Learning To Sing Via Internet
An article by Gilles Denizot

Internet offers a considerable quantity of resources: articles, scores, sound and video files. Anyone may see the fantastic value of it. As always, the web provides the best and the worst. The specificity of vocal training (and the beauty of it) is that there must be a real contact between teacher and student. Fundamental issues like breath management and Passaggio training can only be taught in the studio. It is impossible to diagnose a vocal issue in a thorough manner and to cure its cause at distance. A sound file may give indications, but nothing more. Students who wander on the net looking for miracle remedies definitely take considerable risks.

Choosing a Voice Teacher
The most important task a voice student will bear is the choice of a competent vocal tutor. It is foolish to apply vocal advices received via Internet without having sung for the professor. You need at least a lesson (rather three) to have a precise idea of his/her technical knowledge, his/her human qualities, his/her vocabulary, his/her way of working. Not every Internet users are capable of giving relevant advices (this however does not prevent them by no means from doing so). Most of them have no professional experience whatsoever. The recommendations will thus be at best ineffective and at worst harmful.

Working in Partnership with the Teacher
Some voice students look for answers via Internet to avoid the cost of a voice lesson. Others question their teacher’s method by asking the approval of perfect strangers met on Internet forums. I have already spoken about the partnership which should exist between the student and the teacher. It is simply about the confidence in the capacities of the teacher and about being certain of the legitimacy of the work process. Without this partnership, no real progress is possible. When one chooses a professor, one should rely on him/her and let him/her be the guide. It is beforehand that it is necessary to enquire and be sure to make the good choice. Students often ask crucial and legitimate questions on Internet forums. Do their professors not answer them or in such an unclear way that students have to look elsewhere? Are those students trying to obtain more accommodating answers? Giving my opinion behind the back of the official professor is always uncomfortable. To consult a teacher via Internet or to follow in secret the instruction of a professor proves the distress of these students. You have the right to an excellent education, which answers all your questions. You have the right to a privileged contact with your professor. If you think that you are not getting the instruction you deserve, it is better to change teacher than to ask strangers for vocal recipes.

Most Common Voice Topics on the Internet
Vocal category, vibrato, larynx activity and breath/support are some of the most common topics discussed on Internet forums. One must be clear: there is NO way to teach laryngeal activity, breath and support via the Internet.

• Vocal Category

It is impossible to indicate someone’s vocal category without having heard the singer. Yet it is one of the most frequent questions. One needs to hear the voice and observe how the singer produces the sound. Why should I tell a student to train his voice as a tenor when he describes his timbre as light and tells me that he can easily reach the G above Passaggio? Perhaps his mouth opens horizontally on the ascending scale. A young man once sent me a sound file and assured me that he was perfectly mastering his Passaggio. It was rather the opposite: what he believed to be a high voice was really a pushed voice, more and more open, and a total loss of resonance and timbre. When I mentioned my doubts regarding his vocal situation, he sent me another file of the same quality. He also asked another teacher for a second opinion. The teacher’s opinion was identical to mine. Internet users often point out that a specific aria gives them troubles implying that they belong to another vocal category. It is indeed possible that the repertoire is unappropriate, but it may also be a technical problem. Misunderstanding the Passaggio is in this respect significant.

Case Study: Lirico spinto tenor singing baritone
A few years ago, a young singer was (rightly) asking himself questions about his repertoire. This thirty-year-old young man was to sing a concert with orchestra in Paris. His programme included Morales (Carmen), Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Publius (La Clemenza di Tito). This repertoire is respectively intended for a high baritone, a bass-baritone, and a bass, on no account the same vocal type. This singer described himself as a “light baritone or a big tenor who extends his high range bit by bit”. His professor also thought that he might be a tenor but not knowing how to train him, he preferred to train him as a baritone “until the voice would be ready!” This attitude is irresponsible and dangerous. One should at once train each student in his/her true vocal category. Allowing precious years to pass without training proper muscles and reflexes is only slowing down the singer’s development. In some cases, it can even definitively prevent him/her to have a career. Let me specify here that I speak only about the main vocal category (soprano, mezzo, alto, countertenor, tenor, baritone, and bass) and not about Fach categories (for example dramatic soprano, Heldentenor, or Verdi baritone). If your voice is that of a tenor, you should be trained as a tenor by your professor, not as a baritone under the excuse that the high range will come later (C.f. The Beginner Singer). You should also not be given baritone repertoire, but appropriate tenor study material.

Having read several messages from this young man and various opinions from forum’s members, I exceptionally made a technical suggestion. By giving a mere hermetic statement, I made sure it would cause no vocal damage because there was no directions on how to use the suggestion. A brief private correspondence quickly began followed by a consultation session. Indeed, it is possible to discuss theory only during a short period, then it is necessary to move to actual singing.

Because I was supposed to train a baritone, I selected vocal exercises for medium voice and in a medium key. The medium and low range had absolutely no ring. We immediately abandoned the bass vocal category. While rising up in the scale, the voice began to naturally alter itself at the tenor break. It became obvious that the baritone vocal category had been chosen because of a) a false and hollow color produced largely by the tongue depressing the larynx and by an obstructed pharynx, b) because of the impossibility for the larynx to pivot and reach the tenor high range. Within minutes of appropriate vocalizing, a gorgeous tenorial sound came out of the young man’s throat. Carefully, I shared with him what I believed his voice was. He then told me that he always thought he was a tenor! His relief was obvious, as if he could at last be himself. What had been wrongly categorized as a baritone (and trained as such for eight years!) was in reality a pure lirico spinto tenor. This error in misdiagnosing the voice led the singer to experience vocal nodes and forced him to go through vocal surgery before we met! It took us a year to recover his voice thanks to the switch in vocal category and appropriate tuition.

• Vibrato

I remember the message of a teenager who wanted to know where he could “buy a vibrato for his voice!” It is amazing to read all the vibrato recipes on the Internet. They are as good as saying that “vibrato will surely come later.” The absence of vibrato always causes a legitimate worry amongst voice students (especially amateurs, and quite particularly female singers). Any vibrato problem indicates without the slightest doubt a vocal dysfunction and should be considered a red light alarm at once. When the support muscles do not regulate breath pressure, vocal cords cannot freely oscillate. When the tongue is retracted and depresses the larynx, vocal folds cannot properly function. Only when the singer accomplishes a balanced breath management does the vibrato naturally appear. However, all of this takes time and has to be trained. Without precise training, nothing happens. I once taught two singers who complained of a lack of vibrato. Their vocal folds oscillated during our first session. They were certainly encouraged, but it is really only after several months of patient work on breathing and support that they were able to consistently sing with a vibrato. The golden rule the more one pushes breath through the larynx the less the voice rings is highly difficult to apply.

Absence of Supervision
The major problem as regards our subject is the absence of supervision. By definition, asking for vocal and technical advices on the Internet gives no real contact with a vocal tutor. There is no example and no possibility of control. Besides, the instruction is not adapted to the specific situation of the singer. Every student is a particular case which demands a personalized instruction. The specific characteristics of the singer may otherwhise neither be revealed nor developed. Without supervision, the student deliberately exposes himself/herself to vocal damage. You might understand an article on vocal technique, nevertheless you need a correct explanation by a professor. This includes seeing and hearing your teacher correctly apply this principle (often by touching the professor’s muscles in action). The teacher’s supervision is crucial.

