UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
Date: February 28, 2007
I, ______You-Seong Kim______, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: Doctor of Musical Arts in: Voice It is entitled: A Pedagogical Approach to the Trill in Singing
This work and its defense approved by:
Mary Henderson Chair: Stucky______Barbara Honn______Kenneth Shaw______
A Pedagogical Approach to the Trill in Singing
A document submitted to the Division of Graduate Studies and Advanced Research of the University of Cincinnati
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS
In the Performance Studies Division of the College-Conservatory of Music
28 February 2007 By You-Seong Kim 406 Carriage Hill Dr. Athens, OH 45701 [email protected]
B.M., Seoul National University, 1995 M.M., Seoul National University, 1998
Commnittee Chair: Prof. Mary Henderson-Stucky
Committee: Prof. Barbara Honn
Committee: Prof. Kenneth Shaw
Abstract
In a singing lesson, a voice teacher might try to demonstrate how to trill, but the trill is often regarded as a ‘mere ornament’ that is not required and can be eliminated. In the past, however, the trill was treated as one of the most important elements in singing as can be seen in many vocal treatises of the Eighteenth century. Knowing the importance of the trill in singing, voice teachers should become familiar with different methods of effective trill instruction.
Eighteenth-Century vocal treatises are useful to see the stylistic execution of the vocal trill, while the Nineteenth-Century and later vocal treatises usually provide actual trill-development exercises. Those vocal exercises seem to be classified as two kinds: A series of measured note- alternations that are supposed to be practiced in different tempi, usually slow to fast, and a series of acciaccatura with various intervals, such as the seconds, the thirds, the fourths, the fifths, and even the octaves.
According to the research of the several vocal physiologists, the trill is one of the vocal oscillations, as the vibrato and the trillo, and can be also considered to be a variant of the vocal vibrato. In order to produce a good vibrato, the coordination of respiration and phonation is an important factor, and that has to be pursued as a basic skill for all singers. Voice teachers should not abandon the idea of “teaching vocal trill,” even though a student’s vocal facility is not so great. As in many other singing techniques, the trill and its stylistic execution must be an important attribute to be added in general instruction of classical singing.
i
ii Contents
I. Introduction: Trill in Singing ------1
II. Definition and Nature of the Vocal Trill ------4 A. Trill as an Essential Vocal Ornament in the Shake Family ------4 1. The Tremolo/Trillo ------4 2. The Vibrato ------8 3. The Trill ------9 B. Anatomical Origin of the Vocal Trill ------15
III. Approach toward Teaching of the Vocal Trill ------22 A. Pedagogical Aspects ------22 1. Natural Gift or Learned Technique? ------22 a. Mancini and Manfredini ------23 b. When to Start Exercising the Trill in the Course of Vocal Training -- 26 2. Different Trill Exercises in Historical Treatises and Modern Sources ------29 a. The Old Schools in Bel Canto Tradition (ca. 1700–1900) ------30 Tosi Mancini Manfredini Hiller Garcia I and Garcia II Lablache M. Marchesi Bassini Lütgen Lamperti J. Lind b. Methods after 1900 ------53 W. Shakespeare C. Ware H. Witherspoon Vernnard O. L. Brown L. B. Henderson R. Miller B. Stylistic Aspects in Performance Practice ------69 1. Velocity ------69 2. Beginning Note: Upper-note Trill and Main-Note Trill ------72 3. Use of the Turn Figure as Termination ------81 4. Half Trill and Schneller (Inverted Mordent) ------85
IV. Conclusion ------86
Bibliography
iii I. Introduction: Trill in Singing
Eighteenth-Century Italian opera arias, often referred to as arie antiche, are universally used for beginning singers. Aside from some primary concepts and techniques in singing such as proper breathing, phonation, resonation, and registration in terms of classical singing, the first thing which often challenges a young singer is the little sign, usually indicated with ‘tr’ or wavy line, that calls for a trill.
As is the case of other instruments, trilling is not a technique that is often mastered from the beginning stages of learning how to sing. An instrumentalist might be asked by a teacher to regularly exercise the technique; thus, one can hardly imagine a professional instrumentalist who is not able to trill. This, however, is not always the case with voice lessons. A voice teacher might try to demonstrate how to trill, but the trill is often regarded as a ‘mere ornament’ that is not required and can be eliminated.
In the past, the trill was treated as one of the most important elements in singing. In a tonal piece in the Baroque, Classical, and even Romantic eras, a trill of considerable length was generally required for a cadence, hence the Italian word cadenza. As discussed by many bel canto singing masters of the past, such as Pier Francesco Tosi (1653– 1732) and Giambattista Mancini
(1714– 1800), listening to a singer’s strong, even, fast, and, consequently, beautiful trill must have been a major concern for the audience.1 In keeping with that tradition, the trill remains an essential tool for singers.
Moreover, a trill is sometimes used for a highly specific purpose, such as text painting or
1 Julianne Baird, Introduction to the Art of Singing (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 17. A good trill described by Tosi is “equally beaten, distinct, flexible, and moderately quick.” 1 expression. It has been generally associated with the description of birds singing, which appears frequently in song texts from the Baroque down through the contemporary period, or with a laughing sound of excitement, as is the case of the long trill in Norina’s first aria in the Donizetti opera Don Pasquale. In these cases, one cannot conveniently avoid the trill due to technical deficiency.
Given the significance of the trill in classical singing, voice teachers should become familiar with different methods of effective trill instruction. There are many available resources to which a voice teacher can refer for teaching the trill. Most singing treatises of the Eighteenth
Century deal with the matter of vocal trill in the ornamentation section. They, however, tend to give a description of an ideal trill in singing, rather than giving actual trill-development exercises.
In spite of this deficiency, they are still valid references, for their ideas on the ornament provide the basis of the trill-teaching methods of the Nineteenth Century. In the Nineteenth-Century vocal treatises and pedagogy books, more practical suggestions of the technical aspect of trill singing are introduced. One can find some common elements from those exercises, but there are also several different features.
The more recent pedagogy books tend to incorporate some scientific elements. They actually show the difference visually by using oscillographs of the different vocal oscillations, such as trill, wobble, tremolo, and trillo.2 Some authors also synthesized the different historical trill exercises and suggested the most ideal ones that they would consider. There arose other aspects to consider—such as the gender issue in trill instruction: “Is the trill a more important and
2 Jean Hakes, Thomas Shipp, and E. Thomas Doherty, “Acoustic Characteristics of Vocal Oscillations: Vibrato, Exaggerated Vibrato, Trill, and Trillo,” in Journal of Voice 1:4 (1987). Jean Hakes, E. Thomas Doherty, and Thomas Shipp left several lab results that involved these issues. Oscillograph allows these different vocal oscillations to be viewed as a two-dimensional graph. 2 essential tool of singing for certain voice types?” Or, “Should a voice teacher consider different trill-teaching method for certain voice types?” For some authors of the vocal treatises, those questions do not matter at all, because, for them, the ability to sing trill is indispensable for singers of both genders. According to others, however, female singers have to be trained more for trill singing, as they sing much repertoire in which the trill functions prominently.3
In the process of acquiring the necessary information from various sources from the different eras, the biggest difficulty perhaps is deciding what method (or methods) should be used among the many different and, sometimes, controversial ones that are employed. What particular methods should be adopted? It is also important to ask what theory along with its scientific origin became the basis for which method or exercise? Is one method more thoroughly based on scientific theory than others? Questions remain, as well, concerning stylistic issues in terms of performance practice.
Because covering the subject of the application of the various kinds of trills in different musical contexts is far beyond the intention of this document, I will narrow down the discussion of the trill performance practice to very practical cases of trill singing such as “beginning note of a trill,” “making termination,” “important trill species usually adapted in singing,” and “trill speed.”
By mastering all of these technical and stylistic aspects of trill singing, a student would be able to approach trill singing without fear. Along with these two primary subjects, necessary terms and concepts will be first defined and some significant data from several scientific vocal
3 William Vennard. Singing: The Mechanism and the Technique ( New York: Carl Fischer, 1967), 203. “Today the trill is cultivated by women, indeed, mostly sopranos)
3 experimentations done by vocal physiologists will be presented.
II. Definition and Nature of the Vocal Trill
A. Trill as an Essential Vocal Ornament in the Shake Family
Before examining the technical aspects of the trill in terms of vocal pedagogy, knowing the definition and the nature of the trill and its “shake family4” ornaments such as vibrato, trillo, and tremolos, as well as their physiological/anatomical nature, serves as an adequate starting point. This knowledge has a considerable effect on the choice of method among the numerous exercises that have been suggested by singing teachers of previous and modern eras.
In the shake family, terms are sometimes used without clear distinctions. The trillo, for example, has been, since its use in Caccini’s Le nuove musiche (1602), widely accepted as the term indicating a series of rapid reiterations of one pitch—either with a fixed speed or acceleration, while the same term was used differently by Vincenzo Manfredini(1737– 1799) to indicate an ordinary trill, as in his treatise Regole armoniche.5 Therefore, this section will not try to enumerate every different use of the terms involved, but, rather focus on the definitions that have been commonly accepted in modern secondary sources such as Robert Donington’s books on the subject.
1. The Tremolo/ Trillo
4 Robert Donington, “Ornaments,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie, vol. 13. (London: Macmillan, 1980), 837. 5 Vincenzo Manfredini, Regole Armoniche. Venice, 1775. Reprint. (New York: Broude Brothers, 1966), 26.
4 For an instrumentalist, tremolo is just a tool to make sound, as in a violinist’s playing. It is often indicated in the music with signs, and players just need to change the movements of their articulators such as bows, fingers, lips, and tongues to achieve the effect indicated in the music.
In singing, however, the term can be used in two different ways. One of them has been usually associated with a negative aspect of voice production and the other, similar to the instrumental use of the term, just indicates one of the vocal ornaments usually used in the Baroque period.
The tremolo, as an ornament or vocal technique, indicates very rapid reiteration of one pitch. In the preface of Caccini's Le nuove musiche, the ornament called trillo is the ornament shown in example 1-1.
Ex. 1-1. Caccini’s trillo shown in Le nuove musiche (1602):
It was called for in an expressive, affected place in a song, and it can be found in the works of the early Baroque Florentine composers like Caccini and Peri through Monteverdi, the
Italian-influenced German composer Heinrich Schütz, and even in some of Handel’s opera arias.
As in the use of Monteverdi madrigal Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, the ornament was generally regarded as a representative feature of stile concitato6 for both voice and instruments.
This later use of the trillo, however, was slightly different in its nature. Even though a
6 Literally meaning “excited style,” Stile Concitato has a “striking device” of “the prolonged rapid reiteration of a single note or series of them, either with quickly spoken syllables in the voice or instrumentally as a measured string tremolo.”: Donald J. Grout and Claude V. Palisca, A History of Western Music, 5th ed. (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1996), 296. 5 similar kind of technique is necessary to execute the same-note reiterations, the written-out note repetitions in Handel and Vivaldi were used for war-like, robust, and excited moments just as instrumental tremolo, while the vocal trillo of the early Baroque period was typically called for in an expressive moment or for an accented, penultimate syllable of a word in a cadence. The instrument-like tremolo, as seen in the robust aria “Agitata, da due venti” in Vivaldi’s La
Griselda (example 1-2), was usually written out by the composer and requires metrically precise, even reiterations of the same notes.
Ex. 1-2. “Agitata da due venti” from La Griselda by A. Vivaldi
The improvisatory vocal ornament seen in example 1-1 could be done in various tempi. A performer can choose its speed and articulation. A teacher should know that Caccini’s suggestion of the tempo, which is accelerated in proportion, does not have to be literally applied to actual music. As Julianne Baird once indicated in a master class, Caccini might have intended to inform how to develop the technique of the trillo, and thus, the realization in example 1-1 probably would have a didactic purpose. With its various possibilities in speed and articulation, the early
Baroque vocal trillo is consequently less percussive than the one in example 1-2.
