Position Breathing Attack Tone Formation

One way to secure good position is to require the pupils to stand.

Unless the singing-period directly follows a recess, or the drill in

physical exercises, the pupils will welcome the opportunity. As soon as

standing becomes irksome resume the seats. No further direction in

regard to sitting position is necessary than that the body should be

held not stiffly, but easily erect and self-supporting, resting neither

upon t e back of chair nor upon the desk in front. A doubled-up, cramped

position is, of course, all wrong, and may be avoided if the pupils are

permitted to alternate between sitting and standing positions; but, if

required to sit as suggested for too long a time, the rule will soon "be

honored more in the breach than in the observance." This brings us to

the consideration of





Breathing,



for the latter in its relations to vocalization depends much upon

position. The breath is the motive power of the voice in speech or song,

and the fundamental importance of managing it aright has been understood

by every teacher of voice since the time of Porpora.



How for singing purposes breath shall be taken, how exhaled, how managed

in short, is not yet entirely settled and presumably never will be, for

people are not born wise, and some never acquire wisdom, of whom a few

teach music. Browne and Behnke, in "Voice, Song, and Speech," p.

138-142, describe the process of breathing as follows:



"There are three ways of carrying on the process of respiration, namely,

midriff breathing, rib-breathing, and collar-bone breathing. These three

ways are not wholly independent of one another. They overlap or partly

extend into one another. Nevertheless, they are sufficiently distinct

and it is a general and convenient practice to give to each a separate

name, according to the means by which it is chiefly called into

existence. The combined forms of midriff and of rib-breathing constitute

the right way, and collar-bone breathing is totally wrong and vicious,

and should not in a state of health be made under any circumstances.

When enlarging our chests by the descent of the midriff, we inflate our

lungs where they are largest and where consequently we can get the

largest amount of air into them. When expanding our chests by raising

the shoulders and collar-bones, we inflate the lungs where they are

smallest and where, consequently, we get the smallest amount of air into

them. The criterion of correct inspiration is an increase of size of

the abdomen and the lower part of the chest. Whoever draws in the

abdomen and raises the upper part of the chest breathes wrongly."



In normal breathing the body at inspiration increases in girth at the

waist, and the abdomen moves slightly outward as the viscera are forced

downward by the descent of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a large

muscle which serves as a partition between the thorax or chest-cavity

and the abdomen. When relaxed its middle portion is extended upward into

the chest-cavity, presenting a concave surface to the abdomen. At

inspiration it contracts, descending so as to assume very nearly a plane

figure. At expiration the process is reversed, the diaphragm relaxes and

the abdominal viscera, released from its pressure and forced by the

abdominal muscles which contract as the diaphragm relaxes, moves upward

and inward.



This kind of breathing in which the muscular contraction of the

diaphragm calls in operation atmospheric pressure, supplies the body,

when tranquil, with nearly or quite enough air. When for any reason a

larger quantity of air is demanded, it may be secured by raising the

ribs, thereby increasing the chest-cavity.



In singing, the breath must be managed so that the air passing through

the larynx at expiration shall be set into vibration at the vocal bands.

Expiration, then, which ordinarily occurs very quickly must be retarded

by slowly relaxing the muscles which contract at inspiration. At the

same time the throat must be open, and the muscles surrounding the

resonance cavities relaxed to allow free movement of the sound-waves set

up at the vocal bands. Any upward movement of the shoulders and chest at

inspiration involving the contraction of many powerful muscles of back

and neck will occasion a stiffening of the throat, which prevents free

vibration of the vocal bands and seriously interferes with the resonance

of tone.



The conclusion of the whole matter is, that in singing we should take

breath exactly as in the ordinary quiet respiration, and avoid any

lifting of the shoulders. This is at least enough to say to a class of

children upon the subject.