Conclusion
These examples show that it is impossible to learn to sing from a book, a CD and via Internet. The web provides additional information, which enriches our understanding of singing. But on no account does it replace the antique form of teaching. The human contact between a teacher and his/her student was, is and always will remain the only way of passing on this ancestral knowledge, whatever the evolution of technologies.

© OperaLab – Gilles Denizot. All Rights Reserved.

©2010 OperaLab.. All Rights Reserved.

By Gilles Denizot

Within the tenor vocal category, there is a voice that some call light lyric tenor. This type of singer must be appropriately taught. One cannot reveal or develop his specific vocal characteristics when trained as a lower-voiced tenor (even as a lyric tenor). One must pay extra attention to the singer’s body shape, his exact Passaggio notes, his fitting repertoire.

Fach Characteristics

The light lyric tenor or tenore leggiero was known as tenore di grazia during the eighteenth century. His main vocal characteristics are the purity of line, the evenness of timbre, the frequent use of an exquisite mezza voce. Also typical are the extreme ease to access the highest register (often sung piano) and the stunning vocal virtuosity. These qualities may not be there yet at the start of vocal studies. The young singer can nevertheless be indeed a light lyric tenor. Remember that Alfredo Kraus began choir singing as a second tenor.

Two Light Lyric Tenor Examples

1. Tito Schipa (1888 – 1965)

Tito Schipa, born in Italy in 1888, saw his professional debut as Alfredo in La Traviata (1909). He premiered Ruggero in Puccini’s La Rondine at the Monte-Carlo Opera House in 1917. He was a phenomenal technician with a flawless use of the mezza voce. His limited operatic repertoire – a typical feature among all light lyric tenors – allowed him to sing past his sixtieth birthday.

2. Alfredo Kraus (1927 – 1999)

Giacomo Lauri Volpi, the legendary high tenor, described Alfredo Kraus as “a perfect example of the classical tenore di grazia“. Like Schipa, Alfredo Kraus restricted his operatic repertoire to a mere twenty parts from the Bel Canto, Verdi (Alfredo, Duca di Mantova, Fenton), and from selected French operas. Alfredo Kraus, born in 1927, was still singing in 1998 (one year before his death). Kraus used to say: “Of course I would have loved to sing Lohengrin, Radames, and Calaf. But it would have been dangerous for my voice, and unfair to the music”.

Vocal Specificities

• Passaggio Notes

One of the main dangers for the light lyric tenor is to be taught by a professor who considers that all tenors share the same vocal specificities, the same Passaggio notes. Each voice is different and a light lyric tenor’s Passaggio notes obviously are not those of a Heldentenor. The light lyric tenor voice clearly reveals two specific breaks: the first on E flat (or even E) when entering Passaggio, the second one being on A flat (respectively A) when entering the high register. Under no circumstances does the light lyric tenor’s voice change on F (as a dramatic tenor) or F# (as a spinto tenor). Forcing the voice to behave like a lower one is an error. Alfredo Kraus would otherwise have sung Otello or Radames. In fact, Kraus only sang Cavaradossi twice (in 1956). He experienced vocal strain when studying lirico-spinto repertoire and felt fine when he first sang Duca that year. Light lyric tenors will find proper repertoire suggestions below, to help them develop their voices and reveal their specific vocal qualities.

• Head Voice, Mezza Voce and Falsettone

A genuine light lyric tenor often “cracks” when he begins to train his high register. Luckily he is unable to “push” his chest voice as high as most tenors unfortunately can. When he reaches A flat/A, his voice suddenly shifts because he does not know how to use the light mechanism or because his body won’t allow him to. He is being told that he is singing in Falsetto, that it is inappropriate, and that he cannot be a tenor because he has no hight notes. This “crack” is an unexpected benefit and a very healthy reaction of the instrument which requires a different use. It is time to give this singer a very appropriate training. How many beginners have unfortunately been wrongly directed to baritone or even bass repertoires!

The young lyric tenor is not singing in Falsetto (provided there is body support and no breathy sound). Actually, he just discovered the light mechanism, which he must use primarily on all of his vocal range, and which defines his vocal category. In the low register, the young light lyric tenor must learn to sing “with modesty” or “reserve”: volume is not what we expect from him in this area. Even a Heldentenor should not be adding weight to these notes, as in Siegmund scenes I,3 or II,4. In the middle register, the light lyric tenor must refrain from using the heavy mechanism. This often happens when the singer does not master the breathing or when his body lacks flexibility. It is paramount to develop a healthy light-lyric voice. Recommending more physical strength at that point will deprive the singer from a spontaneous use of his natural light mechanism. One can inevitably expect problems in breathing management, high notes, vibrato or timbre. An adequate technical training includes teaching the A flat/A Passaggio and learning to connect the head voice to the specific register called Falsettone. At that point the singer can easily reach an F above high C. He can then begin the study of selected Bellini and Rossini arias and make good use of his high register extension. These extra notes are needed, both vocally and stylistically. This is not exceptional, it is the obvious result of an appropriate training.

Physical Specificities

Being flexible both vocally and physically is crucial for the light lyric tenor. He is unable of great vocal and physical efforts because of his slender, relatively slightly built figure. His rib cage usually is rather underdeveloped in the early stages of his training. Forcing the voice and the body, suggesting more support is counterproductive. In most cases, the body will stiffen (and so will the voice), fatigue will appear, and finally the singer will “crack”.

Typically, the young light lyric tenor engages too much support, as strange as it may seem. There is too much physical strength involved, and not enough energy or flexibility allowing him to sing in light mechanism. The more breath he inhales, the more he has to engage muscles to hold the breath back. This leads him to sing in heavy mechanism. As always, the Golden Rule of singing is not the quantity of breath but the quality of the breath management. The noble posture (see article on ‘Posture and Breath‘) allows the singer the full use of his physical abilities and to avoid tension. The solar plexus, for example, must not be rigid but allow for a reliable Appoggio; the lumbar muscles must provide an antagonistic response to the abdominal area. The hips must be flexible enough to pivot, especially when singing legato and high. Working on breathing, on staccati, and on rapid exercises will prevent excessive efforts and the inevitable fatigue. Flexibility and energy allow the young light lyric tenor to understand what support really means.

The physical image must also be briefly mentioned. The greatest tenori di grazia of the last century often looked unduly elegant, somewhat dandyish. The modern light lyric tenor is as masculine as any other, even when he decides to develop the physical and vocal aspects of his voice, especially elegance and softness of tone. To achieve this, he must see himself as he really is and understand that these are assets to be used.

Training Suggestions

1. The ‘i’ Vowel

During a 1995 Masterclass, Alfredo Kraus stated that learning to sing merely means to look for an ‘i vowel’-based natural vocal production. The “least vocally tiring vowel” – according to Kraus – “opens the throat” and avoids darkening the voice.

2. The Staccato

Since vocal flexibility is essential for the light lyric tenor, it seems appropriate to select staccati exercises. They will expand the light mechanism. Furthermore, legato singing is more difficult for light lyric tenors. Staccato is a logical introduction to a more legato and slower singing. Read Richard Miller’s notes on the topic.

