A New Training Technique for Using the Bel Canto Method to Sing Chinese Songs

by

Chong Wang

A Dissertation

In

Voice

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS

Approved

Professor Gerald Dolter Chair of Committee

Dr. Rebecca Wascoe Hays

Dr. John Hollins

Mark Sheridan Dean of the Graduate School

December 2018

Copyright 2018, Chong Wang Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My sincere appreciation should go first to Professor Gerald Dolter, the Chair of my Committee, for your compliments and encouragement all the way. You are more than a mentor to me! Whenever I felt helpless and hopeless, you were there to provide great assistance; whenever I felt confused, you guided me as a lighthouse in the dark. As the first Chinese DMA voice student, I received your world-class education to complete the DMA at Texas Tech University. Beautiful and charming, Dr. Rebecca Wascoe Hays is my other voice supervisor. Your amiable words “Instead of taking you as my student, you are my colleague and friend.” have always been with me. In my daily life, your care was with me; in the class, your meticulous instruction and extensive knowledge were there to help me improve singing skills as much as possible. The most memorable episode was your attendance to my rehearsal in the theater two days prior to the official performance of the opera Susannah. You sacrificed your resting time and taught your stage experience of singing opera over the years to help me overcome many issues. Deeply in my heart, you are a terrific mother, an outstanding singer and educator. You have definitely set a great example for me. Dr. John Hollins is knowledgeable, profoundly professional, modest and amiable. As the conductor on my second project when I was the title role Susannah, you spent so much of your precious time and took the entire orchestra to rehearse the most difficult section of the opera with me, for I was the only foreign singer in the entire opera. It was such a timely assistance. On my third project, the Bach cantatas recital, I invited you to be the conductor once again. You would spare some time almost every week to accompany me for rehearsals in the church where you worked with other chamber players. You alleviated my inexperience immensely with this iconic composer. Thanks to your careful instruction, I gradually became confident on myself. Your extraordinary professionalism and music talent truly impressed a lot. Dr. Stacey Jocoy, I appreciate your Bibliography class so much as your student. At my first visit during your office hour, you wrote the paper abstract for my reference by hand. To all my questions, you have displayed significant patience. Even during your vacation in England, you replied my emails very fast. Your instruction on my paper really meant a lot to

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 me. Before I came back to China at the beginning of this year, you spent several hours meeting me to discuss my graduation thesis. After learning about my general research topic, you once again wrote a paper structure for my reference by hand, which promised me a quite smooth writing process. Thank you again for your unconditional help. In addition, I offer my thanks to Dr. Michael Stoune, Dr. Quinn Patrick Ankrum, Dr. Gregory Brookes, Professor Karl Dent and Dr. William Averill for your patience, efficiency and kindness in all matters relating to my Texas Tech journey. Furthermore, my great thanks should also go to the famous tenor and professor Song Bo for taking my interview, Dr. Yahui Zhang for polishing the language of my paper, and Dr. Yang Li for helping me process and analyze the experiment data. At last, I’d like to thank my parents who gave me life and allowed me to receive regular music education at all costs since my childhood. You are always there for me and have constantly encouraged me to get closer to the summit of art. You have done everything, regardless of energy and wealth, to guarantee a further and smoother music road for me and contribute to the blossom of my artistic life. I love you, my dear parents!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKOWLEDGMENT ...... ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... iv

ABSTRACT ...... vi

LIST OF TABLES ...... vii

LIST OF FIGURES ...... viii

I. INTRODUCTION ...... 9

1.1 Overview of the Three Main Singing Methods in China ...... 9 1.1.1 Traditional Chinese Opera Singing ...... 9 1.1.2 Folk Style Singing ...... 9 1.1.3 Bel Canto Style ...... 10 1.2 Challenges of Singing Chinese Songs in Bel Canto Style ...... 11 1.2.1 How do Students Majoring in Bel Canto Learn Bel Canto? ...... 11 1.2.2 How do Chinese Vocal Music Teachers Teach Bel Canto? ...... 12 1.2.3 Main Problems of Singing Chinses Songs in Bel Canto Style ...... 12 1.3 Thesis Statement ...... 13 1.4 Delimitation ...... 13 II. BACKGROUND ...... 14

2.1 The Development History of Ancient Vocal Music Art ...... 14 2.1.1 Origin ...... 14 2.1.2 Development ...... 14 2.2 The History of Modern and Contemporary Vocal Music Art ...... 17 2.2.1 Before the Founding of the PRC ...... 17 2.2.2. After the Founding of the PRC...... 18 2.3 Two Major Styles of Singing in Chinese Vocal Music ...... 19 2.3.1 Literature Review of Folk Style Singing ...... 19 2.3.2 Literature Review of Bel Canto ...... 21 2.3.3 A Comparison between Folk Style Singing and Bel Canto ...... 24 2.4 How do I Sing Chinese Songs in Bel Canto? ...... 26 2.4.1 Study in China ...... 27 2.4.2 Study in Scotland ...... 28 iv

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2.4.3 Study in America ...... 29 III. INTERVIEW ...... 30

3.1 Biography of Professor Song Bo ...... 30 3.2 Summary of the Interview Questions and Answers ...... 31 3.2.1 Bel Canto Training Introduction ...... 31 3.2.2 Similarities and Differences ...... 32 3.2.3 Main Problems of Bel Canto with Chinese Songs ...... 32 3.2.4 Some Techniques for Singing Chinese Songs ...... 33 3.2.5 Significance ...... 34 IV. VOCAL PEDAGOGY ...... 36

4.1 Overview of the Bel canto Vocal Pedagogy ...... 36 4.2 To Find out Common Problems of Students’ Singing ...... 37 4.3 General Singing Technique Training Idea ...... 37 4.4 Training Ideas for Emotion and Expression ...... 41 4.5 A New Chinese Diction Training Technique ...... 42 V. EXPERIMENT ...... 50

5.1 Introduction to the Experiment ...... 50 5.2 Experiment Results ...... 51 5.3 Experiment Result Analysis ...... 59 5.4 Suggested Future Work ...... 60 VI. CONCLUSION ...... 61

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 63

APPENDICES ...... 65

A. Pinyin IPA Chart ...... 65

B. Interview Notes with Song Bo ...... 66

C. Score of Jasmine Flower ...... 72

D. Experiment scores ...... 77

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ABSTRACT The Chinese vocal art has a long history. Traditional Chinese Opera Singing and Folk Style Singing had always been the two main singing styles in China. During the days of the May 4th Movement (1919), Bel canto was introduced to China. As a foreign singing style, Chinese Bel canto singers are faced a number of challenges. Comparing to performing songs in European languages, performing songs in Chinese may not sound like the original Bel canto. Many techniques of Bel canto cannot be truthfully reproduced when singing Chinese songs. However, there are more and more foreign singers starting singing Chinese songs on international stages. Therefore, it is necessary to study how to perform Chinese songs with the highest aesthetic standards of Bel canto, while still keeping the original spirit of the song.

Traditionally, Bel canto singers are trained using The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for their articulations. However, Chinese characters are not labeled with IPA natively. The pronunciation is labeled using Chinese Pinyin. This gap in pronunciation labeling makes it hard to transfer techniques trained for singing European songs. In this paper, the author proposes a new method for training Bel canto singers to sing Chinese songs by labeling the Chinese characters with IPA. IPA is one of the useful tools for Bel canto training, it is used here to label Chinese songs. The students are instructed to sing the songs using Bel canto techniques trained with IPA.

The author experimented this idea with eight (8) students. They are divided into two (2) groups. Group A are trained with the additional IPA method. Group B are trained with normal methods without the additional IPA method. The experiment results show that the IPA method brings significant additional improvements. The author therefore proposes a new integrated training technique with the IPA method. This method should bring positive impacts on the performance of Chinese students who are learning the Bel canto style.

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LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 Classification of Consonants ...... 44 Table 4.2 Classification of Vowels ...... 45 Table 5.1 Group A review scores ...... 52 Table 5.2 Group B review scores...... 52

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LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 Training Exercise 1 ...... 40 Figure 4.2 Training Exercise 2 ...... 41 Figure 5.1 Average Review scores for Breath Management Improvement ...... 53 Figure 5.2 Average Review scores for Voice Quality Improvement ...... 54 Figure 5.3 Average Review scores for Legato Improvement ...... 55 Figure 5.4 Average Review scores for Diction Improvement ...... 56 Figure 5.5 Average Review scores for Expression Improvement ...... 57 Figure 5.6 Average Overall Improvement ...... 58

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Overview of the Three Main Singing Methods in China China stands loftily in the east of the world with its ancient and splendid culture. Chinese vocal music culture has a history of at least 5,000 years. In 1973, a dancing pottery pot in the Neolithic Age was discovered and unearthed in Shang Sun Jia Zhai cemetery in Datong County, Qinghai Province, which persuasively showed that our ancestors had created an artistic form of dance accompanied by music “five people holding hands and singing” in the primitive society. Dancing accompanied by music integrates singing, musical instruments playing and dancing, and was established in the early days. At present, China’s vocal music is under prosperous development. In serious music halls, there are mainly three dominant singing styles—traditional Chinese opera singing, folk style singing and Bel canto style.

1.1.1 Traditional Chinese Opera Singing Chinese traditional opera can be traced back to around 2,000 years ago in the pre-Qin period. The ancient opera culture enjoys a long history with a wide variety of operas. There are more than 360 kinds of Chinese operas in different nationalities and regions. Just as the European operas divide their voice into different parts, traditional Chinese operas divide their vocal performance into different roles and there are rigorous and meticulous rules for the basic skills of their artistic performance, including singing, reading and reciting, dancing, martial arts and acrobatics. The singing methods of traditional Chinese operas include authentic voice, falsetto and the combination of authentic voice and falsetto, for example, the world renowned national treasure—Peking Opera is a case in point. In the traditional Chinese opera singing, the application of pronunciation, rhythm and resonance is compatible with the ratio of vocal organs (lips, teeth, chin, tongue and throat) and resonance cavities, and the state of phonetic function is systematic and consistent with scientific principles.

1.1.2 Folk Style Singing Folk songs came into being from working class people’s class struggle, production struggle, social practices and religious activities in the slavery society. Over thousands of years

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 of development and change, a variety of folk song forms that belong to different ethnic minorities have gradually evolved. The method of singing is extracted and inherited from the traditional singing methods of traditional operas, folk arts and folk songs. Meanwhile, while preserving local and national language styles, it has also learnt from and absorbed the excellent techniques of western singing. Thus, a vocalization with Chinese national characteristics has formed. The existing schools of Chinese folk vocal music can be divided into two major branches—natural style singing and academic style singing. The former mainly composes and sings its own songs through word of mouth, and expresses the feelings in life and production; whereas for the latter, composers combine western composing techniques and Chinese musical elements, and Chinese vocalists integrate western singing techniques and Chinese folk singing style, resulting in the gradual formation of conservatories of music and formalization of vocal and music education.

1.1.3 Bel Canto Style The Western traditional Italian Bel canto (Italian: “beautiful singing”) is a singing style generated in the 17th century in Italy, with over 300 years of history. Bel canto is originated in Italian singing of polyphonic music and Italian courtly solo singing during the late 16th century and that was developed in Italian opera in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. Using a relatively small dynamic range, bel canto singing was based on an exact control of the intensity of vocal tone, a recognition of the distinction between the “ diapason tone” (produced when the larynx is in a relatively low position) and the “flute tone” (when the larynx is in a higher position), and a demand for vocal agility and clear articulation of notes and enunciation of words.1

In spite of its short history, it was recognized as the most scientific vocal music system in the world. Based on the anatomy of human function and with human language as its carrier, Bel canto is a scientific method of vocalization that uses the most exquisite and subtle changes to adjust various organs associated with the vocal system so as to obtain beautiful and balanced tonal quality, intensity and timbre. It is the shining pearl of the world’s treasure of vocal music. Therefore, as Chinese musicians, especially Bel canto singers, we should not only

1 The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 1. 10

Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 sing western songs well, but also should perform Chinese vocal works well. Because Bel Canto as a singing style borrowed requires perfect understanding and mastery, Chinese singers might encounter different levels of challenges while using Bel canto to sing Chinese songs, including Chinese folk songs, art songs and operas, or using Italian or other foreign languages to sing western songs and operas.

1.2 Challenges of Singing Chinese Songs in Bel Canto Style The famous Chinese conductor Li Xincao(1971-) mentioned a problem in the final round of competition of the 15th National Young Singers TV Grand Prix (Bel Canto Group). He commented on the Bel Canto participants: “We judges found that even if a candidate used the same Bel canto, his voices in singing foreign songs and Chinese songs are different. It is possibly due to the fact that Chinese mandarin belongs to a different family of languages. Therefore, probably singers need to make some appropriate adjustments in the aspect of singing method. This is a universal problem worth studying for Chinese Bel canto singers.”

In my nearly two decades of learning experience of Bel canto at home and abroad as well as years of teaching experience of vocal music, I personally noticed the same problem: when Chinese students majoring in vocal music use Bel canto to sing Chinese works, it sounds somewhat different to pure Bel canto techniques used in their singing of foreign songs. From the technical perspective, it has lost the aesthetic standard of Bel canto style.

As a Chinese vocal music teacher and singer, indeed, I hold the position that it is of profound significance to explore how to use scientific Italian Bel Canto to sing Chinese songs well. More importantly, it is one of the most practical ways to adapt foreign things for Chinese needs, promote Chinese culture and enhance its cultural confidence on a world stage. Then, what is the status quo of Bel Canto learning and teaching in China?

1.2.1 How do Students Majoring in Bel Canto Learn Bel Canto? As far as I know, there are two ways to teach Bel canto. The first one is imitation. Taking audio and videos as references, students learn and copy the sound and voice. It is a quite dangerous way of learning Bel canto because once students practice works that are not suitable to their physical condition, they would misuse their voice and sing in an improper

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 way. They might even blindly imitate the high volume and resonance of Bel canto, which possibly would ruin their voice and negatively affect their future development. The second way is attending classes. Students will find some vocal music teachers to learn the skills and language, but since these teachers are not professional ones, students cannot receive systematic pronunciation trainings and obtain precise skills. As a result, their singing might sound weird in the end.

