Vocalist(from Latin words vox - "voice" and vocalis - "sounding") - musical profession, a role in a musical group, involves the performance of various vocal parts.
Now, the term vocalist almost coincides with the term singer, but in modern pop music it is interpreted somewhat more broadly, in particular, implying the possibility of recitation, recitative, etc.
A singer is someone who sings. Performer of vocal music: songs, romances, arias, choirs, singles, etc. Musician performing music on musical instrument, which is his own voice. The singer is the most common type of vocalist.
Lead Vocalist - Member musical group, performing mainly the main vocal parts.
A backing vocalist is a member of a musical group who performs additional, harmonic vocal parts (a kind of backing vocals).
singing voices
There are various systems for classifying voices (and singers, respectively). Some of them take into account the power of the voice, that is, how loud the singer can sing. Others - how mobile, virtuoso, distinct the singer's voice is. Still others include non-musical characteristics, such as appearance, acting skills, etc.
Most often, a classification is used that takes into account the range of the voice and the gender of the singer. Even guided only by these two criteria, many varieties are obtained:
Female voices:
- soprano - high female voice
- mezzo-soprano - medium female voice
- contralto - low female voice choral music commonly referred to as just alt)
Male voices:
- tenor - high male voice
- baritone - medium male voice
- bass - low male voice
Other vocal varieties - coloratura soprano, dramatic tenor, bass baritone, bass profundo. There is even a category of male singers who sing in the range female voice. This type of voice is rare, but still used today, mainly in opera. In baroque music, many roles were written for castrati, male singers who had been castrated as children to prevent mutation and to maintain a high, female-like voice. In modern vocal performance these roles can be performed by a singer who owns a developed falsetto singing technique. Singers of this type are called countertenors (aka male alto).
Where to learn to sing?
The question is undoubtedly quite general: the fact is that some are interested, for example, in jazz improvisation, while others are quite confident in karaoke, etc.
Classification of vocals according to the manner of performance
Academic vocal (classical, operatic)
Academic vocal - old classical vocal school. Academic singers sing in the opera, in the academic choir, chapel, symphony orchestra, as well as in the genre of chamber vocal music. Academic vocals differ from pop, jazz and rock vocals in their strictly classical position. Academic vocals do not involve singing into a microphone. In academic vocals, there are certain frameworks developed by the experience and history of vocal music. These limits, as a rule, do not allow the academic singer to use his voice in other vocal directions. With experience, an academic singer develops a certain vocal position, thanks to which the voice becomes very strong and acquires large volume. However, in rare cases, academicians may perform in other vocal genres if they can make the sound easier.
pop vocal
pop vocal - pop singing combines many song directions, unites the entire palette vocal art. Pop vocal, first of all, means singing from the stage, but the concept of pop vocal, as a rule, is associated with light and understandable music. IN pop vocals can be heard and folk motives, and elements of jazz, it is also art song and elements of rock music. Pop vocals differ from academic vocals in a more open and more natural sound. However, singing skills, correct position and sound support are just as necessary in pop vocals as in academic ones.
jazz vocals
Jazz vocals - first of all, implies an ideal sense of rhythm and harmony, as well as the mobility of the voice and the ability to improvise. In jazz singing, it is necessary to feel the form of the work, to be able to present your understanding of the melodic theme, modifying it, but without leaving the necessary harmony. Just as important is the sensitive partnership of musicians, the ability to improvise on the go.
rock vocals
Rock vocals are usually the singing of a vocalist in a rock band. Rock vocals differ from jazz singing in a more emotional presentation. Rock vocals suggest more semantic load than vocal. However, a rock vocalist needs to have serious vocal training. A rock vocalist must also have courage and complete freedom in an emotional and musical sense.
Folk singing or ethnic singing
Folk singing, ethnic singing, as follows from the term itself, is singing that has existed since the appearance of man, and differs characteristic features characteristic of one or another nationality, ethnic group. echoes folk tradition can also be found in the academic (classical) musical culture, and in pop (urban) musical culture. In general, folk singing is characterized by a flat sky, singing on ligaments.
The so-called throat singing- a kind of folk singing, in which the singer, while singing, uses not only the ligaments, but the throat itself, the resonating cavities of the mouth, larynx, due to which the overtones of the main tone become audible.
At the same time, the basis of everything is precisely the academic production of vocals: it gives freedom of voice control.
At the same time, the transition of the “jazz to academic” type can become a real break for the singer, which is why it is advisable to immediately decide what exactly you want to learn.
It is important to understand that it is impossible to teach professional singing in 2-3 months, even for people with a natural voice and perfect pitch.