Repertoire Suggestions

The Bel Canto and some French operas are ideal; here some general ideas:

• Adam Le Postillon de Lonjumeau (Chapelou)
• Bizet Les Pêcheurs de perles (Nadir)
• Gounod Mireille (Vincent)
• Massenet Manon (Des Grieux)
• Mozart Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Pedrillo)
• Rossini Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)
• Verdi La Traviata (Alfredo), Rigoletto (Duca), Falstaff (Fenton)

The following arias are especially appropriate:

• “Una furtiva lagrima” by Donizetti (Nemorino)
• “O Colombina” by Leoncavallo (Beppe/Arlecchino)
• “Vainement, ma bien-aimée” by Lalo (Mylio)
• “Ach, so fromm” ou “M’appari” by Flotow (Lionel)

As well as songs, mélodies and Lieder:

• “Ma rendi pur contento” by Bellini
• “Die schöne Müllerin” by Schubert.

Every singer must discover his/her voice, appreciate its qualities, and learn not to sing louder and larger than the instrument permits. In addition, it is highly recommended that vocal tutors – particularly those who rarely or never sang on stage – listen to their students’ performances, possibly in a large theater. One is suddenly very surprised by the smaller size of the voice, in comparison to the sound heard in the studio, even if the voice carries well. The repertoire must be carefully and deliberately chosen. Several options exist: according to his physical abilities, the light lyric tenor can sing leading and/or secondary roles. He can be Werther or Monostatos, Pedrillo or Monsieur Triquet, and of course a superb recitalist.

© OperaLab – Gilles Denizot. All Rights Reserved.

©2010 OperaLab.. All Rights Reserved.

Working with a beginner takes a similar approach at first whatever the vocal category. The basic notions of posture and breathing are almost identical. However, once the true voice type of the student is established, a voice tutor must respect it. Teaching a soprano in the mezzo range does not help at all; training a tenor as a baritone “until he gains high notes” is counter-productive, to say the least. It is of the utmost importance that a student be trained in his/her appropriate vocal category.

At the time of my debut in 1985, I had a powerful, rich, and odd mature voice. Its colour was dark and full; the range and abilities largely above normal. This voice allowed me to make my debut at the Grand Theatre in Geneva aged 18, after only six months of voice lessons. At the age of 22 I sang the Verdi Requiem in Paris and got hired as a permanent soloist by the Opernhaus in Zurich. At 24, I was invited to represent my country at the 1991 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. I did not have any real technical knowledge, and did not especially want any. I had ways to succeed in difficult music lines, and I was carefree and bold. After years of singing on an international level, I discovered what was preventing me from singing consistently.

Although I strongly believed to be a tenor, I got trained in the wrong vocal category. Being a Heldentenor, my instrument was heavier and darker than a lyric tenor. It sounded a lot like a lower voice and I did not know how to access the high tenor range. I needed to be trained as a tenor, and not as a bass-baritone. My voice therefore became larger in the areas where a tenor’s voice must be narrow. My muscles never learned to support the tenor tessitura. This litteraly robbed me of my true vocal nature for over 15 years.

Detecting Vocal Category

Sometimes, the vocal category is not clearly audible. A soprano or a tenor may not have the appropriate support to access high notes. A mezzo or a baritone may sound like an upper voice by using a high larynx. When I start teaching a beginner, I make sure that the posture and the breathing are addressed. As the voice releases, I may detect the passaggio notes. With the correct training, the result is a balanced voice whatever the range or category. It has been my personal experience that true passaggio notes only reveal themselves when specific requirements of singing are achieved (posture, breath management). However, passaggio notes give a certain indication. So does the evident sensation of ease and comfort in a certain voice line, or area within the range. Some singers like to sing high, others don’t. This sensation is often interesting to observe among beginners. I have once taught a singer whom I immediately identified as a possible tenor. Passaggio notes were not obvious, particularly because some tenors can have a dark colour and easy low notes. However there was a definite change of colour around high F#4, a typical pivotal note amongst numerous tenors. I knew that as soon as certain crucial technical notions would be absorbed and used by this singer, the high register would be allowed to develop more easily above this passaggio note.

Detecting Passaggio Notes

We have to look for differences in sensations and colours in the unbalanced raw voice. Detecting the low passaggio note can be somewhat tricky, mainly because some tenors may have a strong and dark voice, and a lot of chest resonance in the low register, even resembling the low register of a baritone. One can be fooled by the colour of the voice. This is why I often prefer to look for the upper passaggio, where it is difficult or almost impossible to cheat. When dealing with a dramatic voice such as mine the passaggio note is an excellent indication. One has to recall that dramatic sopranos and Heldentenors have a second passaggio or upper passaggio on a lower note than their higher colleagues. Example: my lower passaggio (first passaggio) is around C4 and my upper passaggio (second passaggio) is F4. These are the typical pivotal notes of a Heldentenor or a drammatico/robusto tenor (C.f. Frisell’s Tenor Voice; Baritone Voice; and Miller’s Structure of Singing; Training Tenor Voices). Higher tenors (spinto, lirico, di grazia etc.) have a higher passaggio, around F#4 or G4. Light lyric and Rossini tenors may even a higher upper passaggio. It is therefore unconceivable to teach all singers the same way.

Choosing Keys in Music

It might also be a good idea to choose easy and comfortable keys for the beginner within his/her vocal category. I once worked with a student on Schubert’s Ave Maria. He immediately told me that he felt ‘at home’ in the tenor key (which goes up to F4) compared to the baritone key. This certainly is not the usual reaction of a baritone, even less so of a bass. One should remember that male singers share moreless the same medium range (this also applies to the female medium range). The real difference lies in the repertoire as a tenor/soprano sings a third above a baritone/mezzo. Vocal categories therefore must be respected in choosing repertoire. I sometimes prefer a higher and brighter key, particularly in Schubert Lieder (written for pianoforte which had a clearer low range than modern pianos), whereas Mahler Lieder require an absolute control of the mixed and head voice, utterly-balanced registers (which I surely did not have when in 1991 a famous agent sent me to Germany to sing Die fahrenden Gesellen with orchestra).

Explaining Vocabulary

I usually begin the very first lesson by providing the student with an anatomical worksheet describing the larynx, the upper body, and the vocal cords (closed and open). The student has to know the basics of his instrument. He also will be hearing various vocal terms, and the vocal tutor must explain them when appropriate (C.f. Of Vocal Registers).

Posture and Breath

These are the very first notions to teach a beginner. The great Italian Masters of the Bel Canto era always devoted a great amount of time for that purpose. The postura nobile (‘noble posture’) ensures that the instrument is available for vocal studies. Once this is achieved, breathing must be explained and trained so that the student may use it to his own benefit. Proper breath management will release tension in the larynx and pharynx areas, thereby allowing for a better sound (C.f. Posture and Breath).

Cord Closure and Onset/Offset of Sound

The first vocal training must be based on the concepts of ‘onset’ and ‘offset’, especially with a beginner whose vocal cords might have a tendency to leak air. There is a very simple exercise in order to understand the cord closure and where the vocal cords are located. As weird as it may seem it took me 15 years of singing and a simple exercise with a teacher to feel the cord closure operate. I usually start around G3/A3/B3 with a man, going down so that the last note touches the low range but still easily. This study, combined with breath management, teaches the student the staccato ability.