The other use of the term tremolo carries a somewhat pejorative connotation. This usage of the term seems to indicate a fast, undesirable type of note oscillation, which has been
6 described in many vocal treatises as “goat-bleating.”7 Johann Adam Hiller (1728– 1804) simply explains tremolo as an extremely fast trill in which “the second tone can either hardly be heard, or cannot be heard at all.”8 He also finds the reason for the tremolo to be a throat that is not flexible enough to “allow two tones.”9
Cornelius Reid, however, explains tremolo as a separate vocal aspect from vibrato. He maintains that it is not a matter of velocity, but of the vocal mechanism for tremolo caused by an
“improper muscular co-ordination,”10 and it is completely different from vibrato. While other vocal masters use the terms “good” and “bad” vibrato, Reid denies the use of them. He insists that, if the “vibratory pulsation” is not a proper, healthy tone, it is no longer a vibrato.11 Tremolo, wobble, straight voice, or some combination of these are examples of those undesirable vocal symptoms.
Reid further explains that “the tremolo is the result of a throaty tone production” that is
“reverse to the natural and intended function of the vocal organs.”12 It is developed from constrictor tensions by a singer, so either “strong, active constriction” or “insidious, half-voiced” one is equally regarded as a bad technique.13 The throat becomes “stiff and awkward,” and it is hard for a singer to freely sing some moving, flexibility-required passages in that condition.14 A voice teacher, not having to be bothered by the complicated, different uses of the term among scholars, needs to know that the excessively fast pulsating vocal movement that is called tremolo
7 Julianne Baird, 18. 8 Johann Adam Hiller, Treatise on Vocal Performance and Ornamentation, trans. and ed. By Suzanne J. Beicken (Cambridge, Mass.: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 92. 9 Ibid., 92. 10 Cornelius L. Reid, Bel canto (New York: The Joseph Paterson Music House, 1974), 140. 11 Ibid., 126. 12 Ibid., 139. 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid., 140. 7 (or a “bad vibrato”) in singing is one of the vocal faults to be cured. The wobble which involves wide-in-pitch, slow pulsations is the opposite case that is also an unhealthy vocal fault. It is, unlike tremolo, caused by “driving and forcing the tone.”15
2. The Vibrato
Neither being tremolo or wobble, vibrato is supposed to be a “perfectly even pulsation whose amplitude is governed by intensity.”16 In most sources, both instrumental and vocal vibratos involve a “light fluctuation of pitch to enrich or intensify the sound.”17 While some scholars maintain the idea that it is entirely made of fluctuation in intensity only, Reid points out that pure intensity-only vocal fluctuation is impossible. 18 That absolute straight tone was regarded as “acoustic illusion” rather than “acoustic reality.”19 He also suggests the foundation of his opinion comes from the scientific result of oscillograph20 tracings made of voice.21 In many other sources, vibrato is usually considered with its pitch-pulsations. This idea is more helpful for the approach of trill pedagogy, because there is no possibility of accessing a vocal trill by using a vocal vibrato, if the vibrato is not supposed to involve any pitch variation.
According to James C. McKinney, the average pitch vibrato rate is “between five and seven times per second,” and the average extent of pitch variation is in the level of mean tone
15 Ibid., 142. 16 Ibid. 17 Don Michael Randel ed., The New Harvard Dictionary of Music (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1986), 910. 18 Cornelius Reid. The Free Voice (New York: The Joseph Patelson, 1965), 171. 19 Ibid. 172. 20 “An instrument for displaying or recording in the form of a curve the instantaneous values of rapidly varying electrical quantities” : Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 3rd ed. (New York: MacMillan, 1996), 957. 21 Cornelius Reid, The Free Voice, 171. 8 (one half-step).22 Although the vibrato is usually regarded as not being “subject to volitional control,” it would happen if a desirable “muscular coordination of the entire respiratory tract” is correct.23 Therefore, a singer equipped with a good, healthy vibrato is more likely to be capable of producing a vocal trill.
From the Nineteenth Century on, vocal vibrato, as well as instrumental vibrato, has been considered to be a general feature of tone-production, while the Eighteenth-Century and earlier period music styles required its use as an ornament. Because the stylistic issue of vibrato is not the current topic, the vibrato will be hence considered as a basic, required feature in vocal sound in this document.
3. The Trill
While vibrato can be considered as both an ornamental and technical aspect of vocal movement, the trill (or the shake) is naturally considered as an ornament “consisting of the more or less rapid alternation of a note with the one next above in the prevailing key or harmony.”24
Manuel Garcia II (1805– 1906) added “equal” and “distinct” qualities of the trill to this definition.25 The lower tone is usually called the “main note” while the next above either half tone or a whole tone apart is usually called the “upper auxiliary note” or “upper neighbor note.”
The trill is sometimes written out, as in the case of Norina’s aria in example 2-1 or in
Guglielmo’s aria in Example 2-2. But the ornament is usually indicated with signs if it occurs in
22 James C. McKinney, The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults, rev. ed. (Nashville, Tenn.: Genevox Music Group, 1994), 197. 23 Cornelius Reid. The Free Voice, 178. 24 Eugene K. Wolf, “Trill” in The New Harvard Dictionary of Music (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1986), 869. 25 Manuel Garcia II, Hints on Singing , new & rev. ed. (New York: Ascherberg, Hopwood and Crew, 1894), 42. 9 non-improvisatory passages. In many other cases, however, the trill happens as an improvisatory embellishment. In the following examples, the composers Donizetti and Mozart, respectively, specifically seemed to control the speed of the trill in a somewhat measured way.
Ex. 2-1. Gaetano Donizetti, a written-out trill in the Act I Norina aria “So anch’io la virtù magica,” from Don Pasquale:
Ex.2-2. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, trill in the Act I Guglielmo aria “Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo,” from Così fan tutte:
In the earlier periods as in the Seventeenth Century, though, even written-out trills could occur at the discretion of the performer.26 As Jacques Martin Hotteterre (1674– 1763) and
François Couperin (1668– 1733) indicated, the usual length of the trill is naturally “governed by the length of the note.”27 This means a singer is usually supposed to keep trilling during the entire length of a note.
26 Robert Donington, The Interpretation of Early Music, new rev. ed. (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1992), 237. 27 Ibid., 246. 10 While instrumentalists also practice alternation of the notes a third apart, the vocal trill is usually with the neighboring note. In the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, there were some practices that used third-apart vocal trill, even though its use was considered to be in poor taste, as stated in the treatise of Johann Joachim Quantz (1697– 1773)28:
The shake in thirds in which the third, instead of the adjacent second, is struck
above the principal note, although customary of old, and still the mode nowadays among some
Italian violinists and oboists, must not be used either in singing or playing (except, perhaps, upon
the bagpipe). Each shake must take up no more than the interval of a whole tone or a semitone, as
is required by the key, and by the note upon which the shake originates.29
This warning of Quantz hints that even though its use was considered a mark of poor taste, it would have occurred in the singing of many performers of his time. In Anne Trulove’s aria from The Rake’s Progress, Stravinsky indicated written-out trills in thirds that is seen in example
3. This case, however, could be possibly considered special ornamental figures rather than the incident of the third-apart trill, about which Quantz had warned.
Ex. 3. Igor Stravinsky, an excerpt of the aria “No word from Tom” from The Rake’s Progress:
When the vocal trill is properly done, that is, evenly and consistently, one can feel the
28 Johann Joachim Quantz, On Playing the Flute, 2nd ed., trans. by Edward R. Reilly (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2001), 102. 29 Ibid. 11 oscillation of the larynx area by lightly touching it with the fingers. Hiller wrote that the trill is the “long trembling motion of [the] upper part of the windpipe, which one can feel from outside with the finger.”30 Some talented young singers have natural facility that would make them instantly acquire the technique of making trill as shown in Joseph Haydn’s anecdote:
He [Reutter] remarked that the lad [Haydn] did not shake and smilingly asked him the
reason. The boy replied promptly: ‘How can you expect me to shake when my cousin does not
know how to himself?’ ‘come here,’ said Reutter, ‘I will teach you.’ He took him between his
knees, showed him how he should produce the notes in rapid succession, control his breath, and
agitate the palate. The boy immediately made a good shake.31
Another demonstration given by an accomplished early music specialist Julianne Baird also gives an idea about the important visual aspect of body during the vocal oscillation. She showed the audience the quick and prominent contraction in her abdomen area for singing fast- moving notes, trillo, and other general vocal oscillation.32 Some singers in the audience could follow her demonstration almost immediately by trying to quickly move their abdomen muscles and experienced fairly good, fast vocal oscillations. As such, these visual demonstrations sometimes help singers to access to the demanding coloratura skill.
For most singers, however, the trill requires more or less pain-staking exercises through
“attempting to control their production of single notes.”33 The final presentation of the trill can be
30 Emma Kirkby, “An Amiable Singing-Master: Treatise on Vocal Performance and Ornamentation by Johann Adam Hiller,” in Early Music 30(Feb. 2002): 121. 31 Julianne Baird, “An Eighteenth-Century Controversy About the trill: Mancini v. Manfredini,” Early Music15:1(Feb. 1987), 40. 32 Julianne Baird demonstrated this physical aspect of vocal oscillations at a master class hosted by Ohio University in January, 2007.. 33 Lucie Manén, Bel Canto: The Teaching of the Classical Italian Song-Schools, Its Decline and Restoration (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987), 64. 12 done when the “oscillation of the larynx has reached a high rapidity and the breath is held automatically, as in the warbling of a bird.”34 The trill figure is frequently used for expressing a bird song in many song texts. Handel’s song Sweet Bird, shown in example 4-1, is full of the trill figures of various lengths. In this kind of piece, the trill cannot be considered a “mere” ornament, but the main feature of the song.
Ex. 4-1. George Frideric Handel, Sweet Bird, mm. 63– 68:
34 Ibid. 13
The more recent example is found in Camille Saint-Saëns(1835–1921)’s incidental music for the drama Parysatis (1902). In this vocalise titled “Le Rossignol et la Rose,” a singer has to sing various imitating figures of a bird song. The following part shown in example 4-2 is a typical example of the use of the trill for an expression of singing birds. The figure looks similar to some trill-developing exercises that will be discussed later.
Ex. 4-2. Camille Saint-Saëns, m. 12 of Le Rossignol et la Rose from Parysatis (1902)
14 Lucie Manén also writes that coloratura technique can be acquired by “any type of voice, male or female, high or low.”35 The trill is one of the main feature of bel canto coloratura technique, so singers of both genders are required to master the ornament in order to sing the repertoire of the (so called) bel canto period (from the end of the Seventeenth Century through the periods of Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini, and Verdi until Verismo and other styles emerged).
These days, vocal physiologists provide clearer distinctions between the three concepts vibrato, tremolo (trillo), and trill by using scientific research. Ingo Titze explains trill as a vocal fluctuation that is very similar to vibrato. More detail is discussed in the following section of this chapter.
B. Anatomical Origin of the Vocal Trill
The physiological and anatomical aspect of ornaments (or vocal techniques) is very important because this involves the basis of practical vocal pedagogy. Some research on the topic of vibrato, trillo, and trill provides scientific data for this purpose. They present different oscillograph figures of each ornament, and by observing them, singers can get an idea of the individual characteristic of each and their relationship. Opinions of vocal physiologists as well as eminent voice professors like Richard Miller, who also has vast knowledge in this area, give us a valuable source for understanding the anatomical origin of these ornaments and techniques.
