionet, oboe, or any similar instrument, feels the vibration of the reed of the mouthpiece. How the movements of the air, agitated by the vibrations of the stationary body, are felt by the ear as tone (_Klang_), Helmholtz illustrates by the motion of waves of water in the following way: Imagine a stone thrown into perfectly smooth water. Around the point of the surface struck by the stone there is instantly formed a little ring, which, moving outwards equally in all directions, spreads to an ever-enlarging circle. Corresponding to this ring, sound goes out in the air from an agitated point, and enlarges in all directions as far as the limits of the atmosphere permit. What goes on in the air is essentially the same that takes place on the surface of the water; the chief difference only is that sound spreads out in the spacious sea of air like a sphere, while the waves on the surface of the water can extend only like a circle. At the surface the mass of the water is free to rise upward, where it is compressed and forms billows, or crests. In the interior of the aerial ocean the air must be condensed, because it cannot rise. For, “in fact, the condensation of the sound-wave corresponds to the crest, while the rarefaction of the sound-wave corresponds to the sinus of the water-wave.”[7]

The water-waves press continually onwards into the distance, but the particles of the water move to and fro periodically within narrow limits. One may easily see these two movements by observing a small piece of wood floating on water; the wood moves just as the particles of water in contact with it move. It is not carried along with the rings of the wave, but is tossed up and down, and at last remains in the same place where it was at the first. In a similar way, as the particles of water around the wood are moved by the ring only in passing, so the waves of sound spread onwards through new strata of air, while the particles of air, tossed to and fro by these waves as they pass, are never really moved by them from their first place. A drop falling upon the surface of the water creates in it only a single agitation; but when a regular series of drops falls upon it, every drop produces a ring on the water. Every ring passes over the surface just like its predecessor, and is followed by other rings in the same way. In this way there is produced on the water a regular series of rings ever expanding. As many drops as fall into the water in a second, so many waves will in a second strike a floating piece of wood, which will be just so many times tossed up and down, and thus have a periodical motion, the period of which corresponds with the interval at which the drops fall. In like manner a sounding body, periodically moved, produces a similar periodic movement, first of the air, and then of the drum in the ear; the duration of the vibrations constituting the movement must be the same in the ear as in the sounding body.

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 vibrations is understood the number of vibrations which the sounding body gives forth in a second of time. The tones used in music lie between 40 and 4000 vibrations per second, in the extent of seven octaves. The tones which we can perceive lie between 16 and 38,000 vibrations to the second, within the compass of eleven octaves. The later pianos usually go as low as C₁ with 33, or even to A₂ with 27½ vibrations; mostly as high as a⁴ or c⁵, with 3520 and 4224 vibrations. The one lined a¹, from which all instruments are tuned, has now usually 440 to 450 vibrations to the second in England and America. The French Academy, however, has recently established for the same note 435 vibrations, and this lower tuning has already been universally introduced in Germany.[8]

The high octave of a tone has in the same time exactly double the number of vibrations of the tone itself. Suppose, therefore, that a tone has 50 vibrations in a second, its octave has 100 in the same time; i.e., twice as many. The octave above this has 200 vibrations, &c. The Pythagoreans knew this acoustic law of the ascending tones, and that the octave of a tone had twice as many vibrations in a second as the tone itself, and that the fifth above the first octave had three times as many; the second octave, four times; the major third above the second octave, five times as many; the fifth of the same octave, six times; the small seventh of the same octave, seven times. In notation it would be thus, if we take as the lowest note C, for example:

1:C 2:c 3:g 4:c¹ 5:e¹ 6:g¹ 7:b♭¹ 8:c² 9:d² 16:c³ 32:c⁴

The figures below the lines denote how many times greater the number of vibrations is than that of the first tone. In the first octave we find only one tone; in the second, two; in the third, all the tones of the major chord with the minor seventh. In the fourth octave we find sixteen tones (which, however, we divide in our system of music into twelve). Likewise, we find in the fifth octave thirty-two tones, which number is doubled in the sixth. Hence, the Greeks had quarter and eighth tones, which we in our equal-tempered tuning have done away with.[9]

The production of a higher pitch in a tone rests in all sounding bodies upon the uniform law which we may observe in the strings of musical instruments, whose tones ascend either by greater tension, by shortening, or through a diminution of the density of the strings.

