The Tongue and Chiaroscuro
It is all too easy for the singer to sing and at the same time to listen and check and criticize their voice and mimic a sound that they might think of as good.
When a singer listens to the voice the result is the tongue will flatten with the pallet to push the sound in to the inner ear. This causes the larynx to rise, produces a tension in tongue and neck which makes articulation difficult and breaks the sensual connection between body and instrument. Feelings are what we have to go on when we sing.
We need to find ways to not become more judgemental and tense as a song proceeds. A song should feel easier to sing on a deepening connection in the body as phrase follows phrase. Lamperti, the great 19th century Italian master talked of the tense tongue creating ‘a muscular rebellion’ in the throat against which the body shoves. A brittle tone, a lack of harmonics in the resonance is what the audience hears.
True resonance is the result of a released low larynx,a free tongue, a released neck on a balanced body that holds back pressure.
The middle of the tongue in the mouth should be in the vowel ‘ng’ position, the tip behind the bottom front teeth (the position on the ‘i’ in the word sing) The upper body, neck and head feel buoyant, then the tongue will naturally raise in the middle when the jaw is loosely hinged down and back. A buoyant upper body is not meant to indicate a fixed chest or a muscular holding activity. (See article on balance)
Let me point out that when the whole tongue is flat,it stimulates the reflex action of swallowing. Swallowing is the reflex action of the soft pallet coming down on the tongue to cause spasms to push the food down to the stomach. A totally flat pulled down tongue will cause injury to the singing voice especially if persisted in over a long period.
A singer should wish to open the pathway to the lung and to stimulate the reflexes that will allow the pallet to go up and the pharyngeal resonance to open.
Let the jaw fall down and back then while making the oval mouth as if saying the closed vowel ‘u’ as in the word coot lift the middle of the tongue into the ‘ng’ vowel position. The tongue feels deliberately wide at the root opening the primal resonance behind it which is the pharyngeal low space. The side tongue lightly wide and arched in the middle is a stimulation to raise the soft pallet bouncing resonance off the cheekbones, (over which the muscles should be bunched up) and the nasal area right between the eyes.
All vowels need this, even an ‘a’ vowel which always encourages the English speaking person especially to flatten and swallow the tongue. If it is modified in the mouth nearer the French ‘an’ as the French word ‘tante’ the ‘a’ will resonate in the head instead of swallowed in the throat with a flat tongue. The same goes of the vowel ‘e’.
Training the tongue and neck not to grab on, on a body that holds back pressure of breath appropriately, is a continual fascination for the singer in repertoire. It allows any voice type full vibration, the ‘chiaroscuro’ (which is the dark and light harmonics) of the instrument, at any dynamic and at any pitch as nature intended. Chiaro literally means light or clear and scuro means dark, gloomy.
Lamperti said of the ‘chiaroscuro’ – ‘There is vocal resonance like unto a composite vowel sound containing all of them. The reverberation of the voice is as an elastic solid filling the head, throat and (in low notes) the chest. When this composite sound is focused in the middle of the scull it can be moulded into any form or shaded into any colour, changed from one vowel to another and made to open or close at will.’
This oval mouth and tongue lightly in the ‘ing’ position is the tiny ‘u’ of the Cuperto. It is the basis on which the Old Italian School, which produced so many fabulous singers, trained a voice.
I wanted to write this article as I have this has made such a difference to me. I think at various times in my career I caught onto to it but I did not have the whole picture.
I remember Gwyneth Jones singing wonderful performances of Brunhilde in the great Gotz Friedrich production at Covent Garden. Always a generous performer and human being, she spent 2 hours helping me prepare a forthcoming role. She talked to me about my tongue and I worked ceaselessly afterwards to implement what she had taught me in every phrase. The role was a tremendous success and helped others recognise my possibilities as an artist. This I was because of the extra harmonic brilliance it put on the voice and its carrying power.
I have come to understand that the ‘chiaroscuro’ and Cuperto which secures it need to be studied over a much longer period of time with the old exercises. It is ridiculously difficult to find access to anyone who knows these exercises, who knows how to use them and can talk about the throat and tongue and chest, the singing body form head to toe with the proper authority.
For certain the vastly increased vocal freedom I have now is the result of such work with David Jones. I have vocal ability and understanding now that I never thought I would have. My understanding of how to proceed helps me improve daily. It is such a joy quite frankly and to give this knowledge. These are surely the gifts every great teacher should be able to give his pupils.