1.2.2 How do Chinese Vocal Music Teachers Teach Bel Canto? Generally speaking, vocal music teachers in Chinese professional academies train students through systematic Bel canto. Chinese higher education in vocal music pays more attention to singing techniques than the scientific theories behind the art. While teaching students, some teachers may fail to highlight the teaching of fundamental theoretical knowledge of music. The teachers may unconsciously ignore students’ fundamental physical conditions and singing ability. The higher the voice is and more difficult the song is, the more competitive a student can be. The speed and improvement room of students’ development in singing may be impeded. Some vocal music teachers think that Bel canto style singers just need to sing foreign songs, so they don’t attach enough importance to train students the ability to sing Chinese works. As a result, there is no formal way of training Bel canto singers to sing Chinese songs.

1.2.3 Main Problems of Singing Chinses Songs in Bel Canto Style To summarize, while teaching students majoring in Bel canto, Chinese vocal music educators are faced with the following problems:

Languages and linguistic structure of the lyrics. Insufficient attention has been paid to the learning of singing languages and pronunciation.

Aesthetic standard and goals. The aesthetic standard and requirements of Bel canto to sound and techniques are not truly comprehended. Teachers might blindly pursue the effect of high volume and difficult works. In particular, while singing Chinese works, students’ voice is either too dry, bright or too white.

Singing techniques and skills. The training methods are not systematic and formal. Such as breath management is not appropriately used and the voice is not unified. Resonance are not fully employed. 12

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1.3 Thesis Statement In this paper, different methodologies such as interviews, pedagogical practices and experimental observation are employed to demonstrate that utilizing Bel canto pedagogy scientifically can help Chinese vocalists perform gracefully not only western musical pieces but Chinese songs as well. However, due to the unique features of the Chinese language, additional techniques should be developed to further improve the efficiency of Chinese Bel canto pedagogy.

1.4 Delimitation China is a large country with 56 ethnic groups. There are numerous dialects of Chinese and ethnic minorities. According to the provisions of the National Common Language Law of the Republic of China, mandarin is the common language of China as well as the official language of China. The Chinese songs mentioned in this paper are all vocal music works with the language of mandarin, excluding songs sung in various dialects.

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CHAPTER II.

BACKGROUND

2.1 The Development History of Ancient Vocal Music Art

2.1.1 Origin Chinese vocal music art originated from the primitive society. Chinese ancestors began their singing in activities such as hunting, laboring, worship ceremony and courtship. Dance accompanied by music and folk singing were two major forms of vocal music in the primitive society.

The vocal music art during this period was mostly accompanied by the art of dance. At that time, the productivity was low, and the abilities to understand the world and explain the objective reality was rather limited. Under such circumstance, to expand their tribes and unify people’s cognition, there appeared the primitive sacrificial rites. Later, these rituals were reprocessed into a collective singing and dancing, which was the early form of music in China.

Folk songs are the carrier of the oldest and most artistic folk singing in China. In the Stone Age, people would unconsciously make a sound or hum in their work, and then repeatedly reproduce certain refrains in special circumstances, which gradually formed the original folk songs. In this way, people began to sing these fixed tunes and lyrics.

2.1.2 Development

The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (approximately 771 BCE to 221 BCE) During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, vocal music singing was quite prevailing in the social development. The first vocal music classics The Book of Songs was born during this time. It was the first poetry collection as well as a collection of folk songs. In the 4th century BCE, another collection of folk songs The Songs of the South came into being. This literary work is a collection of lyrics compiled and edited by the great poet Qu Yuan.

Representative singers at this period are Mian Ju, Qin Qing and Han E.

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Qin and Han Dynasties (221 BCE to 220 AD) One of the most important measures the First Emperor of Qin took in terms of culture was Yuefu (an administrative authority of music). The Qin Dynasty only lasted for more than ten years; therefore, the vocal music art at this period failed to enjoy a prosperous development. In 112 BCE, to meet the demands of the ruling class, the Han Dynasty rebuilt Yuefu to collect and adapt folk music, write lyrics, sing and play songs with musical instruments.

A representative singer at this period is Li Yannian.

Wei, Jin and the Southern and Northern Dynasties (220 AD–581 AD) Sui and Tang Dynasties (581AD–907 AD) The vocal music art in the Wei, Jin and the Southern and Northern Dynasties attached importance to the combination of sound and emotion, and relevant works on rhythm appeared. For example, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons written by Liu Xie not only systematically elaborated on the development history and relevant theories of vocal music, but also pointed out the necessity to distinguish the position of tongue when initial consonants of Chinese syllables were pronounced while singers singing a song for the first time.

The Sui and Tang dynasties were thriving and prosperous in both economy and culture. Tang dynasty was rich in its liberal and open political climate. As a result, a large amount of foreign music was introduced to China. In terms of vocal music, the most important fruit was the Tang poetry that could be sung, and it was called “Tang Sheng Shi”. According to written records, the royal singer Li Guinian added multiple processing methods such as harmony, grammatically-partial words and reiterative sentences to impromptu singing so as to enhance the expressive force of singing.

Representative singers at this period are Xu Hezi, Nian Nu and Li Guinian.

Song and Yuan Dynasties (960 to 1368) The art of singing in Song and Yuan dynasties developed towards the direction of dramatization, and evolved into Song drama and Yuan drama. The poetic drama is a stage production with action, singing, tableaux and plot. In Yuan drama, singing accounts for a large

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 proportion, which created a means of artistic expression where the characteristics of characters are shaped through a single person leading most of the singing.

Major works on vocal music during this period are as follows:

The Brush Talks from Dream Brook was written by the famous politician Shen Kuo in the Northern Song dynasty (960 to 1127). In this book, the author claimed that “there was no word in sound, but sound in word”, which manifested the relationship of unity of opposites between tunes and language in songs. Joseph Needham, a famous British historian of science remarked the book as the “coordinate in the history of Chinese science” due to its achievements in music theory and aesthetic thinking. 2

Discussion about Singing written by Yannan Zhi’an in the Yuan dynasty is the earliest existing work on vocal music in China. The book systematically expounded the author’s unique opinions on articulation, the usage of tune, breath, techniques and styles in singing.

Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 to 1911) Ming and Qing dynasties witnessed the end of the feudal society and the major forms of vocal music art during this period were folk ditties, the art of talking and singing, and opera. It was a period when capitalist economy began to sprout, and folk songs were brought to cities by many people and became ditties. There were semi-professional artists singing them. The art of talking and singing were divided into two categories—storytelling to the accomplishment of traditional musical instruments, which was form of art popular in southern China during the middle of Ming and Qing dynasties and whose performance was dominated by narration, and Gu Ci or Drum lyrics, which was a form of art popular in northern China during Ming and Qing and whose performers would sing lyrics while beating a drum and accompanied by a big three-stringed instrument. In terms of opera, the Beijing opera, well-known both at home and abroad, integrated and synthesized various features of operas across centuries to become the quintessence of China. At present, the articulation in folk singing also practices the rule of pronunciation in opera singing.

2 Xia,Yanzhou. 84. 16

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2.2 The History of Modern and Contemporary Vocal Music Art

2.2.1 Before the Founding of the PRC

School Songs and Music Education After the Reform Movement of 1898, the significant role of music in ideological enlightenment was emphasized. To be specific, it was advocated to offer music classes in schools, to develop the career of music education and to spread new ideas by singing. New schools offered music classes, and songs were compiled to be sung in schools. They were called school songs, which was the prevailing singing culture at that time.

Mass Songs and Mass Singing In the Revolutionary War period, musicians represented by Nie Er and Xian Xinghai created a large number of songs with the theme of fighting against the Japanese invasion and saving the nation. These songs were mostly in the form of chorus such as “Chorus of the Yellow River” and were widely sung by the masses. After the Forum of Art and Literature in Yan’an in 1942, Yangge, a form of singing where people would sing and dance spontaneously, was created. Singers employed earlier folk style singing and their natural vocal capacity to bring the songs to thousands of audience.

Ditty and Minor Singing Before the founding of the PRC, ditty, which was popular in cities like Shanghai, developed itself by learning from folk songs. Ditties were popularized by stars singing them in theaters and ballrooms and recording them on discs. The minor singing based on the western Bel canto and integrating the folk minor in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces became the “popular music” in Shanghai and other cities, e.g. “The Wandering Songstress” and “Song of Four Seasons” sung by Zhou Xuan.

Art Songs and Bel Canto In the days of the May 4th Movement, Bel canto was introduced to China. Singers and educators, represented by Huang Youkui and Zhou Xiaoyan, who learnt Bel canto in Europe, became active on the music stage and in music classes in China. Meanwhile, Chinese composers who returned to China after finishing school in Europe started to apply western

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 composition techniques to compose songs with Chinese characteristics. As a result, the features and structures of art songs in China at this period were different from western art songs as well as Chinese traditional music. More precisely, art songs at this time were a product of integration and derivation. Representatives and typical works are “Three Wishes of Rose” by Huang Zi and “How Could I not Miss Her” by Zhao Yuanren.

2.2.2. After the Founding of the PRC

Earlier Days of the Founding of the PRC After the founding of the PRC in 1949, vocal music works in China entered a new era of development, and songs reflecting people’s happy life sprung up. The contents of the composition were to praise the motherland and to encourage people to construct socialism; the fundamental key was optimistic, confident, positive and enthusiastic; and mass songs were the carrier of such composition. “Song of Motherland” was a typical case in point. In addition, songs and operas combining the spirit of the times with styles of local folk songs were created too, for example, “Charming Xinjiang” and “Sister Jiang”. The vocal music singing during this period not only maintained the original music style and system of musical works, but also retained strong local color of traditional folk songs. Singers would usually use authentic voices to sing, which was full of personalities. In general, the vocal music works during this period were regarded as “Red Classics”. Representative works include Guo Lanying’s “Southern Soil Bay” who integrated Chinese opera singing, “The White-haired Girl,” “Sing a Song to the Party” sung by a Tibetan singer Caidan Zhuoma who mixed the Tibetan singing method, and the grand opera “The East is Red” performed by artists through Bel canto.

After the Reform and Opening-up With the rapid development of socialist economic construction since the reform and opening-up, Chinese vocal music art is undergoing a promising development, and various forms of vocal music art have been fully revitalized and are gathering momentum. Firstly, the composition of art songs became diversified and went beyond the single form of praising the motherland and focusing on the people, e.g. “Pamir, How Beautiful my Hometown is”. Secondly, traditional classical operas in China began to return to the stage, e.g. “The White- haired Girl”. Thirdly, a lot of new operas sprung up, and many concert halls and opera houses 18

Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 were built. Fourthly, the composition of Chinese popular songs gradually transited from the phase of imitation to maturity. Last but not the least, various vocal music competitions greatly accelerated the prosperity and development of the career of Chinese vocal music artists. In the 1980s, based on the inheritance of traditional singing, folk singing extensively absorbed and learnt from the scientific nature of Bel canto and developed into a new folk singing. In spite of its short history, Bel canto has become an essential component of Chinese vocal music.

2.3 Two Major Styles of Singing in Chinese Vocal Music

2.3.1 Literature Review of Folk Style Singing Folk style singing is a method of singing that displays the intrinsic cultural characteristics including ways of singing, singing techniques, language and stage performance of our nation. In 1984, the China Central Television held the first “National Young Singers TV Grand Prix”. Such an influential and authoritative event on vocal music divided the competition into three groups—Bel canto, folk style singing and popular singing. Since then, folk style singing has been defined as a singing method to specially sing original folk songs, songs adapted from folk songs or songs with folk styles and Chinese folk operas.

Nowadays, vocal music art is not only a subject of research and study for teachers and students in art academies as well as for professional singers, but also a must for the masses to satisfy their spiritual and cultural demands. Over thousands of years of development, Chinese traditional folk vocal music has acquired distinctive singing techniques and forms of expression. At present, students majoring in folk vocal music in conservatories of music in China are required to learn both traditional singing techniques and how to appropriately apply some techniques of Bel canto to their singing. The modern folk singing is a new style and school of singing different from Chinese operas and the talking-singing art as well as Bel canto.

What’s worth mentioning is the innovation brought by Professor Jin Tielin and Professor Zou Wenqin. They are the best representatives of vocal music educators. They have actively advocated to inherit the essence of traditional Chinese vocal music singing and to

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 learn from the scientific feature of Bel canto at the same time both in their pedagogy and theoretical works. Thanks to such an innovation, it has resulted in a new folk singing art integrating folk, artistic, modern and scientific features.

Folk Vocal Music Singing and Teaching Research compiled by Xia Hongyan and Pan Yonghua and Basic Theory of National Vocal Art and Teaching Practice compiled by Sun Zuodong and Sun Ji are both of instructive significance to the teaching of folk vocal music art. The modern folk singing in China combines Bel canto and folk style singing. Both of these two theoretical works on folk vocal music introduce various organs involved in breath, vocalization, resonance and their working principles from the perspectives of anatomy and physiology, laying a theoretical basic for students majoring in vocal music to learn the techniques of breath and vocalization and how to produce resonance. Folk style singing adopts mandarin to sing songs, and thus the skills to speak the language is of great importance. Furthermore, both books have explained the pronunciation and phonetic rules of mandarin in great detail. For instance, the Thirteen Rhythm, Wuyin and Sihu in Chinese phonetic alphabet, which are the rules by which Chinese folk-style singers and Chinese traditional opera singers articulate words while singing. Wuyin refers to the five consonants in Chinese, while Sihu refers to the vowels.

Chinese phonetic alphabet, also known as Chinese pinyin, is a phonetic rule to tell people how to pronounce Chinese characters. It is stipulated in Article 18 of the National Common Language Law of the Republic of China that the Scheme of the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet as the unified standard for pronouncing Chinese names, geographical names, Chinese references and Roman letters. It is also used in areas where characters are not applicable or cannot be used. Signs written pursuant to such set of regulation are called Chinese Pinyin. In addition, the two books also explained the specific application of Chinese Pinyin and some practicing methods through examples in singing Chinese songs. The authors come up with some suggestions on the artistic processing of vocal music works and singing details of folk vocal music works. Singing is an art on the stage, so it is necessary to train singers on how to perform on the stage. Consequently, the two books also give instructions on the body movement, expressions and appearance on the stage of singers.