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 the fact that we have a multitude of different musical instruments, all which can give the same tone, letting alone also that different instruments of the same kind as well as different voices show certain differences of timbre, the very same tone can be given upon one and the same instrument, or by one and the same voice, with manifold differences of timbre.[10]

As now the strength of the tone is determined by the breadth of the vibrations, and the pitch by their number, so the varieties of timbre are ascribed to the different forms of the waves of vibration. For as the surface of the water is stirred differently by the falling into it of a stone, by the blowing over it of the wind, or the passing through it of a ship, &c., so the movements of the air take different shapes from sounding bodies. The movement proceeding from the string of a violin over which the bow is drawn, is different from those movements caused by the hammer of a piano or by a clarionet.

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 have two different views of every object, and compose a third view from those two. _Just so the ear perceives different musical tones which come to our consciousness only as one tone._

It is in general, and especially in the case of the human voice, very difficult to distinguish these single parts of tone, because we are accustomed to take the impressions of the external world without analyzing them, and only with a view to their use.

But when we are once convinced of the existence of partial tones (_Partialtöne_), if we concentrate our attention, we can also distinguish them. The ear hears, then, not only that tone, the pitch of which is determined, as we have shown, by the duration of its vibrations, but a whole series of tones besides, which Helmholtz names “_the harmonic over-tones_” of the tone, in opposition to that first tone (fundamental tone) which is the lowest among them all, generally the strongest also, and according to the pitch of which we decide the pitch of the tone. The series of these over-tones is for each musical tone precisely the same; they are, namely, the tones of the so-called acoustic series, arising, as already described, from the doubling of the vibrations. First, the fundamental tone, then its octave with twice as many vibrations, then the fifth of this octave, &c.

The different timbre of tones thus depends upon the different forms of the vibrations, whence arise various relations of the fundamental tone to the over-tones as they vary in strength. The most thorough inquiries have led to the following results, of the first importance in every formation of tone: _that the appropriate form of the vibratory waves which is the most agreeable to the ear, as well as the fullest, softest and most beautiful timbre which corresponds to that form, is produced when the fundamental tone, and the over-tones following it, so sound that the fundamental tone and the over-tones sound together, the former most strongly, while the latter are heard fainter and fainter in the intervals of the major chord with the minor seventh, so that, with the fundamental tone, still further sound seven over-tones_. If the higher harmonic over-tones grow stronger, and even overpower the fundamental tone, the sound grows shriller, but when the discordant over-tones lying close together, higher than the tones just named, overpower the fundamental tone, the timbre becomes sharp and disagreeable.

But these over-tones are not to be confounded with the earlier known combination-tones (_Combinationstöne_), which arise from the sounding together of two consonant intervals, and likewise have their own over-tones.

Prof. Helmholtz has by means of his Resonance and Electrical apparatus invented aids by which the forms of the vibrations can be perceived as well as the over-tones, and the different degrees of strength of the latter in relation to one another and to the fundamental tone can be exactly measured. In attempting by means of the above-mentioned apparatus to cause the several over-tones to sound more or less strongly with the fundamental tone, and again entirely to veil others, it became possible to Prof. Helmholtz to produce artificially most opposite timbres, as well as all the vowels of speech.

Even when, in the culture of a voice, we have advanced so far that none of the inharmonic but only the harmonic over-tones sound with the fundamental tone, we shall always find that every voice has its own peculiar _Klangfarbe_--i.e., its own characteristic timbre; and it is not possible so to form the tones of a voice that the over-tones sounding with them shall diminish proportionally according to their height. Every voice has one, mostly two, over-tones, which always predominate in every tone, every register, and give the voice its peculiar quality. When, with the first octave, the fifth above it sounds, the voice is full and mellow. A clear, sympathetic, silvery ring is produced by the sounding of the seventh with the octave immediately above it. One of the most beautiful timbres is a result of the prominence of the third with the seventh, etc. This peculiarity appears to be connected with the particular form and structure of the cavity of the mouth. That parts of the cavity of the mouth serve as a sounding-board in the formation of sound, has already been mentioned.[11]

