Voice production in singing and speaking, based on scientific principles — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Voice production in singing and speaking, based on scientific principles
John Stuart Mill · en
"Your voice is beautiful in quality, and carries well; you observe the
registers properly; but your vocalization is feeble, and your singing
is ineffective. This is due largely to the lack of robustness in your
voice, but not wholly. You do not tell your story in song so that the
listener may know what you have to say to him. The imperfections in
your method of speaking, so common in America--an imperfect
articulation and a limp texture of voice--are evident in your singing;
you do not phrase well, and you paint all in one color. This is due
chiefly to your breathing and your attacks. One may observe that at no
time do you fill your chest completely. You use the lower chest and
the diaphragm correctly, but you rob yourself of one half of your
breathing power, and your chest is not at all well developed. You do
not use the parts above your voice-box with vigor and efficiency, and
you direct so much attention to the quality of the tone that you
neglect its quantity and the ideas to be expressed. You have been
correctly but inadequately instructed. Your teachers have evidently
understood registers practically, as few do, but they have only half
taught you breathing and attack. Their fidelity to that high ideal of
quality of tone as the final consideration wins my respect."
The writer thought, but did not say, that they must have understood
little of vocal physiology, or they would not have left this young
lady so ill-developed physically, at least so far as the chest is
concerned.
I then asked this earnest and intelligent student, as she proved to
be, to take a full breath. She did not understand this, and was
absolutely incapable of doing it. She had been taught to begin
breathing below, to expand from the lower chest upward, and, as a
natural result, she never filled the upper chest. She was at once
shown how it was done, when she seemed greatly surprised, and said: "I
never have done that in my whole life." "Did you not run and shout as
a child?" "No, I never did run enough or shout enough to fill up my
chest." The latter was small, and flat.
The method of attack was next explained and illustrated, first without
reference to words, and then to show its importance in conveying
ideas, and the causes of the defects in speaking were indicated, and
the corrections named and illustrated. The lady was then asked to sing
again, making the improvements suggested, with the result that it was
clear that every principle set forth had been clearly apprehended,
though of course as yet only imperfectly carried out. The student was
recommended to take walking exercise, and to practice filling the
chest in the manner to be explained later.