In case of academic vocals the first year you will have to sing only exercises, vocalizations (singing without words - in “oh-oh-oh” or “ah-ah-ah”) and simple songs.
Then you can gradually move on to romances and simple arias. It's not that the science of singing is based on some technique available to the elite. In fact, you can tell how to sing correctly in half an hour, everything else is a matter of training.
In that sense, singing is like a sport. Depending on the natural abilities, it will turn out a little faster or a little slower, but in any case, hard training is needed. Vocal lessons are history for several years.
The most common and most correct form vocal training - individual sessions with a teacher (here we do not touch on the ensemble-choir school - this is a whole separate world).
Finding your own teacher is quite difficult, and even recommendations do not guarantee anything: it is also important to get along purely humanly, because you will have to spend a lot of time together. The manner of teaching is even more than the varieties of vocals, it can be said that each teacher has his own manner.
There is the old academic school, there are former rockers, etc. Of course, one thing unites them: there are no non-singing singing teachers
The past and/or present success of a vocalist on stage is no guarantee that he will teach you how to sing well.
The quality of the singing of the teacher himself does not directly affect the quality of teaching - moreover, the principle of "do as I do" does not work here, because the vocal apparatus is different for everyone (someone has a longer neck, someone has a shorter one).
Vocal art.
"Art is the only power that takes
in their lovely hands not a mean mind
but the warm soul of a man."
A.I. Kuprin
Unlike the truth of science, which operates real facts, clear concepts, logical categories, laws, art is associated with the creation artistic images in which truth is achieved with the liveliest participation of unconscious mental activity. Art, with its specific language, reveals to us such secrets of the human soul that it would be impossible to comprehend on the basis of purely scientific research.
"Music is written not only for the sake of beauty, it always has meaning, content - every note, every phrase has a scenic meaning, an expressive meaning." These are the words great singer 20th century Maria Callas.
Art needs a head, thinking. Vocal art is divided into two parts - a process limited to issues of sound production technique, and a performance style in which technique should play only an auxiliary role.
A. Varlamov (composer, teacher, author of Russian romances) considered the art of singing "the language of the heart, feelings and passion."
The greatest merit of the beautiful Russian singers is their deep emotional engagement with musical image. Great, incomparable worldwide fame Russian singer Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin. Chaliapin's testaments to the art of lofty truth in life and completely realistic skill remain immortal. A wonderful Russian singer, the first performer of the role of Herman in "The Queen of Spades" by P.I.
About expressiveness in singing.
According to Gluck (a composer of the late 18th century), "voice, instruments, all sounds, even the very pauses, should strive for a single goal - expressiveness, the connection between words and singing should be so close that the text seems just as created for music as music for text.
The statements of the accompanist E.V. Obraztsova - V. Chachava are interesting: "One of the performing laws: notes, signs are not yet music."
The founder of the motor theory of rhythm, Jacques Dalcroze, said that if we perceive music with only one ear, but do not feel it with our whole body, do not shudder from its power, we feel only a faint echo of its true essence. It is curious that these micro-movements in miniature, as it were, copy the way in which the audible sound is produced. From this it is clear what positive role brings hearing good singers and how harmful the perception of bad singing is. Listening to music or singing means participating in the performance.
"You can't just hear the rhythm. The listener experiences the rhythm only when he co-produces it, makes it" - B.M. Teplov.
Self-control is a necessity in singing.
In the process of performing a work, one should rely only on own forces which must be learned to use properly. Without self-control, no art is possible. But the singer, in comparison with other musicians-performers, has difficulty in self-control. Sound reproduction instrument - the vocal apparatus is part of his body. When learning to sing, the conditions of auditory control change, because the singer hears himself differently from those around him. Both resonator and other sensations associated with singing are new and unfamiliar to him. Experienced teachers It is well known that in the art of singing the difference between "correct" and "wrong" is sometimes so small that it remains invisible to the "naked eye" (or rather, hearing). The need to maintain their vocal form forces all singers to improve their vocals every day, to be controlled by a person who knows their voice.
Emotional expression.
The emotional expressiveness of the singer's voice is the most important characteristic his performing arts. The nature of emotional expressiveness vocal work already predetermined by the main content poetic text and the composer's music.
"There are students who don't need to be taught this - they have all this (he pointed to his heart) by nature. A significant part can be taught, they develop. But, unfortunately, there are those who are unlikely to be helped," the teacher writes Leningrad Conservatory.
Emotional performance greatly activates the activity of the whole organism.
The eyes must be alive all the time in singing. In Maestro Gandolfi's explanations, a smile meant not a special, artificial stretching of the lips to the sides, but the so-called inner smile. He said that sometimes it is enough to smile with your eyes.