The perfection of a tone at a certain pitch depends, in the resonance of the cavity of the mouth, upon the utterance of some vowel, to which the parts of the mouth are adjusted; and this perfection is considerably affected by even a slight variation in the timbre of the vowel, as it occurs in different dialects of the same language. On the other hand, the peculiar tones of the cavity of the mouth are almost wholly independent of age and sex. The peculiar pitch of the resonance apparatus has also an influence upon the tone. Every one who knows how to play on any instrument knows that some of its tones sound sweeter and are more easily given than others; these are the tones in which the peculiar tone of the instrument and its over-tones sound together. To describe more particularly the natural laws upon which these facts rest would lead us too far away from our present purpose.

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, however, the tones favorable to the several vowels do not admit of being precisely determined.

In different languages and dialects the vowels have different shades, and a scarcely perceptible variation, especially in the clearer vowels, is sufficient to cause the over-tones to be heard more or less distinctly. After I had learned, with the kind assistance of Professor Helmholtz, by means of his artificial apparatus for the sharpening of the ear, to find out over-tones and to know their peculiarities, I was soon able, without any artificial help, to discover the vowels favorable to them by the fuller sound of certain tones. In the female voice all tones below the c¹ take the character of _o_. At the c¹, _a_, pronounced as in the English word _hall_, sounds the best, and at d♯¹ e¹ passes in to _a_, as in _man_, and at f¹ into _a_, as in _may_. With the g¹ the _a_ sounds again as in _man_; a¹ b♭¹ b¹ c² are favorable to all the vowels, while d² e♭² e² sound best with _e_. After e² every tone takes the coloring of _a_, as in _father_, and sounds well only with this vowel; b♭² c³ d³ sound again better with _e_. As thus, above e² f² all the tones take the coloring of _a_ in _father_, so the tones below c¹ take the timbre of _o_, and the most skilful artists are not able to sing all the vowels in these tones with equal clearness and purity. The female voice, therefore, has only a few tones more than an octave, upon which every one of the vowels can be distinctly sung; and again, all these tones do not afford an equally sonorous tone with every vowel.

As unfortunately our Song composers do not always keep this fact in view, as the old Italians did, and since words with the most unfavorable vowels often underlie the notes, it as often becomes necessary to mingle with the unfavorable vowel something of the sound (_Klang_) of the vowel properly belonging to the note; as, for example, in the word “ring” upon f², to sing the _i_ with a mixture of the sound (_Klang_) of _a_. Artists do this in a way of which they are for the most part unconscious, and which is always unobserved by the hearer. That in every voice there are several tones upon which every vowel sounds well, finds an explanation in an observation of Professor Helmholtz. The ear is attuned to a certain tone, designated as e⁴ f⁴. To persons with very susceptible nerves these tones are often insupportable, and we often see dogs, whose sense of hearing is especially acute, run howling away when the above e⁴ is struck upon a violin, while to other tones they seem wholly insensible. But all the tones which are accompanied by that tone as an over-tone to which the ear is attuned, sound harmonious even with unfavorable vowels.

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 tones producing the interval. The node of vibration is the name of that place where, after every completed vibration, the sounding body returns to its former position. When, for instance, we give the third c¹ e¹, we hear the c, lying an octave lower than the third, sounding at the same time as a combination tone. For the tone c¹ a string has two vibrations, while in the same space of time e¹ has three. The vibration node of the c¹ will thus, after two vibrations, coincide with the vibration node of the e¹. By the coincidence of these nodes of vibration is produced the number of vibrations requisite for the c below. Besides these combination tones there are summation tones, discovered by Helmholtz, which arise from the vibrations collectively (_Gesammtzahl_) belonging to the above interval, and are higher than the interval. Both kinds of partial tones have again their faint over-tones.

