M II Si 1 r A ! r n II n 1 W O
1 1
VOCALTHERAPY
By Louis Kuppin
Copyrighted, 1923, by The Musical Courier Company.
the individual is speaking, indicating that the vocal organ is encased with rigidity. In cases of nodes, aside from huskiness, there is heard in the voice a dull heaviness as though the vocal cords were laboring under the stress of some weight. In cases like these and some others, when the huskiness becomes aggravated, thus not yielding -to the treatment given by the physician, it is advisable to call in the aid of the voice teacher.
This advice is not intended as an affront to the medical profession. Far be such disrespect from me. As in all sciences there is no finality to the sum of knowledge, and in the medical world we have almost daily confirmation of this fact in the new discoveries that are brought to light, though of course it is by men in that profession. We must not forget, however, that Manuel Garcia gave to the science of medicine the laryngoscope. I instance this to show the possibility of one working in one field of endeavor to hit upon some knowledge that might prove useful to those in another. Inasmuch as the physician is not a voice teacher, though he understands thoroughly the vocal organ, he might find it worth while to give voice culture a trial, for the sole reason that it seeks to establish through proper exercise the normal functioning of the vocal organ. If the physician has studied voice culture, then he will all the more appreciate the intent of my suggestion. Vocal exercise of the right kind properly employed will tend to stimulate thp weakened muscles and gradually impart to them their functional activity. Where there has taken place a maladjustment, an overdevelopment of certain muscles, no amount of medical treatment will be effective, and I shall prove this by the citation of such a case.
A man came to me whose speech was so aphonic that one would have thought he was in the last stages of tuberculosis. He was quick to assure me that he was not one of the unfortunate victims of this ravishing disease. He was so husky that only by means of strained concentration could one understand him at all. For a period of three and a half years had he been in this condition which resulted from a severe cold. He had expert medical attention, but the trouble persisted. Even the famed physicians of Rochester were unable to help him. They told him that his was a case of neuritis. Along with the aphonic condition of his voice, there was also a marked inclination of his head to one side, which came about from a twisting of his head in the effort to make his speaking clear; an accidental effectiveness in the beginning, but of no avail afterwards and leaving him with the distortion.
One can readily picture to himself the mental stress he was laboring .under when three and a half years previous he was the embodiment of perfect health, not for a single day ever having been sick. ■ That he should be exceedingly suspicious and distrustful in the light of his past experiences was but natural. When he was advised to consult me he thought it a huge joke. A voice teacher to accomplish what was impossible for physicians, why it seemed preposterous!
I examined him and found a pronounced overdevelopment of certain muscles, so much so that there was a distinct bulging of the throat. I realized at once why medical skill was unsuccessful. I attempted to try his voice in a certain way in order to determine if the vocal cords would emit a clear sound. They did and I waS satisfied that their functioning could be restored, though it would take some time to do it. I refrained, however, from telling him this. For a fact I gave him no encouragement whatever because I knew he was exceedingly skeptical. I informed him that if he was willing to experiment with me, we could see after a few weeks’ work what could be done. I made no effort to urge him to do so. Finally, after his brother-in-law, who accompanied him, had expressed his opinion, he agreed to try.
He came to me twice a week. After the second week he told me that the pain he usually had in the back of his head upon retiring was no longer there. He slept better and his appetite was much improved. I could hear from lesson to lesson the huskiness becoming less and less pronounced and the clearness of the voice little by little asert-ing itself. One day after we had been working for some months, he informed me that he was reexamined by the (Continued on page 34)
famous, I dare say are as well known today, despite all argument to the contrary. The only difference that I can observe is to be found in the length of time the teachers of “the old_ school” required, for their proper establishment and operation, namely, five or six years, though some would have it even longer.
We of today, living in an age keyed up to speed and quick results, find ourselves at a decided disadvantage in that our students are not favorably disposed to serve an apprenticeship over such a period of time, and that, mind you, on tone production alone. Desirous as we may be of persuading them of its indisputable necessity, they will not listen to us, especially so since there are some who hold out to them the promise of quick results. In my opinion out of this anxiety and haste, much of the disparagement of our vocal science has arisen, as well as the babel of theories that has brought confusion into it. I venture to say that if the average good teacher had a student of promising vocal material and musicianship under his guidance for the length of time the old masters deemed essential, he too could produce a singer in no wise inferior to the famed exponents of the “bel canto” school. For a fact this length of time seems all the more imperative in our own day, in view of the heavy orchestrations of our modern operas. These orchestrations make a tremendous demand upon vocal power, a demand “the old school” did not have to contend with. And what shall be said of the demand of histrionic interpretation with which “the old school” also was not troubled? Herein, in these very demands the teacher of today finds himself constrained to go beyond the scope and view point of "the old school,” yet at the same time not sacrificing the artistic finesse that was the crowning glory of its celebrities.
The primary aim of voice culture is to develop a beautiful voice for singing, and all knowledge is directed to this end. That it might have a therapeutic value, few if any have ever stressed. Yet my own experience has clearly demonstrated that it has, and it remains for the voice teacher to elaborate and establish it as a definite part of his profession. There are some throat ailments that only temporarily respond to medical treatment. In spite of the sedative or stimulant sprays the specialist applies, they persist, nevertheless. It is quite manifest then that the trouble is deeper seated than the inflamed parts would indicate. In such cases there is usually found a weakened condition of some muscles of the vocal organ preventing its normal functioning. If this condition has been of long standing, a maladjustment of the vocal mechanism has taken place and certain muscles will show a pronounced overdevelopment. They have been compelled to assume the work that, was performed by the weakened ones, and while they might not have exactly assumed their functioning activity, they were constrained to overwork themselves in the effort to help nature out when the vocal organ was put into action. Muscular debility necessitates exercise to remove it. Exercise alone will restore full strength to weakened muscles. Tonics will build up the general health, but will not act directly and specifically on a set of debilitated muscles. Herein vocal exercise of the right kind, which in no wise will impose additional strain, finds a natural utility, and thereby alone can the normal functioning of the vocal organ be restored.