The Italian ‘uh’ Vowel

This vowel elongates the throat space to a maximum, compared to other vowels. The student may also say ah-oh-uh and feel what changes in the throat and in the mouth. Basically, the uh allows the larynx to lower, thereby tensing and thinning the vocal cords. I teach all sorts of exercises on uh; they are hard but unbelievably good for quick and lasting progress. For instance I use different versions of scales in the medium and low registers, starting on B3/A3/G3. The extended versions of these scales always have to be initiated right below the first passaggio (between A3 and C4) and not above in order to avoid unfortunate and counter-productive tensions. One must remember that with singers, particularly male singers, the high register can scare. It is the responsibility of the teacher to avoid a ‘fear reflex’. I use these scales downwards so that the singer’s voice warms up gently but quickly. We stop when touching the low register; this can be a G2 for a baritone, or a C3 for a tenor.

Garcia’s Pharyngeal Vowels

The Garcia’s exercise helps a lot in identifying each vowel (its ’sound image’). This vocalise uses a five-tone scale, tongue between the teeth, then another five-tone scale, tongue in mouth, on the five ee – eh – ah – oh – uh vowels. By using this exercise, the study of legato and vowel alignment begins. I recommend to use this exercise in the middle area of the voice only. Later on, confirmed singers can practise it in the passaggio area and above.

Lindquest’s and Bjoerling’s Scales

Singing higher and faster must also be addressed. The idea is to alternate closed vowels (ee or eh) and open vowels (ah or oh) i.e. ee-oh or eh-ah. I usually offer the singer to choose the easiest combination. There are several versions of these scales, from the simplest one to the most elaborate one. This is used as a relaxed moment in the session. With a beginner who clearly is a tenor, I use a different version of the Lindquest/Bjoerling scales. It involves the pivot of the larynx and the vowel adjustment with the Umlaut. The pivot of the larynx and the vowel adjustment allows for an instant discovery of the essence of the male singer’s training: the passaggio and the cover. This subject is by far one of the most controversial of all. It takes time (and proper teaching) to understand the passaggio and the cover. When correctly produced, singing in the upper register becomes enjoyable.

Caruso’s Scales

Twenty-nine different versions of the scales Caruso practised daily are reproduced in Caruso, and the Art of Singing, by Salvatore Fucito and Barnet J. Bayer (Dover). They all are an excellent tool for the study of vowel adjustment and the blending of the registers.

The Cuperto Exercise

This exercise involves the falsetto in the male voice and trains piano singing in the high female voice range. Some men have an easy and natural falsetto, some don’t. The latter ones close the throat and push the jaw forward in attempt to reach the very high notes. There at two ways to prevent that. One is to explain every parameter before starting, basically feeling a soft, floating sensation. This is how I would describe my falsetto. Very pure, no body engagement other than proper posture and breath management. It is of the utmost importance that the shape of the mouth be as narrow and oval as the throat is wide and open. The greatest responsibility of the teacher is to select the first note so that the singer is not taken too high, close to the ‘fear reflex’ area. The other way to avoid the fear of the falsetto is to use full voice version of the Cuperto on the Bjoerling Umlaut. It seems that this version helps tenors more than baritones.

The Sieber Vocalises

Sieber was a Viennese Italian-trained voice teacher who composed these 8-measures exercises for his students, with different tunes for each voice type. These exercises, published by Schirmer, train the passaggio in a clever way by using closed and open vowels. They always make singing easy, healthy, technically correct. I have noticed that beginners find a great amount of joy and satisfaction in applying technique to repertoire via Sieber. It prevents the student to think that there is technique on one side, and music on the other.

Applying Technique to Repertoire

The main reason for technique is to memorize vocal mechanisms until they become habits. As we have previously seen, the student must be taught in the correct vocal category for this to become productive. Then one applies technical abilities to repertoire. Not the other way round. Students should realize that technique and musicality are closely intertwined. A singer who truly possesses a complete range of exercises can always go back to that ‘home base’ when facing trouble in a piece of music. The student gradually becomes his own vocal tutor, the utmost gift a teacher can give to his/her student.

©2010 OperaLab.. All Rights Reserved.

An article by Gilles Denizot

Il canto è fiato (singing is breath) used to say the old Italian Masters of the Bel Canto. The vocal training they provided students with was based on this fundamental principle. The optimal breath management, achieved by adopting a specific posture called postura nobile (noble posture), is the essence of a healthy vocalism. What is this ideal posture and how can one master breathing?

The postura nobile or noble posture

The singularity of the singer’s instrument is that it is contained in his body but in addition it IS his body. A musician uses an exterior instrument and his body. It is true that a musician is dependant upon the quality of the piano or the violin he plays, but also upon the muscular response of certain areas of his body that he can easily observe. This difference is crucial. The singer does not see his larynx, his vocal folds, and his diaphragm. He often is not able to locate them or explain the way they function. This causes all sorts of wrong ideas, or at least imprecise ones. The piano teacher adjusts the stool for his student so that his arm is on the correct axis in front of the keyboard. The voice teacher must also adjust the external posture of his student, but he is unable to directly act upon the vocal folds or the diaphragm. He may only work from the outside so as to ensure himself that the student’s posture allows the best disposition of the vocal instrument. This specificity is the reason for the problems we all encounter in the study of singing.

The Bel Canto Masters taught the postura nobile or noble posture. The adjective is interesting. One does not say athletic, muscular, or natural. One simply speaks about the nobility it evokes. This shall be our first statement. The singer’s posture cannot be natural because it is elaborated. However it is far simpler that people say and it must allow the maximal use of everyone’s physical capacities. Not long ago teachers took great care in evaluating the instrument of any student who wanted to learn singing: the rib cage, the structure of the face. Jessye Norman rightly said that she had indeed learned to master her breath but that she also could only be grateful for the particular and innate dispositions of her body: the shape of her oral cavity and of her throat, the height of her soft palate, the nature of her larynx and of her vocal folds. We all have physical specificities that are more or less adapted to a given use. There is nothing we can do about it. But any singer has the duty to exploit his natural dispositions to his best.

The thorax of a boy is narrow and flat, and then it develops itself in a forward direction during his growth. The rib cage becomes wider; this allows for a larger intake of breath. Additionally the boy’s larynx drops down when his voice breaks and the tessitura lowers by an octave, unlike with girls who stay on the upper octave. A significant aspect of a child’s education is to be taught to stand up straight. As a result a social posture is achieved. This posture becomes usual (rather than natural) and is even increased when we speak in public. The noble posture of the singer is an amplified social posture, and specifically structured so that the body and the vocal organs are fully functional. Feet are steady on the ground, knees slightly bent, the curve of the back is corrected, the pelvis is flexible as well as the abdominal muscles, the torso is open (in an umbrella-shape), the sternum is high and forward, the shoulders are down, the skull is resting on the neck, in a vertical alignment. When a singer adopts the noble posture one can observe that the sternum is high and forward and that the rib cage is wide. Female singers (more often than their male colleagues) are almost systematically looking to maintain their rib cage open. The unfortunate frequent mistake is to open the rib cage by working on muscles. It implies forcing to open and to maintain the posture of the torso. This effort causes inopportune tensions whilst singing. It is far simpler, effective, and healthy to first open the rib cage by adopting a definite “bone” posture, before breathing in. The postura nobile allows this. Your rib cage is open without any muscular effort. Your lungs may expand without forcing within the space provided. This inspiration is faster and more complete since the lungs are free to inflate. Teaching a flat torso and a depressed sternum evidently proves that the instructor does not know human physiology. It has been proven (using a succession of X-ray studies) that when the sternum is low, the diaphragm is high and so is the larynx. A collapsed torso always causes almost insurmountable difficulties, particularly modifying the voice to the extent that one might be mistaken about the singer’s vocal category. The postura nobile is neither natural, nor soft, but energetic and flexible. This posture is essential to sing at one’s best and, for some, to reach professional level.

