Lilli Lehmann’s Teachings – Deborah Wai Kapohe

High Notes

…there is almost no limit to the height that can be reached by the pure head tone without admixture of palatal resonance. Lilli Lehmann, How to Sing. …the whole secret of both [extension of the compass and equalization of the registers] consists in the proper raising and lowering of the soft palate, and the pillarsContinue reading “High Notes”

Consonants – Oskar Guttmann

The starting point to introduce the various techniques required for singing consonants today is to choose a Cancone Solfeggio phrase and refer to Oskar Guttmann’s ‘Gymnastics for the Voice’. The majority of the techniques I blog about are for the classical voice. However, this blog is for every style. Every singer should be aware ofContinue reading “Consonants – Oskar Guttmann”

The Lilli Lehmann Project* – Light Coloratura

In a previous post, I demonstrated three voice characters: light coloratura quality, lyric quality and dramatic quality by referring to the lessons in Lucie Manen’s book ‘The Art of Singing’. Manen describes how to achieve the voice characters. She also wrote that Lilli Lehmann performed all three roles in The Tales of Hoffmann. In otherContinue reading “The Lilli Lehmann Project* – Light Coloratura”

Nasal Close

Lilli Lehmann writes “[t]he nasal close of itself brings a new color into the singing…the word is much more clearly intelligible…”. Below is a demonstration of a Cancone solfeggio phrase. The first ‘sol la’ is sung without a nasal close and the second is with a nasal close. Can you hear the second ‘sol la’Continue reading “Nasal Close”

Lucie Manen exercises demonstrated

Here are some demonstrations of techniques from pages 26 until 31 of Lucie Manen’s book ‘The Art of Singing’. On a previous blog, I demonstrated the onset of the note using the larynx mechanism. Here is a demonstration of the onset using both the larynx mechanism and, the main resonator, the pharynx mechanism. Manen writesContinue reading “Lucie Manen exercises demonstrated”

Cancone

Classical Singing is not just about being able to sing loud and soft. Classical Singing is about being able to sing with different tone colours and shades of intensity. Here is the opening phrase of a Cancone solfeggio. Solfegii and vocalise are vital for training singers. I will be demonstrating a lot of solfegii andContinue reading “Cancone”

Messa di Voce on ‘u’

Today I made a sound file of messa di voce on my favourite vowel ‘u’. There are two attempts in this sound file. The first attempt was uneven and lacked in its intensity but the second attempt was ok. My iPhone compresses my recordings a lot, but I think it is still possible to hearContinue reading “Messa di Voce on ‘u’”

Nasal

Lilli Lehmann laments that nasal resonance is often neglected. Today I made a sound file of ‘ng’. I practice ‘ng’ throughout my vocal range. If I concentrate on my happy surprise breath, onset and support then I feel what Lilli Lehmann calls ‘whirling currents’. Here are a pair of ‘i’ vowels without nasality and aContinue reading “Nasal”