The Head Voice and Other Problems | Page 7

part of nature's
equipment, and this calls for a word on the classification of voices. It
ought not to be difficult to determine whether a voice is soprano, alto,
tenor, baritone or bass, but I find each year a considerable number that
have been misled. Why? A number of things are responsible. One of
the most common is that of mistaking a soprano who has a chest
register for an alto. This singer finds the low register easier to sing than
the upper, consequently she and her friends decide she is an alto.
Thereafter she sings low songs and takes the alto part in the choir. The
longer she follows this plan the less upper voice she will have, and
when she goes to a teacher, unless he has a discriminating and
analytical ear, he will allow her to remain in the alto class. There is
always something in the fiber of a tone, even though it be badly
produced, that will disclose to the trained ear what it will be when
rightly produced.
Again, the human voice can produce such a variety of tone qualities
that sometimes a soprano will cultivate a somber style of singing and a
majority of people will call her alto. It requires a trained ear to detect
what she is doing. The baritone also, because he often sings the bass
part in a quartet, tries to make himself sound like a bass; this he does by
singing with a somber, hollow quality which has little or no carrying
power.
Another mistake is that of classifying a voice according to its compass.
This is the least reliable method of all. The mere fact of having high
tones does not necessarily make one a soprano, neither is a voice
always to be classified as alto by reason of not being able to sing high.
It is quality that decides what a voice is. Soprano is a quality. Alto is a

quality. The terms tenor, baritone, bass, refer to a quality rather than a
compass. These qualities are determined primarily by the construction
of the organ.
But when voices are properly trained there is not so much difference in
the compass as most people suppose. For example: the female head
voice lies approximately within this compass [Illustration: Figure A]
and altos who learn to use the real head voice will have no difficulty in
vocalizing that high.
At the lower end of the voice sopranos who have a chest register will
often sing as low as most altos. But whether they sing high or low it is
always the quality that determines the classification of the voice.
Many lyric sopranos have no chest register, and it would be a mistake
to attempt to develop one. In such voices, which rarely have anything
below middle C, the middle register must be strengthened and carried
down and made to take the place of the chest voice.
It must not be understood that there is but one soprano quality, one alto
quality, etc. The voice is so individual that it cannot be thus limited.
There are many soprano qualities between the coloratura and the
dramatic, and the same is true of alto, tenor, baritone and bass.
When the voice is rightly produced, its natural quality will invariably
appear, and there it must be allowed to remain. An attempt to change it
always means disaster.
It will be observed that the piano string diminishes in length and
thickness as the pitch rises, and the voice must do something which
corresponds to this. Otherwise it will be doing that which approximates
stretching the middle C string, for example, until it will produce its
octave.
In discussing the head voice it is the purpose to avoid as much as
possible the mechanical construction of the instrument. This may be
learned from the numerous books on the anatomy and physiology of
the voice. It is an interesting subject, but beyond an elementary

knowledge it is of little value to the teacher. A correct knowledge of
how to train the voice must be gained in the studio, not in the
laboratory. Its basis is the musical sense rather than the mechanical or
scientific. All of the scientific or mechanical knowledge that the world
has to offer is no preparation for voice training. A knowledge of the art
of teaching begins when the teacher takes his first pupil, not before.
Therefore the aim shall be to present the subject as it appears to the
teacher.
We hear much of the value of vocal physiology as a guide to good
voice production. It is also claimed that a knowledge of it will prevent
the singer from misusing his voice and at the same time act as a
panacea for vocal ills. These statements do not possess a single element