Breathing mechanism

How does breath enter the lungs? The diaphragm does not contract and lower itself because breath enters the lungs, but precisely because of the opposite. Let’s use the image of the syringe held upright (needle at the top). How do you fill it with air? Evidently you have to draw the plunger out as you cannot push air inside the syringe. In order to lower the diaphragm, you must adopt the noble posture and free some space normally occupied by the internal abdominal organs. When the abdominal muscles are strengthened instead of being supple, the diaphragm is facing a strong resistance at inspiration. It has been established that a neurological connection exists between the diaphragm and the larynx. When the former drops, so does the latter. Clearly the contraction of the abdominal wall has its value in phonation, but when breathing in, one must relax the abdominal wall and the four intercostals muscles.

How does breath exit the lungs? There is a difference in pressure between the breath inside the lungs and the outside air. Let’s use the image of an inflated balloon held between two fingers. When you release your fingers, the balloon instantly deflates. It is pointless to press on the balloon in order to release the air or, in the case of singing, to voluntarily tighten the abdominal wall as an onset of sound. When the abdominal muscles are violently squeezed at the beginning of phonation or during singing, breath rushes too rapidly through the larynx or in too large a quantity. This causes a leakage of breath and of sound, or a rigid sound. In addition vocal folds are assailed and the duration of the phrase is shortened. One speaks of glottic shock which has nothing to do with Garcia’s coup de glotte. When standing in the noble posture, as the lung are emptied, it is easy to renew the whole cycle from the beginning by releasing the abdominal wall and by allowing another full contraction of the diaphragm. This breathing in does not imply collapsing the upper torso posture. Luciano Pavarotti explains that the great secret is to have the patience to let diaphragm go down again before beginning the next phrase. By respecting this advice one makes sure that the larynx is stabilized once again in a lower posture.

Your singing voice, just like your speaking voice in fact, is voiced breath. If your sound is hard or weak, if your sound is uneven and shaky as if produced by nervous or muscular spasms, if your throat (which relaxed at inspiration) squeezes, then you have not been able to balance the whole process. You must educate the antagonistic forces of the diaphragm and the abdominals so that they may work in coordination and that their respective strengths are balanced. Let us state categorically that no optimal sound can be achieved without proper balance of this mechanism. The situation is worsened by various vocal troubles. Some people attempt to solve these difficulties with exercises to raise and stretch the velum, place the tongue forward and the jaw backward, lower the larynx and open the pharynx. Based on our experience as singer and voice teacher, we affirm that it is preferable to work on the posture and the breath. It is anyway the method used by all good specialists in phoniatrics. The singer’s instrument IS his body, just like the singer’s voice IS his breath: il canto è fiato.

In vocal training one must accomplish the postura nobile and the action of the appoggio which is the coordination of the breath management. Then train this by using vocalises in the middle register PRIOR to exploring the extremes of the voice. When posture and breath are definite and mastered, the larynx and the pharynx may then properly function. One avoids, with this antique method, numerous vocal troubles which in turn cause so many difficulties and doubts amongst singers.

© OperaLab Gilles Denizot – All Rights Reserved

©2010 OperaLab.. All Rights Reserved.

Of Vocal Registers, by Gilles Denizot

Singers and teachers constantly refer themselves to certain technical terms in order to describe the various registers of the singing voice. The basic concepts are accepted by some and refuted by others. A very natural confusion settles down among students (who do not understand what their professor means) and amongst vocal tutors (who do not use the same vocabulary). The reason is essentially due to the complexity of vocal mechanisms. Solid notions in anatomy and in vocal physiology are indispensable to understand and teach singing. We would like to enumerate and attempt to define here the most common terms.

One must establish at once that if one divides the voice into several parts or registers, one implies the necessity of a passage from one register to another. Is the voice effectively divided into several registers or not? Vocal homogeneity nevertheless is indispensable in high-level classical singing. It is thus necessary to learn to sing on our individual complete tessitura by preserving the same timbre. This can be obtained by accommodating one’s voice according to the pitch of notes. It is what differentiates classical singing from popular singing for example. One should not be afraid of the notion of registers, nor to imagine that one sings certain notes in chest, the others in head, but to view beautiful singing as the demonstration of balance and harmony of registers.

Registration

Registration is the complete positions of the larynx that can produce various types of sounds, even before their modification by the resonators.

In Hints on Singing (p.7-8 and following), Manuel Garcia mentions the existence of three vocal registers respectively named chest, medium, and head. He recognizes that these terms are inaccurate but acceptable. Still according to Garcia, a register is a series of consecutive homogeneous sounds produced by one mechanism, differing essentially from another series of sounds equally homogeneous produced by another mechanism. Each of the three registers has its own extent and sonority, which varies according to the gender of the individual, and the nature of the vocal organ. The mechanism of registers is explained by the posture of vocal cords and its use by the singer: the chest voice causes a light tension of the complete length and width of vocal cords. The higher the note, the more the tension of the cords increases whereas the thickness decreases. At the same time arytenoids reduce the vibratory length of the cords until head voice is involved. Garcia explains that the resistance to the breath opposed by the thick sides of the vocal folds would invite the chest voice or the falsetto with thin edges. One can thus sing on the thin edges of the cords rather than using their whole mass. It considerably affects the vocal health, the vocal resistance, and the musicality of the singer. Let us note that, according to Garcia, the head voice and the falsetto are the same register. This confusing notion is not used nowadays.

Vocal Mechanisms

The student will often read the terms heavy mechanism and light mechanism: they are in fact two different ways to use the vocal cords. In this widely documented domain, the study of William Vennard is a reference. In Singing – The Mechanism and the Technic (par. 238, ed. 1967), Vennard exactly points out that because the heavy mechanism covers 2/3 of the lower tessitura, and because the light mechanism covers 2/3 of the high range, either mechanism can be employed for the middle third. It is a fundamental notion: the middle range of the singer can, by an appropriate training, reach a balance between low and high notes, and set the quality of the complete instrument. This is why the study of singing first starts with the medium, then addresses the extremes of the voice.

Heavy Mechanism

The heavy mechanism is sometimes called chest voice which creates a first misunderstanding: we believe that the chest voice is the product of the heavy mechanism, not its cause. One of the characteristics of the heavy mechanism is the dominant action of the thyroarytenoid muscle (commonly called vocalis muscle in English). The thickness of the cords creates an intense and long closure of the glottis during phonation. The accumulated pressure then opens the glottis almost like an explosion. The distance between both vocal cords is then rather important. The mechanism repeats itself then throughout the phonation in chest voice. The heavy mechanism is convenient for low notes, precisely because of the wide vibration amplitude of the cords.

Light Mechanism

The first remark concerning the heavy mechanism applies to the term light mechanism. The characteristic function in light mode is the dominant action of the thyroarytenoid ligament. Vocal cords offer a tiny resistance to the breath and the closure of the glottis is brief. The edges of vocal cords are thin.

Breath and Its Influence on Vocal Registers

One cannot avoid the subject of breath and its management when one evokes the vocal registers (C.f. our Posture and Breath article). Indeed, according to the Masters of Bel Canto, “Il canto è fiato” (singing is breath). The optimization of vocal registers is impossible if the breath is not disciplined. This is the main obstacle at the beginning of vocal studies. The student does not succeed in correctly holding the breath back. By reaction, he/she sings mostly in heavy mechanism. The larynx cannot pivot and the pharynx is not expanded enough to allow the light mechanism to occur. Extreme notes are missing, or of a mediocre quality. They gradually appear when the singer manages his/her breath.