Vocal physiologist Ingo Titze wrote that a long, sustained note in music is expected by a listener to be “graced” either by dynamic shading (usually a crescendo or diminuendo) or
35 Ibid. 63 15 embellishment with vibrato.36 A 4- to 6-Hz physiologic tremor in the cricothyroid (marked as D in figure 1) and thyroarytenoid (marked as E in figure 1) muscles cultivates a natural vocal vibrato.37
Fig. 1. Transverse section view of the larynx38:
A: Posterior cricoarytenoid muscle
B: Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle
C: Oblique and transverse arytenoid muscle
D: Cricothyroid muscle
E: Thyroarytenoid muscle
F: Vocalis muscle
36 Ingo Titze, Principles of Voice Production (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1994), 289. 37 Ibid. 38 This Illustration is done by Frank H. Netter, M. D.: James C. McKinney, The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Folds (Nashville, Tenn.: Genevox, 1994), 73. 16 G: Vocal ligament
H: Thyroid cartilage
I: Arytenoid cartilage
J: Cricoid cartilage
Titze also suggests that human voice vibrato can be “influenced by sensory inputs,” as can be perceived by two singers “who can synchronize their vibrato” while they sing a duet piece.39 While vocal scientists are quite cautious in discussing the possibility of controlling vibrato, singers themselves often have such different ideas on vibrato. Singers say that they can sing an absolutely straight tone, control their vibrato, and that they can also make it faster and slower.40
Instrumental trill technique usually involves some finger movements, so it is out of the question to adopt this technique in making vocal trill. The vibrato is not an exception either, because instrumental vibrato, even the closest kind of instruments like woodwinds, shows “a wide variation in how some oscillatory movement can be produced.”41 A flutist’s vibrato, for example, can be watched at the larynx, the chest, and the diaphragm.42 Therefore, a specific investigation on “vocal” vibrato and “vocal” trill is highly important.
Besides the natural fluctuation in the larynx, Titze further explains the visual fluctuations in the tongue, the jaw, and the belly (and the chest) that often happen with some singers. While the aforementioned instrumental vibrato produced at body parts other than larynx can be
39 Ibid., 290 40 Robert F. Coleman, Jean Hakes, Douglas M. Hicks, John F. Michel, Lorraine A. Ramig, and Howard B. Rothman, “Discussion on Vibrato,” in Journal of Voice 1:2 (1987), 168. 41 Ibid., 169. 42 Ibid. 17 acceptable in instrumental playing, Titze does not regard these symptoms in voice as a natural vibrato that would happen in most experienced singers’ singing.43 His opinion was further supported and evidenced by other recent researchers through scientific investigations. As Johan
Sundberg pointed out, in the musical world, there are many other kinds of vibrato such as a pop- music vibrato that is “not created in the normal way of cricothyroid activity pulsations, but by subglottic pressure pulsations.” 44 Voice teachers, therefore, must know that the vibrato or fluctuation of this “unusual” kind should be avoided by young classical singers.
Through the lab results by Hakes et al. (1987) and Michel and Myers (1991), Titze also shows the different frequency and extent of vibrato, tremolo (not as a vocal ornamentation but as the aforementioned bleat-like fast fluctuation), and wobble. A natural, acceptably healthy vibrato is measured 4.5 to 6.5 Hz in frequency, while tremolo is in the 6- to 8-Hz range, and wobble is in he 2- to 4-Hz range.45 He also shows that tastes regarding the acceptable vibrato frequencies have changed over the centuries: “Caruso had a frequency near 7.0” while Pavarotti “has an average frequency near 5.5 Hz.”46
Another interesting aspect about vibrato is a singer’s capability to alter vibrato extent. As figure 2 shows an example of a straight tone to vibrato shift, although neither the straight tone nor vibrato tone is “rock-steady,”47 singers sometimes need to change their tones with various vibrato rates for different music styles and personal tastes.
Fig. 2. Hakes, Shipp, and Doherty (1987): Straight tone to vibrato:
43 Ingo Titze, 290. 44 Jean Hakes, Thomas Shipp, and E. Thomas Doherty, “Acoustic Characteristics of Vocal Oscillations: Vibrato, Exaggerated Vibrato, Trill, and Trillo,” in Journal of Voice 1:4 (1987), 330. 45 Ingo Titze, 291 46 Ibid. 47 Ibid. 292 18
Figure 2 shows an example of Titze’s scientifically proven description of the trill that supports the idea of the trill as a pitch-wise widened vibrato. He writes that the difference between a vocal trill and vibrato is that “the average pitch is raised in trill, but not in vibrato.”48
He further explains that singers would think two distinctive pitches for trill singing, while they would basically intend to maintain a single tone for singing a note with vibrato.49
Hakes, Shipp, and Doherty recorded four internationally acclaimed early music singers
(two women, two men) as they sang notes with straight tone, vibrato, trill, and trillo. Each of the different ornaments or vocal movements was then analyzed for “the presence and amount of fundamental frequency oscillation.”50 The singers demonstrated both half-step trill and whole- step trill. Each case, one of which is seen in figure 3, was traced down in the graphs showing
“voice fundamental frequency over a designated time period” and the “oscillographic wave
48 Ibid. 293 49 Ibid. 50 Jean Hakes, Thomas Shipp, and E. Thomas Doherty, “Acoustic Properties of Straight Tone, Vibrato, Trill, and Trillo,” in Journal of Voice 1:2 (1987), 148. 19 envelope of the sound produced, which indicates amplitude of vocal intensity.”51
Fig. 3. Hakes, Shipp, and Doherty (1987) whole-tone trill:
For the above figure 3, Hakes and others reported that “the two target tones are initially sung slowly and then the oscillation increases until the major portion of the trill is sung at an oscillation rate of 9 Hz per second.”52 From another analysis done in the same year by the same team with ten early music singers, Titze reported from the same lab test that “trill is considerably more demanding than their average vibrato frequency.”53
Trillo or tremolo as an ornament is a rapid repetition of the same note, though its execution on the exact same note seems to be impossible. Titze also indicates the contrasting action of different muscle sets which are the “lateral and posterior cricoarytenoids (indicated as C
51 Ibid., 149 52 Ibid. 53 Into Titze, 293.
20 and D respectively in figure1)” rather than the cricothyroid or thyroaytenoid muscles.54 From the above report of Hakes, Shipp, and Doherty (1987) and the later study of the same team done in
1992, the average frequency rate for the early music singers ranged from 2 to 12 Hz per second.55
The large gap in the numbers was caused by deliberate decision of the trillo tempo by each performer.56
In the discussion part of the 1987 report on different vocal oscillations, in which not only the presenters of the article but also panelists like Johan Sundberg and Richard Miller participated, Jean Hakes pointed out that there are still “two schools of producing trillo.”57 The first, old-fashioned kind, which was in vogue in the 1950s, preferred using the diaphragmatic slow pulses to the contemporary fast trillo caused by “very light strokes of breath.”58 Voice teachers, therefore, should know the stylistic differences between the two trillo types and help their students to choose the more relevant one depending on the textual context of a piece. As
Richard Miller indicated, singers are, in any case, considering the pulse rate not the pitch even though a machine analysis would show some “rather interesting pitch variations.”59 That is the main difference between trillo and other vocal oscillations (trill and vibrato).
Some might ask about the possibility of subglottal pressure as a main cause of trillo, but
Miller explained that a laryngeal adductory/abductory motion is the main mechanism of a trillo.60
54 Ibid. 55 Ibid.,294 56 Jean Hakes, E. Thomas Doherty, and Thomas Shipp, “Trillo Rates Exhibited by Professional Early Music Singers,” in Journal of Voice 4:4 (1990), 307. 57 Jean Hakes, Thomas Shipp, and E. Thomas Doherty, “Acourstic Characteristics of Vocal Oscillations: Vibrato, Exaggerated Vibrato, Trill, and Trillo,” in Journal of Voice 1:4 (1987), 331. 58Ibid. 59Ibid., 329 – 30. 60Ibid. 331. 21 Then the trillo does not involve any respiratory control? In the same discussion, Sundberg suggested a slightly different opinion about trillo:
If the trillo is a tool for developing the voice, what you actually are training is the
synchronization between breath, subglottal pressure, and adduction.61
The trillo certainly involves subglottal pressure, especially for the old, slower type and the beginning part of contemporary fast trillo—singers usually start the trillo with a few slow repetitions of the note and then accelerate, but the involuntarily fast-moving part more involves glottal adjustment. The trillo, therefore, should be a technique of synchronizing “between subglottal pressure and glottal adjustment.”62
The reports of these vocal physiologists also indicated that those accomplished early music singers scarcely showed any difference between genders in executing proposed vocal oscillations: vibrato, trill, and trillo. This was proven in the provided graphs of vocal oscillations done by singers of different voice types. The graphs did not show significant change between the singers’ genders. This provides another insight that gender does not make significant difference in training the vocal ornaments.
III. Approach toward Teaching of the Vocal Trill
A. Pedagogical Aspects
1. Natural Gift or Learned Technique?
Before searching for actual vocal exercises from various sources, a controversial
61Ibid. 62Ibid. 22 issue needs to be dealt with in regard to the subject of the trill. The controversy mostly surrounds this question: Is the trill only a natural gift or is it a learned technique?
a. Mancini and Manfredini
Julianne Baird’s article about the controversy between Mancini and Manfredini provides some important insights. Mancini was an ardent advocate of trill, while Manfredini was somewhat doubtful of its importance. Although they lived in the same era, Mancini was an advocate of the older style of singing and Manfredini the newer. Therefore, the differences of their opinions seem to reflect the varying tastes that tended to change rapidly over time. The difference between opinions was most likely due to their thoughts on the above question. Mancini emphasized that “the trill should be practiced,”63 while Manfredini thought that the trill is “a gift of nature” and that “artifice alone is not sufficient in music (here, the trill).”64
It is, however, notable that Manfredini was generally less patient in waiting for a pupil to complete training in necessary vocal techniques before singing professionally. This is partly because of his primary profession as theorist and composer. Mancini himself, however, was a castrato singer and a student of the expert voice teacher Antonio Bernacchi (1685–1756). In the tradition of “patience and diligence,”65 Mancini must have taught more singing students than
Manfredini, who mainly contacted the already established Italian opera singers at the Russian court.
Attacking Mancini’s opinion that the responsibility for a singer's insufficient trill
63 Julianne Baird, “An Eighteenth-Century Controversy About the Trill: Mancini v. Manfredini,” Early Music 15:1 (Feb. 1987), 42. 64 Ibid., 39. 65 Ibid., 37. 23 technique lies in the negligence of the teacher, Manfredini staunchly asserted that even Bernacchi himself once gave up teaching the trill to a voice student named Madame Merighi.66 Modifying his previously strong opinion, Mancini also admitted that for some singers, it is indeed very hard to acquire the trill technique. He, however, warned his contemporary singing teachers who used to “leave a voice, agile by nature, imperfect.”67 According to him, even the slightest potential in trill singing should be encouraged and developed.
The fundamental reasoning for this is that Mancini regarded the potential for trill singing as being similar to the ability to sing passages with agility. This aspect is supported by his suggestion of exercising trills. Both Mancini and Tosi preferred a “moderately fast, clear, and even” shake to the very fast one suggested by Manfredini and others.68 While Manfredini did not suggest any specific trill-exercising method, Mancini emphasized that a trill should be practiced with a “gradual increase of speed.”69 This is significant, for many trill exercises of later periods simply suggested an acceleration of the trill in strict time: “From crotchets to quavers and then semiquavers and so on.”70 He also suggested that the exercises should be sung in a full voice for a proper development of the laryngeal strength and be performed as long as an hour a day.71
Julianne Baird suggested the difference of taste between the two masters Mancini and
Manfredini was also due to the change of musical style. The style of coloratura passages in both didactic vocalises and actual music of the early Eighteenth Century seemed more similar to the
66 Ibid., 39. 67 Ibid. 68 Ibid., 43 69 Ibid., 40 70 Ibid. 71 Ibid., 42 24 pattern of the trill itself as shown in example 5.72
Ex. 5. Alessandro Scarlatti, Excerpts from Pirro e Demetrio:
This style, however, gradually lost its favor by the mid-Eighteenth Century, and singers and composers became more interested in more brilliant virtuoso passages which did not necessarily require the trill or trill-like passages.73
Both Mancini and Manfredini knew the importance of the trill in the music of their era, but their attitudes were somewhat different. Mancini viewed the trill as one of the most important virtues in the art of singing, while Manfredini saw it as a mere ornament. This might seem to be a simplification of these individual’s tastes, but what began as a little gap has became much deeper as time has gone by. In order to revive the vivid quality of Eighteenth-century music and to
72 Ibid. 73 Ibid. 25 perform it in a historically informed way, it might be worth following Mancini's tip by regaining the patience and ardor for the trill instruction; patiently guiding voice students to practice the trill
“vocalizzi” “enough (as long as an hour)” to qualify the standard of the singers of the old period, and also in “full voice” with “gradual increase in speed.”74
b. When to Start Exercising the Trill in the Course of Vocal Training
Singing pupils of vocal pedagogues of the past took for granted that they would be trained only with vocal technique, without singing any repertoire in the beginning stages of their vocal lessons. Even the legendary Italian tenor Enrico Caruso for the most part spent the first three years of his singing lessons “molding and shaping the voice.”75 Only after that did he study repertoire for a year, and subsequently he made his debut.