The means adopted in education should be as simple and direct as

possible. It will be found unnecessary to say very much about breathing

in dealing with classes of children. In the first place, the moment the

subject is broached and the direction "take a good breath" or a similar

one given, each child will draw up the chest and shoulders prepared for

a mighty effort; while, if nothing is said about it, position alone

being attended to, the breathing will be all right. And again, while

adult singers for various reasons, one of which may be the supposition

that the more energy put forth the better the tone, often present

themselves to the voice-teacher with a fine assortment of bad

breathing-habits, children, on the contrary, are sent to school at so

young an age that a little watchfulness on the part of the teacher only

is necessary to avoid improper ways of taking breath and establish good

habits. If young children, then, are not permitted to raise the

shoulders, they will perforce breathe properly.



It seems inadvisable also to give any instruction regarding the emission

of air from the lungs in singing. None but cultivated singers, after

long practice and through a complete command of the muscles concerned,

can vocalize all the air at the vocal bands. The absolute purity of

tone which is thus secured is a result that may or may not be reached in

any particular case. It depends upon the mental and physical

organization of the pupil as well as upon the method of the teacher.



Exercises which are adapted to the formation of good breathing-habits

are much more to the point in practical teaching than efforts at

explanation. Therefore, a few hints are given, which, it is hoped, may

be of practical value, for it is very important that good

breathing-habits be formed in school singing.



The change in structure which the larynx undergoes at puberty,

demolishing as it does the boy-voice, and rendering of no avail the

training of childhood in so far as it affects the larynx, does not

extend in its effects to the breathing-apparatus. So, a habit of

breath-management, good or bad, formed in school may continue through

adult life. Special breathing-exercises are sometimes recommended, but

their efficacy may be doubted, even if the length of time devoted to the

music lesson permits them. The inclination of pupils in such exercises

is to raise the chest and fill the lungs too full of air. The result is

too much air pressure at the vocal bands, and a stiffening of throat and

jaw muscles. The tone then will be loud; in fact, strong pressure of air

at the vocal bands is almost sure to force them into the fullest

vibration; that is, into the thick register, and, as a result of

contracted throat, the tone will be pinched, or throaty. It is

recognized, however, that it is just as easy to teach good habits of

breathing as bad.



This exercise may occasionally be given: The pupils first standing,

shoulders well set, but with no pushing out of chest, place hands at the

waist so that the movements of normal breathing may be felt. Now let the

pupils take a little breath quickly. The movement at the waist must be

outward and downward, never inward, at inspiration. The breath may be

held a few seconds by keeping the waist expanded-- keeping an imaginary

belt filled, for instance-- and then let go by relaxing at the waist.

If, however, there is any stiffening of the throat, as if it were

thought to cork up the air in the lungs, the object of the exercise, in

so far as it relates to the formation of good breathing-habits suitable

for easy vocalization, is defeated. Every teacher must use his judgment

in this matter of breath-management in singing. If pupils are, unguided,

using correct, easy methods, there is then no need to interfere. If some

are inclined to take too much breath and lift the shoulders, a few hints

may put them on the right track. Loud singing and had breathing-habits

go together. If the first is desired, the lungs must work at full

capacity, and hard blowing from the lungs forces the voice. On the

contrary, soft singing promotes quiet habits of breathing; and, if the

pressure of air at the larynx is moderate, soft tone is possible. If

thin, soft singing alone be allowed, quiet deep breathing will be

practiced instinctively.



The easy control of the muscles whose relaxation permits the exhalation

of air from the lungs is, as already said, gained by their proper

exercise in speaking and singing, for the same mechanism is called into

operation in speech as in song. In childhood the lungs can neither hold

as much, nor retain it so long and easily as in adult life.



There is no better way, perhaps, to acquire the ability to regulate the

air-pressure at the vocal bands than by soft, sustained singing. The

"continuous tone" described in a preceding chapter, secured in scale

drill by letting each child breathe at will, is an excellent exercise

for developing good breathing-habits. As there is no nervous tension

whatever, each pupil will naturally sustain tone until the need of

another breath is felt, when it will be taken quickly and the tone at

once resumed.



