The Benefits of Singing

I never really gave a thought at looking up the benefits you get from singing, so I did.

I found a nice list of those benefits at this site

Vocal Techniques

Today I decided to search up some vocal techniques for a change. Right away I found a great site that answers various questions relating to vocal techniques here

One of the many asked questions was, "what are indicators of a good [singing] technique?"

Findlay answers by stating that one good technique for a singer is being able to sing at any dynamic level on any pitch as well as having a good singing range. What is also very important is having clear dictation (agreed), so being able to sing clear consonants and vowels all the while adding expression to what you sing.

What I'd also like to add in myself is your breathing. If you don't learn how to breathe properly [for singing, of course, not regularly because obviously many can do that] it could mess up your singing. You could sound choppy or end a note too short if you didn't have enough breath.

and it ends here wow short

"The person sings not just the vocal chords." ~Rabindranath Tagore

I didn't want to do much research today so I decided to find quotes about singing instead. A lot were more personal quotes of singers or writers, either that or they were about singing in the shower or in the car.

This quote I had a liking to. Yes, you do sing with your vocal chords so you are "singing the vocal chords", but then there's so much more to it. You don't just produce a noise to come out of your mouth. You make music. You get to be expressive in an artistic way. To me, it's uplifting for the soul.

And, like I've said before, the most wonderful thing about it is anyone can sing.

For a lot of people, singing just becomes a passion.

But unfortunately for me, I stopped. I'm not exactly sure why, but I dropped it. I stopped singing. It wasn't too long after the CIF playoff game for basketball. I decided for school I was done, at least for the school year. But at home I didn't even sing. But not too long ago I sang for the class (if you're reading this then I sang when we had a sub) and it was absolutely terrible. But surprisingly it was to many people's liking. And recently a lot of people have been catching up with me and asking how's my singing. And, it's not [with the exception of that time in class]

But everyone's made me realize how much I truly loved singing. I want to pick it up again.

Progress

Researching has been a lot harder than I thought it would already be. I could not find any online documents or articles specifically on that topic. The only thing I've been able to truly rely my research on was a collection of web documents -- thanks to John Koopman.

I'm wondering how much more information I could have received if I talked to someone from a university or school involved with singing and its history. But Koopman's A Brief History of Singing has been very helpful and I have learned a lot more. How he divided the changes of times and eras for singing into different sections has also been helpful.

I'm not exactly sure how I am going to write my feature article for this topic. I'll also have to dig through my older posts to refresh my memory on what I had learned earlier this school year.

*update* I found a prezi that presents the history of singing but it looks like the same information from Koopman's site, so I'm guessing she used it for her research as well. I think it'll be an asset with helping me see the breakdowns for the different times I have not yet read.

Introduction (draft)

Our society has been influenced by the pop culture of our generations - much of it involving music. Singing has been a major aspect to music for many years. It has become large in entertainment. Many emotions and ideas can be expressed by singing. The possibilities are endless. And the most wonderful part to it is anyone can sing, whether it's in the shower or on stage in front of an audience. Both solo or with a group, there's always been a true bliss from singing. You get to convey a sensation in a way your actions cannot.

History of Singing - Science, Technology, and Law

"The approaching end of the [17th] century saw many advances in science, technology, and legal system, several of which had to do with the voice and singing."

The 'laryngoscope' allowed the ability to examine the "functioning of the vocal cords in a living subject." This was done by rigging a set of mirrors and a light source. Famous singer, that later became a voice teacher, Manuel Garcia II was behind this idea. His idea marked the beginning of vocal science.

Then, on December 6, 1877, Thomas Edison's first phonograph was able to work, thus making it possible to record something audibly. Composers were able to use his invention to play and record their work for precise readings of their works and "posterity sample the artistry of great performers of former times." However, it did not start off for that purpose. Instead it was used mostly as a novelty toy and remained that way until 1900.