But all performing emotions must be expressed in a beautiful vocal form, which requires mastery of the voice.
Artistry.
The most wonderful property of the voice to express feelings and emotions the best way manifested in the art of singing.
"One must feel strongly oneself in order to make others feel" - Paganini.
It is absolutely necessary for an actor to wake up, stir up his creative fantasy, to know a lot in order to feel correctly, and for this to concentrate in the treasury of one's knowledge the impressions from both the books read and the works visual arts, and from everything seen and heard in life.
The organic unity of word and music, semantic and emotional, is the strength of the ever-living vocal art.
"Chaliapin did an unheard-of miracle with opera: he made us, the audience, seem to believe that there is a country where people do not speak, but sing" - Maly Theater artist A.P. Lensky, a contemporary of Chaliapin.
Bibliography.
1. Baranov B.V. Choir course.
2. Ivanov A.P. About the art of singing.
3. Maria Callas. Biography. Articles. Interview.
4. Lemeshev S.Ya. Path to art.
vocal art
Type of musical performance, osn. on the mastery of the singing voice. Vocal performance can be solo (single), ensemble (group), choral (mass). In and. widely used in concert and variety practice and in the theater (opera, operetta, musical drama, musical comedy, etc.). In the character of V. and. dec. peoples are reflected into intonational, modal and rhythmic. features of Nar. music. On the formation of specific damn national singer suit-va influences phonetic. the composition of the language, directly affecting the singer. sound production. See singing.
Music Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, Soviet composer. Ed. Yu. V. Keldysha. 1973-1982 .
Synonyms:See what "Vocal Art" is in other dictionaries:
See singing... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Exist., number of synonyms: 2 vocals (3) singing (42) ASIS Synonym Dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary
See singing. * * * VOCAL ART VOCAL ART, see Singing (see SINGING) ... encyclopedic Dictionary
The art of singing solo, ensemble and choral. See singing...
art- Creative artistic activity. Boundless, idealess, fruitless, pointless, meaningless, brilliant, fighting, eternal, militant, exciting, magical, free (obsolete), high, humanistic, humanitarian (obsolete), ... ... Dictionary of epithets
Art theatrical play, creating stage images. Artistic specificity theater, the reflection of life in the form of a dramatic action taking place directly in front of the audience can only be carried out through A. and. Its purpose… Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Vocal art, the performance of music by voice, the art of conveying the ideological and figurative content of a musical work by means of a singing voice, one of ancient species musical art. P. can be with words and without words ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Vocal art, the claim to convey the ideological and figurative content of the muses by means of the singing voice. works, one of the oldest types of music. performance. P. can be with or without words (see Vocalization). It is solo... Music Encyclopedia
Taganrog College of Music state educational institution middle vocational education in Taganrog. Contents 1 College history 2 List of specialties ... Wikipedia
The international name of Chuvash State University ... Wikipedia
Books
- Vocal art. Study Guide, Delle Sedie Enrico. Enrico Delle Sedie (1822-1907) Italian Opera singer(baritone), representative of the Italian bel canto school, outstanding teacher, professor at the Paris Conservatory. Educational…
- Vocal art: Uch. allowance, Delle Sedie, Enrico Augusto. Enrico Delle Sedie (1822-1907) - Italian opera singer (baritone), representative of the Italian bel canto school, outstanding teacher, professor at the Paris Conservatory. Tutorial…
SINGING AS ART
What is singing? What is the "art" of singing? What does it mean to sing?
In the “Dictionary of the Russian Language” by S.I. Ozhegov it is said: singing, see singing.
sing ... 1) Make musical sounds with your voice, perform a vocal work. Sing a song. Sing at the opera. Sing tenor. 2) Perform an opera part. Sing Onegin. 3) About songbirds and some other birds: make a sound (about clicking, whistling, screaming, etc.). The nightingale sings. 4) Praise with verses, sing (outdated and high). I sing my fatherland. Sing Lazarus (colloquial disapproved) - complain about fate, pretend to be unhappy.
Only the first two points of the dictionary definition are suitable for defining singing as an art, and the “art” of singing is available only to a person, although it is believed that birds sing, violins sing, even doors sing. These sounds cannot be qualified as the "art" of singing. They do not fully include the basic elements of music: melody, harmony, rhythm, and finally words. Even the most famous songbird, the nightingale, rather “clicks and whistles” (as it is said in Krylov’s fable) than sings. Pigeons coo, sparrows chirp, crows croak, roosters crow (although sometimes their cry is called singing).
