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The words legato and sostenuto mean, respectively, to connect and to sustain. Whether a song is fast or slow, sad or gay, simple or difficult, it is necessary for its successful rendition to go from one tone to the next smoothly and with accurate intonation. To do this the voice must be freely produced and […]
As a rule, if one has a good ear, a normal vocal organ, and fair musical sense, intonation need not be defective. It is important that you train yourself to listen to pitch of tone in your own and other voices and in instruments. Thereby you will cultivate a critical ear. Practice reproducing pitches without […]
Intonation is the manner of playing or singing a tone in regard to pitch. Singing off pitch, or "out of tune,- is heard all too frequently and is one of the glaring faults found among singers. It may be due to failure to hear the tone exactly or correctly. It is often caused by incorrect […]
Italian is called the "language of song" because it contains so many open vowel sounds. The burden of singing must always be carried by the vowels. Consonants have their own importance and it is necessary that they be enunciated distinctly and properly, but swiftly, so that they present no opposition to the fact that one […]
How can we recognize voices which do not have point or focus? Commonest of these is the "white" or colorless voice. It is a dull, lifeless voice whose tones seem to have no "ping" or body to them. Anyone can sing with this kind of tone quality; one has only to open the mouth a […]
In order that we may more clearly see the difference between the correct and the incorrect tone, begin by singing quite simply and "naturally," as though we knew nothing at all about the technique of tone. Beginning at a comfortable pitch, in the middle of the voice, sing " ah."
1. Sing it […]
Posture . . . Simple exercises for focus . .. Interpretation or…technique . .. Breath control the beginner, posture in singing is vitally important. The operatic artist must naturally be able to sing in almost any position, as stage action calls for ease and graceful agility in a physical as well as vocal sense, but […]
The simplest, most direct method of developing the voice and its technical control is the old Bel Canto method. Everyone has read the advertisements of teachers who announce the "genuine Bel Canto method" and most of us, knowing enough Italian to understand that the phrase means "beautiful singing," have wondered why some teachers seem to […]
Perhaps to the sports-minded I could explain my point in terms of sport. For instance, in golf we all know that the object of the game is to get our ball down the fairway and into the cup in as few strokes as possible. We also know that there is such a thing as a […]
Varieties of wrong tone . . . The origin of the Bel Canto Method… Focus, point, resonance . . . Registers ALTHOUGH the average opera or concert audience holds a comparatively small percentage of cultured, or shall we say "musically sophisticated," persons, the rest of the audience, although musically untrained, has nevertheless very […]