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, and a new tone of the same height added to them will still further increase the sound. But when two agitations of the surface of the water so move that the crests of one fall into the hollows of the other, their movements neutralize each other. The same thing happens in tones when one is not struck until half the vibrations of the preceding tone are concluded. But if the sounding bodies vary in only a small part of a vibration sound, they will be alternately stronger and weaker, and this is termed beats (_Schwebungen_), which are only produced by tones _very near to each other_. Those intervals whose combination and over-tones so fall together that many beats are produced, sound harsh and disagreeable, and we call them dissonances.

Those intervals in which few or no beats occur are called consonances. As the combination or interfering tones, as well as the beats, have importance and interest only in harmonizing several voices, in tuning pianos, as well as in composition in general, and as we have in view in these pages only the culture of single voices, we cannot further enlarge on these discoveries, interesting as they are. According to the purpose of this little work, I introduce only so much of the latest investigations and discoveries as will help to show the prevailing evils of our mode of teaching singing, and, by their practical application to the business of instruction, serve to improve the vocal art. But whoever has an interest in this branch of science will find in the invaluable work of Helmholtz, “Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen,” an abundance of most interesting observations and of the most thoroughly scientific illustrations of the theory of music, and of those processes in the domain of tone which we have hitherto always felt, but never understood.

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 the arytenoid cartilages, to be shortened. In the falsetto register the vibrating body is diminished, as only the edges vibrate, while the same processes are repeated as in the chest register by the greater stretching of the ligaments and the shortening of the glottis. The head register, likewise, shows the glottis partly closed, and the vibrating ligaments gradually stretched more and more.

The vocal ligaments are made to vibrate by the air coming from the lungs through the trachea, to which they present resistance. These vibrations are communicated to the air in the mouth and outside, and are felt by the ear as sound.

As the strength of the tone depends upon the amplitude of the waves of sound, they, in their turn, depend upon the structure of the organ of singing, and of the parts of the mouth serving as a sounding-board or resonant apparatus, but, above all, upon the skilful management of the vibrating air. And although a fine timbre of the tones and due skill in increasing the amplitude of the vibrations may cause the voice to appear fuller and stronger, yet it is not in our power, when once the vocal organs have been fully developed, to make a strong voice out of a weak one.

Always to strike the true pitch fully and clearly requires persevering attention, as well from the teacher as from the pupil. And long practice is often required before the intonations become as pure as is indispensably necessary to good singing. For only upon the basis of a full, pure tone is a beautiful timbre (_Klangfarbe_) possible.

But the most important thing in the culture of the voice is the timbre of the tones, for _here it is in our power to form out of a sharp, hard and disagreeable voice, a voice sweet and pleasing_.

We have seen that the timbre is dependent on the forms of the vibrating waves, and the different degrees of strength and number of the over-tones arising from these forms. It has been further shown that the simple round form of the waves of vibration produces the softest, fullest timbre. By this form the fundamental tone is the strongest, and the over-tones are heard ascending to the third octave with decreasing degrees of strength. Such a tone is natural to certain voices. In most cases it must be more or less acquired.

A good tone in singing is formed,

1. By controlling and correctly dividing the air or breath as it is expired;

2. By a correct direction of the vibrating column of air; this is done by the right touch (_Tonansatz_);

And, 3. By a very distinct, quick and elastic _touch_.

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 agreeable sound.

_Thus every tone requires for its greatest possible perfection only a certain quantity of breath, which cannot be increased or diminished without injury to its strength in the one case, and its agreeable sound in the other._

In looking carefully through the histories of music, and studying the old Italian schools, we find that it was upon this point--the control and right division of the breathing--that the old masters in the summer of song laid the greatest stress, and this it was to which in teaching they gave the most time and labor. The rules which they followed in this respect, in order to obtain a fine tone, accord perfectly with the results of the latest scientific investigations. And it would be far better for the art of singing if in this respect we had followed the old Italians more faithfully, and not have forsaken so entirely the right way.