Various "singing" musical instruments also have their own specific, characteristic coloring. The sounds of the violin are dreary, the oboe - sad, the clarinet - bright and joyful, the flute - light and cheerful, etc. But they are all wordless. Only human singing is complete. It is capable of expressing all the elements of music: melodic, rhythmic and tonal (major and minor). A person's voice can express joy and sorrow, sadness and gaiety. The word helps to reveal the meaning of the performed, makes singing meaningful. The emotional coloring of the word makes the singing animated. But at the same time, the word gives the singer some technical inconvenience.
Science tells us that the larynx of a singer must maintain its stability. In the process of singing with a word, when pronouncing vowels and consonants, the larynx is displaced. This negatively affects the continuity of the sound of the voice.
K. S. Stanislavsky, in the Opera Studio he directed, told the singers that art begins where continuity appears. The elements of "continuity" largely determine the artistic value of the cantilena.
In addition to the obstacles created by the change of vowels and consonants, the singer has to meet even more difficult - obstacles - musical intervals. Every melody is a sequence of intervals. The movement of the voice in intervals up and down causes the larynx to move from its stable position. Having learned to overcome these obstacles, the singer achieves "equation" of the sounds of the voice, achieving "continuity" of sounding2. If we use the definition of a human personality capable of combining the greatness and insignificance of spiritual qualities (“I am a king, I am a slave, I am a worm, I am a god”) made by G. R. Derzhavin in one of his odes, and apply this measure to singing, then we can say that the singer is also capable of a large amplitude of his creative expressions. He is the "slave" of his instrument if his throat is not right. But if the instrument meets his high creative “wants” (Stanislavsky), he becomes both a “king” and a “god”. True, to this day we know the only singer in the world who, when he sang, became both a “king” and a “god”. He possessed a perfect vocal instrument and unsurpassed artistry. It was Chaliapin. He was brilliant. A. V. Nezhdanova said that we have a lot good voices but who can't sing. The ability to sing without training, spontaneously is an extremely rare phenomenon. M. I. Glinka wrote: "All singers are by nature imperfect and require learning, the purpose of which is to correct shortcomings and improve the voice."
What is good singing? The singing voice should be free, full-sounding and ringing. The singer can sing loudly and quietly, strongly and softly. He has a full range of mids, highs, and lows to match the nature of his voice. His singing is meaningful and animated. In order to develop your creative abilities and become an artist, you must study the legacy of the great Stanislavsky. Acquaintance of singers with the works of K. S. Stanislavsky in this area can help them not only in their stage practice, but also in the process of working on staging the voice, introducing life-giving elements of creative imagination into it.
We have, finally, the theoretical work of scientists. Professor L. B. Dmitriev, a laryngologist and singer, made an experience of observing the larynx in the process of phonation using X-rays. Looking through the throat of the singer, he, simply speaking, saw right through what was going on in the throat of good and bad singers.
The theory developed by our physicists and phonetists provides the key to the practical mastering of the principles of vocal art.
There is a large literature on questions of the theory of singing, but it has little effect on the practice of vocal work: singing life proceeds almost independently of it, in its own ways.
The practice of singing uses mainly the oral transmission of the experience of teachers, masters of vocal art. Any general method of work on the education of the singer and his voice, similar to the method of working with the actor K. S. Stanislavsky, has not yet been created either by vocal practice or by the theory of teaching. It is hardly possible to demand from the masters of singing a deep theoretical understanding of their practical activities. Only rare artists are known in history, such as K. S. Stanislavsky, F. I. Chaliapin and others, who simultaneously created and analyzed their work. Neither writers, nor musicians, nor painters, nor singers, if they have talent and vast experience, should be required to create a theory, that is, a theoretical understanding of their own performing practice.
In the present state of affairs, voices are often heard about the advisability of developing a "single method" for teaching singers.
However, the creation of such a method requires a great cohesion of vocalists. Only when singing teachers come to unified conclusions based on carefully verified scientific data on the functioning of the vocal apparatus during singing, a “single method” will be developed and introduced into vocal practice.
A useful and equally acceptable practical method of teaching singing can be created only as a result of a deep, comprehensive generalization as the experience of the best vocal teachers, and practices of outstanding performers-singers. Such a generalization should be based on the data of science. At present, neither science, nor the presence of a perfectly developed musical and vocal ear among our teachers, can sufficiently help the student to establish the objective reasons for good or bad sounding of the voice. In addition, the subjective feelings of the teacher and the student often do not coincide. It is extremely difficult to convey in words the sensations that arise during sound formation. And the state of modern vocal terminology is such that it can sometimes confuse a student rather than help him. Explaining his feelings, when showing the proper sound, the teacher tries to evoke similar feelings in the student. But, showing the desired sound, the teacher is usually convinced that this sound arose in him as a result of precisely those sensations and those techniques that he tells the student about. In fact, the sensations are very deceptive and individual, and the student may be different.
