Voice Pedagogy
Agility or Sostenuto?
RESPONSE
I was fortunate that my mother
was a magnificent pianist and vocal
coach. So when we decided to look
for a voice teacher, she was abig help.
Both she and I knew I couldn't work
with her. (She knew that from the
first few disastrous piano lessons I
had with her at the age of four.) We set
about finding a teacher. For months,
we went to recitals of local singers,
* 4
asking them with whom they stud-
S
ied. All the singers who sang well-
by that I mean on pitch; no approxi-
Dorothy Warenskjold
mating of notes; nice forward
production; good clear diction; natu-
Written questions that teachersand ral vowel sounds; no pressing of the
performershave submittedfor discus- tone, etc.-seemed to have one par-
sion at sessions devoted to systematic ticular teacher. So I went to audition
voice technique are wide ranging, often for her, Mabel Riegelman, in San
penetratingthe very heartof voice ped- Francisco. She listened attentively
agogy. This column continues to exam- and then said, "Yes, dear, you have a
ine some of them. very sweet voice, but I can't possibly
tell, at this point, what it can become."
Well, of course, I hated that. Even at
ISSUE
nineteen, I wanted more than just a
Where to begin? Agility or soste- "sweet voice." I began studying with
nuto? I am a relatively new teacher, her the next week.
working at a large state university I was lucky, I guess, that I found
school of music. One of my established the right teacher in the beginning.
colleagues recommends beginning Riegelman, who sang at the Chicago
early technical training with sustained Opera during the time of Mary Garden
single notes and phrases on single and Maggie Teyte, was Johanna
vowels, in various parts of the range. Gadski's protegee. She was only fif-
Another says, "Absolutely not! " and teen when Gadski sent her to Ger-
introduces sustained exercises only many to study with her teacher. The
after a considerable period of time. training was Italian-oriented, even
Which approach is the wiser? though she was German, so Vaccai
and Lamperti were my vocal bibles. I
had good, solid training-a lesson a
Journal of Singing, November/December 2004
day for the first year. That was so good,
Volume 61, No. 2, pp. 163-165
Copyright 2004 because there was no time to get into
National Association of Teachers of Singing bad habits between lessons; I was
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2004
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Richard Miller
always back the next day. (Yes, I know,
in this day and age, this seems an
impossibility.) This intense study was
possible only because I took a year off
between my sophomore and junior
years at Mills College. Then, the fol-
lowing year, I returned to Mills to get
my degree (in languages). For the next
two years, I took three lessons a week
with Miss Riegelman, and never fewer
than two a week for the next four
years, until my singing schedule kept
me out of town for long periods.
During all those years of study with
her, I never remember her singing a
note. She didn't want her students to
hear what she called "concessions to
age." She was able to explain what she
wanted to hear. But, try as I might, I
still find myself having to sing a note
or two to show what I want.
Previous installments of this col-
umn addressed a question from a
young teacher: "Where to begin,
agility or sostenuto?" My answer: I
do not favor the use of long, sustained
notes on a single vowel to begin with.
I believe it can cause tension, with a
resultant lack of quality. But from the
question, I believe this new teacher's
interest goes beyond that one point. It
must be: "What is the best way to start
a new student?"
Although I no longer teach begin-
ning students, I did spend a lot of time
with my teacher discussing the best
way to begin early training. I remem-
ber always coming a couple of hours
early for my lessons and staying a
couple of hours after, to listen to what
she did with other students. Of course,
they were all at different levels of
accomplishment. But she did have a
163
 Dorothy Warenskjold

number of beginning students, so D A

. I zI I I i . | | k ~~~~~~~~~etc.
up to
those hours of listening were always
enlightening and fascinating to me. 00 aw_ 00 aw_ 00 aw_ 00 aw_
Following are a few exercises that
I have found good for the beginning Example 1.
student. Some Miss Riegelman used,
and others I have used over the years chromaticaLly up to
for building the voice. The keys given
are for soprano; they may be changed j 2
44 2 | 2,} j 2:'71 - - | r Ir r r | I
gf ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7

