THE PSYCHO PHYSIOLOGICAL APPROACH

These tests involve pitch discrimination, musical memory, time values, loudness or intensity, rhythm patterns, and quality or timbre. A low score cannot be accepted as conclusive evidence that an individual does not have a "good ear" and is lacking in musical aptitude. The tests can, however, show a decided deficiency, particularly in pitch discrimination. It was Seashore's opinion that once an individual's pitch discrimination was aroused, there could be no further development in this ability.

Whereas a "good musical ear" is generally recognized as a natural gift, a "good vocal ear" is a development of this natural talent. It is dependent first on a knowledge and appreciation of what good singing is; second, on actual experience in singing, both in study and performance; and third, on a gift for analysis based on cause and result. The last requires not only a knowledge of the vocal mechanism, but also an appreciation of the problems involved to get it to function properly.

In order to make critical judgments, a teacher of singing must be able to distinguish between different qualities and their bases.

He should be able to recognize and solve problems in diction, in range, in breath support, and in breath control. A technique useful to the teacher in his critical analyses is "creative" listening. This approach is dependent on the ability of the teacher to recreate in his own vocal mechanism the same physical reactions set up by the performer in his singing. This is a form of empathy or imitation. If the teacher is successful in his imitation, it should help him get the "feel" of what the student is doing, correctly as well as incorrectly. Once the teacher has analyzed, through deduction, what he considers to be the error in production, his work becomes a matter of induction.

This involves the changing of one or more of the processes resonation, articulation, registration, or respiration to obtain a more desirable coordination. It does not hold that an error in the production of one process upsets the correct or possibly correct production of the other processes. The teacher must be constantly on the alert to know what the student is thinking, consciously or unconsciously, so that a correction can be made of any idea that is holding up the student's progress.

For example, in the development of range, he maybe trying to keep the vowel sound from modifying, or the quality from changing, or the so called placement of the tone from changing. He may expect perfection in the beginning, when he is learning a new way of singing, which takes time to establish. He may be trying to prevent what he thinks is nasality, when actually his natural quality is basically in "nasal" resonance. He may be too precise in his diction, thereby setting up too much constriction in the oral cavity. He maybe holding back his breath support because he believes that he is forcing his voice. He may be trying to keep every tone forward in one place in order to keep his throat relaxed.