In the process of transferring his techniques and sensations, the teacher, as a rule, also resorts to verbal explanations. These explanations, in their essence, are most often only figurative expressions characterizing the sensations that accompany the good sounding of a singing voice or the different qualities of this sounding. The student, on the other hand, has to "translate" these figurative expressions into his own muscle sensations and his own sound representations. It is far from always that the student succeeds in making this “translation”.
It is undeniable that methods of teaching singing, based on a not entirely correct idea of the work of the vocal apparatus during singing, still sometimes give good results due to practical experience teacher. However, their percentage is extremely low.
The success of such methods, apparently, is also explained by the ability of some singers to copy the correct muscular technique used by their teacher, or to intuitively realize some ideal of a beautiful sounding voice that has developed in their own imagination. Copying the good sound of the teacher's voice, even if the singing process is misinterpreted, the singer sometimes develops muscle skills that provide the sound that corresponds to his vocal ideal.
But if copying a good-sounding singing voice and various vocal techniques could be a genuine practical basis for voice production, singing training would not give the amount of vocal "marriage" that is observed. There are a number of students who are capable of imitation, and this method can greatly help them. But there are singers of another category who do not master this method of work well, do not have the ability to easily adapt to someone else's voice formation. There are, finally, singers who strive for a deep study and understanding of the vocal mechanism. Wishing to eventually become teachers, they want to understand and assimilate the very essence, the mechanism of correct singing voice formation. Therefore, it should be considered that the best, most reliable and generally understandable method will be one that relies on a conscious, correct understanding of the mechanism of singing sound formation.
Before proceeding with the creation of a “single method” of teaching singing, it is necessary to get all singers and teachers to comprehend their practice from the point of view of correct ideas about the work of the vocal apparatus during singing. Based on these data, it is possible to ensure universal recognition of the uniform principles of true singing sound formation, it is possible to develop modern foundations singing art. Thus, an accurate vocal terminology will also be created along the way.
Any musician who plays the violin, flute, piano has a ready-made (not designed by him) instrument for performance.
The remarkable Russian vocal researcher L. B. Dmitriev says: “It is practically important to find the most convenient (optimal) position of the larynx for the singer, to conduct further classes so that it does not leave this position on all vowels and on the entire range.”
The singer produces sounds from his own throat, using his own muscles and nerves. In the process of phonation, the singer himself becomes an "instrument". He needs to realize and feel the meaning and use of the muscular complex with which he deals in the process of singing. Therefore, amateur advice to a student of singing is deeply harmful, such as: "sing without any chemistry." Unfortunately, the singer has to master a lot of "chemistry" before he learns to sing. True, there were examples when singers mastered the art of singing spontaneously, without learning. But these examples are isolated, while hundreds and thousands of people with natural vocal abilities can learn to sing.
Voice setting, that is, its adaptation and development for professional singing, is a process of simultaneous and interconnected education of the auditory and muscle skills of the singer. This is the development of good, correct singing habits.
Numerous muscle groups take part in singing sound formation, in particular, respiratory, articulatory, laryngeal, and a number of others. In the process of mastering any specialty related to muscle work, including singing, muscle work is rebuilt, refined, polished in the right direction under the influence of training. As physiologists say, the work of the muscles becomes very finely differentiated, that is, dissected and ordered. The necessary connections are formed, developed, reflexes are inhibited, unnecessary movements and tension disappear, persistent vocal skills are formed, as a result of which the voice should sound energetic, clear and free.
A singer who is working on voicing must develop keen attention to his muscle sensations and know which muscle group this attention should be directed to in the first place. It should be directed to those muscle sensations that come from the sound source at the moment it starts, that is, to its attack and articulation. It is from them that the sound of the voice directly depends, which must be continuously controlled by the hearing of the singer and teacher. Spreading his attention to the work of other muscles, for example, to the diaphragm, to one or another "type of inhalation" or to sensations of resonation in any part of the vocal apparatus (teeth, palate, "mask", etc.), the singer immediately falls into a network of long-standing standard vocal performances of secondary importance. In these performances, for the most part, the singer gets confused.
First of all, it is necessary to determine with complete clarity the reasons for the emergence of the voice and to imagine why it is impossible to “send”, “direct”, “approach”, “remove”, “place”, “plant” or “support” the voice anywhere. All these definitions of the voice function only figuratively characterize either the requirements that apply to the quality of the sound, or the internal, own feelings of the singer that arise when singing. They do not determine the very work of the vocal apparatus, which is necessary for the implementation of these requirements, for the emergence of these sensations.