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2.3.2 Literature Review of Bel Canto Throughout the development history of vocal music art, Bel canto is the most important element. “Bel” means “beautiful”; “canto” refers to “singing”; consequently, “Bel canto” is translated into “beautiful singing” in Chinese. Bel canto is not only a method of vocalization, but also a school of singing that reflects the features of an era and its style in the development of opera. The singing techniques of Bel canto are consistent with the natural law of human’s physical function. Scientific methods of breathing and vocalization are employed to sing so as to reduce the attrition of vocal cords due to long-time singing and hence to extend the service life of vocal cords efficiently.

According to The Harvard Concise dictionary of Music and Musicians, Bel canto is defined as the following 3:

"A manner of singing that emphasizes beauty of sound, with an even tone throughout the full range of the voice, fine legato phrasing dependent on a mastery of breath control; agility in florid passages, and an apparent ease in attaining high notes. The period from the middle of the 17th century to the beginning of the 19th is thought of as the golden age of bel canto.

Bel canto originated from Florence, Italy in the 17th century, and was later spread to Europe, America and other countries, forming a singing art based on different languages including Italian, German, French and Russian. Even in the 21st century, Bel canto is still a type of singing centering on traditional Italian vocal music techniques.

Bel Canto was introduced to China during the May 4th Period. Singers and educators who studied Bel canto in Europe promoted classical European songs, art songs and operas to Chinese people, which brought new life into Chinese music. In 1920, Mrs. Zhou Shu’an (1894-1974) brought Bel canto back to China from America, and offered a vocal music course in Guangdong Women’s Normal College. It was very likely to be the earliest course for the study of western vocal music in the 20th century in China. In 1927, China established the first conservatory of music, which is the predecessor of Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

3 Randel, Don Michael. 62. 21

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From 1920s to 1960s, some European educators on vocal music taught in China, and instilled international elements to the contemporary education on vocal music art in China. The Reform and Opening-up provides a broad platform for the prosperity and development of China’s music education. Bel Canto education in China has been developing vigorously. Some professional conservatories have been established, and the faculty is constantly growing. Especially in recent years, Bel Canto has been developing rapidly in China. After returning to China, Chinese musicians who have studied overseas and singers have played a positive role in and exerted a significant influence upon the spread of Bel Canto.

In addition, lots of Chinese educators on vocal music and singers began their studies on Bel canto according to the western teaching method of vocal music, and cultivated many renowned Chinese singers. For example, two masters in vocal music education Zhou Xiaoyan and Shen Xiang cultivated Liao Changyong, He Hui, Huang Ying, Liang Ning and Dili Bai’er.

Although many theoretical works on vocal music are published abroad in other languages and foreign experts don’t understand mandarin nor could they teach Chinese how to sing Chinese songs in Bel canto, Chinese can learn from the published works and borrow approaches of vocal training to improve their singing and teaching skills. Meine Gesangkunst (English translation of the title is How to Sing) written by the famous German soprano Lilli Lehmann, and Art of Singing written by the famous vocal music educator Manuel Garcia both have summarized and refined the scientific training methods of Bel canto through their own successful singing and teaching experience. However, their concentrations are different.

Lilli Lehmann’s How to Sing advocates the school of “forward”, which had a great influence on the future. At that time, science was not well developed. What’s more, she herself was not familiar with physiology and physics. She summarized and generalized from her own intuition while singing through practical discussions. In terms of breathing, her experience was not to inhale too much air instantly and in a strenuous way; otherwise, it would make muscles stiff and inelastic; and to control the pace of exhaling. Singers cannot feel vocal cords, and they can only control it indirectly through breathing. A beautiful and stable voice is not produced by the pressure of too much air, and muscles for singing cannot be too stiff. Head voice can prolong a singer’s artistic life. To sing a song in a high, young and fresh way, it is 22

Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 necessary to practice vowels [e] and [i] as much as possible. Pure head voice would come out when the uvula is lifted to the head cavity and reaches the highest position. While singing, the tongue should be put in a flat state and behind the bottom teeth; the root of tongue should curl up to make the larynx move freely; there should be a groove in the middle of the tongue. She also advocates to cultivate students’ ability to identify sounds, to ask students to describe their feelings while singing, and to understand the physiological activities occurring simultaneously. It is not enough for students to merely sing well. They should also understand how they sing well. In other words, studying and teaching should combine the feelings in singing with physiological factors. Her teaching philosophy is also the teaching method I have been using over the years.

Unlike other similar works, Garcia discusses the mechanism of singing in a real and concise way with an objective and rigorous attitude, and the scientific nature of his theory is still practical today. In his opinion, whoever cannot master and control the art of breathing cannot be an authentic singer. From the perspective of human physiology, he discusses the structure of organs related to inhale and exhale and their working principle, such as the specific application of diaphragm. He holds the opinion that the most precious factor in singing is the tone quality of sound. The intensity of timbre is determined by the position of larynx and activity of muscles related to palate. The rise and fall of larynx exerts an influence on the length, shape, diameter and the tension of two walls of the vocal tract. In addition, he also suggests students not to practice singing loudly or hold a high note in excess because pressing voice too hard would make timbre too white or too dark. It is also inappropriate to press the throat and sing in a low voice. A full practicing and singing should be recommended. He points out that the practices should be frequent and each practice should be short.

The Art of Singing, written by the famous Chinese vocal music educator Zhao Meibo, is a summary of his learning, performance and teaching experience, including his in-person exposure to many world famous singers and educators in vocal music over 50 years. There are two chapters in this book discussing singing techniques and methods. Apart from stressing the importance and proper training methods of breathing, the book also illustrates the physiological defects and mistaken concepts that result in improper breathing, and negative

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 consequences of three improper methods of breathing. Furthermore, he explains the common problems caused by improper breathing. Mr. Zhao analyzes world-renowned experts’ opinions and provides rich scientific theoretical information for readers to study Bel canto. He describes various problems in vocalization so that readers can adjust their improper voices accordingly. With the reference to international phonetic alphabet, he also summarizes the phonetic rules of German, French and Italian as well as their application in singing. Pitifully, this book has barely touched on how to sing Chinese songs with Bel canto, the phonetic rules of Chinese and its application in singing.

Another valuable book on Chinese vocal music is Shen Xiang’s Teaching Art in Vocal Music written by Li Delun and Li Jinwei. The book elaborates on the fundamental elements of singing, including breathing, vocalization, resonance and language. Breathing is the driving force, and the air will activate the vocal cords and then a sound is produced. Subsequently, the sound will be amplified and beautified through the resonance cavity. An organic combination of breathing, vocalization and resonance happens throughout the singing. Singing is an overall coordination of the body’s movement and relaxation. Language is one of the most significant ways for singing to express emotions. The enunciation and articulation of Bel canto should follow the rules of pronunciation. Each Chinese character has a head, abdomen and tail; therefore, when singing Chinese works of folk songs, rhyming should be paid attention to. Professor Shen advocates to learn from the Thirteen Ryhthm, Wuyin and Sihu used in the performance of traditional vocal music art while singing Chinese songs in Bel canto. Wuyin and Sihu mentioned in this book are only applicable to singers who understand the pronunciation of Chinese Pinyin; while foreign singers who don’t know it might have difficulties using these methods.

2.3.3 A Comparison between Folk Style Singing and Bel Canto

Comparison of Timbre and Singing Characteristics The timbre of folk style singing is front, bright and sweet. There is no division of the voice in folk style singing; instead, folk style singing is dominated by high pitch, applicable to both males and females. The sound should be crisp, bright, sweet and smooth. No matter whether the songs are sung in a high or low, light or heavy way, the timbre is brighter than that 24

Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 of Bel canto. In terms of the method for vocalization, modern folk style singing applies overtone in Bel canto, and the sound is mellow, full and smooth.

The timbre of Bel canto is beautiful, pure, bright, transparent, full and smooth. Garcia once said that the bright timbre of Bel canto possessed the feature of sonorous metal. The style of Bel canto is dominated by sound, which is its most prominent feature. Human’s voice is divided into different voice parts according to the length and thickness of a singer’s vocal cords. In addition, there is a whole set of method (breath, vocalization, resonance, etc.) to train singing in Bel canto. Upon training, the sound can be resonant, powerful and penetrating; the range can be wide -- three octaves can be achieved; the strength and dynamics of the volume can also be flexible. The division of register is strict. Sounds from the chest register, medium register and head register are required to be uniform while singing. The link between sounds is smooth and natural. In addition, there is vibrato in the voice to enhance the volume, and the intensity of vibrato is heavier than that in folk style singing.

Comparison of the Application of Breath There is a whole set of method to train breathing in Bel canto. Abdominal breathing is adopted and the diaphragm is used. Singers are required to take a deep and full breath, and hold the voice with their breath. This method coincides with the modern folk singing that requires breath dwelling in the elixir field or the lower abdomen. Sometimes, folk singers would use chest breathing while singing some works with special style. Both folk singing and Bel canto pay attention to the support of breath and flexible control of breathing in singing and emphasize a correct way of breathing is fundamental to a satisfactory vocalization.

Comparison of Vocalization Techniques Most of the time, folk singing uses natural voice and a combination of natural voice and falsetto in the soprano zone. Larynx is allowed to move up and down. It is believed that the size of opening of the throat or the height of the throat should change according to the styles of works. For example, when a singer sings mountain songs or a work with certain ethnic style, larynx can be moved up. The sound is generally front and a high position is emphasized. On the contrary, a natural voice is the basis in Bel canto, and a combination of natural voice and falsetto is used in singing. With the ascending of pitch, falsetto accounts for 25

Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 an increasingly larger proportion and gradually becomes dominant. When singing, larynx is required to be lowered and is maintained at a low position while inhaling; larynx should also be stable. The throat is open, and soft palate is lifted so that the pipe for vocalization is widened and lengthened.

Comparison of Acoustic Resonance Folk style singing mainly uses cavities of head, mouth, nose, throat and pharynx to produce local resonance. Resonance cavity is adjusted slightly. The resonance register is front; the sound wave vibrates on the hard palate and the upper front part of oral cavity, which makes the pronunciation and articulation of mandarin easier. The sound is also clear. The volume is relatively narrow and small, so microphones are often used to amplify the sound. Unlike folk style singing, Bel canto adopts full resonance, which means cavities of chest, head, mouth, nose, pharynx, frontal cavity and skeleton all participate in resonance. The sound is concentrated, bright, sonorous, rich and penetrating. As a result, singers are able to transmit their voice to every corner of a big opera house without using any amplification system.

Comparison of Pronunciation and Articulation Folk style singing is dominated by words, which is its most prominent feature. In articulation, the pronunciation of vowels is close to the front; the voice is reflected to the hard palate; the mouth is flat; corners of the mouth are up on both sides. In this way, the pronunciation is clearer. Folk style singing follows the method of articulation in Chinese traditional opera singing to articulate and rhyme, such as Wuyin, Sihu. The fullness and decency of articulation, clear phonation of words, correct rhyming, and emotion motivating the voice are emphasized in folk style singing. Bel canto also stresses clear and appropriate articulation, the phonation of each vowel in the language being clear and precise, consonants in articulation being accurate and flexible, and the switch of vowels being smooth, mellow and full. Voice is used to link every work in lyrics gently and beautifully. Only in this way can the principle of Legato be authentically manifested in articulation and the language.

2.4 How do I Sing Chinese Songs in Bel Canto? To put it simply, singing consists of two components—sound and language. Generally speaking, the art of singing is an art of sound, language and expression of emotions. Bel canto 26

Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 produces vocal instruments through scientific training, and has its own distinctive charm and acoustic features. It attaches more importance to the intrinsic appeal of sound and communication with the audience by ways such as the change of a singer’s sound techniques. As for Bel canto singers, no matter in which language the song is sung, it is of essential significance to refine one’s own singing instruments. In my years of learning experience, the first problem my Chinese and foreign teachers has helped me to solve was the singing techniques . They have helped to train my voice well and make sure it meets the aesthetic standards of Bel canto, with strict attention to the authenticity of the language.

I am a Chinese Bel canto singer and a teacher in vocal music and have studied Bel canto in Britain and America for years. In all my solo recitals, I would sing some classical Chinese works in Bel canto. Although foreign audience didn’t understand Chinese, they could still feel the beauty of the melody, aesthetic conception as well as the artistic value of Chinese works in my singing. It is no exaggeration to say that after each concert, some foreigners would ask me excitedly: “What is the name of the Chinese song? It is amazing!” Some foreign singers would even ask me to teach them how to sing Chinese songs. My vocal music supervisor once commented on my singing in this way: “The sound you sing Chinese works in Bel canto is as cohesive, clear and beautiful as you sing Italian works. I cannot feel you’re singing Chinese at all.”

Next, I am going to describe the three phases during which I learn the Bel canto style of singing Chinses songs.

2.4.1 Study in China During my college years for vocal art training, my vocal teachers always told me "reading and practicing the lyrics frequently would help a lot". Because we are all Chinese, we can just read along the lyrics. There are no special way to regulate the articulation of singing. While I sang Chinese songs, my articulation were either very hard or not clear. It was difficult singing Chinese songs than singing Italian works, even I am a Chinese. Of course, getting familiar with the lyrics helps me on the understanding of the emotions of the song.

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2.4.2 Study in Scotland I attended Italian phonetic lessons when I was an undergraduate. The teacher would teach us how to pronounce the Italian lyrics according to the rules of International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Later, I went to Scotland to pursue a Master’s Degree. For all students majoring in vocal music, the diction class is a compulsory course, including Italian, German, French and even Russian. When we came across a song, it was likely that we might not understand the meaning of the lyrics, but we could spell the lyrics accurately with the assistance of IPA. In addition, we would often exercise vowels and the combination of consonants and vowels in our trainings, so we could combine the sound with the language very well. For new learners, they would start with singing simple Italian songs. When they reach the phase when their sound and articulation are relatively uniform, trainings of German, French and English songs will be added gradually. After years of study and research, I have made some bold attempts in singing and teaching how to sing Chinese lyrics and accumulated some experience.