According to the old Italian method, which must not be confounded with the modern, the pupil was required at first to breathe just as he was wont to breathe in speaking, and care was taken, by frequent resting-points in the exercises, that the breath should always be renewed at the right time. Accordingly, if the crowding, or pressure, of his breathing was too great, he was required to learn to hold it back. Until the organs were sufficiently practised in the formation of a good tone, and the ear had become familiarized to its sound, pupils were allowed to sing _only_ _piano_. As soon as the pupil had a feeling for a pure tone awakened in him, and could of himself distinguish the finer variations of timbre, he was taught to fill his lungs more and more. But this was to be done, as much as possible, imperceptibly, noiselessly, slowly, and soon enough for him to be able properly to control the quiet breathing in the beginning of a song. Only the sides of the body were in so doing to expand, and breathing with raised chest was allowed only in exceptional cases, as where long passages were to be sung with special passion. For these places, where breath must be taken, there were certain rules which were strictly observed.

After we have learned the natural laws which are applicable in music, and which lie at the basis of a full, rich tone in singing, and that a tone is, strictly speaking, only vibrating air, upon the fine and skilful management of which its beauty and fulness depend, and have considered the careful way in which the old Italians taught the control of the breathing, we cannot but be struck with the rude and negligent manner of using the breath in our present mode of singing.

With some distinguished exceptions, it is now almost universally the practice to require the pupil, as the very first thing, to fill the lungs as full as possible, whereby the chest must be raised. Then the tones must be sung in as strong and long-sustained a manner as possible, in order “to bring out the voice,” as the phrase is. He is next told to begin the tones with a full chest _piano_, and slowly swell them to the highest _forte_, and then descend as slowly, in order to learn “to govern the voice.” Thus the pupil is always required to sing as strongly as possible, without any special regard to the timbre of the tones, because the timbre is regarded as a peculiarity of different voices, admitting of no change. According to what has been shown in the preceding pages, the present way of using the breath, by which it is supposed that voices are rendered strong and full, only needlessly fatigues the organs, injures the beauty and weakens even the strength of the tones. In the same way we find, especially in the case of tenor voices, that the aim is by greater forcing of the breath to extend the registers beyond their limits. Another fault is often taught: the pupil is required to force with the breath to the due pitch those tones whose pitch is usually struck too low. No voices can ever endure such treatment, and, although the organs may be strong enough to remain sound while under instruction, yet the voice will not continue good, and cannot be of long duration.

We often hear, even in fresh and unsophisticated voices, a hoarse breathing accompanying the tones, as in the case of worn-out voices. This breathing arises when the air, which is exhaled and which rushes into the cavity of the mouth, is not all in vibration, and it escapes along with the vibrating columns of air. It sometimes happens, also, that in the too great pressure of the exhaled air against the glottis, the arytenoid cartilages, near their bases, and sometimes the vocal chords leave a small opening through which the air escapes with a hoarse noise. By keeping back the breath in singing these faults may be corrected. Long-continued singing piano in exercises is, moreover, beneficial in the forming of the voice.[12]

A simple expiration does not indeed suffice for the generation of a full sounding singing tone. There is required a certain force by which the air is sent through the narrow and stretched glottis. But so great an expense of force as people are usually at is not necessary.

The influence of the same stream of air increases in proportion as the breadth of the vibrating ligaments decreases. The tones of the falsetto and head registers, therefore, require far less breath than those of the chest register. The less the quantity of breath expended in these tones, and the easier and more quickly they are produced, the clearer and fuller do they sound. The mechanism of the head tones especially is, as we have seen, so delicate that only a slight excess of breath calls forth the inharmonic over-tones which render the tone sharp and unmusical. In wind instruments the tone can be forced upwards by a greater pressure of air; that is, by more powerful blowing, which appears to be practicable also in those instruments in whose peculiar timbre the highest inharmonic over-tones overpower the others.[13]

Together with the skill and unintermitted attention which this part of instruction in singing requires of the teacher, there are here yet other and peculiar difficulties which he has to meet. In opposition to the earlier and more correct view, it is no longer beauty of tone, but strength of tone, which is considered the chief excellence of a voice. Accustomed to seek the beauty of the voice in its strength, it is attempted, before the time of instruction begins, to sing as strongly as possible from a full chest with the greatest expulsion of breath. Thence it follows, in the superficial way in which the study of the art of singing is at present conducted, that nothing more is commonly required of a teacher than that he should be able to drill his pupil in some pieces of tolerably well conceived vocal music, which the latter must sing as soon as possible in company. A perfect culture of the voice is scarcely any longer expected of an artist. People with a very scanty musical education and voices very poorly trained are regarded as artists if they execute their parts with expression, and trick them out with those clap-traps which never fail to command the applause of the ordinary public.