The voice is produced by the vibration of the vocal cords against the force of exhalation. It cannot be "removed" from its place; (You can, of course, bring the singer closer to the audience, but this cannot improve the sound quality). The "proximity" or "range" of the voice depends on the organization of the sound, on the best acoustic effect created with the help of the articulation of the singer.
So, with the help of the movement of the root of the tongue, connected by the hyoid bone with the larynx, it is possible to increase or stop the shifts of the larynx up and down in the process of "overcoming" musical intervals (starting from a small second, etc.). The larynx also shifts from the change of vowels. Its position is higher on the vowels i and e than on the vowels a, o, u. Brilliant research (using x-ray) prof. L. B. Dmitrieva showed that in good professional singers the larynx acquires a calm and stable position, only slightly shifting vertically. The less experienced the singer, the more shifts and shocks his larynx experiences in the process of overcoming intervals and vowels. Dexterous, fast and classical articulation (that is, the restructuring of the root of the tongue, the shape of the pharynx, pharynx and soft palate) helps the singer to keep the larynx from shifting. We have to add that in order to easily and deftly articulate in accordance with this interval, the singer needs to develop freedom of the jaw, tongue and lips. “The singer who thinks to sing with a clamped jaw is bad,” said Caruso. Also bad is the singer who wants to sing with his tongue clamped. To pronounce words, the language must always be free and ready for vocal speech, that is, the restructuring of vowels and consonants.
The numerous muscles involved in the formation of the singing voice can be conditionally divided into three sections according to their functions:
1. Muscles of the body, providing mainly air supply to the ligaments and at the same time the correct position of the larynx.
2. The muscles of the larynx itself, directly involved in the occurrence of vibrations, as well as the muscles of the neck, attached to the larynx and in charge of its installation as a whole.
3. The muscles of the articulatory apparatus, the main role of which is to turn the sound that has arisen in the larynx into articulate speech.
All these departments of the muscular system in the process of singing must work in interconnection so that the task assigned to each of them is performed freely, without interfering with the work of the others.
In the process of voice formation, the vocal cords of the singer are stretched, strained and, together with the entire muscular system of the larynx, in an organized manner resist the pressure of exhalation. Strong tension, tension and elastic closure of the ligaments in the process of their vibration make the sound strong, "metallic", well "supported". In the process of phonation, two forces - exhalation and tension of the ligaments - must oppose each other, without overcoming or defeating one another. The energy of the sound is determined primarily by the correct interaction of the ligaments and breathing. The singing sound begins only from the moment the sound attacks, that is, from the moment the vocal cords close. From the beginning of the sound to the end of the vocal phrase, the singer's breath is expended by transforming it into sound. The more perfectly the transformation of breath into sound is organized, the more economically the air is consumed by the singer and the cleaner, "more metallic" the voice sounds. A good singer has enough breath for a long phrase, a bad one does not have enough for even half of it. This does not happen from poor distribution of breath (by the respiratory muscles) and not from an insufficient amount of air taken into the lungs of the singer - breath leakage is inevitable if the singer's ligaments close incorrectly.
The expenditure of breath is regulated by the correct working tension of the ligaments. In finding this working tension of the ligaments, their correct closing, the main role is played by the attack. In the attack (the beginning of the sound), both breathing and closure of the ligaments act, and their work at the time of the attack lends itself well to muscle control. Each trained singer can attack the sound energetically, softly or with a breath, and, consequently, create one or another type of working tension of the ligaments. The attack is well felt, it directly affects the nature of the closure of the ligaments, and at the same time the expenditure of breath. That is why it should first of all attract the attention of the singer.
Since the flow rate of breathing is regulated by this or that nature of the work of the vocal cords, breathing trained separately from sound production does not yet lead to a long exhalation in singing. Moreover, exhalation, trained separately from the sound, can adversely affect the functioning of the vocal apparatus. If a strong breath is sent to the weakly trained vocal cords, the singer will need to overexert them to cope with the large force of air. Thus, forcing may occur, which is unpleasant for the listener and destroys the singer's voice.
In singing, you need not only to exhale smoothly, but to find the right interaction between the ligaments and breathing. Just as a sailing ship can lose control with a strong wind, so the larynx with ligaments can lose its stability with a strong breath pressure. The singer's voice, under similar circumstances, can also lose its stability and "break" ... Strengthening the work of the ligaments by gradually training them and invariably maintaining a stable position of the larynx and constant tension of the ligaments, the singer thereby simultaneously trains breathing. It is impossible to break the connection between breathing and sound formation by training breathing separately from sound.