Before practicing singing Chinese songs, to avoid my dry and non-uniform sound resulting from too clear articulation, I would write down the Chinese Pinyin of Chinese lyrics so that I could be very clear of the initials and finals of each character. These are similar to the consonants and vowels of each word in Latin language. Then I would recite the lyrics aloud to make sure there are cadence, logical accent and rich emotions. While practicing singing, I would practice the vocalization of initials and finals in Chinese according to the pronunciation of vowels and consonants in Italian. When encountering specific vowels and consonants in Chinese, I would sing the pronunciation much closer to those in Italian, German, French and English on the condition that my Chinese articulation is precise and clear so that I could guarantee the cohesive and uniform nature of my sound. While listening to the recording of my recital in Britain, I noticed that my sound in singing Chinese songs and that in singing German, French, English, Italian and other foreign songs didn’t change too much, and my sound was more cohesive, pure and uniform compared with that before I went abroad to study. After graduation, I went back to China to be a teacher in a Chinese university where I adopted the method to write down Chinese Pinyin to teach students to sing Chinese songs and have harvested some satisfactory results. 28

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2.4.3 Study in America A few years ago, I came to America to pursue a Doctor’s Degree in vocal music. In the university, I found that apart from diction classes on Italian, German, French, Spanish, Russian and Czech, the university also offered a diction class for English lyrics, and there were matched textbooks. In theory, English is the mother tongue for Americans and all American students majoring in vocal music can sing English songs well. However, the purpose of this course is to teach students how to use the pronunciation of international phonetic symbols to correct their inherent pronunciation habits and accents while singing in their own language. In this way, when American students sing English songs in Bel canto, they would be clearer about the consonants and vowels they are singing, similar to the way they sing Italian and other foreign songs. Their articulation would be more accurate and uniform; their sound would be more cohesive; their application of resonance cavity would be better as well. Therefore, by learning from the spelling method of IPA in my English diction class, I got the idea to sing Chinese songs and standardize the pronunciation of Chinese lyrics through IPA. Subsequently, I looked up some materials and found that there was an IPA chart corresponding to Chinese Pinyin.4 It is more scientific to read and sing lyrics in accordance with IPA symbols than to look for the same or similar pronunciation of vowels and consonants in German, French, English and Italian according to marked Chinese Pinyin because the same phonetic symbols correspond to the same pronunciation in singing. In this way, the pronunciation of Chinese lyrics can be more standardized and international. Such method unifies the articulation of Chinese characters and is also beneficial to the quality and cohesiveness of sound in Bel canto.

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CHAPTER III

INTERVIEW When I came back to China, with respect to how to sing Chinese musical works with Bel canto, I interviewed Professor Song Bo, a famous tenor in Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Professor Song elaborated his opinions in the following aspects.

3.1 Biography of Professor Song Bo Bo Song described by the Boston Globe as “an outstanding performer.” continues receiving praises for the beauty and musicality of his singing. Recently he sang Mozart’s “Requiem”with Marco Symphony Orchestra in Marco, sang at the China Pavilion at Expo 2005 in Aichi Japan and in Alexandria Egypt. He appeared as jury at the 7th China National Vocal Competition, The 8th China National Vocal Competition, The 3rd China International Vocal Competition (Ningbo), The 4th China International Vocal Competition (Ningbo). He gave three very successful recitals in Shanghai, Hanover and Shenyang. He sang at the New Year Gala of 2004 In Guangzhou, the show which broadcasted worldwide by China Central Television. And also, he had the honor of singing at the People’s Hall in Beijing for President Hu Jingtao. In October of 2002, he sang the world premieres of two pieces by prominent composer Yie Xiaogang with the Shanghai Broadcasting Orchestra in the Beijing International Music Festival at the Boli Theater. In December of that year, he sang “Nessun Dorma ”from Turandot at the outdoor Shanghai World Expo Celebration Gala which broadcasted nationally.

The 2001-02 seasons was highlighted by his performance at the gala opening concert of Shanghai Spring International Music Festival with Shanghai Symphony at the Shanghai Grand Theater. Mr. Song made his Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall debut in the spring of 2001 in an opera program, and later that year, he sang the Alfredo from “La Traviata” in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Mr. Song’s other recent performances include a house debut with New York City Opera as the Duke in “Rigoletto”; a national tour with New York City Opera as Rodolfo in “La Boheme”; appearances in that same role with Des Moine Metro Opera, Washington Opera International, and Sacramento Opera; the Verdi’s Requiem with the Brooklyn Philharmonic at

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Carnegie Hall, the Albany Symphony, and Canterbury Choral Society; Das Lied von der Erde with the Lincoln Symphony; Verdi’s “Nabucco “ in concert with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Collegiate Chorale at the Carnegie Hall; and “Carmen” with the Florida Symphony.; “Bravo, China!” a performance at the Hollywood Bowl with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra that was telecast across China.

Winner of the Elizabeth Rethberg Award in the Rosa Ponsell Competition in 1988, Mr. Song won first place in the China National Council Competition in 1987, and in the New England Regional Metropolitan Opera Council Audition in 1992, and received grants from Metropolitan Opera House Education Found and Li Foundation Fellowship in 1993 and 1994. The Outstanding Teacher of Shanghai in 2005.

Bo Song received his Bachelor of Music degree from Shenyang Conservatory of music; an opera Certificate from Boston University, where he was recipient of the Dean’s Scholarship and studied with soprano Phyllis Curtin; and an Advanced Certificate from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Marlena Malas. Mr. Song recently is teaching at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music as a vocal professor.

3.2 Summary of the Interview Questions and Answers

3.2.1 Bel Canto Training Introduction Professor Song prefers to lower the larynx, lift the soft palate, use a vertical shape for making sound, and get full support from breathing and strong waist. In trainings, different genders and acoustic areas correspond to different requirements. It varies from person to person. Let’s take tongue as an example. People in the northern part of China usually have a tight tongue position when they speak Mandarin, and their articulation is relatively back. The way people talk and the pronunciation they make depend on the root of tongue. It might be a problem that cannot be solved in a short period of time. No one is perfect in singing, and inevitably there are some problems of singing techniques for each singer. However, as long as the overall singing ability is great and the singing is touching, the person is a great singer.

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3.2.2 Similarities and Differences In Professor Song’s opinion, they are both a style of singing and express people’s inner emotions. However, they differ from each other in the following aspects. Firstly, the aesthetic appreciation of sound. Bel canto mixes the sound from the normal chest voice and a falsetto. The sound is mellow, transparent and coherent. In contrast, the sound of Chinese folk singing is relatively brighter and resounding. Secondly, the acoustic effect. Bel canto singers are required to adopt resonance in their training, to use their cavity and stabilize and lower the position of larynx. Moreover, it’s important to employ the head voice. Different from Bel canto, in folk singing, the position of larynx is put relatively higher. Thirdly, the volume. Microphones are used in folk singing. As for Bel canto, microphones are only used for TV productions, not for on-stage live performances either in the opera house or in the concert. Fourthly, works performed. Folk musical pieces can be sung through Bel canto, but it is not suitable to sing foreign songs and western classical musical pieces through folk singing

3.2.3 Main Problems of Bel Canto with Chinese Songs In Professor Song’s opinion, to sing Chinese songs using Bel canto lies in the comprehensive application of three aspects—sound, language and musicianship. A good combination of these three can create clear articulation and a mellow and full tune. Then it can be better accepted by Chinese audience. As a judge of Chinese singing competitions, Professor Song noticed that many candidates might devote more time and energy to preparing foreign works because Chinese professors usually train students’ voice through foreign music pieces. New learners cannot comprehensively and precisely master the technique and pronunciation. At this time, if they are trained with Chinese works, they cannot master the melody of lyrics well. As a result, when singing Chinese works, sufficient attention should be paid to the cohesion and connection between the voice and pronunciation. Moreover, logical stress matters in Chinese characters. If there is only voice and the pronunciation and articulation are not clear enough, then the music cannot capture the audience’s heart, especially those audience understanding Chinese characters. Consequently, the music would sound ambiguous and blurring, with no sense of geniality. In teaching, the very first thing is to train students’ voice. Students cannot demonstrate the tension of sound without the technique. Artistic expression

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 needs technical support. When one performs the high pitch, words should make way for sound. The priority is to make sure the pitch of the sound is accurate. In addition, it is important to cultivate cultural refinement. Singing requires comprehensive qualities and the perception of music. A singer lacking in cultural refinement and profound understanding will demonstrate shallowness in voice and musical insight. Singing is not simply making a singer’s wonderful voice heard. A good voice is not sufficient at all. Singing without soul carries no vitality. The problems exposed on the stage still need to be solved in class.

3.2.4 Some Techniques for Singing Chinese Songs Professor Song will firstly make sure students understand what Bel canto is in his teaching. Students should know what correct and beautiful sound is from the perspective of acoustic effect. To rehearse the chosen pieces and their music score, students should, first of all, understand the general meaning of the lyrics, which requires them to translate the lyrics word for word, read them aloud with rhythm, and then, sing the tone with accurate articulation of the words. Students have to know what they need to sing first, and then train their voice. It is an individualized teaching. Bel canto is the singing method for classical music. It should be adopted differently in singing Chinese works and foreign works. In addition, the category of foreign works can be very general, including but not limited to German and Austrian art songs, French, Russian, American and Italian art songs. Even for the same person singing songs in different time periods and languages in Bel canto, he should make fine adjustment. There are various artistic works in various time periods in China. Consequently, in using Bel Canto to sing Chinese songs, Chinese artistic and aesthetic standards should be applied to guide the singing. In essence, a singer should be able to perform the piece in its authentic entirety and true to its artistic style. In terms of how to choose works, Professor Song holds the opinion that it is easier for new learns to use Bel canto works in Baroque period to learn the fundamental knowledge and requirements of Bel canto as well as the concept of voice. Subsequently, students can gradually apply Bel Canto techniques to some Chinese works. As a result, students can further enhance their singing techniques. All in all, the ultimate goal is to let students sing Chinese works well.

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3.2.5 Significance Professor Song used “to carry forward Chinese traditional culture and to make foreign things serve China” to summarize the significance of singing Chinese works in Bel canto. The purpose for Chinese to learn from and use foreign cultures is to spread and strengthen our own national culture. For example, America has introduced a large number of opera talents and constructed music colleges, which served the purpose of singing American operas. In small opera houses, all operas are sung in English. Another example is the recordings of audiovisual products of Pavarotti from Italy. No matter whether they were originally French or German songs, they were all sung in Italian. In the past several decades, China has learnt from western music. However, with China becoming more prosperous and influential in economy, the overall level of Chinese music is significantly better than that in the past. The ultimate goal for us is to develop musical works with Chinese characteristics. In recent years, although Chinese composers have enthusiastically created many operas filled with Chinese characteristics, no classic or representative work has come into being. There are still no original Chinese operas with Chinese elements or internationally renowned Chinese art songs. In the China International Singing Competition in Ningbo, all candidates including foreign ones were required to sing Chinese art songs. At present, the “going abroad” of Chinese traditional culture is advocated. Therefore, the developing trend of singing should be to sing Chinese works in Bel canto. In the meantime, musical works with Chinese elements should also be international. They need be accepted by foreign mainstream media and the entire world. Chinese vocal music will surely go global. Foreigners might not sing folk songs well because they cannot master the rhythm of folk songs. However, for Chinese art songs and operas, as long as foreigners are able to understand and speak the language, they can sing these works well. Many Chinese singers have made great efforts and overcome the language barrier, and now they are popular on international opera stages. Moreover, Professor Song hopes that the Chinese government will provide stages for students. Nowadays, theatres such as the National Centre for the Performing Arts and Shanghai Grand Theatre are often the venues for foreign classical opera and Chinese original opera performance. This offers many Chinese singers precious opportunities to perform on the stage. In addition, Professor Song also advocates that Chinese singers should purposefully sing more Chinese works. It is highly possible that fewer 34

Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 foreign works will be sung and singing Chinese works will become the mainstream of society. It is the due responsibility of Chinese artists and educators. All vocal teachers should contribute to the inheritance and spread of Chinese culture.

Professor Song summarized that most Chinese Bel canto singers do not articulate very well when singing Chinese songs. They are not precise in expressing the meanings of the songs. The reason may be these singers spend most of their time and efforts on training and singing European songs. He said that the artistic performance on the stage requires the support of technical practice. "We should study the essence of the Bel canto style, and use it on Chinese songs".

I agree with Professor Song. I feel it's necessary to find a practical and effective way to help Chinese Bel canto students to improve their performance level while singing Chinese songs.

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CHAPTER IV

VOCAL PEDAGOGY

4.1 Overview of the Bel canto Vocal Pedagogy Human anatomy and physiology are related to the physical process of singing. There are 4 physical processes that happen in creating the nature sound: taking a breath, phonate the sound in the larynx, receive the sound and influence it by the vocal resonators, the articulators shape the sound into recognizable sound. The voice teachers must take the whole process into one coordinated function. Many vocal problems result from a lack of coordination within this process. The training processes should involve several aspects: respiration, phonation, resonation articulation, proper posture, vocal registration and voice classification.

It is important to emphasize that singing correctly involves using the entire body. This requires students have an examination of the skeletal, muscular and nervous systems. All human muscles work through contraction, and nearly all muscles in the body are symmetrically paired. For example, during singing, lung pressure is balanced through the opposition of aspiratory and expiratory muscles. The lungs provide a storage place for air, which can be used to generate sound while pushed through the human vocal folds. Aspiratory muscles, such as the diaphragm, make the lung work like a vacuum.

Teachers need to remind students that posture is strongly related to the singing. Good posture is helpful for producing good sound. Usually, singing posture are considered from several aspects: the stable feet, the relax legs, the unlock knees, the supportive hips and buttocks, the flexible abdominal wall, the out-up chest, the relax shoulders, arms and hands and the balanced neck and the head. In general, singers must have entire balanced body to sing.

