G. B. Lamperti was a historical voice teacher that left many lessons through the book Vocal Wisdom. I feel these are the most accurate teachings we have available to us and I try to explain the concepts in these video lessons.
In this one I address Lamperti’s statement that “Singing is humming with the mouth open.”
From the book “Vocal Wisdom” – “The ‘hum’ is the initial vibration… Controlled, it unifies the whole voice, equalizing all registers, head, medium and chest, eliminating ‘attack’ and ‘breaks’…
Failure to sing well comes from four sources: – loose breathing, mouthing words, spreading voice and disjointed muscular efforts.
Singing will be awkward unless focussed vibration, distinct pronunciation and compressed breathing remain inseparably linked together.
To retain sensations, and continue the feeling of coordination of singing, without constricting the throat or stiffening the muscles of the body, marks the great singer.
Many confuse this ease of united action with relaxation, because laborious effort ceases.”
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The main thing is to figure out what works for you. I think we each will have our own preference. I think it makes sense to learn the words first and then add the music. That is a commonly recommended strategy. I usually start with listening to as many examples of the material I can find. I find that I learn more through absorbing the sounds. So that is where I start. And I want as many different examples as I can get so I don’t make the mistake of limiting to what I might like or what one singer does. I want to hear how different singers dealt with the challenges of the piece.
I also type out the words like a poem and read them while I listen. For me seeing the words as text allows me to see more words at once. I feel I absorb them faster that way rather than all spread out like on the sheet music. Then I go back to the music and make sure I know all the details that are on the page. At the same time I’m thinking about the story and what the character is trying to communicate. I listen for clues to that in the orchestra. I think of the orchestra as the subtext of what the character is saying with the words.
Then I just repeat singing the piece to myself looking at just the text sheet, over and over to drill it into my mind. I find I memorize pretty quickly this way. I do this every opera I’m in the chorus for as well. Same routine. See if it helps.
Michael,
Do you have any suggestions for learning operatic roles quickly? My experience is that the best way, for me, is to learn the words first then keep going over the music. Any thoughts? James
Thanks, Annette. Good to hear!
That makes so much sense. Thanks so much for sharing. I’m just about to embark on some professional training so I’ll be doing lots of research and will definitely be keeping an eye on Vocal Wisdom….. excellent.
Wow, Marianne. What a beautiful thing to read. I appreciate your message very much. Thank you.
Dear Michael, You are a Mensch. I always have observed how you patiently observe and explain the complexities of method; and you even try, as much as possible, always to connect the method with the physiology. I am at a time in my life when I won’t be teaching much, if at all, in the future; but I appreciate so much what you do. I know, too, by much first-hand experience, how many there are out there who are still using just the old yawn and the old confusing directions of “more support” and “place it in the mask” etc. I like to listen to some of your lessons just to help me keep on singing a little, here and there, and feeling good, renewed and balanced, along the way. Thanks so much,
Marianne