Both of these factors (the work of the larynx and breathing) are equally necessary for voice formation and interact during an attack. On what sensations is it more important for a singer to fix his attention? Here the choice undoubtedly falls on the sensations of the larynx.
In this regard, it must be said about the fear of singers to concentrate their attention on guttural sensations. (Many believe this leads to a "throaty" sound.)
Throat sounding is the result of incorrect work of the larynx, when it has not yet been freed from “friendly” tensions.
As mentioned above, the process of voice formation in an inexperienced singer is characterized by the fact that muscular work in this process is not sufficiently differentiated. Tension of the ligaments usually causes simultaneous tension of the muscles, pharynx, pharynx, tongue, lower jaw, lips. The less experienced the singer is, the more strongly this "commonwealth" is expressed, often capturing the face, neck, body, and sometimes the arms and legs of the singer. In the process of exercises under the control of hearing, the singer is gradually freed from unnecessary stress, acquires the necessary skills, correct coordination.
As in the process of development of a pianist, his hands become capable of ever faster, more precise and subtle movements, so in the development of a singer, a similar process of developing fine, precise coordination in the work of the vocal apparatus should take place.
If the pianist plays without the proper degree of muscular freedom, with too tense hands, the sound of the piano inevitably becomes "hard". If the singer sings with a “clamped” larynx, that is, with incorrect coordination of the muscles, then the sound of his voice also becomes “hard”, “throat”. Usually such a sound is evaluated negatively and is defined as singing with a "throat" (although in human nature there is no other way to sing, except for the throat).
Free singing, however, never evokes such a definition in the listener. If the voice sounds full and free, then the role of the mechanism that produces the sound is, as it were, obscured, ceasing to be perceived by the ear. High quality sound (be it a violin, piano or voice) destroys the overtones that characterize the “material” with which the sound is organized (the sound of hammers in the piano, the creak of the bow hitting the strings, the tension of the vocal cords of the singer).
When listeners say that the “throat” of the singer is heard or that he “sings with his throat”, this means that the singer’s larynx is working incorrectly during phonation, with overstrain and the inclusion of friendly nearby muscles (pharynx, neck).
Exercises sung by a singer with a clamped "throat" are harmful to the voice, since simultaneously with training the strength of the voice and strengthening the vocal cords, they also strengthen the muscle clamps accompanying the tension of the ligaments. Our hearing requires that the strength of the sound of the voice be proportional to the freedom of its sound.
If the larynx is free from "clamps" and the ligaments work with the proper working tension, then no one can notice either the "throat" or the "larynx" in such a sound. Singers should not be afraid of such concepts as "larynx" and "ligaments". These concepts are quite safe with the correct understanding and use of their working function in the process of phonation.
Free, beautiful singing requires the right tension of the ligaments and the release of the larynx from all sorts of clamps. Every singer aspires to free singing, because only it gives real scope to artistic creativity. (This was well understood by K. S. Stanislavsky, who spoke at rehearsals in his opera house: "A feeling cannot pass through a clamped body...").
Just as Michelangelo cut off everything that seemed superfluous to him from a block of marble, the singer must “cut off” the clamps that interfere with the organization of free voice formation.
M. Garcia says this about the inseparability of the singer’s muscular work: “When a singer knows how to make each apparatus work in its own area, without interfering with the work of other organs, then the voice, as it were, nourishes all parts of the performance and combines the various details of the melody into one complete and continuous ensemble, which is the breadth of the song. If, on the contrary, one of the mechanisms performs its functions poorly: if the chest pushes or throws the breath, if the glottis does not work firmly and accurately enough, then the voice breaks and weakens after each syllable.
In order for the ligaments to be able to fully fulfill their load of voice formation, the singer's larynx must be protected from any anxiety, shocks and "clamps". Its independence and inviolability must be preserved by all means. Stabilization of the larynx is the principle on the basis of which the voice should be formed. All muscular work of the vocal apparatus must be subordinated to this principle.
The position and stable work of the larynx depends on the work of breathing and the articulatory apparatus.
The correct and smooth supply of breath depends primarily on the correct position of the body, which creates favorable conditions for the work of the respiratory muscles, which must supply breath in close coordination with the work of the larynx, without pushes and pressures. This keeps the larynx stable.
“The chest has no other purpose,” says Garcia, “but to feed the voice with air, and not to push and push it out.”
