Musical Theatre refers to singing in a classical style as ‘legit’. However, it has bothered me for a long time that the classification is too broad. Therefore, I was pleased to read the following in the library today: Legit can be further divided into traditional legit and contemporary legit. Robert Edwin, A Broader Broadway, NATSContinue reading “‘Legit’”
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Sustained notes
I love Dame Nellie Melba’s singing book called ‘Melba Method’. Here is an audio example of what happens when I follow Melba’s simple instructions which I have included below. The example is recorded in close proximity on my iPhone. For fun, here is an example of suddenly slouching.
Appoggio
A month ago, I completed the mandatory New Zealand Managed Isolation Quarantine (“MIQ”). (New Zealand does not have Covid-19 in the community. Therefore, the country sets about quarantining every person who arrives in New Zealand from overseas, in isolation, for two weeks). Naturally, during my time in MIQ, I could not vocalize. Therefore, I setContinue reading “Appoggio”
Jeanne Jomelli
What a find on You Tube this morning! Dutch Soprano Jomelli (1879-1932), student of Mathilde Marchesi, singing an exercise from Herman Klein’s ‘Phono – Vocal’ method. This singing is informative on many levels. The onset, gentle vibrato, the lightness of production, delicate use of messa di voce, the sound of chiaroscuro, portamento, legato and more.Continue reading “Jeanne Jomelli”
Head and Chest Voice for Pop Singing
An understanding of Bel Canto’s simple, yet difficult to master, techniques, can be of tremendous use to classical singers who crossover to popular styles of music. Crossing over to popular music, convincingly and safely, is a necessity for the majority of classical singers, both amateur and professional. At some stage, most classical singers are goingContinue reading “Head and Chest Voice for Pop Singing”
The importance of transparency in teaching singing
The country is overrun with inferior teachers in singing: men and women, who have failed to get before the public, turn to teaching without any practical experiences, ruining many good voices. Luisa Tetrazzini, The Art of Singing, quoted in Denes Striny, Great Singers: An Endangered Species – How to get back to Mother Nature, pageContinue reading “The importance of transparency in teaching singing”
Voice Placing*
My thoughts this week have been on how simple classical singing is and how complicated singing teachers can make it. Here are a couple of quotes on this subject. If the scale, power, quality, and compass of the human voice were established as are those of the piano, the great problem in the training ofContinue reading “Voice Placing*”
Voce di petto – Chest Voice
“Exercises for strengthening the low and middle notes of the voice are more important for sopranos than for voices of any other class ; first, because, in general, that part of the voice is most feeble ; and next, because the transition from the voce di petto to the voce di testa tends to deteriorateContinue reading “Voce di petto – Chest Voice”
Bel Canto and the Modern Singer
I have never met a singer who was not looking for “ping” or what is called brightness. Most voices are hopelessly dead, and therefore lack sweetness. The voices are filled with night – black hollow gloomy night or else they are as strident as the caterwauling of a Tom Cat. The happy mean between theContinue reading “Bel Canto and the Modern Singer”
Articulation in Singing
A singer who is not understood, wearies his auditors, and destroys almost all the effect of the music, by obliging them to make continual effort to catch the sense of the words. Garcia, Manuel. Treatise on The Art of Singing, page 42. 2021 marks the second year of my three year project that I haveContinue reading “Articulation in Singing”
Deborah Wai Kapohe 