Source

History of Singing - Realism and Impressionism

Verismo (realism) was a new operatic school started to develop in Italy. Social injustice, treachery and torture, and desertion and infidelity were what these composers wanted in their libretti. For the music format, the orchestra served as the accompaniment and the dramatic voices and high-note climaxes were featured.

Source

History of Singing - Modernism: Rock

 Les Paul was a young entertainer who has introduced a new kind of music. After World War II he invented the electric guitar by adding electronic pickups to his acoustic guitar. To add on to what he was doing, he experimented with combining multiple recording tracks together into a composite whole. It was then built on his ideas the new entertainment style -- rock and roll.

Source

History of Singing - Modernism: More Technological Advances

The gramophone, otherwise known as the phonograph, in the 1920s served the same way as the piano did in parlors in 1900. It helped serve in spreading awareness of new music and singing for the public. Recordings of the voices of Enrico Caruso and Amelita Galli-Curci were commonly heard throughout neighborhoods and towns. People who also did not go to opera houses can now enjoy the musical pieces at home.

Hollywood had taken up the new genre of what was changing in musicals. It had helped raised public standards of the theatrical visual expectation. Soon the television helped with carry this influence on. From this, not only did standards for acting risen, but physical appearance became important as well. In Hollywood and opera, more "attractive" singers were preferred over those who may have been perceived as "obese" or "unattractive". Later it was seen that physical appearance did not matter when gaining entry into opera if one possessed a unique voice ability or outstanding talent.

Source

History of Singing - Modernism

I decided to skip ahead onto Modernism became of the time limit and the fact that I hadn't gotten anywhere close to modern times yet.

Although popular music has been around as early as the Dark ages, it was found in a enjoying importance during postwar times [in the 1920s]. From this, the entertainment styles rose. Rather than the classics, the public turned to Tin Pan Alley, Jazz, Blues, and Swing. Easy accessibility to these rising styles is what helped increased and captured public interest. This was all thanks to technology advances made during those times. Because of phonograph recordings, people no longer had to invest their money in getting an expensive piano for their parlor or take lessons themselves.

Now, as it was back then, young performers had to choose between the two distinct forms of vocalism, classical and popular styles. Crooners, "lyric-voiced song stylists", were the new American phenomenon. Rudy Vallee was a man who used a megaphone to extend the carrying power of his voice, which became his personal trademark. Later came Bing Crosby. His lifelong career revolved around stage, radio, television, and film. Some of his recordings can still be heard today.

History of Singing (Part 2)

       Continuing with the web documents from A Brief History of Singing, it goes on to the next section of how Opera Develops. Opera became an "elaborate and expensive entertainment format that allowed the leisure class..to exhibit their wealth in displays of extravagance and excess to do so under the guise of art and culture." It formed the theatrical style stile rappresentativo, which is still seen in acting for musicals today.

History of Singing (Part 1)

       In the web document Antiquity to 1590 by John Koopman is about the history of singing between those times. It starts off by explaining the origins of how singing may have first started. It continues by moving into its history antiquity. Later it transitions into 'sacred music' that goes on for thirteen centuries. Singing, during those times, was mostly used for religion. Three styles of chant melody -syllabic, neumatic, and melismatic- had evolved at that time. Then it moves onto explaining the rise of polyphony. It came out in the ninth century. Because the idea of pitched voices developed in complexity, better educated singers were required. After, the rise of theatrical music arrived. Operas were first used to recreate ancient Greek drama. From this, a capella was later made.

      This is significant to me because it has thoroughly given me information about the earliest history of singing, seeing to that I had trouble with finding a similar topic on it last year. This whole article has enriched my knowledge of the history of singing. I did not think a capella, the singing without accompaniment, was created through the first operas, although originating from the old unaccompanied style.

     What I'm wondering is how much deeper can we go into the details of this history? Were there other unknown uses for singing other than for religion and legends? And, because I did not see what cantillation- "the intoning of sacred texts using ancient melodic formulae"- and ta'amim -symbols written for that- was, how much similar does it look to music sheets used today?