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The Importance of Vocalizing Daily
Rebecca Longtemps
Intro to Music Technology
Prof. Sean Atkinson
Warming up the voice by vocalise is much or effective than warming up with
one’s favorite art song or aria. Anyone can sing music if they are given a score or even a
recording to hear by ear. The difference between a trained singer and amateur is what
happens in the practice room. It takes hours of vocalizing on vocalises, exercises similar
to pianist’s etudes and scales.
Vocalises are employed to enhance, correct, and make agile the muscles of the
voice. In consequence, the singer will produce sounds with more clarity,
brilliance, and pitch exactness. This will not produce a rapid transformation. In fact, one
study demonstrated that out of twelve female sopranos, the only one who completed the
short-term vocalise training program, did not improve in their pitch and rhythm
exactness. Whether or not vocalizing daily outside of song literature is effective in the
short term, it must be some what effective, because in the larger scheme, it is extra
practice time.
During a singer’s practice session, there are several things that must occur in
order for it to be productive. This includes non-vocal activities such as warming-up the
body, breathing exercises, posture, and bodily relaxation. There has to be a balance
between the body’s acuteness and its’ repose. Many times, singers feel the necessity to
load-up on breath or push their voice, because they recognize the potential power behind
their voice. Singing like this, or in conjunction with other inappropriate techniques can
hinder the voice’s progress and cause unwanted tension and breathiness. The purpose
behind practicing is to eliminate both of these vocal road blocks, however, if the
exercises performed are not used effectively there will not be a positive outcome.
Many vocalises are passed down from teacher to student. However, several
composers compiled booklets with various melodic lines for singers as well as
accompaniment lines for pianists. These works were never intended to be publicly
performed, but rather to be sung with an open ear and relaxed throat. With this mindset,
the singer is most likely to benefit from listening to one’s own resonance, rather than the
melodic line of the piece. Most of these exercises are short, four to six measure, conjunct
melodies within the voice’s mid-range. Jean-Antoine Bérard designed sets of vocalises
that worked out various vocal issues, and provided the mechanism to solve the problems.
In addition to intended non-consonant vocal exercises, one can also retrogress to
Gregorian Chants, 18th century coloratura opera, or Baroque oratorios which are all filled
with melismastic. This would be especially beneficial to one who is studying a piece with
built in melismas, runs, or scales. They should simply practice the excerpt before
practicing the piece in its’ entirety.
If one has neither a booklet by Bérard or melismatic piece in their repertoire, then
they must fall back on their own creativity. For someone with a good ear and motivation,
this is the best way to discover one’s top potential. To start a practice session, if the voice
is not warm, it is best to begin in the mid-range of one’s voice and descend. An example
of a pattern using scale degree numbers would be as follows: 5-4-3-2-1. This gives the
vocalist a relaxed start, which will cause their voice to exhibit a natural, clear timbre. At
first, the result might lean towards more breath in the sound. Depending on the level of
maturity of the individual, it is most likely, temporarily acceptable. The more vocalises
the individual practices, the less breathy and more focused the sound will become.
Exercises moving up the scale in a more rapid pace, or arpeggiating scales help the
singer’s muscle memory and ear to find the correct placement for each pitch. Repeating
these types of exercises is beneficial, however, it can also be exhausting if one repeats
indefinitely.
To gain the pinnacle sound from one’s voice, there is more than one element to
consider in the process. Besides vocalizing, one also has to be concerned with breath
sustain and release, physiological and mental placement of the voice and sound, and a
relaxed mouth. Vocalizing daily is the layer that brings together all the elements of
singing into practice and tests the confidence of the person to whom the instrument
belongs.
In conclusion, considering the unsuccessful study that I mentioned above, there is
not a lot of proof that the use of vocalises rather than art songs or arias is more effective.
However, this study was not completed entirely successfully, since only one participant
completed the actual short-term vocalise training program. Not only does this limit the
study’s credibility, but it also states that is it to be used for a short period of time. A
singer who is trained and who wants to improve, will use vocalises, melismatic lines, or
create their own patterns for the long term, rather than the short term. And will not
merely look for immediate results, but will have faith in the long term benefits.
Bibliography
‘Vocalise’, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy 11 December 2007,
<http://www.grovemusic.com/shared/views/article.html?from=search&session_search_id
=1129493838&hitnum=1&section=music.29567>
‘Vocal Training in Chorus, A Presentation for the American Choral Directors
Association’, School of Music @ USM Russel, Robert February 2003,
<http://www.usm.maine.edu/music/choralvocaltraining/>
‘Effects of Training in Vocalises on Singing Performance’, Ohio Link ETD Rao,
Ruchita 11 December 2007,
<http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?acc_num=miami11225801811>