On Sun, 23 Apr 2000, Diane Clark wrote:
> If I could only leave one message for singers before I die, I think it would
> be this: ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL! Every singer is unique. Every voice
> develops and matures at a different pace. No one can say how soon/late you
> will settle into your Fach. Besides, the voice changes daily, so who says
> you WILL settle? Just hang in there and be the best darn singer you can be!
Dear Diane and Vocalist:
I agree completely with Diane; let the voice lead you where it will. If
you're really paying attention to the messages you're getting from your
body, your fach will reveal itself in due course. Isn't your vocal youth
better used as a time for experimentation and discovery, rather than getting
boxed into a category?
In my experience, the topic of fach has too much obsession potential for
young singers. There seems to be this pressure to figure out one's fach
early on; then one can get to the task of learning those all-important 5
audition arias as quickly as possible. Can we say "instant gratification?"
This kind of all-or-nothing thinking has the potential to ruin voices, and
doesn't fit with the timeline that the body has for us.
Can obsessing about fach also give young singesr a sort of hierarchy, to
help them mentally deal with the competition? "I'm a lyric soprano, so and
so's a soubrette; therefore she's no competition for me." I've observed
this in the colleges I've attended and taught in.
I'd like to refer to a previous post of mine, on the topic of laryngeal
maturation. In this post I quoted a NATS Journal article by Jean Westerman
Gregg, in which the lifespan changes of the larynx were documented. The
article is in the Journal of Singing Vol. 56, No. 3 pp. 67-69
(January/February 2000). It is titled "Voice Teaching and Laryngeal
Maturation." To sum up laryngeal maturation in adults, let me quote from
page 68 of the article:
"The thyroid, cricoid, and the greater part of the arytenoid cartilages are
of the hyaline type, which ossifies as the individual matures. The thyroid,
and then the cricoid cartilages, start to ossify in the early twenties of
one's age, while the arytenoids delay this until the late thirties. These
structures are completely ossified by the age of sixty-five (Aronson 1985,
Sataloff 1997).
What does all of this mean to the singer? In order to achieve the full
vocal volume of the adult singer, it would appear that we need the strength
available from the ossified cricoid cartilage and the stability of a firm
thyroid cartilage for the vocal folds to firmly adduct when the subglottal
breath pressure reaches the amount necessary for loud singing. It is no
wonder that most professional singers do not achieve prominence until their
mid-to-late thirties. It would seem that training of the vocal mechanism
takes this long, based on the length of time for maturation of the
structures, to say nothing of the time required to achieve complete
coordination of the muscles, nerves, and so forth, for fine, artistic
singing.
Hence, we as voice teachers need to be aware of the status of vocal maturity
of each of our students and not be in a rush to push them beyond what their
physical structures are capable of at the time of study."
There is a good article about fach in the book "Guide to Operatic Roles and
Arias," by Richard Boldrey. It lists the various fachs and gives a
generally good overview of the subject. It's published by Pst...Inc.
Good topic! Even better title for the thread--"faching up!" That put a
smile on my face! :-)
Cheers!
Jana
--
Jana Holzmeier
Dept. of Music
Nebraska Wesleyan University
5000 Saint Paul Ave.
Lincoln, NE 68504
jjh@n...
402-465-2284
Visit the Music Department website at http://music.nebrwesleyan.edu/
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