Singers should pay more attention to the training of diction by IPA method. The Bel canto method requires clear and appropriate articulation, the phonation of each vowel in the language being clear and precise, consonants in articulation being accurate and flexible, and the switch of vowels being smooth. The primary articulators are: the tongue, the lips, the lower jaw, the soft palate, and the glottis, the epiglottis, and the larynx. They work in cooperation with the teeth, the alveolar ridge, the hard palate, and the pharyngeal wall.

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The voice teacher should always remember that correct voice classification is very important for singers. Misclassification can cause many harmful results, such as losing the nature and beautiful voice timbre, frustration, even causing voice damage. Teachers should help students maintain good voice health. Singers need to speak and sing with healthy technique at all times. For example, it is crucial to maintain effective breath support and control. Voice muscles should be kept free from stress and tension. Excessive glottal onsets and offsets of tone should be avoided. Singers also need to limit the number of hours spent singing and talking. It is also important to maintain adequate hydration by drinking 8-12 large glasses of water per day. Of course, timely rest and regular sleep patterns are always good habits.

4.2 To Find out Common Problems of Students’ Singing In my recent vocal teaching practice, I have students at different levels. They all major in vocal music, include freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. They share some common problems in singing, including improper breath management, too much energy being used in the waist and abdomen, failure to use diaphragm to control air, pull-back tongue, improper position of the tongue, tight jaw, excessive back sound, inaccurate and unclear pronunciation of vowels, and too tight articulation of Chinese characters.

In other words, according to the aesthetic standards of Bel canto, their breathing is not stable enough; their sound is not cohesive and focus; their timbre is not bright, mellow and full; their articulation is not clear and full; which all affect the emotional expression of their singing directly. I have found a general training idea to help them to solve some of the problems as the foundation of singing.

4.3 General Singing Technique Training Idea

Breath Management Training Idea Singing is the producing of sound through the air inside our body to vibrate the vocal cords slowly. Melba, a famous Australian soprano once said: “to get a perfect singing, correct breathing is more important than a beautiful sound. Breathing and the art of controlling air are of crucial significance to a singer.”

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Voice training must be based on breathing and supporting. Students can take exercises in order to practice breath management. Singing is the producing of sound through the air inside our body to vibrate the vocal cords slowly. It is known that respiration includes inhalation and exhalation. Both inhalation and exhalation should be slow, and both need the controlling of diaphragm and abdominal muscles. The entire process of breathing requires the cooperation of the ribs which connected diagram and abdominal muscles. While singing, singers should make sure that the air hasn’t been used up when the last musical note is sung so that the sound can be controlled. Students can know how to control breathing and use the air reasonably after long-term trainings.

I told my students how their bodies should feel when they inhale. It feels like they drink water - they should relax the back of the tongue, hold the chest in a raised position, expand the ribs and thrust upper diaphragm inward, but they must keep the diaphragm elastic and flexible. Since the diaphragm goes down when inhaling, all the organs inside the abdominal muscles will be pushed out a little bit, which explains why they feel the abdomen will be protruding. They must keep quiet when they take a breath, making no sound at all. That can help them take more air, make vocal cords open enough while silence is kept.

I have used the lip trills skill with tunes or no tunes to train students how to exhale in singing. The diaphragm will go up and the abdominal muscles will go up and inward. They must always keep the ribs expanded, and push from the back to keep the ribs from collapsing. As a professional singer, he should have the advanced and paramount technical ability called “Appoggio” which is about the breath controlling. Since most of the students are beginners, I simply described the sensations of Appoggio. For example, “Push from your diaphragm when you breath, feel as if you continue in your inhalation process while singing, the air should back up in your throat, feel the support from your pelvic floor, etc.”

Voice Quality and Resonance Training Idea

Teachers should explain to the students the function of larynx, which are used to speak and sing as the voice box. The framework of larynx includes five significant cartilages and one bone. They are epiglottis cartilage, thyroid cartilage, the two arytenoids cartilages, the cricoid cartilage, and the hyoid bone. Furthermore, there are two kinds of muscles in laryngeal 38

Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 function: intrinsic and extrinsic. The intrinsic muscle consists of thyroarytenoid muscle, cricothyroid muscle, cricoarytenoid muscle and arytenoid muscles, which are related to the movement of the vocal cords. The extrinsic muscles which perform the important task of positioning the larynx by raising, lowering, or stabilizing. Bel canto requires the singers to open the throat, raise up the soft palate and keep larynx down. We singers should make the instrument by ourselves and use the whole balanced body to sing, keep the air flowing and exhale well-distributed. Bel canto requires the singers to open the throat, raise up the soft palate and keep larynx down.

As a voice teacher, the priority is to train students’ voice well and ensure the sound meet the aesthetic standards of Italian Bel canto. Establish the different registers of the voice such as chest voice and head voice. Training of voice mainly refers to the training of the pronunciation of vowels because the acoustic effect of vowels and resonance are inseparable. We can use the back vowels to correct the white sound, such as [o], [u], which require lip rounding. We can practice frontal vowel exercises such as [i], [I], [e] to brighten the dark sound. In addition, the training of vowels is to make sure the transition of each sound is natural and smooth, without any break and “steps”. Bel canto attaches great importance to the application of resonance chamber, which is one of the criteria to distinguish Italian Bel canto from other singing. The vocal resonators involve seven areas: chest, tracheal tree, larynx, pharynx, oral cavity, nasal cavity and sinuses. Resonance is a key factor in successful vocalization. Vocalization depends on resonance instead of physical strength. Resonance is used to beautify and amplify the sound. This is a physical phenomenon. Sometimes a sound can be transmitted coherently from one resonance area to the other resonance areas and then vocalize together. Generally speaking, soprano and tenor should use more head voice to generate resonance; while alto and bass should use more chest voice to generate resonance.

The priority is to train the students how to establish their chest voice and resonance which are the foundation of high notes. When the notes get higher, the sound is more important than letters. They must prepare more space inside to sing the high notes. Meanwhile, the vowel modification is often used to sing high notes. Singers should switch the vowel to the open sound of the vowel. Vowels must be allowed to alter so that the throat stays open on

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 ascending passages. The head voice will be used when they get close to the passaggio when the notes get higher. Don’t open the mouth too wide and raise up the soft palate to create more space inside the throat. When we sing the high notes with the head voice, vibration will be heard through the eras. The sound seems like the butterflies shaking their wings. The soft palate is lifted up; while the lower jaw is in a natural and relaxed way and in a lower position. Then the throat comes closer gradually to make lots of air to be pushed up by the abdominal muscles. The air in the diaphragm is held and not released. At this time, there is great pressure, which should be controlled and pushed up gently to support the sound wave and resonance in the head cavity.

I have used a specific exercise to train students’ voice. Firstly, I taught students to sing the five Italian vowels legato by one specific exercise. In this exercise, I asked the students to start the sound behind the front teeth, put the tongue against the bottom of the teeth. They must sing the right and pure sound of the vowels, keep the unified voice and don’t change too much when they sing the next vowel from the last one. We singers always attempt to pronounce “pure vowels” well, but the truth is, when the voice gets into their high range, the passaggio must be properly produced; the throat will keep open; the vowels will alter to another open sound, diction will actually become more understandable. For instance, we should sing[ɔ] instead of [o] through the passaggio to the high range. For new learners, the first step is to find the position of head cavity, and then to sing in a gentle voice by humming. After some long- term practice, the gentle voice can be loud and focus.

Figure 4.1 Training Exercise 1

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Next, I trained the students via another exercise. I added “th”, (IPA is [θ]) to the vowels compared to the original one. They must sing the consonant sound [θ] with the pitch not just sing the vowels.

Figure 4.2 Training Exercise 2:

4.4 Training Ideas for Emotion and Expression There are four steps that can be considered to help students convey thoughts and emotions in the songs accurately:

(1) Familiarize oneself with the song. It is recommended to repeat the lyrics of the song a few times firstly in order to fully understand the protagonist’s time period, particular context, and the meaning he/she would like to convey. At the same time, it is important to understand the composer’s life, political attitude, thought, artistic style, and technique of expression to clarify the meaning and emotion that the art intends to reflect.

(2) Read music score thoroughly. It is vital to comprehend the pitch, rhythm, tempo, phrase, breath, and all kinds of articulation symbols in the score. The spirit of a song always shows itself through some designated tempos, phrases, or articulations.

(3) Analyze fully the music genre, manifestations, characteristics, key and form. It is essential to better understand the composer’s intention. No matter what the length of the music, long or short, singers can strongly feel the composer’s passion. Besides, the depth of a composer is embedded in the careful arrangement of every verse and stanza. 41

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(4) Fully master the central theme, style, identity and artistic conception of the song. Analysis and understanding must be reached on time period, including the regional and individual style of the song.

4.5 A New Chinese Diction Training Technique Singing is a musical art language developed by human beings based on their living language, and people create artistic images through organizing orderly musical sounds. It is said in Yue Ji that “Thus singing is a prolonged language.”5 To paraphrase this saying in our modern language, it means that singing is actually a language; it simply lengthens the tone. Thus it can be seen that the language of singing is not special language. Instead, it originates from living language and extends to achieve a perfect combination with music.

As we know, the Bel canto style has been developed by singing European songs for several hundred years. Many European songs are labeled with IPA. Although IPA is not necessarily part of the Bel canto singing system, it is a very useful tool for training Bel canto. As a result, a lot of experiences have been obtained on developing techniques of how to sing each IPA under different contexts and situations. However, if we sing Chinese songs using Chinese Pinyin’s Wuyin and Sihu, then these hundreds of years of previous experiences may not be able to be applied to singing Chinese songs directly. Therefore, it requires the development of a new set of Bel canto technique summarizing how to sing each Chinese Pinyin under different situations. This may might take a quite long time. This is the reason why I propose to use IPA to label Chinese songs, so we can apply traditional Bel canto singing techniques to Chinese songs directly.

Since we sing Chinese songs, it is necessary to know how many initials and finals there are in Chinese Pinyin. In China, mandarin is our official language and Chinese people start learning mandarin by learning Pinyin first. In Pinyin, consonants are called initials; while vowels are called finals. In Chinese phonetic alphabets, there are 22 (b p m f d t n l g k h j q x z c s zh ch sh r y w ) initials and 24 finals, among which six (a, o, e, i, u, ü) are single finals;

5 Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature—Jing Branch, P274 42

Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 eight (ai, ei, ui, ao, ou, iu, ie, üe) are compound finals; nine (an, en, in, un, ün, ang, eng, ing, ong) are nasal finals; and one (er) is a special final. The Chinese Pinyin International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Chart can be referenced for details. Almost all Pinyin of each Chinese character consists of initial(s) and final(s). For example, the Pinyin of “饭” (means “rice”) and “光” (means “light”) are fàn and guāng respectively. In China, when we study English at a young age, the first step is to learn International Phonetic Alphabet. After mastering the pronunciation and rules of IPA, we can easily spell words. Similarly, if the Chinese characters are labeled with Pinyin, foreigners then will have a way of finding out the pronunciations.

We always think that Mandarin is our mother language and it is unnecessary to turn Chinese Pinyin to International Phonetic symbols. However, as a singer and voice teacher, I think we can learn from the experience that American professors teach students to sing English songs. Chinese lyrics can be spelt according to Pinyin, and there is also a corresponding International Phonetic System chart. Therefore, I designed a table that compares the consonants and single vowels in the three languages of Chinese, English, and Italian. My findings are that, most Pinyin IPA sounds the same as the IPA of English and Italian. Of course, there are a few exceptions.

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Table 4.1 Classification of Consonants6

Manner of Articulation Chinese Italian English Plosive or Stop [p’]([b]) [p] [b] [p] [d] [b] [p] [d] (A momentary closure of the air flow [t]([d]) [t’] ([t]) [t] [g] [k] [t][g] [k] [ʔ] passage) [k]([g]) [k’]([k]) Fricative [f] [s] [ɕ] [x]([h]) [v] [f] [z] [v] [f] [z] (Produced by directing the air flow [ʂ]([ʃ]) [ʐ]([ʒ]) [s] [ʃ] [s] [ʍ] past a set of articulators) [ʒ][ʃ] [h] [θ] [ð] Affricate [ts]([dz]) [dz] [dʒ] [dʒ] [tʃ] (A plosive or stop that is followed by a [ts’]([ts]) [ts] [tʃ] fricative) [tʂ]([dʒ]) [tʂ’]([tʃ]) [tɕ] [tɕ’] Nasal [m] [n] [ŋ] [m] [n] [m] [n] [ŋ] (Produced by directing vocalized tone [ŋ] [ɲ] through the nasal passages) Lateral [l] [l] [ʎ] [l] (Produced by directing vocalized tone over the sides of the tongue) Glide [j] [w] [j] [w] [j] [w] (Produced by directing vocalized tone past a set of articulators without frication) Trill [ɾ] [r] [ɾ] (Formed by taps with the tip of the tongue against the ridge or teeth) Retroflex [ɹ] (Produced with lips rounded and tongue tip curled up) Note: IPA in the brackets sounds similar to the Chinese IPA.

6 Montgomery, Cheri. 6. 44

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Table 4.1 Continued Point of Articulation Chinese Italian English Bilabial [p’]([b]) [b] [p] [m] [b] [p] [m] (Refers to the lips) [p] [m] [w] [w] [ʍ]

Labiodental [f] [v] [f] [v] [f] (Involves the lower lip and the upper row of teeth) Dental [ts]([dz]) [d] [t] [z] [s] [θ] [ð] (Involves the tip of the tongue and [ts’]([ts]) [l] [n] [r] the back of the upper row of teeth) [s] [dz] [ts]

Alveolar [t]([d]) Some sources [d] [t] [z] classify Italian r (Involves the tip of the tongue and [t’] ([t]) as alveolar [s] [l] [n] [ɾ] the ridge behind the upper teeth) [n] [l] [ɹ] Prepalatal [tʂ]([dʒ]) [ʃ] [dʒ] [tʃ] [ʒ] [ʃ] [dʒ] (Involve the tongue and the area [tʂ’]([tʃ]) [j] [ʎ] [ɲ] [tʃ] between the alveolar ridge and hard [ʂ]([ʃ]) palate) [ʐ]([ʒ]) Palatal [tɕ] [tɕ’] [ɕ] [j] (The middle of the tongue contacts the hard palate) Velar [k]([g]) [g] [k] [ŋ] [g] [k] [ŋ] (back of the tongue contacts the soft [k’]([k]) palate [x]([h]) [ŋ] Glottal [ʔ] [h] (Involves the air flow and the opening between the vocal cords Note: IPA in the brackets sounds similar to the Chinese IPA.