Chest Voice (voix de poitrine, voce di petto, Bruststimme, long register)

Term used to describe the vocal timbre produced by the vocalis muscle compared to the vocal ligament. Some people speak about vibratory sensations localized in the chest rather than in the head. As Garcia said, this term is inaccurate but usually accepted notably in reference to the dark timbre, to the heavy mechanism, and to the low register or voice. One could speak of the pre-eminence of low overtones because of the low laryngeal posture. The chest voice can only be a part, the lowest, of the singer’s voice. Indeed, it is physiologically impossible to sing in chest voice in the high extreme of one’s tessitura. The tenor Adolphe Nourrit, after whom one spoke of the C di petto, meant to describe a different kind of vocal production compared to the style of singing in fashion at the time which favored a strengthened falsetto. The permanent use of the chest voice has consequences on:

1. Vocal Health: to sing in chest voice on all the tessitura simply indicates that the singer did not discover or does not use any other vocal mechanism and pushes his chest voice as far as possible, often risking damages;
2. Musicality and Style: to sing in chest voice is common in belting, but also among most beginners in classical singing as well as with singers of mediocre quality. These individuals often have no other means to reach high notes than to push the voice and to horizontally open the mouth. The great operatic repertoire is inaccessible, and the musicality is diminished. The study and the mastery of the passaggio are indispensable. The question of musicality will be addressed below.

Head Voice (voix de tête, voce di testa, Kopfstimme, short register)

Term used to describe the vibratory sensations localized in the head rather than in the chest. Some call it the high register. One can speak about the dominance of high overtones. For some professors, who often confuse head voice and falsetto, the head voice would be weaker in projection, in timbre, in power. They prefer the terms mixed or well-supported mixed voice to indicate the middle area of the voice, or even the flexible singing.

Mixed Voice (voix mixte, mixte appuyée, mezza voce)

Combination of the chest and head voice, or low and high overtones. The notion of mixed voice implies a balance of its components. The larynx is lowered, the pharynx is open, allowing the intervention of low overtones. High overtones are obtained by working with the soft palate or velum. Some people add the term supported when there is enough body implication. The term mixed voice is often used in classical vocal interpretation, notably the art songs, and particularly as regards the French repertoire. The term mezza voce does not thus indicate the head voice register. It is related to a style, a way of singing. To accomplish a mezza voce, it is not necessary to modify the full voice mechanism, but simply to reduce the intensity of the singing. One could also say that mezza voce allows to speak rather than to sing the words.

Falsetto (voix de fausset)

The treble range notably produced by counter-tenors, also called falsettists. In falsetto mode, only the thin edges seem to be used during the vibration; the internal mass of the vocalis muscles remains motionless. Singers who train their voices with the Cuperto (see below) use falsetto downwards to the lowest notes of their tessitura. In time, the typically pale and fragile falsetto strengthens itself. Some then call it reinforced or strengthened falsetto. In the case of light lyric tenors, this reinforced falsetto presents a characteristic tone and a consistency ideally adapted to the Rossini repertoire.

Low Register

The lowest notes of the human voice. Series of consecutive low notes produced by the same vocal mechanism.

Middle Register

The notes on the treble staff. Series of consecutive medium notes that combine the best qualities of the low and high registers.

High Register

The notes from the top of the treble staff to the highest pitch of human voice. Series of consecutive high notes produced by the same vocal mechanism.

Passaggio (passage or Upper Middle Register)

On an ascending scale on an open vowel, a singer clearly feels that from a certain note (which varies according to individuals) the colour of the voice changes and the laryngeal sensation becomes less comfortable. These changes occur while passing between two areas of the voice, even between two notes. If one accepts the concept of vocal differences between every tone, or the notion of registers (series of similar tones), then one should speak about pivots between the various types of tones. Each of these transitions is a passage. The purpose of the high-level classical singing is not to ignore these transitions, but to make them as imperceptible as possible for the listener. Vocal homogeneity is the result of this indispensable work.

Whistle Register (flageolet ou sifflet)

A register of the female voice extending beyond the upper fifth. Its use is not frequent. The term results from the description of the sound in this very high vocal area. Light lyric sopranos or dramatic coloraturas who practice the Cuperto may reach the upper fifth without tightening the throat or using the false cords.

Vocal Fry (Strohbass, Schnarrbass, friture)

A register of the low male voice which extends below the normal notes used in the singing or speaking voice. Like the whistle, its use is extremely rare and it is not indispensable to go further into details.

Feigned Voice (Voce Finta, voix feinte)

Translation of the Italian voce finta, sometimes used to describe falsetto, describes the timbre of the unsupported voice. The sound is too clear and inconsistent. It is often the result of a horizontal mouth posture and of the absence of physical support. Some singers unfortunately use this feigned voice as an attempt to be expressive.

Belting

A style of singing, and by extension a vocal technique, common in the musical theater. The larynx is in a particularly high posture and the closure of vocal folds is held or even forced for a longer duration. The sound becomes extremely nasal. Some consider belting the result of the chest voice pushed beyond the upper passaggio. Classical singers who do not accommodate their larynx for the high range and/or those who open their mouth horizontally involuntarily almost produce a belting sound.

Open Voice (voce aperta, voix ouverte)

The use of the chest voice in the highest possible register. Another way of describing belting. The mouth is more and more opened on the ascending scale.

Clear or White Voice (voce chiara o bianca, voix claire ou blanche)

A clear or white timbre produced by the low posture of the soft palate and the high posture of the larynx. The mouth is often opened horizontally. The tongue retracts itself and blocks the pharynx. Vibrato is missing.

Closed Voice (voce chiusa, voix fermée)

A voice which modifies itself in the upper middle register. The singer feels the pivot of the larynx and the gradual opening of the pharynx. The mouth is rounded and not too open.

Covered Voice (voce coperta, voix couverte)

A balanced voice in the high register. The timbre is dark and shiny. The larynx has pivoted and remains stable; the pharynx is open.

Full Voice (voce piena, voix pleine)

A voice which advantageously combines the qualities of the chest and the head voice. An intense voice, well-supported by the body. Caruso considered his full voice to be his natural vocal capacity.

Cuperto and Vocal Health

In the treatise Pensieri e riflessioni pratiche sopra il canto figurato published in 1774, the singer and professor Giambattista Mancini explains: In vocal training, one should divide the voice between its two natural elements – pure chest voice and small head voice. Exercise and strengthen each part separately, then join them in mixing the head voice with the chest voice. The exercise of the Cuperto is an effective educational tool. It is difficult for voice students, especially at the beginning of this specific training, to understand the utility and the benefits of the Cuperto. Our time favours rapid production rather than slow artistic maturation. Those who mould their instrument by using the Cuperto gradually notice its value. The vocal health and the performances of the singers are quite naturally improved.

