Sam Meredith SS Chapter 10 Summary

Sam
Chapter 10 Summary-All of the inventions previously discussed are meant to help singers develop technique that leads to pleasing and healthy classical singing. There are, however, many other principles that every singer must master in order to transfer those skills learned into real performance. First, we must maintain consistent legato technique throughout any piece we sing. We also need to be sure to maintain the integrity of every vowel. Regardless of how high or low we are singing we should be able to maintain the proper space, freedom, and airflow on all our vowels. Occasionally it will be necessary to alter a vowel, but only so we can maintain good airflow on vowels that can sometimes make having good airflow difficult. Consonants are also an important part of proper singing, but it is important that the articulation of a consonant doesn't interrupt the air flow too much. We should also eliminate shadow vowels. Musicality is another important principle. Musicality means giving the proper emotional color to music. Singing combines music with words, so the human voice is naturally a very good means for expressing emotion. Many tend to overcomplicate their attempts to be musical when really all a singer needs to do is sing freely with intention. One important part of musicality is the ability to sing dynamics, or the ability to sing loudly or softly. It is important to note that when we sing softly we are not to decrease the amount of airflow as this just adds tension to the voice. Really the only change we make is in the intensity of the phonation. One important ability addressed by the inventions is the ability sing through quick passages of music. There are, however, some other things that singers should know about singing fioratura. First, we should separate the passage into pulses. Next, we can sing those pulses in legato form. Next, we sing all the notes in each pulse leaving some separation between each pulse. After that we can combine two pulses. Once we have mastered this we can combine all the pulses and over time we can perform those pulses completely up to tempo. All in all, most technical problems in singing can be fixed by maintaining constant airflow and the integrity of vowel. When we achieve this we will be able to sing a wide range of musical styles in a healthy way.
Key Concept- Once we master the skills taught in the inventions we need to incorporate them into actual performance of music. We can do this by remembering simply to maintain constant airflow and consistency in our vowels. After that we just need to add in musicality through singing with intention, dynamics, the ability to move the voice freely, and proper stylistic adjustments.
Key Terms- Legato Technique, Vowel Definition, Vowel Substitution, Shadow Vowels, Musicality, Fioratura, Belt
Making Connections- I think that the section in this chapter on fioratura is especially applicable to me since i have a song in my rep right now that has such a passage. Also, I want to remember what he said about achieving consistency when singing big intervals. That is something I struggle with.