Table 4.2 Classification of Vowels7

Letters of vowels Chinese Italian English a [Ą] ([a]) [a] [a] [ʌ] o [o] [o] [ɔ] [o] [ɔ] e [ɣ] ([ə]) [ə] [ɛ] [e] [ɛ] [æ] [ɛ] i [i] [i] [i] [I] u [u] [u] [u] [U] ü [y] Note: IPA in the brackets sounds similar to the Chinese IPA.

7 Montgomery, Cheri. 8. 45

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That is to say, when learning how to sing a Chinese song, students can also change Chinese Pinyin to International Phonetic symbols. For singers whose mandarin is not so standard, this method can be effective to correct their pronunciation of Chinese and give them a direct impression of each consonant and each vowel. In this way, they will have a clear understanding of the lyrics, and can easily pursue an accurate, clear and coherent articulation. Let’s take a diphthongs “hua” in Chinese as an example. There is a similar word “sua” in Italian. They share the same part “ua”. According to the pronunciation rules of Chinese characters, [u] is proportionally prolonged and then gradually transits to [a]. Whereas, from the phonetic symbols of Italian “sua” ([su:a]), it can be seen that the duration of [u:] is longer than [a]. From the perspective of spelling and pronunciation, “ua” is the same. Therefore, while singing, each vowel should be pure and clear, and the sound quality should be the same too. According to my singing and teaching experience, while teaching Chinese, the pronunciation practices of Italian vowels can be used in the pronunciation of Chinese characters. However, in order to guarantee the accuracy of singing in any language, it is important to apply its phonetic patterns and principles.

Meanwhile, singers should mark Chinese Pinyin as well as correct tones of Chinese lyrics. Tone is the use of pitch to distinguish different Chinese characters. Mandarin Chinese has four pitched tones and a “toneless” tone. (The first tone is flat, high and level; the second tone is up, starting medium in tone, and then rising to the top; the third tone is curve, starting low, dipping to the bottom, and then rising towards the top; the fourth tone is down, starting at the top, and then falling sharp and strong to the bottom. The “toneless” tone is light, with no emphasis.) Subsequently, students were asked to refer to the IPA and wrote down the corresponding international symbols of the lyrics. The next step was to find out the logical accent in each sentence. Finally, they were required to read the lyrics aloud with rich emotions and recite them. Let’s take the first sentence of the Chinese song “Jasmine Flower” as an example. The international symbols of “hǎo yì duǒ měi lì di mò lì huā” are “[xau] [ji] [tuo]

[mei] [li] [ti] [mo] [li] [xua]”. According to Chinese language, the logical accent should be on

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“hao”, “mei li”, “mo li hua”. Hence, while singing the Chinese song, students should apply the pronunciation of vowels in Bel canto to sing each vowel of the lyrics to guarantee the fullness and coherence of sounds. The articulation of Chinese songs should follow such principle: the pronunciation of the first consonant must be accurate, crispy and clear. Singers must sing the first consonant with the pitch, prolong the middle of the word and make sure the rhythm of the last phonetic sound is precise.

The Chinese language is spoken using more of the back of the tongue, when compared to many European languages, such as the Italian. That means Bel canto dental position needs the low larynx and higher soft palate to help the technical production of the voice when singing the Chinese Mandarin songs. According to the teaching experience of my advisors and mine, if the singers sing the language with the proper pronunciation and inflection, the voice technically works better. Lyric speech can reflect lyric singing. It is an effective way to practice how to read the words.

With the popularization of Chinese language worldwide, my American students also express their desire to sing Chinese songs. While teaching them to sing Chinese songs, I would write down Chinese Pinyin of the lyrics for them in advance. Then, students are able to read Chinese lyrics easily by comparing Chinese Pinyin with IPA symbols. In addition, reading lyrics aloud helps them to find the logical accent so that they can sing the song in a Chinese way. However, this method is quite difficult to those foreign singers who have no knowledge of Chinese, unless the Pinyin and tones of each Chinese character in the lyrics are all marked on the score.8

While training students to sing Chinese songs, I adopt the following steps for Diction section:

Step 1: Write down the Chinese Pinyin of the lyrics, including four pitched tones of each character.

Step 2: Write down the IPA symbols.

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Step 3: Mark the logical accent of the lyrics.

Step 4: Read and recite the lyrics using the Bel canto dental position.

Singing is an art combining both voice and language, and it can illustrate the sentimental feelings buried deep inside people’s hearts through tone and intonation. However, the distinct charm of singing is the vocal ability of an individual singer to capture our essential human nature, display social relations, deliver messages, and find an echo among the audience through his or her voice. This makes vocal art unique and incomparable.

In the 2018 Spring Festival Gala hosted by China Central Television, Chinese and foreign singers sang the classic Chinese song “I love you, China” in Bel canto. Subsequently, the same foreign singers sang the Jiangsu folk song “Jasmine Flower” in the gala organized by Jiangsu Television. The thrilling performances both received thunderous applauses. While singing Chinese and foreign musical pieces, singers reached the aesthetic standard of Bel canto. The sound of foreign singers was coherent, full, round and penetrating, and their language was clear, complete, accurate and with cadence as well as logical accent. Moreover, they gave full play to resonance, performed skillfully with beautiful songs and rich feelings, and appealed to the audience’s heart. Chinese singers should learn from all these merits. It is never recommended that Chinese singers ruin the aesthetic standard of Bel canto because of the articulation of Chinese characters. Otherwise, it cannot be called authentic Bel canto.

With Chinese singers singing Chinese musical works on western stages more and more frequently, people all over the world begin to appreciate authentic Chinese works with oriental charm. For example, the classic opera created by the musician Puccini used the melody of the Jiangsu folk song “Jasmine Flower” to represent an element from the East. The song “Jasmine Flower” gradually went international with the performance of Chinese singers. To sing a Chinese song in an international method of singing opera like Bel canto is easier to be accepted by the world. As Chinese Bel canto singers, it is incumbent upon these singers to actively sing Chinese works and promote Chinese culture.

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CHAPTER V

EXPERIMENT

5.1 Introduction to the Experiment I was a voice teacher in Zhengzhou University in China while I was doing this Experiment. Meanwhile, this experiment was conducted as part of my DMA program.

Firstly, I picked eight Chinese students majoring in vocal music and divided them into Group A and Group B, each group with four students. Both groups were trained by me in the Bel canto way. In terms of breath management, voice and resonance, and emotion and expression, both groups received the same training. But the difference of their training is the diction training part. I taught Group A how to sing Chinese songs using the IPA method I summarized previously to regulate their diction, while Group B received no such instructions. They were just asked to read the words frequently.

Then I chose a well-known Chinese song as the "test song" for all the eight students in this experiment. This song is called “Jasmine Flower”, whose melody is used in Opera “Turandot” by Puccini as the Oriental element. During the four-month teaching, I used other Chinese songs to teach the students as examples to compliment my teaching. They were required to practice the test song by themselves. I never taught them how to sing the test song directly.

The experiment lasted for 4 months. For each week of these 4 months, I gave a 1-on-1 lesson (about 45 minutes) to each of the 8 students. At the end of each month, I asked each of the students to sing "Jasmine Flower". I recorded all the performances on video. That is to say, each student would be recorded four times throughout the experiment.

At the conclusion of the four months, I asked eight Chinese judges to give scores for all the performances I recorded. The judges are professional singers or voice teachers. Four judges have obtained their Master’s Degree in voice abroad and the other four received their Master’s Degree in voice in China. The rubrics has five sections, including Breath Management, Voice Quality, Legato, Diction, and Emotion & Expression.

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Statistical analysis was then computed using the opinion scores by a friend, who is a mathematician.

I hope to test whether my method of teaching Chinese songs through a four-month experiment is effective or not. This method originated from my years of learning and summarization. During the four months, I conducted two different training methods to students in Group A and Group B respectively.

5.2 Experiment Results There are two groups of students. Each group has 4 students with similar starting levels and skills. The author trained these students for about 4 months, teaching each of them about 1 hours per week. The period is between April 2018 and July 2018.

The students were asked to sing the same song, the famous Chinese folk song "Jasmine", once every month. The performance was recorded on video. Then, at the end of the training, four videos were obtained for each student. 8 professional singers are asked to review these videos and give their opinion score for each of these performances. The scores are in five categories:

Breath Management

Voice Quality

Legato

Diction

Emotion and Expression

Overall

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Tables 5.1 and 5.2 show the experiment results.

Table 5.1 Group A review scores

Group A Result: Averaged Over 4 students

Overall 2018-4 2018-5 2018-6 2018-7 Improvement Breath Management 6.46 6.99 7.34 7.79 17.1% Voice Quality 6.65 7.18 7.55 8.02 17.1% Legato 6.79 7.34 7.68 8.06 15.7% Diction 6.74 7.23 7.58 8.00 15.7% Expression 6.68 7.11 7.48 7.85 14.9% Overall 6.66 7.17 7.53 7.94 16.1%

Table 5.2 Group B review scores.

Group B Result: Averaged Over 4 students

Overall 2018-4 2018-5 2018-6 2018-7 Improvement Breath Management 6.14 6.40 6.74 6.91 11.1% Voice Quality 6.41 6.66 6.93 7.01 8.6% Legato 6.27 6.59 6.86 6.98 10.3% Diction 6.18 6.56 6.83 6.89 10.3% Expression 6.25 6.53 6.74 6.99 10.7% Overall 6.25 6.55 6.82 6.96 10.2%

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Figure 5.1 to 5.6 plot the average scores of the experiment.

10.00

8.00

Group A 6.00 Group B

4.00

2.00

0.00 2018-4 2018-5 2018-6 2018-7

Breath Management Improvement

Figure 5.1 Average Review scores for Breath Management Improvement

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10.00

8.00

Group A 6.00 Group B

4.00

2.00

0.00 2018-4 2018-5 2018-6 2018-7

Voice Quality Improvement

Figure 5.2 Average Review scores for Voice Quality Improvement

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9.00

6.75

Group A Group B 4.50

2.25

0.00 2018-4 2018-5 2018-6 2018-7

Legato Improvement

Figure 5.3 Average Review scores for Legato Improvement

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Diction Improvement

Figure 5.4 Average Review scores for Diction Improvement

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10.00

8.00

Group A 6.00 Group B

4.00

2.00

0.00 2018-4 2018-5 2018-6 2018-7

Expression Improvement

Figure 5.5 Average Review scores for Expression Improvement

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9.00

6.75

Group A Group B 4.50

2.25

0.00 2018-4 2018-5 2018-6 2018-7

Overall Improvement

Figure 5.6 Average Overall Improvement

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5.3 Experiment Result Analysis

From the experiment results, we can make the following observations: (1) On average, Group A students made about 6% more improvements in their singing performance than Group B students. Group A students made 16.1% overall improvements, while Group B students made 10.2% overall improvements.

(2) Although Group A students improved more on Voice & Resonance performance, group A students improved significantly better than group B students did in all the measurements.

(3) From the plots of Figure 4.5, it seems the improvement of Group B students may have plateaued, while the performance of Group A students can improve further.

(4) Group B students already performed worse than Group A students did at the beginning of the experiments. Group B students overall averaged a performance score of 6.25, which is 6.2% lower than the Group A starting performance score of 6.66.

From the above observations, we can make some of the following conclusions: (1) The IPA method is useful for training Chinese students using the bel canto method to sing Chinese songs.

(2) The method can accelerate the improvement rate of learning the bel canto method to sing Chinese songs.

(3) The method may help to raise the performance ceiling for some students. However, more data is needed to support this judgment.

(4) The experiment may be biased because Group A students already performed better in the beginning of the experiment. There might even be a chance that Group A students have more talents than what Group B students have. The students should have been divided after the first video performance review. The division should be made in a way such that the average starting performance scores of the two groups be as close as possible.

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5.4 Suggested Future Work The author started an experiment on using IPA method to train Chinese students to use the bel canto method to sing Chinese songs. The experiment showed some interesting and promising results. However, due to limited time and experiences, there are many aspects the experiment can be improved. The following are some possible future work to further improve the experiment:

(1) Use more experiment participants. Currently, there are 8 students in the experiment. It is not very convincing that the experiment results are highly significant from a statistical point of view.

(2) The groups should be divided more evenly. The teachers should not be the ones deciding which students should go into which group. A random and even method should be introduced.

(3) Only one teacher is used in this experiment. More teachers should be used in future experiment to avoid bias by the teacher.

(4) Variations of the IPA method should be introduced to select the best methods.

(5) The IPA method may be used on different types of experiments. For example, the method can be used to teach foreigners to sing Chinese folk songs.

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CHAPTER VI

CONCLUSION Taking a song book at hand, we must devote ourselves to do it well based on the principle of knowing, singing and projecting emotion. After all, singing is a comprehensive art, related to music, literature, language, history, performance, etc. To sum up: singing is not merely a technique, but a certain culture embodying truth, goodness, and beauty. Only we may catch the singing technique, only we can know the common measures of expressive force, pursuing and spreading the meaning of beauty. That is because art is the carrier and embodiment of beauty. Without beauty, nobility and morality would cease to exist. If that were the case, then so too would be the meaning of life.

The teaching methods as well as teaching experiment mentioned in this paper are simply a preliminary exploration of the ways to use Bel canto to sing Chinese songs. An integrated method is proposed. This method includes general singing technique, training ideas for expression, and the new IPA diction training technique. An experiment was conducted to prove the feasibility of this method. However, further works and experiments are necessary to improve this method.

To sum up, an excellent singer should be one who has a beautiful voice resulted from extensive scientific training, combined with exquisite language competency from numerous practices, as well as the ability to sing with artistic accomplishment.

The following are the 3 steps for training to sing Chinese songs:

Firstly, training to use the voice in the scientific way, including breath management, voice quality, etc.