These days, however, especially in academia, voice teachers and students have to keep pace with a required curriculum which involves certain repertoire at certain time. A freshman majoring in voice at a college would be usually advised to study Eighteenth-Century arie antiche.
As pointed out earlier, these repertoire contain significant amounts of stylistically demanding ornaments including different kinds of trills.
If one has finished the process of “molding and shaping one’s voice” as Caruso did before studying actual repertoire, there should not be many hardships. Mastering trilling should be regarded as one of the preparatory vocal developments. This, unfortunately, is not commonly the case, at least in academia.
74 Ibid., 44. 75 James Francis Cooke, Great Singers on the Art of Singing (Philadelphia: Theo. Presser, 1921), 87. 26 If a student is naturally gifted, as in the case of the aforementioned pupil of Joseph
Haydn, it would not be a problem to teach him or her from the first lesson on. This is not the usual case, though. In many cases, students would get frustrated upon first being instructed with the trill technique. They usually experience some uneven vibratory pulsations especially when they are asked to maintain that pulsation for a longer period of time. Or, some students would even find that it might cause vocal fatigue due to the forced effort.
Then what would be the most basic pre-requisite vocal drill to be mastered in order to begin the instruction of trill? Many great bel canto singing masters generally agreed that the formation of tone has to precede the moving on to florid exercises.76 They usually suggest one of the simplest scale exercises at slow or moderate speed for the first step. The following two examples of sustained scales are respectively suggested by Lilli Lehmann and Amelita Galli-
Curci. Example 6 is the “great scale” that Lehmann always used for herself and her pupils, and example 7 is Galli-Curci’s basic scale exercise.
Ex. 6. Lilli Lehmann’s great scale77:
Ex.7. Galli-Curci’s basic scale exercise78
76 Ibid. p. 224 77 Lilli Lehmann, How to Sing (New York: MacMillan, 1934), 190. 78 James Francis Cooke, 171.
27
It was suggested that both exercises be done with great care in proper breathing and support, and with non-forced sound at a slow tempo. After a pupil is well-trained with perfection of tone-quality and evenness of execution, the next step must be achieving vocal agility.
Some singers or singing teachers suggest the following trill-like vocal exercises. Galli-
Curci suggested the exercise be made up of two alternating notes shown in Example 8.
Ex.8:
She warned that singers should be very careful about the intonation of the two pitches.79
Several similar exercises by Bernard Lütgen are introduced in the collection of his vocalises.80
Example 9 is the first exercise of the collection.
Ex. 9.The beginning part of the first exercise in Lütgen method book:
After this basic flexibility exercises, the usual fast-moving scale exercises in many vocal
79 Ibid. 80 Bernard Lütgen, Die Kunst der Kehlfertigkeit, edited by Max Spicker (New York: G. Schirmer, 1902).
28 treatises could be the next step. The trill technique, though, could be a completely different process from these “agility-improving” exercises. In many vocal treatises, trill exercises, if any exist, usually come in the later part of the whole series. This also explains the hardship of mastering the technique of vocal trill. Thus the authors, by the order of the exercises, indirectly signify their recommendation of starting with trill exercises only after the formation of sound itself.
Giambattista Mancini, however, pointed out that the old masters used to give trill exercises to their pupils “at the very beginning of vocal instruction.”81 They did so not because they expected them to do it before any other vocal technique, but “just to start them into the practice of the action.”82 Therefore, even if the timing of trill instruction in Mancini’s case seems to be earlier than the later singing masters, Mancini’s proposal is still premised on a long-term— usually many years of effort are expended until the right result is achieved. He wrote that the trill
“must be undertaken only after deep, mature study and mastery.”83
Considering that vibrato is now regarded as a normal way of producing a singing tone, and a trill being a similar kind of oscillation, it is usually regarded that anybody who makes a natural vibrato should be able to learn how to trill by practicing. It seems clear that a voice teacher needs to at least be aware of some practical methods, especially in order to find out who is gifted and who is not. Unless one tries, both teacher and student, one is never able to realize one’s potential.
81 Giambattista Mancini, Practical Reflections on the Figurative Art of Singing, trans. by Pietro Buzzi (Boston: Gorham, 1912), 124. 82 Ibid. 83 Ibid., 135. 29 2. Different Trill Exercises in Historical Treatises and Modern Sources
In this section, several trill exercises in historical treatises and modern sources are investigated and cited with music examples. Many exercises have some common elements including accelerating patterns, adding accents, and different articulation patterns. Exercises by
Shakespeare, Bassini, Marchesi, and Jenny Lind with the thirds or even bigger intervals are quite difficult for young singers, who must avoide a yodel-like sound. They are rather similar to the trill exercises used by brass players—many horn players would do those exercises much more regularly than singers. This section also discusses any comments of the authors, if any, that will definitely help instructors to use them practically in a singing lesson.
a. The Old Schools in Bel Canto Tradition (ca. 1700– 1900)
The vocal treatises that came out earlier than the Nineteenth-Century pedagogues like
Manuel Garcia II and Mathilde Marchesi (1821– 1913) are not the best sources for providing some trill-developing exercises. They, however, still give several good insights on trill singing.
Those earlier treatise writers such as Tosi, Mancini, Manfredini, and Hiller, therefore, are here introduced with some music examples related to trill execution.
Tosi
The Eighteenth-century virtuoso castrato Pier Francesco Tosi’s 1723 treatise Opinioni de’cantori antichi e moderni o sieno observazioni sopra il canto figurato has been regarded as one of the oldest primary sources on the art of singing. It was translated into English, French, and
German. The 1757 German translation by Johann Friedrich Agricola (1720–1774) under the title
30 of Anleitung zur Singkunst is especially notable for the added commentaries by Agricola.84 In order to include Agricola’s useful comments in this discussion, the Agricola treatise is used for the present subject.
In chapter three “concerning trills,” Tosi begins the chapter writing that “no infallible rules to teach it [trill] have yet been found.”85 Perhaps due to this belief, he did not provide any specific trill-developing exercises though he emphasized the importance of trill in singing. The information in the chapter is mainly composed of the species of trills and their stylistic concerns.
Agricola, however, made further inspection of the ornament and suggested the following exercise and necessary comments as seen in example 10.
Ex. 10. Agricola’s trill exercise suggestion:
The first one above is the case of “major trill (a whole-step apart)” and the next is “minor trill (a half-step apart).”86 In the description, Agricola suggested starting with the whole-step and subsequently moving on to the half-step exercise. Suggesting this example that looks similar to
Caccini’s ribattuta, Agricola also mentioned the necessary articulation for this exercise:
Alternating and beating slowly as if they were slurred dotted notes whose second note is equal to the first. Only the beginning note may get a push or aspiration from the chest; the following notes, however, must be connected in one breath without being
84 In this document, American soprano Julianne Baird’s book on Agricola’s treatise was used for the discussion. 85 Julianne Baird, Introduction to the Art of Singing by Johann Friedrich Agricola, 126. 86 Ibid., 127.
31 newly stressed.87
Mancini
As Tosi did in his treatise, the aforementioned Giambattista Mancini also devoted a whole chapter to the subject of trill. He regarded trill as one of the most desirable qualities in the art of singing, but he, just as Tosi, did not specifically provide a trill exercise in his treatise.
Mancini, however, re-emphasized the desirable rendition of various trills that were listed in Tosi's book. He, for example, asserted the importance of intonation in both rising and descending trills as well as smooth articulation of the trill notes. Example 11 and 12 are respectively “rising” and
“descending” trills.
Ex. 11. “Rising” trill
Ex. 12. “Descending” trill
Although Mancini did not provide any single trill exercises (vocalises) in his book, he gave an important tip that any didactic vocalises for developing trill technique should be
87 Ibid., 129. 32 practiced and performed in full voice.88 By doing so, he probably wanted to warn of the danger of making a feigned timid sounds which could easily happen in trill execution. Mancini, however, allowed practicing trill in languid and slow tempo at the beginning stage of a singing lesson.89
Another notable aspect regarding trill instruction from Mancini's book is that he found the reason for bad trills, that used to be called il caprino (goat’s bleat) or il cavallino (horse whinney). These are caused by misplacing the necessary movement of vocal organs.90 For the right kind of trill, a singer should oscillate the throat [larynx] not the mouth or the tongue.91
Manfredini
Probably because Vincenzo Manfredini was not as fervent about the necessity of trill in singing as Mancini was, he paid less attention to the subject in his treatise Regole armoniche
(1757 and 1791). As discussed earlier in the section about the Mancini-Manfredini controversy,
Mancini did not agree to the idea of trill as a possible result of artifice.92
He, however, remarked about the manner of practicing trill addressing “the issue of the gradual increase of speed thus”93:
If one, therefore, has a beautiful voice that is lacking in agility, one must try to loosen it up by vocalizing with allegro passages at progressively faster tempi, that is, not too fast in the first lessons, but then quickening the tempo a little at a time, according to the facility that will be acquired by continuously doing this exercise. The same method should be used in developing a good trill. For example, the first few times, it should be done rather slowly. When it can be executed well at that tempo, then one should sing it a little faster, and eventually by degrees
88 Giambattista Mancini, 138. 89 Ibid. 90 Ibid., 137. 91 Julianne Baird, “An Eighteenth-Century Controversy About the Trill: Mancini v. Manfredini,” Early Music 15:1(Feb. 1987), 43. 92 Ibid., 39. 93 Ibid, 40 33 attempt to execute the trill in the true manner, which consists of making it quick, clear and even.94
Hiller
In Anweisung zum musikalisch-zierlichen Gesange (1780), just like his predecessors,
Tosi, Mancini, and Manfredini who mainly provided verbal instructions on how to teach trill,
Johann Adam Hiller also discussed many types of trills and some other ornaments which could be used as trill substitutes. Those ornaments that were recommended for substitution are useful not only for singers who are not gifted with trill technique but also for singers who have the skill but want more variety in their improvisatory ornamentation.95
Even though Hiller did not suggest any trill-developing exercises, a music example indicating his way of doing “double trill” seems remarkable, because it is similar to the later trill- developing exercises by other successful voice teachers. Example 13 suggests a way of doing the double trill by “progressing from slow to fast until the two [trills] are united.”96 The portion indicated with the bracket signifies the measured acceleration of the first trill of the original music. The dotted-rhythm figures on the two alternating notes are similar to the basic exercise suggestions introduced by other voice masters for developing the vocal trill.
Ex. 13. Hiller’s suggestion for performing the “double trill”:
94 Ibid. 95 Emma Kirkby, 121. 96 Johann Adam Hiller, 94. 34 Garcia I and Garcia II
Manuel del Popolo Vicente Rodriguez Garcia (1775–1832, hence Garcia I) was an eminent tenor singer who premiered the role of Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville by
Rossini. He was more famous as a singer rather than as a singing teacher, while his son, Manuel
Patricio Rodriguez Garcia (1805–1906, hence Garcia II), was known as a famed singing teacher.
