Caruso and Tetrazzini on the Art of Singing | Page 5

mean the restoration of sick or
fatigued voices and the prolonging of all one's vocal powers into what
is wrongly called old age.

The Mastery of the Tongue

The tongue is a veritable stumbling block in the path of the singer. The
tongue is an enormous muscle compared with the other parts of the
throat and mouth, and its roots particularly can by a slight movement
block the passage of the throat pressing against the larynx. This
accounts for much of the pinched singing we hear.
When the tongue forms a mountain in the back part of the mouth the
singer produces what you call in English slang "a hot potato tone"--that
is to say, a tone that sounds as if it were having much difficulty to get
through the mouth. In very fact, it is having this difficulty, for it has to
pass over the back of the tongue.
The would-be singer has to learn to control the tongue muscles and,
above all things, to learn to relax the tongue and to govern it at will, so
that it never stiffens and forms that hard lump which can be plainly felt
immediately beneath the chin under the jaw.
It requires a great deal of practice to gain control of the tongue, and
there are many different exercises which purport to be beneficial in
gaining complete mastery over it. One, for instance, is to throw the
tongue out as far forward as possible without stiffening it and then
draw it back slowly. This can be done in front of a mirror by trying to
throw the tongue not only from the tip, but from the root, keeping the
sides of the tongue broad. Another way is to catch hold of the two sides
of the tongue with the fingers and pull it out gently.
For my part, I scarcely approve of these mechanical ways of gaining
control of the tongue except in cases where the singer is phlegmatic of
temperament and cannot be made to feel the various sensations of stiff
tongue or tongue drawn far back in other ways. Ordinarily I think they
make the singer conscious, nervous and more likely to stiffen the
tongue in a wild desire to relax it and keep it flat.
These exercises, however, combined with exercises in diction, help to
make the tongue elastic, and the more elastic and quick this muscle
becomes the clearer will be the singer's diction and the more flexible
will be her voice.

The correct position of the tongue is raised from the back, lying flat in
the mouth, the flattened tip beneath the front teeth, with the sides
slightly raised so as to form a slight furrow in it. When the tongue is
lying too low a lump under the chin beneath the jaw will form in
singing and the tight muscles can be easily felt.
When the jaw is perfectly relaxed and the tongue lies flat in the mouth
there will be a slight hollow under the chin and no stiffness in the
muscles.
The tip of the tongue of course is employed in the pronunciation of the
consonants and must be so agile that the minute it has finished its work
it at once resumes the correct position.
In ascending the scale the furrow in the tongue increases as we come to
the higher notes. It is here that the back of the palate begins to draw up
in order to add to the resonance of the head notes, giving the cavities of
the head free play.
You can easily see your back palate working by opening your mouth
wide and giving yourself the sensation of one about to sneeze. You will
see far back in the throat, way behind the nose, a soft spot that will
draw up of itself as the sneeze becomes more imminent. That little
point is the soft palate. It must be drawn up for the high notes in order
to get the head resonance. As a singer advances in her art she can do
this at will.
The adjustment of throat, tongue and palate, all working together, will
daily respond more easily to her demands. However, she should be able
consciously to control each part by itself.
The conscious direction of the voice and command of the throat are
necessary. Frequently in opera the singer, sitting or lying in some
uncomfortable position which is not naturally convenient for producing
the voice, will consciously direct her notes into the head cavities by
opening up the throat and lifting the soft palate. For instance, in the rôle
of Violetta the music of the last act is sung lying down. In order to get
proper resonance to some of the high notes I have to start them in the

head cavity by means, of