Secondly, label the Chinese song using the International Phonetic Alphabet System (IPA) chart. The singers may read lyrics out with logical accent and cadence using the Bel canto dental position.

Finally, they should have a deeper understanding of the meanings and emotions in the lyrics so that their singings can be skillful, touching and rich in emotion at the same time.

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Such performance shall ensure that the sensation of Chinese songs remains even if the songs are sung in Bel canto style and that the way of singing is consistent with the aesthetic standard of Bel canto. For foreign audience, they might not understand the meaning of the Chinese lyrics, but they can still recognize the essence of Bel canto through the coherent sound.

As voice teachers we must be able to work with beginning students because the first task for singers is to use the correct way to produce high quality voice. Singing is the art of utilizing sound to express emotion in an aesthetic way. Its aesthetic strength depends solely on the inner meanings of the voice.

An accurate mastery and application of singing language is an important training part of singing techniques. Language is an essential component of vocal music, and the melody of any song is generated on the basis of language. Language is able to convey emotions and feelings directly and precisely, which is incomparable by any other form. Consequently, sufficient attention should be paid to language in the training of vocal music art.

The Italian language in traditional Bel canto has many characteristics. For example, most words end with a vowel; consonants are simple; the position of stress in a syllable is relatively fixed; words are used to express emotions. All these features play a decisive role in the pronunciation and vocalization of Bel canto. As Chinese singers, we can effectively learn from the pronunciation of Italian vowels to lay a solid foundation for the quality of sound. Meanwhile, we should learn our own language well and adopt appropriate methods to adjust the articulation and rhyming of Chinese lyrics while singing.

A Chinese singer cannot be regarded as a successful singer if he or she fails to sing Chinese songs well. As an international standard of singing, Bel canto has been popular for over three centuries with its scientific and artistic features. In this way, singing Chinese songs in Bel canto style should bring more enjoyment and enrichment to the Chinese audience. .

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Garcia, Manuel. Art of singing. Boston: O. Ditson company, 1800.

Han, Xunguo. The Voice Pedagogy. Wuhan: University of Wuhan Press, 1998.

Jin, Tielin. A Collection of Jin Tielin’s Teaching on Vocal Music. People’s Music, April, (2008).

Lehmann, Lilli. Meine Gesangkunst (English translation of the title is How to Sing) New York: The Macmillan company,1902.

Li, Yanfang. Vocal Music History of China. Kunming: Yunnan University Press, 2011.

Liu, Dawei, and Huang,Changhong. Vocal Music (I) [M]. Nanjing: Nanjing Normal University Publishing House, 2006.

Malde, Melissa and Allen, MaryJean and Zeller, Kurt-Alexander. What Every Singer Needs to Know About the Body. San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing, Inc, 2013.

McCoy, Scott. Your Voice: The Basics. Delaware, OH: Inside View Press, 2016.

McKinney, James C. The Diagnosis And Correction Of Vocal Faults: A Manual For Teachers Of Singing And For Choir Directors. Long Grove: Waveland Press, 2005.

Montgomery, Cheri. English Lyric Diction Workbook. Nashville: S.T.M. Publisher, 2006.

Randel, Don Michael. The Harvard concise dictionary of music and musicians. Cambridge, and London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1999.

Shang, Jiayi. The History of Bel Canto. Shanghai: East China Press, 2003.

Shen, Xiang. The Art of Vocal Pedagogy. Beijing: People`s Music publishing House, 1998.

Stark, James. Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003

Sun, Zuodong and Sun, Ji. Basic Theory of National Vocality Art and Teaching Practice. Changchun: Ji Lin University Press, 2017.

Shi, Weizheng. The Fundamental of Vocality. Beijing: People’s Music publishing House, 2002.

Shi, Weizheng. Teaching Fruits of Zou Wenqin. People’s Music, January (2010)

The Editors of Articulation Training and the Thirteen Rhymes. Articulation Training and the Thirteen Rhymes. Beijing: Minzu University of China, April 1998. 63

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The Editors of Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature. Britannica. Bel canto, VOCAL MUSIC. Encyclopedia Britannica. August 1st, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/art/bel-canto

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. Bel canto, VOCAL MUSIC. Encyclopedia Britannica. August 1st, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/art/bel-canto

Xia, Hongyan and Pan, Yonghua. Folk Vocal Music Singing and Teaching Research compiled. Beijing: China Book Press, 2017.

Xia Yanzhou and Wang Xiaolong and Chen Yong. History of Chinese Music, Shanghai Music Publishing House & People’s Music Publishing House, Sep. 2007, Page 84.

Xu, Jiangzhen. The Art of Singing. Beijing: People’s Music publishing House, 2004.

Yuan, Zhongrui. On the Promotion of Mandarin. Beijing: Language & Culture Press. June, 2004.

Zhao, Meibo. The Art of Singing. Shanghai: Shanghai Conservatory of Music Press, 1997.

Zhao, Zhenmin. Teaching Approaches in Vocal Pedagogy. Shanghai: Shanghai Conservatory of Music Press, 2000.

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APPENDIX A. PINYIN IPA CHART

Consonants

Pinyin IPA Pinyin IPA Pinyin IPA

b [p] g [k] s [s] p [p’] k [k’] zh [tʂ] m [m] h [x] ch [tʂ’] f [f] j [tɕ] sh [ʂ] d [t] q [tɕ’] z [ʐ] t [t’] x [ɕ] y [j] n [n] z [ts] w [w] l [l] c [ts’] Single Vowels

Pinyin IPA Pinyin IPA Pinyin IPA a [Ą] e [ɣ] u [u] o [o] i [i] ü [y]

Compound Vowels

Pinyin IPA Pinyin IPA Pinyin IPA ai [ai] ing [iŋ] uai [uai] ei [ei] ia [ia] ui（uei） [uei] ao [ɑu] iao [iɑu] uan [uan] ou [ou] ian [iɛn] uang [uɑŋ] an [an] iang [iɑŋ] un（uen） [uən] en [ən] ie [iɛ] ueng [uəŋ] in [in] iong [yŋ] üe [yɛ] ang [ɑŋ] iou [iou] üan [yɛn] eng [əŋ] ua [uɑ] ün [yn] ong [uŋ] uo [uo] ng [ŋ]

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APPENDIX B. INTERVIEW NOTES WITH SONG BO

Wang: Good evening, Professor Song. I’d like to ask you some questions on singing. Firstly, what do you think of Italian Bel canto?

Professor Song: We translate “Italian Bel canto” into “beautiful singing” based on the literal meaning of “Bel canto”. In Italian, “bel” means “beautiful, splendid”, and “canto” refers to “singing”. In fact, there is no such expression internationally. Generally speaking, “Italian Bel canto” refers to the Western singing style, the European singing style or the opera singing style, among which the Western singing style is widely recognized. I also think this expression is more appropriate. Folk singing style is beautiful and splendid too. It is an issue of aesthetic appreciation. Italian Bel canto originated in Italy in the 17th century, and gradually became prevailing in Europe. Later, it was spread to the United States and introduced to China in the 1920s. Different from other popular singing and musical singing styles, Italian Bel canto is a global style and is closer to opera singing. It is favored by a large number of classical music lovers.

Wang: In your opinion, what are the similarities and differences between Bel canto and Chinese folk singing?

Professor Song: They are both a style of singing and express people’s inner emotions. In terms of differences, they differ from each other in the aspects of aesthetic appreciation, acoustic effects and volume. Microphones are used in folk singing. As for Bel canto, microphones are only used on TVs, not on the stage, in the opera house or in the concert. Therefore, Bel canto singers are required to use their cavity, stabilize and lower the position of larynx, and employ the head voice. Most importantly, Bel canto mixes the sound from the normal chest voice and a falsetto. Another difference between them is the support and position. Folk singing also pays attention to support and position. In males’ folk singing, the position of larynx is put relatively higher. However, in Bel canto, larynx can never be put high. Otherwise, the volume will change. In addition, they also differ in singing works. Folk musical pieces can

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 be sung through Bel canto, but it is not suitable to sing foreign songs and western classical musical pieces through folk singing

Wang: How do you adopt Bel canto to sing Chinese musical works? How do you handle the language and sound? To be specific, what kind of Chinese songs do you sing?

Professor Song: Speaking of Chinese works, in the past, we were familiar with the songs around May 4th, 1919, such as “Red Bean Song”, “Spring Thought”, “The River Goes to The East” and “I Live in the Upstream”. These songs were all written by those composers returning to China from Europe, like Qing Zhu and Huang Zi. These are all typical early Chinese art songs. Nowadays, a lot of excellent art songs have sprung out, such as “Lands of China”, “Night Thoughts”, “Hometown” and “The Land I Love”. These are all typical Chinese art songs.

Then how do we sing these songs well in Bel canto? I think it lies in three aspects: the use of sound, language and musicianship. A good combination of them can create clear articulation and a mellow and full tune. Then it can be better accepted by Chinese audience. I have attended many singing competitions as a judge. Candidates are required to sing a Chinese music piece or a foreign one, and they usually prefer to choose a Chinese piece. Many candidates might devote more time and energy to preparing foreign works because they practice more foreign music pieces when it comes to train their voice. This method is scientific. New learners cannot comprehensively and precisely master the technique and pronunciation. At this time, if they are trained with Chinese works, they cannot master the melody of lyrics well. As a result, when I make comments on candidates’ singing of Chinese works, I find the voice is great, but there is still room for cohesion and connection between the voice and pronunciation. Moreover, logical stress matters in Chinese characters. For example, in the sentence “ni chi fan le ma?” (Have you eaten anything?), the logical stress is on “chi” (eat). No matter it is two Chinese characters or three characters, the logical stress is normally located in the first character. If there is only voice and the pronunciation and articulation are not clear enough, then the music cannot reach the audience’s heart, especially those audience

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 understanding Chinese characters. On this occasion, the music would sound ambiguous and blurring, with no sense of geniality. In real teaching, these problems are to be solved in class.

Wang: What is the significance of adopting Italian Bel canto to sing Chinese music pieces?

Professor Song: To carry forward Chinese traditional culture and to make foreign things serve China. In fact, for every single nationality, the purpose to learn and use foreign cultures is to spread and strengthen its own national culture. For example, America has introduced a large number of opera talents and constructed music colleges, which served the purpose of singing American operas. In small opera houses, all operas are sung in English. Another example is the recordings of audiovisual products of Pavarotti from Italy. No matter they were French or German songs, they were all sung in Italian. Nowadays, with China becoming more prosperous and influential in economy, the overall level of Chinese music is significantly better than that in three decades ago. The ultimate goal for us is to develop musical works with Chinese characteristics. In the early days, we learnt from western music, but in recent years, Chinese composers have enthusiastically created many operas brimming with Chinese characteristics. Pitifully, nothing classic or representative has come into being. There are still no original Chinese operas with Chinese elements or internationally renowned Chinese art songs. In the China International Singing Competition in Ningbo, all candidates including foreign ones were required to sing Chinese art songs. Having musical works with its own national features should be the future trend. In the meantime, musical works with Chinese elements should also be international. They should be accepted by foreign mainstream media. Let’s take folk songs as an example. The reason why foreigners cannot sing folk songs well is that they cannot master the rhythm of folk songs. However, for Chinese art songs and operas, as long as foreign are able to understand and speak the language, they can sing these works well. In this case, we can sing western works well, and similarly, westerners can sing our works well. At present, we advocate the “Going-out” of Chinese traditional culture. Thus, we can use Bel canto to sing Chinese works and make Chinese works to be accepted by the world.

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Wang: In your teaching, how do you teach Chinese students to learn Bel canto? Are there any similarities and differences in teaching students to sing Chinese and foreign works?

Professor Song: When I teach foreign works, the very first thing I do is to make students understand what is Bel canto. Students should know what correct and beautiful sound is from the perspective of acoustic effect. They should also understand what words and phrases they are singing works and music score. They will translate the lyrics from word to word, read aloud the lyrics with rhythm abundantly. Subsequently, they will sing music score and pitch names, and practice sight reading. Once the pitch names are accurate, the interval relationship will be accurate naturally. Students cannot listen to tapes frequently to practice because it cannot be accurate. Students have to know what they need to sing first, and then train their voice. It is an individualized teaching. Bel canto is a global singing method for classic music. It differs in singing Chinese works and foreign works. In addition, foreign art works are very general, including German and Austrian art songs, French, Russian, American and Italian art songs. Even for the same person to sing songs in different periods and languages in Bel canto, he should make fine-tuning. Consequently, in singing, Chinese artistic standard and aesthetic standards should be applied to make adjustment to the singing. In general, what you are singing should resemble what it is authentically, such as its own musical style.

Wang: Can you briefly introduce some techniques for teaching Bel canto?

Professor Song: Personally, I prefer to make the larynx down and lift the soft pallet, the voice in a vertical shape, get the support of breathing and give play to the role of waist. In trainings, different genders and acoustic areas correspond to different requirements. It varies from person to person. Let’s take tongue as an example. People in the northern China usually have a tight tongue position when they speak Mandarin, and their articulation is relatively back. The way people talk and the pronunciation they make depend on the root of tongue. It might be a problem that cannot be solved in a while. No one is perfect in singing, and inevitably there are some problems of singing techniques. However, as long as the overall

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018 singing ability is great and the singing is touching, the person is a great singer. A perfect singing cannot be from human beings, and it must be fake.

Wang: What’s the main problem in teaching Chinese students to sing Chinese works in Bel canto singing style?

Professor Song: In my opinion, the main problem of some students is their voice and level of singing. I always tell my students that artistic expression needs technical support; they cannot demonstrate the tension of sound without the technique. For example, when one performs the high pitch, words should make way for sound. The first impression made to the audience should be their technique and voice. The priority is to make sure the pitch of the sound is accurate. Then, comprehensive qualities matter in singing. Culture and thoughts make the singer’s voice and musical feelings different. Singing is not simply making your wonderful voice heard. A good voice is not sufficient at all. Singing without soul contains no vitality.

Wang: How to promote the singing of Chinese works in Bel canto singing style in China?