Dr. Levidov talks about his singing lessons in Italy in the following way: “In Italy, singing teachers are quite indifferent to the issue of special breathing training. Only at the very beginning of training, during one or two lessons, teachers explain to students certain fundamentals of breathing, the meaning of which they consider necessary for him (these explanations are given mainly in terms of anatomical and physiological analysis of the respiratory apparatus), and later on, almost no longer talk to them about breathing. “Sing well and breathe as you please.”
Equally important for maintaining a stable, uniform position of the larynx is faithful work articulation apparatus.
In everyday speech, in the process of pronouncing various vowels and consonants, the larynx shifts up and down, which can be easily established by placing a hand on the Adam's apple during speech. These habitual speech connections between the work of the articulatory apparatus and the larynx (if they are not rebuilt) will constantly knock the larynx out of its calm singing position in singing with words, that is, violate the vocal qualities of the voice.
With correct singing articulation, we achieve not only the purity of the pronunciation of vowels, but also their correct singing coloring, or, as we say, the “correct resonance” of the singing voice.
Vocal diction, like the art of singing, contains two elements: creative and technical. The creative element is the artistic distribution of the semantic content (weight) of the word, depending on the artistic tasks assigned to it, on the idea and meaning of the work being performed.
The technical element of diction is the ability to sing vowels cleanly, fully and clearly pronounce consonants. The flow of vowels should not be disturbed by consonants wedged into it. All vowels in singing should sound pure, clear, and their "vocal core" should not undergo noticeable transformations when they change.
The development of correct singing articulation makes it possible to smoothly translate one vowel into another, without knocking the larynx out of a stable calm position, releasing it from the clamps from above (“removes the sound from the throat”).
In the process of pronouncing vowels, the larynx either rises (on vowels and and e), then falls (on a, o, y). Too sharp fluctuations of the larynx vertically when pronouncing vowels violate the uniformity of the sound of the voice.
Singing (vocal art) - performance of music by voice, the art of conveying the ideological and figurative content of a musical work by means of a singing voice, one of the oldest types of musical art. Singing can be with or without words. Usually singing is accompanied by instrumental accompaniment, but can be performed without it - a cappella. For execution professional music the voice must be specially adapted and developed. Singing differs:
by genre- opera related dramatic action, With theatrical performance, which includes all types of vocal art and chamber (concert performance of arias, romances, songs, mostly solo or in small ensembles). IN light music accordingly, there is an operetta genre and a variety genre, which includes many styles of singing (in a folk manner, in a spoken voice, in a singsong voice, into a microphone, etc.).
There are three main types of construction of vocal melodies and, accordingly, three manners of singing:
melodious style where a wide, smooth, coherent singing is required - cantilena;
declamatory style, where singing reproduces the structure and intonations of speech (recitative is a kind of vocal music that approaches natural speech while maintaining a fixed musical structure and regular rhythm. It is used in opera, oratorio, cantata. In the 17-18 centuries, “dry recitative” arose, accompanied by harpsichord chords and "accompanied recitative", with a developed orchestral accompaniment.Recitative intonations are also found in songs, instrumental music and monologues)
coloratura style, where the melody to a certain extent departs from the word and is equipped with many decorations, passages performed on separate vowels or syllables.
Singing without words - vocalization (from the French Vocalise - a vowel sound), musical composition for singing without words to a vowel sound, usually an exercise for the development of vocal technique. Vocalises for concert performance are also known.
Various national schools singing is characterized by its style of performance, the manner of sound science and the nature of the singing sound. The national school of singing, as a historically established stylistic direction, takes shape when a national school of composition arises, putting forward certain artistic and performance requirements for singers. The national manner of singing reflects performing traditions, language features, temperament, character, and other qualities typical of a given nationality.
The first European school of singing was Italian - it took shape at the beginning of the 17th century. Standing out for their perfect bel canto technique and brilliant voices, many of its representatives received world recognition. Vocality Italian and convenience for the voice of Italian melodies allow you to make the most of the capabilities of the voice apparatus. Italian school developed a standard classic sound voice, which is mainly followed by other national schools of singing. high perfection Italian singing art influenced the formation and development of other national vocal schools - French, distinguishing feature which consists of declamatory elements originating from the chanted declamation of French actors classic tragedy, German, in its development meeting the requirements that the vocal music of the largest German and Austrian composers put before the performers, original, leading from the manner of performance folk songs, Russian school.
The Russian vocal school took shape under the influence of the artistic demands of the art of Russian classical composers M.I. Glinka, M.P. Mussorgsky, P.I. Tchaikovsky and others. The performing style of its outstanding representatives F.I. etc. was characterized by the mastery of dramatic acting, simplicity, sincerity of performance, the ability to combine singing with a lively, psychologically colored word.
