Resonance in Singing and Speaking | Page 8

our thought without speech. Vocal utterance is thought articulate. Therefore, instead of prolonged attention to tone itself, training should be concentrated upon the uttered word. The student should aim "to sing a word rather than a tone." Correct pronunciation and beautiful tone are so interdependent as to be inseparable.
The singer and speaker require all sounds in their purity. To seek to develop the voice along the narrow limits of any single vowel or syllable, as for instance the syllable ah, is harmful. Not only is this vowel sound, as Lilli Lehmann says, "the most difficult," but the proper pronunciation of all words within the whole range of the voice is thereby impeded. Diction and tone work should therefore go hand in hand. "The way in which vowel melts into vowel and consonants float into their places largely determines the character of the tone itself." Without finished pronunciation speech and song of emotional power are impossible. Gounod, the composer, says, "Pronunciation creates eloquence." Mr. Forbes-Robertson, the English master of dramatic diction, speaking for his own profession says: "The trouble with contemporary stage elocution springs from the actor's very desire to act well. In his effort to be natural he mumbles his words as too many people do in everyday life. Much of this can be corrected by constantly bearing in mind the true value of vowels, the percussive value of consonants, and the importance of keeping up the voice until the last word is spoken. There must be, so to speak, plenty of wind in the bellows. The great thing is to have the sound come from the front of the mouth.... The actor must learn to breathe deeply from the diaphragm and to take his breath at the proper time. Too often the last word is not held up, and that is very often the important word.... Schools for acting are valuable, ... but, after all, the actors, like other folk, must be taught how to speak as children in the home, at school, and in society."
In pronunciation the words should seem to be formed by the upper lip and to come out through it. By this method it will be found easy to pronounce distinctly. The words will thus be formed outside the mouth and be readily heard, as is a person talking in front of, instead of behind, a screen. A single, intelligent trial will be sufficient to show the correctness of the statement. Thinking of the upper lip as the fashioner of the words makes speaking easy and singing a delight.
To smile while talking gives to the words a flat, silly sound, hence the corners of the mouth should be kept well forward.
THE SINGER'S SCALE OF VOWEL SOUNDS
[Illustration:
1 nee 2 nit 3 net 4 nay 5 nair 6 nat 7 nigh 8 Nah 7' not 6' naw 5' ner 4' nut 3' no 2' nook 1' noo.]
It may fasten this in mind to remember that at one end of the vowel scale is--me, at the other--you.
The teeth and lips are most closed at the extremes of this scale, and gradually open toward ah, with which vowel they are widest apart.
In the series 1-8 the tongue is highest in the centre for ee and gradually descends until it lies flat in the mouth for ah.
The upper pharynx is most closed in 1, most open in 8, and closes more and more in the descending series 7'-1'.
The lower pharynx gradually opens in the descending series 7'-1'.
The researches of Helmholtz, Koenig, Willis, Wheatstone, Appunn, Bell, and others have shown that each vowel sound has its own characteristic pitch. The Scale of Vowel Sounds given above corresponds closely to the order of resonance pitch from the highest ee to the lowest oo. In the natural resonance of the vowels ee is highest in the head, ah is midway in the scale, and oo is lowest in resonance.
LIP POSITION
Figure 2 shows the best position of the lips to give the sound of ee. Hold the under jaw without stiffness and as far from the upper teeth as is consistent with delivery of the pure sound of this vowel.
Figure 3 shows the best position of the lips to produce the vowel oo.
Figure 4 shows the position of the lips for the vowel sound of long o. The opening of the lips should be made as round as is the letter o. When preparing the lips to give the sound of o, the inclination is strong to drop the lower jaw; in practice, to develop action of the lips, the under jaw would better be held quite immovable. It will be found possible to produce all of the vowel sounds without any change except in the form of the opening of the lips. The vowel sound of i is an exception; for as a