Garcia I, though, taught many great singers of the Nineteenth Century including Adolphe Nourrit, his own son Garcia II, and daughters Maria Malibran (1808–36) and Pauline Garcia Viardot
(1821–1910).
Garcia I also published two collections of didactic vocal exercises—Exercises pour la voix (c. 1820) and 340 Exercises-thèmes variés et vocalizes (1868). The first one is notable in that
“one page was devoted to preparation of the trill.”97 The singing method of Garcia I was naturally succeeded by his own son Garcia II. Garcia II and his pupil Mathilde Marchesi (1826–
1913 ) also wrote treatises in more systematic and detailed ways.
The first major work of Garcia II was Mémoire sur la voix humaine which became a basis for his later, more completed treatise Traité complet sur l’art du chant.98 In part two of this treatise, which was written in 1847, there is a section devoted to the trill. Rather than giving an exercise for trill technique, the section gives various ideas about preparation of trills, termination of trills, and measured trills. Among them, the trill that is shown in Example 14 is suggested to start in measured notes, not being struck by the larynx.99
97 Berton Coffin, Historical Vocal Pedagogy Classics (Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow, 1989), 17. 98 Manuel Garcia II, A Complete Treatise on the Art of Singing, editions of 1847 and 1872 collated (New York: Donald V. Paschke, 1972), viii. 99 Manuel Garcia II, Ibid., 127. 35 Ex. 14. Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli: from Romeo e Guilietta, Rondo:
Garcia specifically suggested this type of trill for the sad sentiments that should contrast with the general expression of the melody. 100 This suggestion was made as a stylistic interpretation of a trill, but it also signifies the possibility of practicing trill in this tempo- changing method.
Hints on Singing (1894) by Garcia II was written in order to reply to some attacks on his method. In this treatise, he treats the matter of trill singing in the format of questions and answers.
In the last questions listed as, “What are the defects of the trill?”, Garcia emphasized the importance of evenly beaten articulation only produced by glottal action.101 The trill-like pitch alternation that is made by a jerking motion of the diaphragm was differently called by him as caprino or cavallino.102 He lastly remarked that a singing trill should not be felt like “drawing in,” but “decidedly [being] pressed out with the same evenness of timbre as if it were a single sound.”103
Lablache
Luigi Lablache(1794–1858) was an Italian bass who became the most famous bass of his
100 Ibid. 101 Manuel Garcia II, Hints on Singing (New York: Ascherberg, Hopwood and Crew, 1894), 44. 102 Ibid. 103 Ibid. 36 generation.104 He sang in many bel canto operas with both comic and serious roles. He was the first Don Pasquale in the Donizetti opera (1843).105 His Méthode de chant, though it “added little to his reputation,”106 was published in Paris. The book has a total of seven chapters dealing with different matters of the study of singing: voice formation, mouth position, respiration, registration, articulation, musical sentiments, embellishments, and musical tastes, and concerns for better text expression including diction. Each chapter is interspersed by unique exercises by Lablache. After the section on basic articulation about connecting the notes in chapter III, there follows an exercise of the two-note alternation as shown in Example 15.107
Ex. 15. The first three systems of Lablache Exercise VIII:
104 Philip Robinson, “Lablache, Luigi,” in The New Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie, vol. 10 (London: MacMillan, 1980), 341. 105 Ibid, 342. 106 Ibid. 107 Luigi Lablache, Complete Method of Singing, translated from the original French (Boston: Oliver Ditson), 10. 37
38
The exercises are written in the manner of acceleration. If this can be done at a faster speed, it can be a trill exercise. Lablache indicates in the first measure to “augment the force towards the end.”108 The written range goes up from c to f, and then comes back to the original note with varying intervals in the diatonic order. Therefore, the two-note alternation can be with either half step or whole step. The range, however, is supposed to be adjusted at the teacher’s disposal. In the earlier registration exercises, Lablache suggested transposing a third lower than the usual C major key for baritone and mezzo-soprano voices, and a fourth lower for contralto and bass voices.109
In chapter V, there is a section devoted to the trill. Those exercises are added with his explanation of trill-beginning note, addition of concluding notes, trilling speed, and dynamic. The sixth exercise claimed that “the old manner,” shown in Example 16 is good for study that he used to recommend to his pupils.110 The example shows the tempo change in trill-making which was already regarded in his era as an old style. He wrote that modern singers execute the trill “without
108 Ibid. 109 Ibid., 6. 110 Ibid, 60. 39 change of quickness,” so this was basically suggested for study that is appropriate for pupils.111
Ex. 16. Labalche trill exercise:
Then Lablache introduced a series of trills in the ascending or descending scale (example
17) and an exercise which contains “all the [previously given] precepts” earlier including both main-note and upper-note trills, both half-step and whole-step trills, different kinds of trill conclusions (one-note, two-note, three-note conclusions), and application of dynamic and messa di voce before a trill. The stylistic matters will be more investigated in a later section of this document.
Ex.17. A trill in ascending or descending scale:
111 Ibid. 40
M. Marchesi
Thoroughly trained from her teacher Garcia II, Mathilde Marchesi has been “historically
41 considered unrivaled as a teacher of the female voice.”112 Her pupils include great singers like
Nellie Melba, Emma Eames, and Emma Calvé. Marchesi’s 1886 treatise of singing method, The
Theoretical and Practical Vocal Method, has been published in many countries. She also wrote other vocalises and exercises, but the 1886 treatise could be considered as the most representative writing of her method.
After several pages of basic principles, the book is composed of many vocal exercises for legato technique using slurs and portamento, basic and advanced scale exercises, arpeggios, and vocal embellishments. The section for developing the shake (trill) comparatively appears later in the method. As many other singing masters, Marchesi recommended practicing trill with gradual increase in speed. She also warned that those exercises should be practiced in “strict time with the same number of notes to each beat.”113 In her treatise, nos. 185 through 187, shown in Example
18, were suggested as “the way to practice the shake.”114
Ex. 18. Mathilde Marchesi, Nos. 185– 87, “The Way to Practice the Shake”:
112 Berton Coffin, 31. 113 Mathilde Marchesi, Bel Canto: A Theoretical and Practical Vocal Method, edited by Philip L. Miller (New York: Dover, 1970), 42. 114 Ibid. 42
Another interesting trill exercise which was added at the end of the shake section of the same book is an exercise composed of gradually widening intervals shown as Example 19.
Marchesi indicated that this exercise is “to facilitate the practice of the shake for voices which are lacking in suppleness.”115
Ex. 19. M. Marchesi, No. 194:
115 Ibid., 43.
43
Similar kinds of exercises are also featured in the 1884 treatise of Carlo Bassini and the
1921 treatise of William Shakespeare.
Bassini
In his 1868 treatise, The Education of the Voice, Carlo Bassini claimed that “any singer” can accomplish the trill technique as long as they can acquire “a perfect command of the organs of respiration” and “the control of the larynx in the whole extent of its flexibility.”116 Even though these requirements are not easy to achieve for a young singer, Bassini was basically in accordance with vocal pedagogues, such as Mancini, who believed in the possibility of training an untalented trill singer.
His trill exercise in this treatise is located as the last exercise of the whole book. Bassini wrote that the exercises will serve as a test of “how properly and successfully our students have profited by the past studies” listed so far.117 He also suggested that teachers should encourage students to repeat the previous studies and later come back to this trill exercise in case they do not show enough proficiency in this last exercise. This is the difference between Bassini and earlier trill-advocate Mancini who proposed early beginning of trill instruction. Bassini’s trill exercise
(Example 20) begins with the main note and starts with an eighth note followed by exactly measured sixteenth-note alternations with a turn-figure ending. He concluded his trill exercise by
116 Carlo Bassini, The Education of the Voice on an Improved Plan: Being Musical Instructions, Exercises, and Recreations Designed for the Vocal Culture of Youth and Adults (New York: F. J. Huntington and Co., 1868), 94. 117 Ibid.
44 suggesting an accelerated one, as shown in Example 21.
Ex. 20. Trill exercise by Bassini
Ex. 21. Concluding trill exercise by Bassini
Bassini, however, introduced a different trill exercise in his earlier 1857 treatise, Art of
Singing. Example 22 features alternations with the main note and the note in the third interval.
The speed is planned to be increased regularly from the quarter note to the semi quaver.
Aforementioned Marchesi also suggested a similar exercise cited in Example 19. As Marchesi aimed at a supple flexibility of voice, Bassini also showed his likely concern about the maximization of laryngeal oscillation that is the main essence of trilling by introducing this exaggerated pitch-alternating exercise. The third interval, though not shown in the example, is schemed to be gradually narrowed down to the second.118
Ex. 22. Bassini Trill
118 Stephen Austin, “Just for the ‘Trill’ of It,” in Journal of Singing 62:4 (March/April 2006), 464.
45
Lütgen
Bernard Lütgen, a contemporary of G.ioacchino Rossini, Julius Stockhausen (voice teacher of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau), and Pauline Viardot, was an active voice teacher in Paris. In the foreword of his 1902 book, Die Kunst der Kehlfertigkeit, he intended to write vocal exercises for singers that can be regarded as an equivalent to Czerny’s Schule der Geläufigkeit for piano students.119
Lucie Manén acknowledged Lütgen's exercises as “excellent” for they “combined Bel
Canto voice-production with coloratura.”120 The first three exercises in Lütgen make use of none other than the trill figure (Example 23). Even though these measured notes are different from an actual trill, which would be more of an involuntary movement of the larynx, Lütgen must have regarded the two-note alternation as the first step toward the coloratura development. He also warned singers to practice these exercises with a slower tempo in the beginning, and try the faster one later.
Ex. 23. Exercise 1 from Die Kunst der Kehlfertigkeit by Lütgen
119 Bernard Lütgen, Die Kunst der Kehlfertigkeit, Band I (Leipzig: C. F. Peters, 1902 ), i. 120 Lucie Manén, Bel Canto: The Teaching of the Classical Italian Song-Schools, Its Decline and Restoration (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987), 64. 46
After the nineteen different exercises of different coloratura figures, Lütgen provided a trill exercise as the last one in his series of the “twenty daily exercises.” He did not indicate any suggestion regarding the method of practicing the vocalise, but one can assume that the trills written here were intended to begin with the main note, end with the written turning figure, and that the tempo marking “Andante” signifies moderate execution of this trill exercise. Because
Lütgen’s exercises are textless vocal works with some length, this number also has various dynamic markings as shown in Example 24. Placing this trill exercise at the very end of the entire work shows that Lütgen also considered the trill to be a demanding vocal technique to achieve.
Ex. 24. No. 20 of Lütgen Exercises:
47
Lamperti
Francesco Lamperti’s Art of Singing was schemed from his realization of “a terrible state of decadence” in singing of his era.121 Due to his attention to the idea, the exercises provided in his book were planned with a very careful order and detailed instructions for each one. Lamperti,
121 Francesco Lamperti, The Art of Singing (New York: G. Schirmer, 1890), i.
48 however, did not list any actual “trill” exercise even though No. 2 has a section of the two-note alternations in semi quavers. (Example 25).
Ex. 25. Lamperti, mm. 1 – 8 of Exercise No. 2:
He probably included the two-note alternating exercise because he, as Lütgen did, might have considered it as a basic coloratura technique. Although a practical method toward trill development hardly can be acquired from this exercise, it might be necessary to watch his “{”
49 sign. The notes with the signs are, from his point of view, “generally found most difficult.”122 It indicates that Lamperti was especially concerned for singers’ bad intonation on certain notes in a specific passage. Considering that he marked the upper neighbor note of the trill figure with the sign, singers should be more cautious in singing those notes in correct intonation.
