Lessons with Arturo Melocchi - Part 1
The following is an English translation of a lesson given by Arturo Melocchi, preserved through a recording of his teaching. I have tried to remain as faithful as possible to his original words and to preserve the direct character of his instruction.
You must close your mouth and descend note by note. Don't squeeze the sound. Round the lips, always in mezza voce. Now we can become aware of the throat and its movement as it descends note by note. It should never stop going down.
This is how I interpret what the old masters of the eighteenth century meant when they said to sing with a yawn. This idea of the yawn was not understood by many, but now you can clearly feel a yawn that continues to do its work throughout the entire phrase.
I will make you sing the A and B-flat in mezza voce. In certain moments and in certain operas, when a strong tenor sings a soft B-flat, it produces a tremendous impression.
We all believe, singers and even teachers, that sustaining a long phrase is simply a question of how much breath you take. No! From one semitone to the next, you have to resist with the diaphragm.
Now we'll do some arpeggios to learn the movements of the throat. Descend note by note.
Did you notice that the little scratchiness you had is starting to go away? You have an easy throat now. Keep the tongue forward. The throat pronounces all the vowels.
Always with the movement. If you don't produce the movement, you can hear that it doesn't descend.
Regarding the passaggio, you must exaggerate the movement of the yawn while maintaining the color of the rounded pole. Don't worry about whether it is open or covered. Do whatever comes naturally.
You see the passaggio? Always with that movement. Nature takes care of everything else. If we follow nature, you cannot open.
You see that you are not hoarse? That's because here the throat is really open.
I remember that when you first came, you had a thin, weak voice, even when speaking. It wasn't a clear, clean voice. Exaggerate it and say “A.”
A totally different voice.
Do the same movement. I know that you will get tired, but you will see that in fifteen or twenty days everything will pass. Now we get tired of listening to you, but later you'll get tired of singing everywhere.
Do you understand what happened? They changed the natural character of your voice with your previous training. Now, every time you open, it gives a sign of imbalance because the larynx would not go down.
There are so many teachers who, if they teach someone who sings well because they naturally have a good voice, manage to ruin them.
Look at your wife, who is here present. If she attended lessons here for two or three weeks, she would know more about singing and could give better advice than all those singing teachers.
The high notes are starting to work well.
Masculine-sounding tenors are a rare breed. Today, it is a great advantage for those who have such a voice. They are sought after because they have a strong, masculine voice.
I would not spend fifty cents to go and hear Schipa sing.
Push down.
Amazing! A C-sharp.
Listen: it is necessary that, during training, a tenor becomes convinced that he has a C-sharp. Because on stage, with stage fright and all the other variables, you will have the confidence and won’t be scared.
Then you will see that, by opening the throat, you will also get a D with ease.
See? Others do head voice by pushing upward, and nothing comes out.
This has to go down.