Professor Song: This is what government authorities need to do. As a professor, I do my best to teach students well. The government needs to provide stages for them. Nowadays, performances are mainly presented in traditional theatres such as the National Centre for the Performing Arts and Shanghai Grand Theatre, where foreign classic operas and Chinese original operas are often presented. This offers many Chinese singers’ precious opportunities to perform on the stage. In addition, we should also consciously sing more Chinese works. I have a bold vision that it is highly possible that less foreign works will be sung and singing Chinese works will become the mainstream of society. It is the due responsibility of Chinese artists and educators. We should all contribute to the inheritance and spread of Chinese culture.

Wang: In practicing Bel canto, how do you distribute Chinese and foreign works?

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018

Professor Song: For a beginner, we should sing some short Italian songs first. It might be easier. When it comes to college, such as Shanghai Conservatory of Music, from the first year of college, each semester students learn ten music pieces. Five are Chinese works and five are foreign ones, or six Chinese ones and four foreign ones. Anyway, the proportion of Chinese and foreign works is balanced. To learn foreign works, such as small Bel canto works in Baroque period, can allow students to learn the fundamental knowledge and requirements of Bel canto as well as the concept of voice. But the ultimate goal is to let students sing Chinese works well. An early exposure to Chinese and foreign works and using small Italian Bel canto works in Baroque period can train students’ voice and lay a foundation for their future learning. Then, coupled with Chinese works, students can further enhance their singing techniques.

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APPENDIX C. SCORE OF JASMINE FLOWER

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018

APPENDIX D. EXPERIMENT SCORES

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018

Group A "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Yuhang Qi

Student ID April May June July

B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E

A1 5.5 5.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.5 6.0 6.5 6.5 6.0 7.0 6.5 6.5 7.0 6.5 7.5 7.0 6.5 7.5 7.0

A2 6.0 5.0 6.8 5.8 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.8 6.0 6.2 6.5 6.0 6.5 6.0 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.8 6.5 6.8

A3 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.2 6.8 6.2 6.5 7.0 6.5 6.5 6.8 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 8.0 7.0 7.0 7.0

A4 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.8 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 7.0 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.8 6.8 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 6.9

Group B "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Yuhang Qi

B1 6.3 6.0 6.2 5.8 6.0 6.5 6.2 6.8 6.3 6.2 6.5 6.3 6.8 6.0 6.3 6.5 6.3 6.5 6.0 6.8

B2 6.5 6.0 6.3 5.8 6.0 6.7 6.3 6.5 6.7 6.7 6.8 6.8 6.5 6.7 6.8 7.2 6.8 6.7 6.5 6.8

B3 6.7 6.3 6.3 5.9 6.0 6.7 6.3 5.8 6.0 6.5 6.8 6.5 6.3 6.0 6.5 6.9 6.8 6.8 6.2 6.8

B4 6.3 6.2 6.5 6.0 6.3 6.5 6.5 6.8 6.3 6.5 6.7 6.5 6.7 6.5 6.5 6.8 6.7 6.8 6.7 6.6

Score Categories: B: Breath Management; V: Voice Quality; L: Legato; D: Diction; D: Expression

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Group A "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Peidong Xu

Student ID April May June July

B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E

A1 6.0 6.0 6.5 6.3 6.0 6.5 6.5 7.0 7.0 6.5 7.0 6.8 7.3 7.5 6.8 7.2 7.0 7.5 7.7 7.0

A2 6.8 7.0 6.8 6.8 7.0 7.2 7.5 7.0 7.3 7.3 7.8 7.9 7.5 7.8 7.9 8.0 8.1 8.5 8.5 8.5

A3 6.5 6.5 6.2 6.0 6.5 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.5 6.8 7.0 7.0 7.2 7.0 7.3 7.5 7.8 7.8 7.8 8.0

A4 6.7 6.5 6.2 6.3 6.8 7.0 7.2 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.2 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.3 7.5 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.5

Group B "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Peidong Xu

B1 5.8 6.0 5.5 5.5 6.0 6.0 6.5 6.2 6.2 6.3 6.3 6.7 6.5 6.2 6.3 6.5 6.8 6.8 6.7 6.5

B2 5.5 6.0 5.3 5.0 5.5 5.7 6.3 5.7 5.7 5.8 6.0 6.5 6.0 6.3 6.0 6.5 6.8 6.2 6.5 6.3

B3 5.8 6.2 5.5 5.3 6.0 6.0 6.5 6.0 6.0 6.3 6.3 6.7 6.3 6.3 6.5 6.5 6.8 6.5 6.5 6.8

B4 5.5 6.0 5.5 5.0 5.5 5.8 6.2 5.8 5.5 6.0 6.0 6.5 6.0 6.0 6.3 6.5 6.7 6.5 6.3 6.5

Score Categories: B: Breath Management; V: Voice Quality; L: Legato; D: Diction; D: Expression

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Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018

Group A "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Jianxun Zhang

Student ID April May June July

B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E

A1 5.0 5.0 6.0 5.5 5.0 6.0 5.5 7.0 6.0 5.5 6.0 6.0 7.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 7.0 6.5 6.5

A2 6.0 7.0 7.0 6.0 5.5 7.0 7.5 7.5 6.0 5.5 7.0 8.0 7.5 6.0 6.0 7.5 8.5 8.0 6.5 6.0

A3 5.0 7.0 6.5 7.0 6.0 5.0 7.5 7.0 6.0 6.0 5.5 7.5 7.0 7.0 6.5 6.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 6.5

A4 5.0 5.0 6.0 6.0 5.5 6.0 6.0 7.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 7.0 6.0 6.0 6.5 8.0 7.0 6.0

Group B "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Jianxun Zhang

B1 6.0 8.0 6.0 7.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 6.0 7.0 5.0 6.0 7.5 6.5 7.0 5.0 5.0 5.5 5.0 5.0 5.0

B2 6.0 7.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 6.0 7.5 7.5 5.0 5.0 6.5 8.0 7.5 5.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 7.5 5.0 5.0

B3 6.0 6.0 6.5 7.0 5.0 6.0 6.0 6.5 7.0 5.0 6.0 6.0 6.5 7.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.5 5.0

B4 5.0 5.0 5.5 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.5 5.5 5.0 5.0 6.0 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.0 6.0 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.0

Score Categories: B: Breath Management; V: Voice Quality; L: Legato; D: Diction; D: Expression

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Group A "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Meichen Ma

Student ID April May June July

B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E

A1 5.8 6.2 6.5 6.5 6.2 6.3 6.5 7.2 7.2 6.5 7.0 6.8 7.5 7.5 6.5 7.2 7.0 7.7 7.8 6.9

A2 6.5 6.8 7.0 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.7 7.5 7.8 7.8 8.2 8.5 8.2 8.2 8.3

A3 6.2 6.5 6.3 6.0 6.0 6.5 6.7 6.8 6.8 6.5 6.8 7.0 7.2 7.2 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.8

A4 6.3 6.2 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.8 7.0 6.9 6.9 7.0 7.3 7.3 7.3 7.3 7.3 7.5 7.5 7.8 7.8 7.5

Group B "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Meichen Ma

B1 5.5 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.8 6.0 6.0 6.2 6.2 6.5 6.2 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.7 6.8 6.7 6.7 6.8

B2 5.0 5.5 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.3 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 6.0 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.7 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.3 6.0

B3 5.5 6.0 5.7 5.7 6.2 6.0 6.5 6.0 6.0 6.3 6.3 6.7 6.3 6.3 6.5 6.5 6.8 6.5 6.5 6.8

B4 5.5 5.5 5.0 5.0 5.8 5.5 5.8 5.5 5.5 6.2 5.7 6.2 5.8 5.9 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.0 6.2 6.7

Score Categories: B: Breath Management; V: Voice Quality; L: Legato; D: Diction; D: Expression

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Group A "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Mingyu Zhang

Student ID April May June July

B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E

A1 8.0 7.8 7.8 8.0 7.8 8.3 8.0 8.3 8.5 8.8 8.3 8.5 8.3 8.5 8.8 8.8 9.0 8.8 8.8 8.9

A2 8.5 8.3 8.0 8.1 8.3 8.7 8.5 8.8 8.5 8.7 8.8 9.0 9.0 8.8 8.8 9.0 9.2 9.0 9.1 9.0

A3 8.0 8.1 8.5 8.9 8.2 8.1 8.3 8.4 8.7 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.9 8.9 8.8 8.9 9.0 9.0 9.2 9.2

A4 8.3 8.3 8.2 8.5 8.5 8.4 8.6 8.4 8.7 8.9 8.4 8.8 8.8 9.0 8.7 8.6 8.9 8.9 9.0 9.2

Group B "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Mingyu Zhang

B1 7.7 7.8 8.1 8.1 8.1 7.9 8.0 8.1 8.1 8.2 7.9 8.1 8.2 8.2 8.4 8.0 8.2 8.4 8.4 8.5

B2 7.5 7.7 7.9 7.9 7.8 7.7 7.9 8.2 8.0 8.1 7.9 8.0 8.3 8.5 8.6 8.1 8.2 8.5 8.5 8.6

B3 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.7 7.9 7.7 8.0 7.9 8.0 8.2 7.9 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.2 8.1 8.3 8.3 8.4 8.5

B4 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.5 7.4 7.4 7.9 7.8 7.9 7.5 7.8 8.1 8.0 8.2 7.9 8.0 8.1 8.5 8.4 8.0

Score Categories: B: Breath Management; V: Voice Quality; L: Legato; D: Diction; D: Expression

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Group A "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Xiaoluo Li

Student ID April May June July

B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E

A1 5.8 6 6 6.2 6 6.2 6.5 6.8 7 6.5 7 6.8 7 7.3 6.5 7.3 7.2 7.3 7.5 7.3

A2 6.3 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.8 6.5 6.8 6.9 7 7.2 7 7.3 7.5 7.5 7.8 7.8 7.8 8 8.3 8.3

A3 6.2 6.2 6.3 6.3 6 6.5 6.8 6.9 6.9 6.5 7.2 7 7.5 7.5 7 7.7 7.5 7.9 7.9 7.5

A4 6.2 6.5 6.2 6 6.3 6.7 7 7.2 7.3 7 7.5 7.7 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.7 7.8 7.8 7.9 7.7

Group B "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Xiaoluo Li

B1 5.5 5.8 5.5 5.5 6.2 5.8 6 5.8 5.8 6.3 6.3 6.5 6.2 6.2 6.5 6.5 6.8 6.5 6.5 6.8

B2 5 5.5 5 5 5 5.3 5.8 5.5 5.5 5.5 6.2 6.2 6 6 6.2 6.3 6.5 6.3 6.5 6.3

B3 5.5 6 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.9 6.5 6 6 6 6.2 6.5 6.2 6.2 6.5 6.5 6.7 6.5 6.5 6.7

B4 5 5.8 5.5 5.5 6 5.5 6 5.8 5.8 6.2 5.8 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.7

Score Categories: B: Breath Management; V: Voice Quality; L: Legato; D: Diction; D: Expression

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Group A "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Yunyi Song

Student ID April May June July

B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E

A1 6.0 6.0 7.0 6.0 7.0 6.5 6.5 7.5 7.0 7.5 7.0 8.0 8.0 7.5 8.0 8.0 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5

A2 7.0 7.5 7.0 7.5 7.0 7.5 8.0 7.5 7.5 7.5 8.0 8.5 8.5 8.0 8.5 9.0 9.5 9.0 9.0 9.0

A3 7.0 7.5 7.0 7.5 7.0 7.5 8.0 7.5 8.0 8.0 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.0 8.5 9.0 9.0 9.0 8.5 9.0

A4 6.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.5 7.0 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 8.0 8.5 9.0 8.5 8.5 9.0 9.0 9.0 8.5 9.0

Group B "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Yunyi Song

B1 6.0 6.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 6.5 6.5 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.5 7.5 8.0 7.5 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.5 7.5 8.5

B2 6.0 6.5 6.5 6.0 6.5 6.5 6.5 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.5 7.5 7.0 7.5 7.5 7.5 8.0

B3 6.0 6.0 6.5 6.0 6.5 6.5 6.5 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.0 8.0 8.0 7.5 8.0 8.0

B4 6.5 6.5 6.0 6.5 6.5 7.0 7.0 6.5 7.0 7.0 7.5 7.0 7.0 7.5 7.5 8.0 7.5 7.5 8.0 8.0

Score Categories: B: Breath Management; V: Voice Quality; L: Legato; D: Diction; D: Expression

84

Texas Tech University, Chong Wang, December 2018

Group A "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Zhuoran Zhang

Student ID April May June July

B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E B V L D E

A1 6.5 6.7 7.0 7.0 6.5 7.8 8.0 8.0 7.5 7.5 8.3 8.2 8.2 8.0 7.8 8.5 8.8 8.5 8.5 8.3

A2 7.5 7.8 7.8 7.5 7.5 8.3 8.3 8.2 8.0 7.8 8.6 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.2 9.0 9.1 9.0 8.9 8.8

A3 7.0 7.5 7.3 7.5 7.3 7.8 8.0 8.0 8.2 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.6 8.2 8.5 8.9 8.6 8.8 8.8

A4 7.1 7.4 7.4 7.5 7.1 7.8 8.1 8.0 7.8 7.8 8.1 8.4 8.3 8.0 8.0 8.4 8.8 8.5 8.5 8.5

Group B "Jasmine Flower" Grade Table by Zhuoran Zhang

B1 7.1 7.3 7.4 7.3 7.5 7.3 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.7 7.4 7.7 7.9 8.0 7.8 7.5 7.8 8.0 8.0 8.0

B2 7.1 7.3 7.4 7.3 7.5 7.5 7.8 7.7 7.8 7.5 7.7 7.9 8.0 8.0 7.7 8.1 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.1

B3 6.7 6.9 7.0 7.3 6.8 7.3 7.4 7.3 7.8 7.5 7.4 7.5 7.5 7.8 7.5 7.7 7.8 7.7 8.0 7.6

B4 7.0 7.0 7.1 7.3 7.3 7.2 7.1 7.4 7.6 7.6 7.5 7.3 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.6 7.4 8.0 7.8 8.1

Score Categories: B: Breath Management; V: Voice Quality; L: Legato; D: Diction; D: Expression

85