Show HOW TO SINO WELL EMMA EAMES GIVES EXCELL Cl ADVICE TO AMBITIOUS aint gials G first be no horn dorn with voice 1 olac second cultivate it Carefully Superiority of 1 the italian over other method ul of Training Individuality Is I 1 desirable 1893 by american elress association I 1 if yon you are going to quote me said the charming marguerite in private ro bently you may as well say at once that it is is utterly absurd in in girls to study for the operatic stage if they were not bom born with voices voice is is an unmistakable natural gift no amount of cultivation ti will make up for the absence of a good one girle girls cannot be too particular about that point before giving up other interests in in life to become public singers agers Bi and they will have to give up other other interests teresta in to succeed as probes Elo nals your family and your friends are not the judges in most cases which you need nor is is the opinion of one individual sufficient what girls want to do is to seek the advice of those whose judgment is known to be trustworthy and they had better go to the expense of finding and consulting with severs several accepted authorities at the start it will cost less in in the end parents and friends are too prone to cee see visions for their darlings and one persons advice is apt to bear prejudice with it it if you have a good voice it wont hurt hart you ou to know it early and if you are not so blessed any number of miles would not be too far to travel to lind it out you cannot expect singing masters to lose the chance of makin making what they ban can they can always salve their consciences by the thought that your speaking voice has been improved and possibly your chest developed by studies from which you 5 ou somehow never graduate equally important is the kind of ed uca tion you 5 ou receive that is a matter still of open discussion Myown my own voice was trained by italian method after the old italian school of which parpala was the greatest exponent german methods emphasize tho soft palate too freely in in voice production french ideas of directing sound in the f A EMMA r A GAMES EAMES mouth lead to what you call nasal twang english exaggerates the hard bard palate while italian directs sound in round vocals to the front of the mouth and the language langu igo is ia by far the best adapted for pleasing enunciation natural position of the organs of tho throat and mouth and easier to emit on the high notes than any other of course it is absurd for pupils to sing beyond their natural compass yet that is is a common error here again is the necessity for good advice the best that can be afforded in fact it is almost worse than useless to afford anything an thing else ae as maity maily an artist can say ray who has his had to unlearn the dangerous lessons of poor teachers if she has been been fortunate enough to escape with an unstrained rainea ruined voice I 1 belies believe e that teacher to le be the best who teaches you to think for yourself who makes rules to fit you ou individually and omita to subject all voices to the same training there are no two voices exactly alike it is 13 imp able bible that they should all require ti same molding and yet the majority are thrown into the same category and because one soprano tales takes in a certain way the others should the experienced perien ced sensible sen master teaches you ou to understand how bound sound in your own particular chest mouth and throat is 13 to be produced irrespective of any other soprano or mezzo soprano or contralto and who gives a rational reason for ove every step A common fault of girls trying to sing is to tor hurry hy through ocal education songs are the summits aspired to and exercises aro are the bugbears over which they stumble and bungle and which they throw aside halt half learned superficial students will find out to their cost that for every early opportunity neglected every underlying rule slighted no matter how apparently insignificant they will have a very mountain of hard study to taice take up when the time for it should naturally have passed much of course will depend upon health lie alth physique natural endowment and application health is of vital importance to voice the loss or absence of the one means invariably the loss of the other simple nutritious food regular habits of exercise sleep rest and i meals eals aro are imperative the amount of practice per day will vary Tary with different constitutions ordinarily twenty minutes at one time ii is long enough to sing and two hours exercise of the voice a day will produce good results professionals are taught to sing standing and the use and value of an accompanist the chest it is compressed when w hen sitting and the position of the body so changed aa as to interfere ferowich with the best emission the most powerful perfectly controlled production of sound 1 I took a lesson every day for a month in the beginning of my career standing on a raised platform with my arms behind me and with no other practice at home tho lesson continuing twenty minutia rai ca that was to place the voice in its proper position and to properly divide the registers after that I 1 had three lessons a week and on alternating days bad had an accompanist play over the lesson to be sung in studying it is not necess necessary ary always to use the voice in fact it injure ous to sing bing over and over the same thing tirina tini the organ when the time rhythm and intonation can be learned by using the piano and counting with hand beats every girl should know how to read music at sight before she begins to use ber iler voice at anjul all she should have studied theory harmony counterpoint and to have familiarized herself with music instrumentally mentally it requires great patience determination ir and unflagging application to bo be thorough from a musical standpoint before aio can hope to be proficient from fron a standard of vocal excellence cel lence lenco nothing can be slighted in musical study to perfect tho the finished artist and althou although gli a singer has graduated from ono one masters bands hands she is ia continually studying and developing and learning leaming and may be said never to have lave finished excitement end cud fatigue and petty cares and worry too must be tabooed by singers exercise in the fresh air a light breakfast 1 I take tea and rolls a simple lunch and digestion an accomplished fact before singing is necessary tight clothes have to go too if she hopes to breathe and heep keep up goo good circulation cu and no pampering the appetite with nuta nuts and sweets and elaborate 1 I take black coffeo coffee with my ray dinner never touch the sparkling waters or wa ter pure and simple and care little fot wine milk giving the best health results too much cannot be said about drafts and talking in the night air no Noth throats are so sensitive to atmos atmosphere phero and its changes as those of singers and a good thing in going out at night is to bo be on the safe sido side by breathing for some time through the nostrils with closed mouth before speaking girls should eat plenty of juicy roast beef and steak steal and get all the rest and sleep they can since singing is an exhaustive drain upon vitality freshness of voice goes with freshness of physical condition there is another point to be urged and that is lessons in acting from good teachers and proficiency in languages foreigners are very exacting particularly the french about correct pronunciation and lack of accent and a girl must take her german and french and italian thoroughly in hand and brush off her anglo saxon accent while her voice is being trained so must she act under suitable instructors 1 I spent two years in paris under one teacher and at tho the same time studied languages and had regular weekly lessons in dramatic work I 1 shall never forget those two years under her able tuition though before considering my education sufficiently completed to appear on the public biage I 1 sought bought the opinion of other teachers in london and elsewhere learning the various schools of music and the ideas advanced by different recognized authorities the time given to voice culture can not be set down under any one rule for instance mme ame etelka gerster whose lovely voice charmed the world during many years was four years learning to trill hers was a glorio voice difficult of management and requiring great patience and long iong practice to render supple and flexible mine emma nevada the california girl whose high notes made her famous had a throat organ so easy of control that she was able to sing ernani emani 11 lucia di Lammer moor mirello and a long list of other operas after two years study and that with summer vaar vacations actions of three months cadi each intervening the time devoted to education must be governed by circumstances A girls aptitude her natural qualifications and the adaptability of certain methods to her voice should bo be taken into consideration barring loss of health li three years is an average for the cultivation of mot voices thou i the wiser plan is to take plenty of nilie ame and neither push the voice nor retard it the main object being to have the training perfect the voice as nearly as possible whether it takes two years or six six the same thing may be said as to a time tor for beginning italians and southern girls would begin in most instances earlier than those born in northern climates physique and physical development should decide tile the question most girls can stand the strain on vital energy of singing at sixteen many of them might undertake it earlier study the individual that is the only infallible rule A VIKING |