SINGING, the art of producing music from the human voice, generally, though not necessarily, combined with speech. The mechanism of the vocal organs, as applicable to singing, has by some physiologists been likened to a reed, by others to a stringed instrument, in point of fact, the human voice is produced by an apparatus far beyond either in complexity of structure.
The extreme limits of the voice in respect of pitch may be considered to be from 9'to ; but the compass of any individual voice is limited to a portion of that range. and voices are classified according to their pitch. Generally speaking, male •voices lie an octave below female. The former are divided into bass and tenor, 12.
the compass of ordinary bass voices being considered to be from to and of tenor from to For tenor music, the tenor or C clef is 0 • generally used, • ' which has the advantage of having the principal tones within the staff. When the treble clef is used. the music is written an octave above its true pitch. Female voices are either contralto (otherwise called alto) or soprano, the former extending from the later from -- to --, or some times higher, Contralto music may be noted either on the treble clef, or on the alto clef, which latter is but the tenor clef placed on the third instead of the fourth line of the staff These arc the principal divisions of voices; bnt there are also ---- further subdivisions. Intermediate between bass and tenor is another male voice, called baryton; and intermediate between contralto and soprano, another female voice, called mezzo soprano. The ordinary compass of a voice is about twelve notes. but two octaves are not uncommon, and some voices have reached three. Madame Catalani is said to have possessed a voice of three and a half octaves compass.
The notes produced in singing are of two kinds, according as they proceed from the chest voice (race di petto), or head voice (race di testa) The chest notes, or lower regis ter, proceed naturally and readily from the ordinary mechanism of the voice; the upper register. head voice, or falsetto, is produced by a more or less forced contraction of the cavity from which the voice proceeds, imparting to the notes a fife-like character, gen tle and weak in the male voice. but often clear and sonorous in the female. It is only
in the higher notes of the voice that the falsetto is used, and some notes on the borders' of the two registers may he given in either. Where the two registers meet, the tones are apt to he hard and uncertain, or weak; but a cultivated singer will blend the head and chest voice at the point of junction, so as to make the break imperceptible. . The notes ' of the bass voice are given entirely from the chest. In the tenor, the three or four upper notes belong mostly to head voice. The contralto tones are mostly chest voice, and the upper tones of the soprano are head voice. The alto, when sung, as it often is in England, by male voices, is principally falsetto.
In singing, the head should be held erect, and the chest well expanded, to allow free play to the lungs and free emission of the voice front the throat. The tongue should be kept still, slightly pressing on the lower teeth. Proper regulation of the breath, and proper articulation of the words, are also matters of essential moment.
One particular requires to be mentioned, in which the notation of songs differs from that of instrumental music. In the latter, two or more quavers or semiquavers may be grouped together by a common line; in singing, this can only be done when the whole group are to he sung to one syllable, and notes belonging to different syllables are always written separately. When notes without hooks, or notes that are not grouped, belong to one syllable, they are bound together by a slur placed over them, e.g.: Among the principal objects to be studied in cultivating the voice for singing are the improvement of its quality in respect of clearness and resources; the rendering every note in its compass equally pure; the extension of its compass, not by injudicious forc ing', but by gradual practice; and the acquirement of the power to prolong any note with perfect ease. See :Slum, VOICE, SOLFEGGIO.