To sum up: Sit or stand in good position, the chest neither pushed out

nor in a state of collapse. Avoid any, even the slightest, upward

movement of the shoulders. Point out the movements at waist occurring at

inspiration and at expiration if necessary, not otherwise. Let the

breath be taken quickly, not too much at a time, and as often as need

be, and sing softly.





Attack.



The beginning of each tone is called attack. The common faults of attack

in class-singing are sliding to the pitch instead of striking it

accurately, and beginning to sing with the mouth still closed, or only

partly open. When the attack presents the combined effects of these two

common habits, a quite realistic caterwaul is the result.



Both faults may be generally overcome or prevented by calling attention

to them. Good mental attention is the most infallible cure for slovenly

habits of attack. It may be that there are in all schools a certain

proportion of the pupils who have very weak and imperfect vocal organs;

in their cases, even good attention cannot overcome physical inability.



In repose the vocal bands are separated to allow the free passage of air

to and from the lungs. At phonation the bands are drawn toward each

other, meeting just as it commences. There need be no preliminary escape

of air. Also the resonance cavities above should be open, that the

vibrations generated at the vocal bands may find expansion and

resonance. The mouth and throat should then be opened a moment before

tone is attacked, when, if the pitch to be sung is clearly pictured in

the mind, both the "slide" and "hum" will be avoided.





Tone-Formation.



Beauty of tone implies absence of disagreeable qualities, and freedom

from unpleasant sounds. Faulty tones are called nasal, guttural,

palatal, throaty, muffled, and so on, the peculiar timbre of each

suggesting the name. If the throat is relaxed, and if the soft parts of

the vocal tube lying between the larynx and the teeth are kept out of

the way, most of the disagreeable qualities of voice enumerated

disappear. Certain requisites are necessary to good tone-formation.



First, a movable lower jaw.



It is astonishing that so many of young and old will, when they wish to

open the mouth for song, try to keep it closed. Paradoxical as the

statement is, it nevertheless describes a very common phenomenon-- the

"fixed jaw," it may be called. As soon as the teeth are parted slightly,

the muscles of the face and neck which control the movement of the lower

jaw contract, holding it in a fixed position, and incidentally

tightening the muscles of the throat until the larynx is in a grip as of

rubber bands. The mouth must not be held open as if the jaws were pried

apart. It is opened by the relaxation of the closing muscles and should

hang by its own weight, as it were. If then the lower jaw drops easily,

and with no accompanying muscular contraction of face or throat, the

tone may be formed or shaped well forward in the mouth, unless the soft

parts referred to obstruct it.



These soft parts are the tongue and the soft-palate. The soft-palate is

a structure which hangs from the posterior edge of the hard-palate. The

uvula, the pillars of the palate, and the tonsils are parts of the

structure.



The tongue which, when the mouth is closed, nearly fills it, should in

vocalization lie as much out of the way as is possible. If the tip be

pressed against the lower teeth and its sides upon the molars, it forms

a floor to the cavity of the mouth. If the tip turns toward the roof of

the mouth, or if it is drawn back and under, so as to arch the tongue,

tone is seriously interfered with, while if the root of the tongue is

drawn backward, the tone is shut in.



If the soft-palate is not raised in singing, the tone is diverted into

the cavities of the nose, and that color given to the tone called nasal.

If the lower jaw is held too high, the tone is again forced through the

nose. A nasal quality can be modified by opening the mouth. The muffled

voice is sometimes the result of the tongue's unruly behavior. The

throaty, pinched voice, due to a stiff and pinched throat, will hardly

appear if good conditions as regards position, breathing, soft tone,

open mouth, etc., are maintained. The tone should not be swallowed nor,

on the other hand, blown out of the mouth. It should be formed in the

mouth and kept vibrating within it. When the right conditions are hit

upon, the tone seems to sing itself. Whether soft or loud, the tone

should fill the mouth, so to speak.



It must now be remembered that beauty of tone improves along with growth

of thought and feeling. Encourage discrimination in tone-quality and

help in any way advisable the growth of good ideals, and verily shalt

thou be rewarded.