J. Lind
Jenny Lind (1820–1887), usually nicknamed “the Swedish Nightingale,”123 had a great career both as an opera and concert singer. She did not write a thesis on the art of singing or vocal pedagogy, but her letter, which was dated on June 2, 1868, and written to one of her musical friends in Stockholm, provides some valuable information regarding the “development of her own voice as well as her ideas of training in general.”124 Jenny Lind acknowledged about her teacher, Garcia II, that “his school is the only one that she can recommend and contains most things she can subscribe to.”125 She, however, wrote that she “mainly taught herself to sing.”126:
Garcia could only teach me a few things. He did not understand myindividuality. But that really
did not matter. What I most wanted to know was two or three things and with those he did help
me.127
Therefore, the discussion of singing that appears in the letter could be her original view on singing that was acquired from her longtime career as a professional singer. In the short letter, she tried to cover many subjects ranging from the relationship of music and the soul to practical
122 Ibid., 32 123 Elizabeth Forbes, “Lind, Jenny” in The New Grove’s Dictionary in Music and Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie, vol. 10 (London: MacMillan, 1980), 865. 124Jenny Lind Goldschmidt, “Jenny Lind’s Singing Method,” translated by V. M. Holmstrom, in Musical Quarterly 3:4 (October, 1917), 548. 125 Ibid., 549. 126 Ibid., 548 127 Ibid. 50 matters of the elements of singing, such as breathing, registers, vocal timbre, and some actual exercise suggestions in music examples. Her suggestion for trill development is similar to her predecessors, such as Garcia and Marchesi, but not totally the same.
Jenny Lind treated the trill as a matter of articulation: “The Binding” that is “next in importance after the breathing”128 in singing. She suggested two musical examples for trill development. (Example 26 & 27)
Ex. 26. Jenny Lind’s Trill Exercise I:
Ex. 27. Jenny Lind’s Trill Exercise II:
Different from other “binding” exercises (that is portamento), one of those as suggested in Example 28, which should be done “slowly, dragging upward with time for the breathing between each figure of two notes,” the trill exercise is “bound downward” that is an “exactly opposite way.”129
Ex. 28. Jenny Lind’s Exercise on portamento:
128 Ibid., 551. 129 Ibid. 51
She claimed that she self-taught the trill, so the two exercises (Example 26 & 27) were her unique method of developing the trill. Her description about its nature, using an analogy of physical jumping and the trill, and the method of practicing those two are interesting:
In the trill, the uppermost note is the principal thing because there is the same difficulty as when one tries to jump up from below. The lowest note of the trill goes of itself when it has been practiced in connection with the higher note. The trill must not be sung: It must be done in [the manner indicated in example 26].130
Another notable viewpoint is that Jenny Lind suggested practicing those binding exercises from bigger interval to smaller interval:
[The] interval of a whole or a half tone (the half is more difficult than the whole) is the last exercise for the trill. The real trill exercise ought to begin with the octave and so forth till one arrives at the half note interval [as shown in example 27].131
She explained that the first note of the each binding exercise should be felt like “hanging in the air,”132 which means very short and light without an accent. As she admitted, it is hard to describe verbally, but she tried to put it into words as accurately as she could:
Both notes in the trill must be led, but the lower one lets go and the upper one holds fast. Finally it becomes one stroke and this stroke must then be repeated. This exercise one can begin with at once, for there is nothing so helpful for coloratura and portamento as this trill exercise when done properly…Sing an octave and bind upward, only letting the notes ‘hang together’ (not cease) when going down.133
As shown above, she considered the trill with rgard to the matter of binding notes, so she did not care so much about the successive execution of the figures. She must have assumed that if
130 Ibid. 131 Ibid. 132 Ibid. 133 Ibid. 52 one mastered the downward-binding practice, he or she can do the next step of connecting those in repeated fashion with speed—the real trill. The extreme interval of the two notes in Example
28 and the specific accent markings are the unique features of her trill-exercising methods.
b. Methods after 1900
W. Shakespeare
In his vocal treatise The Art of Singing (1921), William Shakespeare devoted several pages to trill developing exercises. As many other voice teachers did, he also emphasized the importance of the “absolute equality of tone on the two notes” of a trill.134 He also considered the trill to be “one of the most consummate beauties of the art of singing.”135
Shakespeare, like Mancini and Bassini, believed that most singers could acquire a good trill with the right method. He claimed that he provided the preliminary step for the actual trill in the previous section named “exercises on agility.”136 The exercise, which is very similar to the note-alternating exercises seen in Lütgen's and some aforementioned books, is shown in Example
29. It is mainly composed of two-note alternations on the “Lah” syllable, which is a peculiar feature of his vocal exercises. At the end of each group of alternations, he suggested a rapid- turning figure(marked with *) which he advised to substitute with a trill “without taking a fresh breath.”137
Ex. 29. Shakespeare, no. 1, “Exercises on Agility”:
134 William Shakespeare, The Art of Singing, rev. ed. (Philadelphia: Oliver Ditson, 1921), 119. 135 Ibid. 136 Ibid. 137 Ibid., 75.
53
Another preparatory exercise for forming a trill is the “rapid succession of staccato Ahs.”
With the same exercises above, Shakespeare, as the pupil progresses, suggested varying the manner of practicing “by substitution of staccato notes for the l, as can be seen in Example 30-1 and -2.
Ex. 30-1. Shakespeare, substitution of staccato notes for the l in example 29:
Ex. 30-2. “A cessation of sound between the staccato notes, as:”
He explained that if one would accelerate the staccato part until the staccato itself
54 becomes impossible, he or she would achieve a “true rapid legato,” actually “forming a trill.138
In the latter section on practicing the trill and other embellishments, Shakespeare suggested beginning the exercise with “a larger interval, reducing it to a third, and lastly to the trill itself.”139 The exercise made of intervals larger than a second could be found in the trill exercises by Marchesi, Bassini, and Jenny Lind. Example 31 is Shakespeare’s “exercises on the trill,” which are supposed to be sung with “lah” and “ah” syllables.
Ex. 31. Shakespeare, Exercises on the Trill:
138 Ibid., 119 139 Ibid. 55
His indication for the tempo and actual range of the whole exercise is much more meticulously schemed than the similar ones by aforementioned authors. It covers the fourth, the minor third, and finally the second (major and minor) with terminating figures.
This exercise is followed by the last exercise in this trill-developing series. In this neighbor-note-alternating exercise, as seen in Example 32, Shakespeare used the trill sign rather than drawing each note. The careful articulation marking and the accent markings are the new points of his suggestion about practicing the trill. He also suggested beginning with a slower
56 tempo each time that will eventually get faster moving toward a real trill.
Ex. 32.
The exercises that were suggested to develop other vocal embellishments also seem important in developing the necessary agility for the trill. The exercises are introduced with a total of four ornaments (acciaccatura, double acciaccatura, mordent, gruppetto or turn) in twelve exercises. Placing this exercise in front of the above trill exercise shows the significance that
Shakespeare must have had in mind:
Ex. 33. Exercises on the embellishments:
57
Considering the provided slurs in the music above, Jenny Lind’s suggestion to execute the fast-
58 moving note with such a light way can be supported again by these exercises.
C. Ware
In his book, Voice Adventures, Clifton Ware wrote a small section on “singing a trill” preceded by description and nature of vocal vibrato. As many other vocal physiologists suggested, he also regarded a trill as “an exaggerated vibrato requiring the rapid alternation between two notes, usually a major or minor second.”140 Admitting that the trill is an involuntary action in the throat, he only suggested two short and conventional exercises for trill practice shown in example
34.
Ex. 34. Exercises for Developing a Trill:
The first one is regular acceleration of two-note alternations and the second one is an access by practicing acciaccatura (rapid snap of the two notes). Other than the written suggestion that a
“mid-range pitch might be easier for most singers,”141 Ware did not give any further comments on these short exercises.
H. Witherspoon
140 Clifton Ware, Voice Adventures: A Process of Exploring, Discovering and Developing Vocal Potential (St. Paul, Minn.: Harmony, 1988), 107. 141 Ibid. 59 Herbert Witherspoon clearly stated that it is very hard for an ungifted singer to achieve a trill just by practicing.142 He found the reason for that from the idea that he “inclined to agree with many of the old school who frankly proclaimed that a singer either had the trill or did not have it, by natural gift.”143 He further stated that the trill is not to be acquired “by commencing with two adjacent notes, singing them slowly and then gradually more and more rapidly,”144 which is a usual suggestion for trill-developing exercises in many treatises. This exercise can only cause a singer to sing the two-note alternating figure at a certain speed, but never helps to achieve a “real trill,” which should be a “bird-like warble.”145
He warned about the hardship of achieving a “real trill” as such, but he only suggested a simple, basic approach shown in example 35.
Ex. 35. Witherspoon’s trill exercise
Even though this seems so simple and ordinary, his suggestion on how to practice is rather unusual. He suggested alternating those two notes by “changing rather slow preparation suddenly into the real shake.”146 This is certainly different from many other authors like Clifton Ware and
Garcia, who suggested a measured, regular acceleration. He claimed the reason for the peculiar
142 Herbert Witherspoon, Singing: A Treatise for Teachers and Students (New York: G. Schirmer, 1925), 116. 143 Ibid. 144 Ibid. 145 Ibid. 146 Ibid. 60 method by mentioning the nature of the trill, which is not “an actual alteration in the actions of the vocal cords and the arytenoids,” but “an oscillation” in the larynx.147 A third-apart trill, therefore, was not suggested for a trill-developing exercise -- that is “practically impossible to make the real shake.”148 Instead, he proposed a trill exercise in the triplet rhythm as shown also in example 35.
Witherspoon further warns about the undesirable movement of the jaw, a same-note repetition, and the use of the relevant pitch for the trill exercises.149 He thought a soprano singer would find middle D and upper G as the best notes to practice the trill.150
Vennard
Due to the involuntary oscillating character of the trill and its remarkably fast, uncontrollable speed, Witherspoon did not recommend either gradual speeding up or measured acceleration. Other treatise authors, however, recommended speeding-up exercises for trill development although they still believed the trill is an involuntary oscillation of the larynx.
William Vennard also emphasized the involuntary nature of the trill and its similarity to the vibrato in terms of the intensity of pulsations.151 He, however, suggested the traditional, measured acceleration of the trill exercises as seen in example 36. He recommended that a singer should double the tempo each time until finally the real trill begins.152
147 Ibid. 148 Ibid. 149 Ibid. 150 Ibid. 151 William Vennard, Singing: The Mechanism and the Technique, rev. ed. (New York: Carl Fisher, 1967), 199. 152 Ibid., 203. 61 Ex. 36:
Another exercise of his is none other than the acciaccatura-using exercise introduced earlier by Jenny Lind and others (example 37). The only difference is that he schemed this exercise again with acceleration in order to achieve the same result as in the above exercise. The grace note can be either with half step or whole step.
Ex. 37:
In any case, Vennard warned singers not to confuse a trill with the “mere flutter of intensity without a wide enough variation in pitch” which is nothing but a “poor substitute, though one often hears.”153 He, however, seemed to neglect the importance of the trill for a male singer writing that “today the trill is cultivated largely by women, indeed, mostly sopranos.”154
This opinion, however, is partly due to the fact that he lived in the period when Rossini, Donizetti, and other bel canto masters’ music was just about to have a “resurgence” so that more male singers only began to be tempted to learn how to trill.155 His opinion, therefore, should be considered with this period background.
153 Ibid., 203. 154 Ibid. 155 Ibid.
62 O. L. Brown
The main issue of the suggested trill-developing exercises in Oren Brown’s book, that are just two-note alternations, is “patience.” As seen in example 38-1, he even started with whole notes which should be followed by half notes (38-2), quarter notes (38-3), eighth notes (38-4), and sixteenth notes (38-5). Brown warned that the whole process that would lead to a perfect trill could take several years.156
Ex. 38-1, 38-2:
Ex. 38-3:
Ex. 38-4:
156 Oren L. Brown, Discover Your Voice: How to Develop Healthy Voice Habit (San Diego: Singular, 1996), 75. 63
Ex. 38-5:
Ex. 38-6:
Another feature of the trill exercises, which is now repeatedly discovered in many vocal treatises, is the indication of the accent mark on the upper neighbor notes. Brown was consistent to provide it even from the very slow, whole note alternation. It is needless to say that the example 38-6 is also supposed to be done with the thought on the upper note. He also presented a triplet-rhythm trill exercise (example 39) as the aforementioned Witherspoon did. He, however, did not alternate the accent pattern as Witherspoon did, but kept the upper note accent. This triplet-rhythm exercise is unusual in that it is not a perfect alternation of the two notes but is interrupted by repeated notes toward the end. This probably indicates the involuntary, accelerating nature of the trill.