A conscientious teacher has, therefore, universal opinion against him when he demands a longer time for the education of a voice, and requires of his pupils that they shall practice singing only piano as long as it is necessary.

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 the more easily these movements take place, and the farther forward in the mouth the vibrating column of air is reflected, the more beautiful, full and telling is the tone. If the air rebounds farther back in the mouth from any part of the roof of the mouth, then the high inharmonic over-tones are prominent, and there arises either one or the other of those hollow, disagreeable colorings of timbre which are known as throat and nasal tones.

That the voice must be brought forward in the mouth--that is, that the air expired in singing should have the above described direction--is now acknowledged as necessary and aimed at by the best teachers. But the reasons why the tones thus sound better are not known. The Germans and the English, in consequence of their accustomed modes of forming sounds in speaking, have, as we shall see hereafter, more rarely than the Italians, a correct disposition of the tones in singing. It is extremely difficult for many persons to accustom themselves to such a direction of the vibrating air-columns. But with the proper means the skilful teacher always gains his end. These means are to let the pupil practice those syllables which he is accustomed, _in his own language_, to form wholly in front of the mouth.

The old Italian masters considered the management or touch of the tone as one of the most important requirements in the perfect cultivation of the voice. Distinctly, lightly, swiftly and elastically must the column of tone, rightly directed, strike the forward part of the mouth, which at the same moment opens widely enough to communicate without delay the quick agitation to the air external to it.

_Only by a correct movement of this kind (Ansatz) are those forms of the vibrations obtained in which all the harmonic over-tones belonging to a perfect tone sound together._ The quicker, lighter and more distinct this movement of the tone is, the more telling it is, and it may be heard quite strongly, even when it is sung _piano_ with a full chorus and orchestra. Upon the occasion of the great Musical Festival in Boston (1869), it was a matter of universal wonder that with the powerful chorus of many thousands of voices, Mad. Parepa-Rosa's tones were heard so distinctly that even at a considerable distance the words were plainly understood. As great artists often find the true and only beautiful unconsciously, so Mad. Parepa-Rosa has a perfectly correct touch, whereby she sets the surrounding air vibrating more rapidly than it is possible for a chorus to do with so many unschooled voices. The sounding waves of the tones which this distinguished singer produced with the correct touch, naturally reached the ear sooner and were earlier felt and taken into the consciousness of the listener than those of the mighty chorus, and thus it was that the music of a single voice kept its significance even with the accompaniment of a multitude of voices.

The great influence of the touch upon the fulness, and especially upon the extent to which tones reach, is again best illustrated by the movements of water. When we press on the surface of water slowly, though with the greatest force, and at the same time touch it in another place quickly and lightly, it is not only far more strongly moved by the quick, light touch, but the waves which are produced spread themselves out more rapidly, and run more swiftly over the surface, than those of the slower and more powerful pressure.

As the form of the vibrations necessary to a perfect tone in singing depends mainly upon a right management of tone, it is self-evident that here the greatest care should be taken in teaching vocal music. Here is one of the most difficult tasks for the teacher, and great perseverance and much practice are required of the pupil. But when once a right production of tone has become a habit, so that with every tone all the harmonic over-tones sound, and more breath is then allowed to stream forth immediately after the quick, light rebound of the vibrating column of tone, the vibrations enlarge without changing their form, and so only the strongest, fullest, most beautiful tone possible is obtained. But a touch can only be learned by imitation. We can no more describe the fine shades of tone than of color. And no art, least of all the art of singing, can be learned from books alone.

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_, as in _may_, _o_, _e_, in the order in which they are here placed; and farther front in the German _u_ (_oo_).

