Chapter XVI · CARUSO’S METHOD OF SINGING AS EXPLAINED BY HIMSELF

The personal opinion of Caruso regarding his vocal method and his point of view on singing in general, besides being of the utmost interest to singers and students of singing, constitutes so great a moral support for this book that the author feels justified in presenting it to the readers before entering into the illustration of the second part of this book.

In 1919, Caruso was requested by a musical paper to give some personal views on singing. The following are the principal points which he explained in the interview and which he represented as the guiding principles of his voice and vocal art:

“The question ‘How is it done?’ as applied to the art of singing brings up so many different points that it is difficult to know where to begin or how to give a concise idea of the principles controlling the production of the voice and their application to vocal art.

“Every singer or singing master is popularly supposed to have a method by following out which he has come to fame. Yet, if asked to describe the method, many an artist would be at a loss to do so, 156or would deny that he had any specific method, such a subtle and peculiarly individual matter it is that constitutes the technical part of singing. Most singers—in fact, all of them—do many things in singing habitually, yet so inconspicuously that they could not describe how or why they did them.... For instance, a singer will know from trials and experience just the proper position of the tongue and larynx to produce most effectively a certain note on the scale; yet he will have come by this knowledge, not by theory and reasoning, but simply by oft-repeated attempts, and the knowledge he has attained will be valuable to him only, for somebody else would produce the same note equally well, but in quite a different way.

“So one may see that there are actually as many methods as there are singers, and any particular method, even if accurately set forth, might be useless to the person who tried it. This is what I really would reply to any one putting this question to me—that my own particular way of singing, if I have any, is, after all, peculiarly suited to me only, as I have above described.

“However, there are many interesting and valuable things to be said about the voice in a general way....

“It may be well to speak now of a very important point in singing—what is called the ‘attack’ of the tone. In general this may be described as the relative position of the throat and tongue and the quality of voice as the tone is begun. The most serious fault of many singers is that they attack 157the tone either from the chest or the throat. Even with robust health the finest voice cannot resist this. This is the reason one sees so many artists who have made a brilliant début disappear from sight very soon, or later on wind up a mediocre career. Singers who use their voices properly should be at the height of their talents at forty-five, and keep their voices in full strength and virility up to at least fifty. At this latter age, or close after, it would seem well to have earned the right to close one’s career.

“A great artist ought to have the dignity to say farewell to his public when still in full possession of his powers, and never let the world apprise him of his decadence.

“To have the attack true and pure one must consciously try to open the throat not only in front, but from behind, for the throat is the door through which the voice must pass, and if it is not sufficiently open it is useless to attempt to get out a full round tone; also the throat is the outlet and inlet for the breath, and if it is closed the voice will seek other channels or return stifled within.

“It must not be imagined that to open the mouth wide will do the same for the throat. If one is well versed in the art, one can open the throat perfectly without a perceptible opening of the mouth, merely by the power of respiration.

“It is necessary to open the sides of the mouth, at the same time dropping the chin well, to obtain a good throat opening. In taking higher notes, of course, one must open the mouth a little wider, but 158for the most part the position of the mouth is that assumed when smiling. It is a good idea to practice opening the throat before a mirror and try to see the palate, as when you show your throat to a doctor....

“The tone once launched, one must think how it may be properly sustained, and this is where the art of breathing is most concerned. The lungs, in the first place, should be thoroughly filled. A tone begun with only half-filled lungs loses half its authority and is very apt to be false in pitch. To take a full breath properly, the chest must be raised at the same moment that the abdomen sinks in. Then with the gradual expulsion of the breath, a contrary movement takes place.... It is this ability to take in an adequate supply of breath and to retain it until required that makes, or the contrary, mars, all singing. A singer with a perfect sense of pitch and all the good intentions possible will often sing off the key and bring forth a tone with no vitality to it, distressing to hear, simply for lack of breath control.

“This art of respiration, once acquired, the student has gone a considerable step on the road to Parnassus....

“In the matter of taking high notes one should remember that their purity and ease of production depend very much on the way the preceding notes leading up to them are sung....

“Singers, especially tenors, are very apt to throw the head forward in producing the high notes, and consequently get that throaty, strained voice, which 159is so disagreeable. To avoid this one should try to keep the supply of breath down as far toward the abdomen as possible, thus maintaining the upper passages to the head quite free for the emission of the voice.”^[4]

In these few personal remarks on singing, expressed by Caruso, there is more precious advice condensed to help students and singers in their art than could be found in many a book on voice culture filled with abstruse doctrines and complicated rules.

Here the great singer, in a simple and practical form, puts down the fundamental principles of voice production which control the art of singing. By saying that many artists would be at a loss to describe their methods, if they have any, and by emphasizing that most singers do many things through mere force of habit and so spontaneously that they cannot describe how, Caruso has given the clearest possible explanation of his marvelous singing. In his statement that there is no one method of singing, but that there are as many methods as there are singers, and that his own particular way of singing was peculiarly suited to himself, he established the real truth about methods of singing in general. As a matter of fact no two persons can follow precisely the same routine in singing, and not even two pupils can be taught the same method in exactly the same way. This also shows clearly that to try and imitate Caruso’s singing was futile 160and perhaps dangerous, as has been proven practically by the attempts made by some tenors, to the great injury of their own voices.

Nevertheless, if Caruso’s method of singing could not be readily adopted by any one else, as Caruso himself stated, the practical illustration of the physiological rules of voice production which he followed and on which his singing was naturally molded are undoubtedly of inestimable value to students and singers.

Caruso said that, although he could not explain his method of singing, there were many interesting and valuable things he could say about singing in general. In describing them as he did, he reinforced the scientific truth which he advocated by natural intuition.

As a matter of fact, many of the personal impressions of great singers are often the very fundamental principles of voice production, based on physiological laws, which they follow through mere instinct. The physiological rules which control the production of all voices are like the rules of proportion and perspective governing the drawing of a painting or the modeling of clay. They establish the correct fundamental basis for every individual vocal method. Therefore, while Caruso could not illustrate for others his own method of singing, he almost unconsciously laid down the physiological principles of voice production by deduction from his own experience.

The author had the rare opportunity of assisting Caruso in teaching the only pupil he ever had—a 161person with a superb voice, but too advanced in years to be influenced by any training. By closely observing the method by which Caruso taught this man, the author saw the application by the master himself of the correct physiological rules of voice production as propounded in this work.

These rules coincided exactly with the principles presented by the author in this book; thus Caruso’s opinions constitute their most valuable confirmation. The laws of natural singing which he, the typical model of natural singing, felt and followed by natural instinct and inspiration, are those that the author claims must be adopted in voice culture. It was not in Caruso’s power to formulate his instinctive feelings into practical rules, as he did not have the support of scientific knowledge about voice production, and naturally he was rather at a loss when asked to explain his method of singing.

He was, however, deeply interested in the problems of human voice, and in the many years of friendly association with the author much was discussed on this subject between the great singer, from his personal point of view and experience, and the author from the standpoint of his researches on human voice.

Caruso was also much attracted by the analysis of his own voice, and his vocal apparatus. His own experience and the author’s scientific knowledge coöperated in studying him as a vocal phenomenon, trying to find the link that so closely related his art to natural laws.

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