Ex. 39:
64
Brown suggested beginning with the semi-tone trill first and then moving on to the whole-tone trill.157 He encouraged both male and female singers to do the agility exercise for the coloratura skill, which is definitely needed for Eighteenth- and early Nineteenth-Century vocal music, and was certainly supposed to be developed for both genders.158 He asserts that a male singer is “just as capable of fast runs, skips, and trills as the female.”159
L. B. Henderson
The trill exercises suggested by Larra Browning Henderson are not particularly different from the ones either by the old bel canto schools or her contemporary singing masters. She also provided a simple comment on how to exercise them—“doing them daily, lightly and increasing the speed as you are able.”160
As seen in the followiing examples, they are mainly two-note alternations with the regular accelerating pattern (example 40-1) and different terminating figures (example 40-2, -3, and -4) The last example (example 40-5) seemed to be adapted from the Marchesi treatise that was already reviewed.
157 Ibid., 279. 158 Ibid., 72. 159 Ibid. 160 Larra Browning Henderson, How to Train Singers, 2nd ed. (West Nyack, New York: Parker, 1991), 85. 65 Ex. 40-1. A group of Trill Exercises by Henderson:
Ex. 40-2:
Ex. 40-3:
Ex. 40-4:
Ex. 40-5:
66 It is notable, though, that Henderson employed some peculiar sounds to practice these exercises. For the trill exercises, she specifically gave “boo” or “koo” sounds. She found the reason that the sounds would “allow the trill to go into the spaces where the tones move more easily.” She further explained that unless a trill tone is produced with an ample back space and with head voice but rather caught in the nose, a trill is impossible to be made.161 This, however, must not be confused with the weak, white-voiced trill that was hated by the old bel canto school masters.
R. Miller
The renowned vocal pedagogue and physiologist Richard Miller did not provide trill- development exercises in his books, but his insight on the trill seems to be useful for voice teachers. As many others that have been mentioned so far, he also explained the trill as a result of
“intentional rapid laryngeal oscillation.”162 He further writes that both vibrato and the trill involve some oscillation in pitch, but vibrato is an “attempt to remain on the same note.”163
Because a laryngeal oscillation is an essential element for the trill as such, he introduced a device that could be sometimes “successful for learning the sung trill:”
[It] is to have the singer trill a sustained whistle on a single pitch, then immediately to sing the same note with similar laryngeal motion and breath management, taking note of the extent of laryngeal oscillation in each maneuver.164
This is a unique way in terms of teaching the sung trill. Even though a whistle is not a phonated sound, the oscillation used for that trill might help a voice student to experience the
161 Ibid. 84. 162 Richard Miller, Training Soprano Voices (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 140. 163 Ibid.,141. 164 Ibid. 67 similar laryngeal motion that is required for the real trill with a phonated sound.
Miller also mentioned that it would be easier for a singer to start trilling from a strong range of his or her voice. For a soprano voice, he suggested an actual excerpt from an opera.
Example 41 is a section from the aria “Je suis Titania” from Ambroise Thomas’s opera Mignon.
The trill chain on F5, G5, G#5, and A5 is written in a “desirable range.” Miller, however, warns that a soprano should “avoid excessive trilling” for it could cause the motion of the “external larynx” rather than “internal laryngeal neurologic impulses.”165 The result would be similar to the symptom of a bad vibrato or chest-shaking tremolo.
Ex. 41 Excerpt from Je suis Titania from Mignon by A. Thomas
165 Ibid. 68 B. Stylistic Aspects in Performance Practice
There are also some stylistic aspects of trill performance. Rather than trying to
cover every single aspect of this matter, the most common issues that usually occur in the
teaching of the standard vocal repertoire will be considered. Due to the nature of the
subject, some important instrumental treatises, such as Carl Philip Emanuel Bach (1714–
1788), Joachim Quantz (1697–1773), Leopold Mozart (1719–1787), Francesco
Geminiani (1687–1762), and even more recent one like Paul Badura-Skoda (b. 1927) will
be used for references. Vocal treatises by Eighteenth-Century authors, such as Tosi,
Agricola, Mancini, and Hiller, are generally more helpful in terms of performance practice than the Nineteenth-century authors or those who came later who mainly emphasized the technical aspects of the trill-singing.
1. Velocity
Although any figure that includes two-pitch alternation could be regarded as a
“trill” or a “trill-like” figure (such as mordent), a certain velocity should be considered in terms of trill execution. One of the earliest resources about the performing speed of a trill can be found in the treatise of P. F. Tosi. As his other contemporary authors of vocal treatises, Tosi did not provide a concrete method of how to teach trill, but he at least provided the knowledge on how the trill should sound. As one of the principal qualities of the trill, he suggested a “moderately quick” 1 speed of trill-execution. At his time,
naturally, there was not a scientific device to measure the speed of the vocal oscillation,
so this is quite a vague concept.
1 Julianne Baird, Introduction to the Art of Singing by Johann Friedrich Agricola, 126.
69 Considering that a trill stems from a vibrato, a good speed of a trill could be same
as a good speed of vibrato. C. Reid made a point that one’s vibrato should not be a
controllable one, but emanated with such a natural function of the respiration and phonation.2 As mentioned earlier in the chapter I, Reid denies the existence of slow
vibrato, but categorizes the vocal symptom as a “wobble” that has been seldom
considered as a valid and desirable vocal effect in the history of classical singing.3
Among the species of the trills Tosi enumerates, “the slow trill” is included. Tosi,
describing this as “nothing other than an affected ‘wobbling’,”4 seems to consider this
trill as less important: “One can be a good singer, in my opinion, without ever practicing
this trill.”5 He suggested using this trill to begin the ordinary trill consisting in two notes
either with major second apart or minor second apart.6 This is especially useful if a
singer’s natural tendency of vibrato is much faster than other singers, for the slow trill
will clearly set up an idea of the two-note alternation. That could be the reason for many
trill exercises are composed of accelerating pattern.
The idea of modifying the speed of a trill to match the overall character and
tempo of a piece could be a natural tendency of a performer. As suggested by Quantz in
his well-known flute treatises, trills will get naturally faster in “fast and gay pieces.”7
In the following music examples 42 and 43 from Mozart’s works, the tempo of the trill in the first piece that describes the happy, smiling coming of the “holy spring
2 Cornelius Reid, Bel Canto, 126. 3 Cornelius Reid, The Free Voice, 175. 4 Julianne Baird, Introduction to the Art of Singing by Johann Friedrich Agricola, 131 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 7Johann Joachim Quantz, 102.
70 (holde Frühling)” to a poor soul should be somewhat faster than the one in the second
example, which is from the graceful, slower second movement of Exsultate, Jubiltate.
Ex. 42. mm. 76 – 83, Schon lacht der holder Frühling, K580 by W. A. Mozart
Ex. 43. mm. 45– 52, Tu virginum corona from Exsultate, Jubiltate, K165 by W. A.
Mozart
Another aspect pointed out by both Quantz and Agricola, however, is somewhat controversial. They write that it is one’s choice of accepting or rejecting the following notion: The use of a different trill-performing speed for different voice types.8 Quantz maintained the idea that the lower voices should always let the trill beat somewhat slower than the higher voices, and therefore, altos and basses will sing trills slower than sopranos
8 Johann Joachim Quantz, 103.
71 and altos.9
Contrary to these masters who introduced different trilling speeds, Vincenzo
Manfredini simply suggested that a trill should be done “as fast as possible” in clear and
even quality.10 His treatise Regole armoniche, o sieno precetti ragionati that contains this
information was first written in 1775. It primarily focused on keyboard playing and was
revised later in 1797 with added parts about singing. Manfredini’s opinion, therefore,
perhaps represents a more updated trend in the style of singing.
2. Beginning Note: Upper-Note Trill and Main-Note Trill
Among many stylistic aspects of the trill singing, the beginning note of a trill has
been viewed as being especially controversial. While many voice teachers simply tell
their students to sing with upper-neighbor-note trill in the case of Baroque and Classical
pieces, this style should not be the maxim for all occasions. Howard Ferguson, though his
book was written for pianists, concisely suggested some exceptional cases of using main-
note trill for the Eighteenth-Century pieces.11 Although there are some differences that
would make it difficult for a singer to follow all of his opinions literally, many of them
seem also reasonable for singing.
< Howard Ferguson’s suggestion for a main-note trill >12
9 Ibid. 10 Vincenzo Manfredini, 26. 11 Howard Ferguson, Keyboard Interpretation: From the Fourteenth to the Nineteenth Century. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1975), 120. 12 Ibid. The parts in the bold type are directly cited from his book. The seventh example indicated (g) in his book is specifically about the case of F.P. Schubert’s piano works, so, due to its irrelevance, it was
72 a) When it is preceded by a note, small or normal-sized, one legato step
above the main note: This case of the main-note trill is also supported by Manfredini’s
music example in the ornament chart of his treatise. In the example 44-1, Manfredini
suggested beginning the trill with the main note.13
Ex. 44-1. Manfreini’s “Expression of the melodic ornament” from Regole armoniche
The following example 44-2, however, shows that this can be done with an upper-note trill, especially when the singer connects the upper note (f ) with a slur and holds it longer than the written length and makes a slight delay in singing the main note
(e flat ) as in example 44-3.
Ex. 44-2. Excerpt from concerto aria “Ah, lo previdi!,” K. 272 by W. A. Mozart:
Ex. 44-3 A possibility of the trill execution:
eliminated in this document. 13 Vincenzo Manfredini, Regole armoniche, 27.
73
b) When it is preceded by a three-note slide, upward or downward, whose
middle note is the same as the main note: The downward three-note slide is very rare in
vocal pieces, but the upward one can be sometimes found in a singer’s improvisation. By
starting the trill from the main note in this figure, one can achieve smoother execution
(example 45).
Ex. 45. Example of a three-note slide before a trill:
c) When the main note ends a diatomic or chromatic scale: This instance is
also usually found in a vocal cadenza. It is important to note that the figure is at the end
of a scale, which is a stepwise motion. Both diatonic and chromatic scales give the hearer
definite anticipation of the next tone by having a clear direction of the melodic line, so
trill after these scales, as the (1), (3), and (5) trills in example 46, would sound more natural if it begins with its main note.
Ex. 46. Example of a trill at the end of a scale, Ouverture in Water Music, G. F. Handel:
74 d) In a continuous chain of shakes: This instance is rather by the choice of the performer. Several Mozart pieces feature continuous chains of trills. Some singers still choose to sing each trill with the upper auxiliary note. In that case, the beginning notes sound like an appoggiatura before the actual trill.
In the following example of soprano II aria from Mozart’s C Minor Mass, unless a singer emphasizes the length and the dynamic of the appoggiatura notes, a listener would not be able to perceive the stepwise scale of the original structure. In example 47-1, if the trill is done as shown in example 47-2, one can surely tell the main melody line is from the pitch A rising to the pitch F (example 47-3).
If, however, the trill is done in the other way as seen in the example 47-4, one might hear the melody line differently, as seen in example 47-5. Therefore, if a performer still prefers to sing an upper note trill for a trill chain, a short aspiration between each chain with slightly longer leaning on the upper auxiliary note will definitely help the listener to perceive those notes as auxiliary notes (example 47-6).
Ex. 47-1. mm.108–116, Laudamus te from C Minor Mass, W. A. Mozart:
Ex. 47-2. main note trill:
75
Ex. 47-3. Melody line perceived by a listener in the case of 47-2:
Ex. 47-4. Upper-neighbor-note trill:
Ex. 47-5. Melody line possibly perceived by a listener in the case of 47-3:
Ex. 47-6. A Suggestion in the case of the upper-neighbor-note trill:
76 e) In the type of the figure 4, it can be done as figure 5, but in very quick
tempo this would be played as figure 6.