The length of the cavity of the mouth is the greatest in sounding _oo_, the least in _e_, intermediate in _a_. In the pure, clear _a_, as in _may_, or _e_ of the Germans, the cavity is the narrowest. Hence, to form a tone on this vowel is very difficult, and it is the only vowel whose pure pronunciation must be sacrificed to the tone. Good tones can be formed on this vowel when in both series of the chest register there is mingled with it the sound of the German _ö_, pronounced in English nearly like the vowel in _bird_, and in the higher registers the sound of the _e_--that is, of the German _i_. The cavity of the mouth is thus somewhat broadened, and the tone gains more room for its development.

The Swiss form the _o_ and _u_ like the _a_ in _father_, broadest at the back of the mouth, and the _e_ broadest towards the front. But the Italians form no vowel as far front as their clear sounding beautiful _a_, as in _father_; and probably because the _a_ in the Italian language sounds broadest and most distinctly, Italian wagoners drive their beasts with the shout of _a! a!_ while the Germans use for the same purpose, _hü! huo!_ and the Swiss, _hipp!_ One can only approximate an imitation of the Italian _a_ by uttering it in connection with consonants coming rapidly, as in _pfa_, _bra_, and in as short and rapid a manner as possible.

The old Italian masters naturally found their beautiful _a_ most favorable to the formation of a good tone in singing; and thus it has been adopted by other nations. But here is the very reason why a tone free from badly sounding colorings is so rarely heard. We have blindly imitated the Italians, without considering the different modes of forming the vowels in different languages and nations, and that the Italian _a_ is a vowel entirely different from the German and the similarly sounding English _a_. Its correct sound is learned by those to whom it is not vernacular only with difficulty.

As the vowels are differently formed in different languages, so is it also with the consonants. The North Germans form the letter _r_ with the soft palate, which is made to vibrate by the exhalation of the breath. The South Germans, Russians and Italians form the _r_ by the vibration of the tip of the tongue. It is only this mode of forming the _r_ which is to be used in singing, and must be learned by those who do not usually form it thus. This is sometimes rather difficult, but it can be done by repeating frequently and rapidly, one after the other, the syllables _hede_, _hedo_, or _ede_, _edo_. In this way the tongue gets accustomed to the right position and motion, which it by-and-by learns rapidly enough for the formation of the rolling _r_.

The Italians, likewise, form the _l_ with the tip of the tongue, the Germans and English mostly with the side edges of the tongue. With some attention one can, by feeling, find out in his own organ the place for the formation of the different vowels and consonants, and an ear accustomed to delicate differences of tone will perceive the right place in others.

But in teaching, the example of the wagoners must be followed, and as these people have found out the most appropriate vowels and syllables whereby to make themselves understood by their animals, we must choose what is best fitting to the formation of tone in singing.

Long before I found the scientific reason of this mode of proceeding, my attention was called by Frederic Wiek, in Dresden, to the fact that a fine tone can be most quickly attained by practising in the beginning upon the syllables _sü_, _soo_, or _dü_, _doo_, and by not passing to the other vowels until one is accustomed to produce tones in the front of the mouth. These syllables are naturally spoken by the Germans and the English in the front part of the mouth. The _s_ is formed with the lips apart, while the air is blown through the upper teeth; it thus assists one, united with _u_ (_oo_), to direct the tone forwards. But because in the _u_ the lips are almost closed, care must be taken that, within the lips, the teeth are far enough apart. The cavity of the mouth must be large enough to allow of the largest possible wave of sound, since upon the size of that, as we know, the strength of the tone depends. When the pupil, after some practice, has learned to give the right direction to the stream of sound, he must be required gradually to form the other vowels like the _soo_ in the front part of the mouth, passing from this syllable immediately to the other vowels, as, for example, _soo-a_, _soo-o_, _soo-e_, _soo-o-e-ah_, &c. Only care must be taken that the course of the air preserves its right direction.

Solmisation, also, i.e., naming the tones, _c_, _d_, _e_, _f_, _g_, _a_, _b_, by the syllables _do_, _re_, _mi_, _fa_, _sol_, _la_, _si_, assists a good touch when the pupil employs it in the more rapid exercises.