The usual symptom of vocal debility is pronounced huskiness. While this is the invariable sign of most throat ailments, it is especially so of those that seem to hang on. Excluding those afflictions that require a surgical operation or are of organic malignancy, the huskiness will generally clear up after a few treatments from the throat specialist. This is most frequently so in cases of severe colds or even laryngitis. In the latter affliction, it is to be observed, along with the huskiness there is an intermittant sharpness when
IN this most fecund of the travailing ages, when almost daily new vistas of thought loom up before our voca-_ tional horizons, when nearly every sphere of endeavor is charged with the promise of new possibilities, we realize as never before that man cannot stand still and abide by any pronouncement of finality, no matter whence its source. A Bergson, a Marconi, a Freud, an Einstein rise up in utter denunciation of and opposition to an attitude of absolute certainty. If life in its various ramifications is in a constant state of fluidity, it must of necessity evidence a process of continuous unfoldment, ever and anon producing new avenues of thought and action whereby human activity dynamically propels itself.
Moreover, it is quite apparent that for us, children of this marvelous age, the feeling of surprise occasioned by the new ideas that suddenly greet us, seems to lack the quickening intensity which did and does still characterize our sires. We read them as though they had already been in our consciousness. Our minds respond as though quite attuned to receive them almost without questioning and regard them as a matter of course.
In the present article, however, I do not anticipate any such ready acquiescence, even though the subject matter be not decidedly new. Inasmuch as it is empiric in character, it cannot base itself upon established practice over a period of years that many have employed, producing a definite and organized knowledge of modus operand¡, though some physicians have to a degree resorted to this manner of experimentation, and perhaps some voice teachers also, Since, however, my experimentation with what I term vocal-therapy has yielded actual results in the cases I had under my care, I might be given the courtesy of an impartial consideration, and if any worth be found therein, let it be adjudged accordingly.
Vocaltherapy means the use of vocal exercises for the elimination of certain afflictions of the throat that have not been cured by medical tretament. Ailments that require surgical operations or are of an organic malignancy are wholly outside of its scope.
The field of voice culture perhaps is less disposed to the influences of progress than almost any that lays claim to being a science, if voice culture be deemed entitled to such a claim. A hard and fast, venerating attitude seems to obtain towards the thoughts and ideas that supposedly characterized “the old school of bel canto.” The more a singing teacher pronounces himself to be a strict and devout adherent to that school, the more he regards himself qualified authoritatively to teach. The inference implied in an attitude of this kind is that all the knowledge and wisdom pertaining to voice culture was the fortunate possession of the generation belonging to “the old school,” which lore through a caprice of fate became lost to succeeding generations, only now and then revealing itself in fragmentary and stray bits as some unusually gifted teacher claims to have rediscovered it. Any one, therefore, advocating the need of progress in the vocal domain, might be looked upon with suspicion. However, such advocacy does not necessarily imply the presence of an iconoclastic spirit and I wish to assure the reader that I have no actuating motive of this nature. I am essaying to point out the possibility of widening and extending the voice teacher’s sphere of usefulness, beyond the traditional confines that might have environed it. Let it be distinctly understood that I am in no wise inimical to “the old school.”
What the unique knowledge of “the old school” consisted of and wherein it differs from that possessed today, no one can positively say. The citation of certain vocal exercises that were then used does not constitute that knowledge, because those exercises have value only to the degree they are intelligently employed. The fundamental concepts of tone production that made “the old school” so historically
JEAN
BEDETT
~folo ’Cellist, Boston Symphony Orchestra
ACCLAIMED as
^VIRTUOSO\
Master of suave and sonorous tone richly endowed with technical skill.—New York Tribune.
He lias the right to be counted among the small number of the most distinguished exponents of his instrument.—Philadelphia Public Ledger.
The beauty of Mr. Bedetti’s tone, his sure technical grasp, his sound musicianship, his tasteful phrasing, his keen sense of the beautiful are as fully appreciated here as they have been recognized and applauded in Paris and other European cities.— Hale, in Boston Herald.
The outstanding feature of the concert was Mr. Bedetti’s playing of the Haydn violoncello concerto. He exhibited an elegance in phrasing, a beauty of tone, a refinement and nobility of style.—Christian Science Monitor.
Jean Bedetti displayed a rarely beautiful tone and his skill with his instrument brought him an ovation. —Providence Evening Tribune.
and
In his. hands the ’cello became an instrument of wide and tender sympathies.—Philip Hale, Boston Herald.
An excellent artist.—New York Tribune.
He plays with a fine appreciation of the dramatic. —Philadelphia North American.
The adagio was played with a simplicity and tenderness of expression that came from the heart of the violoncellist and touched the heart of the hearer. —Philip Hale, Boston Herald, of the Haydn Concerto.
Hearing him play the movements from the Bach C major suite for ’cello alone was an artistic experience which embraced so many impressions that they are not easily described in a printed paragraph.— Olin Downes, Boston Post.
Mr. Bedetti played with supreme authority, comprehending the various and shifting moods, and giving them full expression.—Hale, in Boston Herald, of Don Quixote performance.
JVotv Booking for SEA.SOJV 1923-24 Exclusive Direction: AARON RICHMOND, 404 Pierce Bldg., Boston, 17, Mass.