Figure 4: Figure 5: Figure 6:
This execution is related to the tempo of a piece. If the piece being sung is to be sung slowly, one might have enough time to do the trills with the upper auxiliary note beginning. The figure, however, usually turns out to be frequent incidents in fast, bravura-style arias.
In the following example 48-1, a singer would not have enough time to make the trills as in example 48-2, so the technique shown in the example 48-3 would be the generally suggested option. If the tempo is much faster than that which the singer can afford, the trills can be even changed into those short grace notes as can be seen in example 48-4.
Ex. 48-1. mm. 42– 5 from concert aria Voi avete un cor fedele, K. 217 by W. A. Mozart:
Ex. 48-2. Upper-neighbor-note trill execution:
77
Ex. 48-3. Schneller-like execution:
Ex. 48-4. Grace note execution:
f) Occasionally in order to preserve the melodic line: This aspect would be
more desirable in pieces written after the classical period. In an earlier period, i.e.
Baroque or classic, the following case might be valid to consider.
Being similar to the third instance above, an obvious direction can be felt in the
passages like consecutive consonant leaps in a chord, that is, an arpeggio figure. In
example 49-1, one can definitely imagine that the last note of the passage will be E4. If a trill sign is indicated in the note, as Vivaldi indicated in the piece, the trill can begin with the main note.
78 Ex. 49-1. from Nulla in mundo pax sincera by A. Vivadi:
Another example is a case of a performer’s choice to add a trill on the last
sustained note of the passage, as shown in example 49-2. This was done by mezzo
soprano Susan Graham for Ruggiero’s aria “Mi lusinga il dolce affetto” in the recording
14 of Handel’s Alcina. In this case, the ending note E5 is strongly expected by a listener, so
a main-note trill would be more desirable.
Ex. 49-2. mm. 32 – 35 in “Mi lusinga il dolce affetto” from Alcina by G. F. Handel:
Singers should consider the change of styles when they decide on the beginning
note of a trill. Most vocal treatises in the Eighteenth century suggested an upper-note
beginning trill as Leopold Mozart did in the following example 50.
Ex. 50. Leopold Mozart’s interpretation of the trill with the upper-neighbor-note beginning:
14 George Frideric Handel, Alcina. Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Natalie Dessay, Les Arts Florisants, William Christie (Erato: 8573-80233-2, 1999), disc 2, track 8.
79
Luigi Lablache’s aforementioned trill exercises (example 15 through 17) suggest
that the taste was changing during his time. Although Lablache indicates that the trill
“may commence with the lower note [main note], or with the higher [upper neighbor
note],” 15 by writing out the main note in the beginning, he seemed to indicate his
prefernce for the main-note beginning of a trill.
The main-note trill in Lablache’s treatise indicates the change of style in the
Nineteenth Century. Works written in the late classical period, therefore, including the
mature works by W. A. Mozart, seem to fall in a transitional period in terms of the style
in trill-singing.
Eva and Paul Badura-Skoda discussed many possible instances of the main-note trill in the piano works by W. A. Mozart.16 The last example of Badura-Skoda for the
conclusion of the ornament chapter of his book and his comments on it might be also significant for singers. Example 51 can be done in a few different ways:17
Ex. 51. Trills from the first movement of the Three-piano Concerto (.K. 242) by W. A. Mozart:
15 Luigi Lablache, Complete Method of Singing (Boston: Oliver Ditson & Company, no date), 59. 16 Eva and Paul Badura-Skoda, Interpreting Mozart on the Keyboard (New York: St. Martins, 1962), 126. 17 Ibid.
80
3. Use of the Turn Figure as Termination
Another stylistic option that a singer can consider in the execution of a vocal trill in the Eighteenth-Century music is using a turn figure for the trill termination. The turn figure is sometimes written in the music with actual notes as in the case of example 52.
Ex. 52. A trill ending with a turn figure written by W. A. Mozart:
81
As time went on, the termination came to be done with more varieties. Lablache
suggests different possibilities of trill conclusions that are made of one, two, and even
three notes. He writes in a very insistent manner that “every trill, long or short, should
have a conclusion (termination).”18
Ex. 53. Lablache’s trill exercises with different conclusions:
A singer, however, can insert the figure for an instance without any indication.
Singers usually tend to provide the turn figure at a trill that ends a bigger unit of a phrase, such as a cadential point. The trill right in front of the following instrumental interlude would be a good chance to use the turn figure (example 54).
Ex. 54. Ending part of “L’amerò, sarò costante” from Il rè pastore by W. A. Mozart:
Francesco Geminiani specified a trill with this turning figure as “trillo composto
18 Luigi Lablache, 59.
82 (the turned shake).”19 He explained that a long trill with a turn figure ending is “fit to
express the gaiety,” while a short trill with a turn figure was used to “express some of the
more tender passions.”20 Geminiani’s opinion referred specifically to violin playing, but
singers can also consider this rule when they decide to put a turned ending on a trill.
Considering this advice, singers might want to avoid a turned ending of a trill if the trill is placed on a sad or serious word.
If the moment that a turn would come is on a new syllable of a word —
especially on a syllable with a consonant — the use of the turn should be done even more
scrupulously. In a recording of the Mozart The Abduction from Seraglio, soprano Editha
Gruberova sings the following trill passage with an agile turn figure on the syllable “-
nem” of the word “meinem.” This would have been much harder for a young singer
attempting to do the same thing (example 55).
Ex. 55. mm.43– 9. “Ach, ich liebte” from Die Entführung aus dem Serail by W. A.
Mozart.
19 Francesco Geminiani, The Art of Playing on the Violin. Performer’s Facsimiles (London: J.Johnson, 1751), [6]. 20 Ibid.
83
Quantz and many other authors of the Eighteenth-Century treatises suggested that the terminating turn figures and the rest of the trill should be “at the same speed.”21
If the turning notes should be sung with words, it is not easy to avoid slowing down at the moment. The above cadence, therefore, would sound much more natural if it can be done in the following way (Example 56).
Ex. 56. Execution with the one-note anticipation (same aria):
The authors of the later Nineteenth Century, however, suggested much more varieties of different endings of a trill. Just as Garcia II, Marchesi suggested possible ending for a trill as seen in example 57.
21 Robert Donington, The Interpretation of Early Music, New Revised Ed. (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1992), 247.
84 Ex. 57. “Different Endings of the Shake” by M. Marchesi22:
There appears even six-note termination as seen in the last example. These examples show the constantly changing taste in the performance practice. Singers, therefore, should be more scrupulous to apply these decorative terminations of the trills for the works written earlier than the Nineteenth Century.
4. Half-trill and Schneller (inverted mordent)
In the treatises of C. P. E. Bach, there is a trill called Pralltriller or half-trill.23
When the second note of two stepwise-descending notes connected with a slur has the trill sign (either tr or ^^^), that can be an opportune moment to use this graceful ornament.
If the singing tempo is too fast to realize this figure, it can be simply substituted by
Schneller (inverted mordent) as seen in example 48-3. The trill passage in example 58-3, therefore, can be done either with a half-trill or an inverted mordent.
Ex. 58-1. Half-trill:
22 Mathilde Marchesi, 42. 23 Robert Donington, 250.
85 Ex. 58-2. Inverted mordent (Schneller):
Ex. 58-3. “Agnus dei” from Coronation Mass by W. A. Mozart
IV. Conclusion
For a voice teacher, just knowing about different methods of teaching the trill is not sufficient. The human voice is much more diverse and individualized than other instruments. For example, a singer might be able to sing a trillo very well but hardly able to do a trill, or vice versa. I suggest, therefore, that a teacher should try several different historical approaches to see which ones fit better than others for a specific student. In any case, the teacher will have to determine if the method has a solid scientific basis.
An accomplished singer who is capable of producing a good, healthy vibrato is more likely to have a good trilling technique, but that is not necessarily so. On the contrary, a singer might be able to produce a good trill, but the voice itself could be closer to a straight tone, as is the case of some early music specialists. A singer, however, would seek a singing sound with an even vibrato. According to the research of the several vocal physiologists, the trill is one of the vocal oscillations, as the vibrato and the trillo, and can be also considered to be a variant of the vocal vibrato. In order to produce a good vibrato,
86 the coordination of respiration and phonation is an important factor, and that has to be
pursued as a basic skill for all singers.
For more specific approaches to learn or teach the trill, people can look into the
guidelines and the different vocal exercises that are provided in many vocal treatises of
the past and the current time. Those vocal exercises seem to be classified as two kinds: A
series of measured note-alternations that are supposed to be practiced in different tempi,
usually slow to fast, and a series of acciaccatura with various intervals, such as the
seconds, the thirds, the fourths, the fifths, and even the octaves as seen in Jenny Lind’s
example. The former kind was not approved of by some authors, like Witherspoon, but,
in other cases, both methods have been introduced in the treatises and practiced in vocal
pedagogy.
In an actual studio lesson, a teacher’s demonstration of a good trill can be just as
important as the knowledge about the nature and the teaching methods of the trill. In the
early example of Haydn, a singer could get an idea of the trill-making by touching the front of the teacher’s neck. Or, as in the case of Julianne Baird’s demonstration, a closer observation of the unusual movements of support in the abdominal area during trill singing could inspire a student to practice it in the same way and consequently experience it. Voice teachers do not always have to own a capability of singing well as they teach, for an instruction could be fairly done with only verbal expressions. One could not, however, deny the benefit that a student can get by watching an accomplished singing teacher who can demonstrate a perfect trill.
In addition to this technical aspect, having an extensive knowledge about a
87 historically informed way of performing trill and other ornaments is a significant asset for
a singing teacher. A trill can be started either from a main note or an upper neighbor note, but the decision should be made only after the consideration of the context — including
the period, style, and the melodic, harmonic context — of the piece that contains the
trilling note. Trill speed might be a less significant issue for a modern singer, but the old
masters cared about the matter much more seriously. Putting terminating figures at the
end of a trill should be also considered by examining the musical context.
Along with these issues of “how to make a trill,” “where to make a trill” is also
an issue in terms of the early music through the classical period to the early romantic
period, including the so-called “bel canto” repertoire. As they deal with improvisatory
ornaments and diminution, singers should know the possibility of trill insertions for a desirable spot: In most cases, the cadential points in an early vocal literature.
Summarizing the chapter about “Fluctuations and Perturbations in vocal output”
in his book, Ingo Titze introduced a limerick that features every different concept of
“irregularity in voice.”24:
When it’s small it’s a perturbation
When it’s large it’s a fluctuation
Every jitter and shimmer
Beyond a small glimmer
Results in a voice degradation
24 Ingo Titze, Principles of Voice Production (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1994), 304.
88 When it splits it’s a bifurcation
When it’s stuck it’s a constipation
But a glitch in the pitch
Is a sure way by which
You detect chaotic vibration
Forbid that a large deviation
Would repeat as an oscillation
Such a tremor or flutter
In the tone that you utter
Is perceived as a voice aggravation
Avoid wow, the slow modulation
And bleat, the fast undulation
But practice a trill
You’ll get a big thrill
It’s the ultimate voice jubilation
On stage please follow this motto:
“Know the bounds of vocal vibrato!”
A voice with a wobble
Like a limp or a hobble
Can draw a rotten tomato.
The underlined part especially serves as the very purpose and the topic of this
89 document. Voice teachers should not abandon the idea of “teaching vocal trill,” even though a student’s vocal facility is not so great. As in many other singing techniques, such as breathing/support, registration, various articulation, diction, resonation, flexibility/agility, and vibrato, the trill and its stylistic execution must be an important attribute to be added in general instruction of classical singing. Even if the trill as an ornament can be regarded as a “mere decoration” on the structure of music, the trill as a technique should not be disregarded to instruct and practice.
90
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