There is no fixed rule that can be laid down in regard to the necessary opening of the mouth and its position. The structure of the palate and the form of the jaw, and the position of the teeth, lips, &c., vary in different persons. The ear of the teacher must alone determine what position of those several parts will best secure a good timbre. But in every case, for the highest tones of the voice the widest possible opening of the mouth is necessary, and even when, in the formation of the vowels, the lips have to be brought nearer to each other, yet the teeth within must be kept apart, that the cavity of the mouth may remain large enough.

Wind instruments show the influence which the orifice and breadth of the bell has upon the strength of the tone. In the human voice the mouth occupies the place of the bell.

We have already made the remark, in speaking of the different registers, that in the chest tones the position of the larynx is lowered. The cavity of the mouth, then, is naturally lengthened, and hence a moderate opening of the mouth, so that, in singing the notes of the low chest register, the teeth are a thumb's breadth apart, suffices for a good tone. The second chest register requires the slightest opening of the mouth. It is enough if one can press a finger between the teeth. With the high falsetto and head tones the cavity of the mouth is always shorter and narrower towards the back, but as the tones ascend, it must be always broader in front. In singing the first falsetto register, the teeth should be about the breadth of the thumb apart; in the second falsetto register, two fingers apart; and in the head register, the mouth must be open as far as possible. But precise rules cannot here be given. I have observed, however, that in thin voices a too broad opening of the mouth in the middle tones of the voice favors the high over-tones more than the fundamental tone, and the tones are thus flat and wanting in timbre.

Lips too thick and stiff sometimes injure the timbre of the tone; they are often the cause of a veiled, muffled timbre, acting like dampers and rendering a part of the over-tones inaudible. In such cases, as soon as he has become accustomed to a correct direction of the column of tone, the pupil should keep the lips as close to the teeth as possible, and draw back somewhat the corners of the mouth.

The tongue also is not infrequently a hindrance to the formation of a good tone, especially when the pupils have not been taught early enough to open their mouths sufficiently wide. When the high tones are to be produced, which require much room in the forward part of the mouth, the tongue is usually drawn back and raised, in order to make the necessary room within the lower front teeth. This, again, is a habit difficult to be broken, and care must be taken that the lower front teeth are lightly touched by the tip of the tongue in singing, in order that the tongue may be accustomed to a natural position. But this is most easily attained when the tongue is at the first kept occupied as much as possible by quick exercises with the syllables of solmisation, or by practising tones in slow time upon syllables beginning with consonants formed by the tip of the tongue. As in pronouncing the German _Sch_ the tongue presses the teeth all around with its outer edge, syllables formed with these consonants serve excellently well to accustom the tongue to a quiet, correct position.

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 vocal chords vibrating in quick, short pulses. The little time used by the breath between these rapidly succeeding pulses to retreat, in order to give another pulse, suffices perfectly to produce easily and quickly the position of the glottis requisite for a higher or lower tone. In order, between the pulses, to give room to the retreating breath, the windpipe expands laterally, whereby the larynx is always somewhat drawn down, in order, with the next pulse of the breath, to take again its former place. This rising and lowering of the larynx can be seen plainly outside the throat, and it can be seen also whether the movement goes on rightly. Upon the degree of rapidity with which this movement goes on depends the greater or less flexibility of the voice.

But when the breath in exhaling presses in regularly increasing strength against the vocal chords, and one wishes to pass quickly to a higher tone and back again, as is required in trills, while the aerial stream continues to flow on with unintermitted force, it is evident that the changed movement of the glottis, even within the limits of a register, demands more time and muscular force than a beautiful trill or run admits of. But at the same time the limits of the tones become, by the uninterrupted stream of air, obliterated, and embellishments sung in this way, with unmoved larynx, indistinct. But ornamentation is now practised only in this latter way, and if pupils do not naturally move their throats correctly, the gift of flexibility is denied them.

A quite prevalent and likewise incorrect way of using the throat is moving the epiglottis with the larynx, which renders the formation of a clear, pure tone impossible, and _fiorituri_ sung in this way are limp and indistinct. The only correct movement shows itself very plainly externally, so that with the tolerably strong movement of the larynx up and down, there can be seen also a slighter movement of the windpipe far below in the neck, about the breadth of two fingers above the breast-bone. The mouth and tongue, however, must be perfectly quiet.