for lower voices.
For placing the tone, I prefer to start
with "oo" and "aw" sounds (Example
1). Say the "oo" with a smile, from
the cheekbones, not the mouth. Keep
the smiling "oo" position when you
open a little for the "aw." This keeps
the tone from getting dark and the
structure from collapsing.
Start with the most natural vowel
first for the individual singer, and
almost any consonant except "l,"
which is difficult for most American
singers (Example 2). Then, on the
same exercise, sing the five Italian
vowels /i, e, a, o, u/, sometimes start-
ing with "u" and going backwards.
Again, use the easiest consonant.
For the next vocalise, it is impor-
tant not to fill with too much breath;
pull in abdominal support for the "aw,"
and breathe in rhythm (Example 3).
Do this exercise on "ah," keeping the
same "oo-aw" position. Next, repeat
the exercise using solfeggio: for "do"
and "re," keep the vowels pure, with
no hint of diphthongs; for "mi" and
"'si,"the mouth should be in position
of the German umlaut or French "u,"
but sing real "i" with the tongue; for
"fa," use the smiling "aw" position
but sing "ah" with the tongue.
Finally, we progress to an arpeg-
giated vocalise (Example 4). Relax
the two middle notes a bit and use
abdominal support again leading into
the top note. (Never pull in support
just on the top note.) Remember, the
"aw" is always done as explained in
Example 1.
Da da da da
Example 2.
N0#4i IgJ I I J I
00oaw 00ooaw
Example 3.
A .
- . , r)9.
Slt. ,
r' 4 j g'
CX~~ ~~ | J ,;1
Dadadaw awabab ab_
Faw_ faw-
Example 4.
I have a page of four wann-up exer-
cises I used myself, which I find good
for my students (Example 5). (a) This
starts the same as Example 2 above,
using the five Italian vowels, but ihis
time starting each set with a differ-
ent consonant. (b) Keep the vocal line
and structure going up on the first
two measures. Don't collapse on the
way down; think of those next two
measures as going straight ahead-
not down. (c) Think the beginning
note of each measure a bit higher than
the note you just left. This makes you
pull in your abdominal support. For
the second half of the exercise, keep
vocal structure up for the top note of
each measure. Don't think of going
down for the interval of the fourth.
(d) Don't sit on the lower note and
reach for the upper notes. Think of
starting with the vocal structure ready
da__a dada da da
etc. to etc.
I I 7
oo_aw oo_aw aw-Ah aw_ah ah_ ah
_
i .
I 1, i I Jl I 1
Dadadaw awahah ah_ Dadadaw awahah ah_
FDw_ faw Faw_ faw
for the upper notes and raising it for
each half-tone rise.
I use the first two of these four exer-
cises immediately, and the last two a
little later.
I also like portions of G. B. Lam-
perti's 30 Preparatori Vocalises. I
don't use the whole book; rather, spe-
cific exercises for the need and pro-
ficiency of each student. For instance,
I give beginning vocalists numbers
2, 3, 4, and 5 to make sure of accu-
rate intonation-not just reaching
up from below as you go higher on
each scale. (Clean intonation is espe-
cially important to me.) Following
this, I go to number 7 and later num-
ber 9. As soon as possible, I add num-
ber 12, the scales, making sure the
intonation is distinct, yet with no "h"
and no collapsing on the downward
scale. I am most familiar with

164 JOURNAL OF SINGING

 Voice Pedagogy

a. chromatically up to when I was still a student, I went to

the Opera Gala in San Francisco. I
Bi be bea bo bu was thrilled when I found myself at
Di de da do du_
Fi fe fa fo fu t the dinner table sitting next to Eleanor
b. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~chromtnJicaDy
up to
Steber. We began talking and found
that both our teachers used Vaccai.
Moo _ Ah aw ah ah And there, right at the table in the
midst of all the noise, the two of us
sang through the whole of Vaccai!
ttI J iJJs'''7lrSL l 1' F 7J 11
Since she was my ideal of good singing
Moo ah aw ah__ ah__
at the time, I couldn't help but think
a . nl
l.. nl
. .i . _ . ~ - I. --_ - that I was on the right track.
I believe these suggestions can be
L~~~I I -. ~ ~ I U helpful for beginning students. As the
I - -~~~~~~~~~~f singer progresses, I go on with cer-
tain other Lamperti exercises: num-
bers 8, 11, and 14, for example. For
more advanced students, I add num-
bers 16, 17, 18, and 26. Of course, I
also continue with Vaccai.
:S ' 11 7 ri to 6Lr6l
t t'v X J Jchromatically -
rM etc.rWL There are a number of other exer-
t-
cises I have found over the years that
are useful for particular students or for
Example 5. a specific need. But these are for
another time and another question.
Lamperti because that is what my the student from anticipating conso-
teacher used, but almost any of the nants, which stop the flow of the Dorothy Warenskjold has had a distin-
many exercise books can be used for legato line. It also makes words more guished careeras leadingsopranowith the
the same purpose. understandable. I call this the "Pavar- renowned opera companies of the country
The other book that I use is the otti legato," because he makes it so and as soloist with majorsymphony orches-
with Columbia
absolutely essential Vaccai Practical obvious. But it works! This technique tras. For over twentyyears
Artists Management, she hadfull seasons
Method. It is really the foundation of is usable for all languages, especially
of solo recitals, culminating in a career as
all good legato singing. I use this not so in singing good French because, as Producer/Directorof the successful touring
for its musical value-learning inter- we know, no French syllable ends in group attraction, "Dorothy Warenskjold's
vals, scales, and embellishments a consonant. Musical Theater. "Besides radio and record-
(although those can be useful to some I start with pages 3, 4, and 5, then ings, she is also notedfor her many television
students)-but for its help in under- I go immediately to Lesson VII on shows, one of which, "The Voice ofFirestone,"
standing and singing a legato line. page 13. This is the first exercise is now available on video cassette. Her new
The paragraph at the top of Vaccai's where four notes are sung on one CambriaRecords CD, 'A Treasury of Oper-
first exercise page explains the "why" vowel. This vowel position must not atic Heroines, " is now in stores.
of using Vaccai. He divides the words be changed until the quick consonant Miss Warenskjold, who was Adjunct Pro-
so that each syllable appears to end leading into the next syllable. Vaccai fessor ofMusic at UCLAforfourteenyears,
in a vowel, with a quick consonant doesn't continue his changed syllab- also is well knownfor her popular master
attached to the beginning of the next ification. He just expects us to do it. classes on concert stage presentation. Called
syllable. In the first exercise, he even Thus, it should be sung "co-mei-lca- "The Complete OperaSinger," they focus
changes the usual written Italian syl- ndo-re." on the importanceand skilled presentation
labification to draw attention to this: This book of exercises I used all ofrecitals, oratorios, and orchestralappear-
ma-nca instead of man-ca, and a-nco- my singing life. I consider them fun- ances in an operasinger'scareer. She is now
rche instead of an-cor-che. This keeps damental to good singing. In fact, living and teaching in Kansas City, KS.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2004 165

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TITLE: Agility or Sostenuto?

SOURCE: J Singing 61 no2 N/D 2004
WN: 0431509175007

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