Caruso Scales and Vocal Balance

Vocal balance implies that neither of the mechanisms occupies a dominant place. In order for the registration to be flexible, it is necessary to train not only the pivotal notes but also the complete range of the voice. The Caruso scales are particularly effective in this matter. Students gently understand the concepts of the rounding of vowels and the pivot of the larynx. They also work from note to note and on a long vocal distance. Singers who train with the Caruso scales gradually discover gradually tonal precision, stability in breath management, supported legato singing, and evenness of vowels. Here is an example for tenor:

The singer begins on E natural, preferably in head voice in order to facilitate the first passage on B. Should the singer start in chest voice, the access to head voice is still possible by rounding the vowel a to o on the B natural. The o that modifies itself to u in the upper middle register, right in passaggio, allows the pivot of the larynx and the opening of the pharynx. The singer smoothly reaches the characteristic second passaggio note on F#. The open throat of the singer would then allow him any higher notes, should the vocal line go further. On the descending scale, vowels alter again and the pharyngeal space reduces. This reverse accommodation of the oral cavity is critical for the tonal quality, particularly for female singers.

Musicality

Singers of inferior quality reveal considerable differences in registers and sounds. Good singers produce a balanced sound on all their tessitura. As William Vennard quite exactly wrote (quoted work, p.66): If the singer is well trained, the middle range of his voice will be produced with a dynamic balance whereby it will be difficult to call it either chest or head. He will be able to make it heavy or light, smoothly and at will, and the compass in which this is possible will expand with the maturing of his voice until it includes most of the notes that he feels free to use in public. Besides the scientifically proven fact that an open voice does not carry, few singers understand the necessity of reliable vocal tools for a high quality singing. An unbalanced instrument can not be musically reliable.

Conclusion

Vocal registers and all the corresponding definitions are subject to controversies. It is therefore wise to define the vocabulary used in the voice studio. One must also understand the various vocal mechanisms. It is the balance of the various registers – and thus the mastery of the passages – that incites to speak about a unique vocal register. Vocal evenness remains the distinctive feature of a high-quality instrument.

© OperaLab – Gilles Denizot. All Rights Reserved

©2010 OperaLab.. All Rights Reserved.

An article by Gilles Denizot

What does vocal warm-up mean? How can I warm my voice up without my teacher? Should I always observe the same routine? How do I know that my voice is ready for technique, repertoire study, a rehearsal, or a performance? What can I do when I feel vocally unfit and still have to sing?

During an intensive vocal course, I dedicated one morning to the concept of vocal warm-up. Participants were of advanced and professional levels. Voices were as follows: three sopranos (light, lyric, and spinto) and three tenors (also light, lyric, and spinto). It is interesting to add that these three tenors had been wrongly trained as baritones by their previous teachers.

Individual vocal technique sessions occured during mornings, from 9:00. It was therefore imperative to have effective solutions to help singers quickly regain their full vocal potential. Simultaneously, coaching sessions with pianist were taking place, then interpretation sessions in the afternoon, often followed by after-dinner improvised music sessions. The schedule was heavy and there was no waste of time. A badly-warmed-up voice or wrongly-trained voice would not have resisted long.

Relying upon the ear and expertise of one’s voice teacher is always enjoyable when warming-up. Nevertheless an advanced singer must be able to take care of this matter alone. It frequently happens that singers are incapable of warming-up without guidance. Beginners or anxious singers usually do not prepare themselves well enough for vocal activity. How can we thus elaborate our very own optimal vocal warm-up?

Preliminary Physical Warm-Up

During OperaLab Warm-Up Workshops, most singers speak of their necessity to go through a preliminary physical warm-up. Indeed, the first step of a vocal warm-up must be physical. It can take various forms but the goal always is to create a condition of well-being and physical and mental availability before vocal work. Some singers choose to go through physical exercises or stretching movements, others prefer to jog in a natural environment, some even simply take a hot bath or a refreshing shower. Whatever you choose, it is wise to awake your body before your voice, especially early in the day. Régine Crespin once said to have jogged in Central Park before morning recording sessions of the Wagner’s Ring.

Training Suggestion

A flexible lumbar area is essential. This part of the singer’s body may be very easily trained with rotative movements. You may also associate sounds to these movements. Singers gain numerous advantages from flexing their bodies and improvising sounds.

Breath

The simple action of walking while consciously breathing has, in my opinion, a double advantage: it awakes the body and includes the breathing notion, which is essential for singers. Some singers have already incorporated breating exercises in their physical preparation, yet it is now time to “get back in touch” with the breathing. Select breathing exercises you learned from your teacher. He/she must have taught you at least one. When you train breathing functions, it is unwise to force the body to open and maintain the rib cage stretched (c.f. article Posture and Breath). Healthy singing is about balancing antagonistic functions. It has been observed that the exaggerated opening of the ribs, associated with an exaggerated tension of the area surrounding the vertebras, hampers the movements of the abdominal wall (in Les troubles de la voix et leur rééducation by Claire Dinville). You need to obtain a flexible body becomes that responds well to breathing in and out. Montserrat Caballé said she never missed her several daily 15-minute sessions of pure breathing exercises which she also named her vocal gymnastics allowing her the capacity to breathe out for two minutes. She also stated that the diaphragm should weigh down and not push down. When strength is used not to push but to hold back, what we let go seems to be flying away. It is therefore not recommended to go beyond a comfortable elasticity while working on the body and the breath. I cannot emphasize enough the necessity to train your breathing daily. Your sound will not improve if your breathing management does not. And yet, numerous singers never or badly train this essential component of their instrument!

First Vocal Warm-Up Exercise

Your body is now awake and available. Your breathing is trained for singing. It is time for proper vocal warm-up. Some singers have produced sounds as part as their physical warm-up, maybe hummed scales and sounds. We naturally need to begin with a vocal exercise. It is precisely then that numerous singers get lost. Usually, they are unable to answer the three following questions:

• what is your ideal first vocal exercise?
• what first danger or vocal trap do you need to detect and avoid in your vocal warm-up?
• which vocal quality are you looking for?

You should ask yourself these questions – in any order – and find your own answers. There are, per se, no good or bad answers: you need to find your own keys to your own vocal warm-up. When the first vocal trap is identified, you will naturally select your ideal vocal exercise. By correctly using this exercise and the others you know you will control your gradual vocal warm-up while avoiding your usual first vocal trap. You will then be able to reach your ideal vocal quality in a shorter time.

Suggestions

Here again, every individual is different and it is unthinkable to apply the same first vocal exercise to all singers. However, as we may notice it in OperaLab Vocal Warm-Up Workshops, singers’ needs often are similar within specific vocal categories: singers with light voices almost systematically try to imply their bodies, to anchor their voices to their bodies in order to avoid under-singing. Those with heavier, more dramatic voices rather look for a comfortable relaxed throat feeling so as to avoid pushing and over-singing.

The Cuperto (c.f. article The Beginner Singer): this exercise in its one-octave version (for female singers) or in its two-octaves version (for male singers) is ideal if you lack time for your vocal warm-up. It implies a flexible and energetic physical posture, correct breath management, pharyngeal stretch (because it uses the Italian “u” vowel, necessary for high notes), and allows the cords to gently approximate on thin edges.

Continuation of Warm-Up

Another crucial question occurs at this time: how much time and how many exercises are necessary to complete a vocal warm-up? The more experienced the singer, the shorter the vocal warm-up routine. All singers experiencing healthy and daily vocal activity claim that the voice is almost always warm. Beginners or singers with a poor vocal technique feel the need to warm-up for a long time, extensively, and by using a maximum of exercises. These singers strain their voices even before working on music. This overdose of exercises and time for their warm-up clearly indicates an insecurity that needs to be addressed.

