The Psychology of Singing | Page 2

necessary in the first place to apply the strictest rules of scientific
investigation to the study of the voice. A definite plan must be adopted,
to include every available source information. First, the insight into the
operations of the voice, obtained by listening to voices, must be
reviewed and analyzed. Second, the sciences of anatomy, mechanics,
acoustics, and psychology must each contribute its share to the general
fund of information. Third, from all the facts thus brought together the
general laws of vocal control and management must be deduced.
Before undertaking this exhaustive analysis of the vocal action it is
advisable to review in detail every method of instruction in singing
now in vogue. This may seem a very difficult task. To the casual
observer conditions in the vocal world appear truly chaotic. Almost
every prominent teacher believes himself to possess a method
peculiarly his own; it would not be easy to find two masters who agree
on every point, practical as well as theoretical. But this confusion of
methods is only on the surface. All teachers draw the materials of their
methods from the same sources. An outline of the history of Voice
Culture, including the rise of the old Italian school and the development
of Vocal Science, will render the present situation in the vocal
profession sufficiently clear.

Part I of this work contains a review of
modern methods. In Part II a
critical analysis is offered of certain theories of the vocal action which
receive much attention in practical instruction. Several of the accepted
doctrines of Vocal Science, notably those of breath-control, chest and
nasal resonance, and forward placing of the tone, are found on
examination to contain serious fallacies. More important even than the
specific errors involved in these doctrines, the basic principle of
modern Voice Culture is also found to be false. All methods are based
on the theory that the voice requires to be directly and consciously
managed in the performance of its muscular operations. When tested by
the psychological laws of muscular guidance, this theory of mechanical
tone-production is found to be a complete error.

Part III contains a summary of all present
knowledge of the voice.
First, the insight into the singer's vocal operations is considered, which
the hearer obtains by attentive listening to the tones produced. This
empirical knowledge, as it is generally called, indicates a state of
unnecessary throat tension as the cause, or at any rate the
accompaniment, of every faulty tone. Further, an outline is given of all
scientific knowledge of the voice. The anatomy of the vocal organs,
and the acoustic and mechanical principles of the vocal action, are
briefly described. Finally, the psychological laws of tone-production
are considered. It is seen that under normal conditions the voice
instinctively obeys the commands of the ear.
In

Part IV the information about the vocal
action obtained from the two
sources is combined,--the scientific knowledge of mechanical processes,
and the empirical knowledge derived from attentive listening to voices.
Throat stiffness is then seen to be the one influence which can interfere
with the instinctively correct action of the voice. The most important
cause of throat stiffness is found in the attempt consciously to manage
the mechanical operations of the voice. In place of the erroneous
principles of mechanical instruction, imitation is seen to be the rational
foundation of a method of Voice Culture. The mystery surrounding the
old Italian method is dispelled so soon as the possibility is recognized
of teaching singing by imitation. Practical rules are outlined for
imparting and acquiring the correct use of the voice, through the
guidance of the sense of hearing. The singer's education is considered
in its broadest sense, and training in tone-production is assigned to its
proper place in the complex scheme of Voice Culture.
During the past twenty years the author has found opportunity to hear
most of the famous singers who have visited America, as well as a host
of artists of somewhat lesser fame. In his early student days the
conviction grew that the voice cannot reach its fullest development
when mechanically used. Siegfried does not forge his sword, and at the
same time think of his diaphragm or soft palate. Lucia cannot attend to
the movements of her arytenoid cartilages while pouring out the trills
and runs of her Mad Scene. A study of the theoretical works on Vocal
Science, dealing always with mechanical action and never with tone,
served only to strengthen this conviction. Finally the laws of
physiological psychology were found to confirm this early belief.
Every obtainable work on Voice Culture has been included in the
author's reading. No desire must be understood to make a display of the
results of this study. One citation from a recognized authority, or in
some cases two or three,