In reality, five different yet complementary vocal exercises, not exceeding a total of ten minutes, are amply enough before vocal training. We specifically refer ourselves to a warm-up in globally-positive conditions. We shall later give tips for a warm-up in negative conditions.

Suggestions

Apart from the Cuperto, you might want to use i.e.:

- short exercises on your middle register using the five Italian vowels and the semi-vowel “y” (as in “yes”), which not only relaxes the lower jaw by a simple down-and-back chewing movement, but also has the advantage to even vowels without loosing breath at vowel transitions;

- slow exercises on single sustained notes, notably on the “a” vowel, in the middle register for beginners, from bottom to top for advanced singers. This vowel is the most difficult of all because it implies the balance of vocal antagonisms. Great Italian voice Masters used it priorily to train their singers;

- fast exercises on staccati, ideal for singers who push and weigh down their voices, or for the lighter voices;

- the “g” (as in “glottic”) and “k” (as in “key”), which have the advantage to regulate the tongue movements (and the inactivity of the lower jaw) while implying the velum (or soft palate, the passive muscular organ). The velum may be considered as the upper side of the oral cavity (c.f. article Oral Cavity in Singing): a cubic space we modify to produce vowel and consonant sounds in singing;

- the Italian “u” sound, necessary for pharyngeal opening, high register, and “cover”;

- Garcia’s pharyngeal vowels (c.f. article The Beginner Singer);

- improvised “siren” ascending exercises (by modifying the “a” vowel at the beginning of the scale until you reach the Italian “u” vowel) very useful for female singers since they should apply Garcia’s concept of the rounding of vowels and typical of female vocal “cover”;

- “i” and “ü” sounds, often useful for tenors, as long as the posture of the lips is well-understood and respected so that the larynx is in a stabilized position (if we refer to Miller’s definition);

- the short “Rossini arpeggio” and its variations for legato, sustained singing, and the transition of registers, especially in the Passaggio or upper middle register areas;

- a simple exercise that immediately involves a perfect approximation of the vocal cords;

- Lindquest’s and Bjoerling’s scales (c.f. article The Beginner Singer) for velocity.

We may also, if time allows, consider the Sieber vocalises. They allow a safe transition between pure vocalization and repertoire. Going from technique to repertoire is often an unfortunate occasion for singers to loose their marks. Technique must create automatic actions which will spontaneously occur during the interpretation of the repertoire. We do not acquire technique abilities by working on a score that lies above what we can do technically but by using the technique we previously have acquired.

Should We Warm-Up Before A Voice Lesson?

At a certain point of my training (while making the transition from dramatic baritone to Heldentenor), I experienced problems in my vocal warm-up routine. I would go to my lesson without having warmed-up, so I could go through the warm-up routine my teacher had designed for me. Yet I would not be able to find MY own vocal identity. The voice was either too “tenorish” and insufficiently anchored on the body, or it was to close to a “baritone voice”, too heavy and large in the low and middle registers. Vocalization was tiring me and my voice was unfit for the repertoire part of the lesson. We first reduced the duration of lessons and avoided working on my repertoire for months. We simultaneously modified the technical routine so it would be more adapted to my vocal and physical specificities. Then we decided that I would warm-up alone before the lesson. I could do a shorter routine of usual exercises (yet covering all vocal aspects, including high notes) or do all my exercises until I would get to the high register. Then I would leave my teacher supervise this part of my technique.

As a teacher I ask of all beginner students to NOT warm their voices up before our appointments. It is of the utmost importance that the student be supervised at the beginning of his/her vocal training, so he/she may learn the appropriate mechanisms before reproducing them during individual practice. It is also quite enlightning for the teacher to hear and study the “raw” voice of the student: to understand how and why it reacts to various exercises. When the beginner student arrives with an already warmed-up voice (provided he/she knows how to do it, which is exceptional) the teacher is robbed from this essential aspect of vocal training. On the other hand, an advanced singer should be able to warm-up alone and to be ready for technique exercises when arriving to the lesson. Also, the advanced singer must be able to warm-up and go through the technique routine without his/her teacher before meeting with a conductor or a coach for a rehearsal. It is a matter of personal hygiene to wake one’s body and voice, to prepare oneself and to place oneself in proper physical and mental conditions for a lesson or a rehearsal. I often allot a considerable amount of lesson time to awaken the singer, and while nothing is done in vain, it would be preferable to see advanced singers be ready for their vocal training.

Should We Warm-Up If We Find Ourselves In Negative Conditions?

All singers have some day found themselves in the typical alarming and apparently unbearable condition of vocal unfitness. If the singer is really sick, then vocal treatment and rest is necessary to regain health. But should the singer simply be in bad shape, tired, slower in regaining vocal capacities, or if the stress before an audition or a performance is unusually strong, then he/she must know how to warm-up with even more care and confidence in the desired results. These moments in the professional singer’s life are particularly painful, but they are inevitable and a part of the road. You might as well know how to overcome them. Preparation will be longer, but not more demanding as it would be counter-productive. Forget about the five exercises and the ten-minutes routine. You should respect your sleeping time and a very meticulous awakening of your body, always gently and confident in the success to come. Regulate your breathing functions with care, notably everything that will allow a deep, quiet, mastered breathing in the rib-abdominal area. The state of quietness that will gradually happen will be a major help for the vocal warm-up and as you enter the stage. It will also give you a more focused concentration. I am not at all in favour of those warm-up sessions which recommend relaxation of the body and the mind, and loosen your concentration (or only in rare occasions if the subject is too nervous or too tensed). Classical singing requires energy and flexibility. It has nothing to do with being stiff, nor with being too relaxed. Once again, the balance of antagonisms is needed. After having awaken your body and trained your breathing, you should select exercises which address gentle yet energetic vocal cords approximation. Find again the comfortable sensations of the pharyngeal stretch, of the narrow sound (as in the concept of the reversed megaphone), insist upon the resonance of the sound rather than upon forced breath. Use the “ng” sound (as in “sing” or “Engel”) which will give you a more ringing voice without pushing. Kirsten Flagstad and Lilli Lehmann used it. When this very specific routine of exercises is performed several times a day, briefly but with care, the unfit singer gradually finds his/her capacities back and may well sing in the evening. Lilli Lehmann shares with us in her book Mein Gesangskunst her experience of breathing and practising her vocal exercises through a sponge and water steam. In 1990, on the day of my Montreal recital debut, to be broadcast live on Radio-Canada, I had the unpleasant experience to wake up hoarse after the long transatlantic flight. I first used the hotel fitness center early in the morning so I could regain my physical power. Then, after a brief vocal warm-up, I went through the usual balance check with sound technicians in the concert hall. I spent the rest of the day gently regaining my voice. In the evening I had no problems singing and got immediately hired for the following season.

Finding One’s Vocal Identity

Vocal warm-up is indispensable before working on technique and repertoire, before an audition or a performance. The conscious and meticulous routine allows the singer to find his/her vocal identity back and the very personal qualities he/she wants to reveal. So many singers lack this essential technical knowledge. But most of all they need to understand the nature of THEIR own specific and unique vocal identity. It is crucial, in my experience, to be in perfect adequacy between the person you are and the voice you produce. A few well-chosen exercises will allow you to avoid your usual vocal traps and to regain your own vocal identity.

© OperaLab Gilles Denizot – All Rights Reserved.

©2010 OperaLab.. All Rights Reserved.