The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Dissertations Fall 2018 The Baritone to Tenor Transition John White University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations Part of the Music Pedagogy Commons, and the Music Performance Commons Recommended Citation White, John, "The Baritone to Tenor Transition" (2018). Dissertations. 1586. https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1586 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE TENOR TO BARITONE TRANSITION by John Charles White A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School, the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Music at The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Approved by: Dr. J. Taylor Hightower, Committee Chair Dr. Kimberley Davis Dr. Jonathan Yarrington Dr. Edward Hafer Dr. Joseph Brumbeloe ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ Dr. J. Taylor Hightower Dr. Richard Kravchak Dr. Karen S. Coats Committee Chair Director of School Dean of the Graduate School December 2018 COPYRIGHT BY John Charles White 2018 Published by the Graduate School ABSTRACT Many notable opera singers have been virtuosic tenors; Franco Corelli, Plácido Domingo, James King, José Carreras, Ramón Vinay, Jon Vickers, and Carlo Bergonzi. Besides being great tenors, each of these singers share the fact that they transitioned from baritone to tenor. Perhaps nothing is more destructive to the confidence of a singer than to have his vocal identity or voice type challenged. Many singers have experienced this, and not always by way of advice or as a gentle suggestion, but rather, as a solution to a fundamental deficiency regarding the singer’s voice. Though undergoing a transition to another vocal fach is an arduous process, many singers owe the success and longevity of their careers to making a change in voice type. This study will endeavor to provide information about a specific pedagogical topic that has been underrepresented in the literature. The objective of this document will be to equip the singer or teacher of singing with the tools necessary to discern whether or not a baritone is a candidate for transitioning to tenor and provide a strategy for negotiating this challenge. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS An academic endeavor of this magnitude cannot be accomplished without the mentorship and guidance of those who have both wisdom and the willingness to share it. I am forever indebted to Dr. Taylor Hightower for his patience, wisdom, and instruction both as a voice teacher and also as a mentor. Dr. Kimberley Davis and Dr. Jonathan Yarrington have provided me with encouragement, honesty, and constructive criticism that have not only helped shape my document but also my professional character. I am thankful to Dr. Joseph Brumbeloe and Dr. Edward Hafer for their help in this process as well. I have learned much about precision and attention to detail through their help with my dissertation. iii DEDICATION I dedicate this document to my family, and most especially to my wife, Andrea, and my children, John Will and Ava. It is only because of their unwavering support that I have been able to complete this project. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................................................................. vi LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ................................................................................... vii INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER I – THE CANDIDATE FOR TRANSITION .................................................. 5 CHAPTER II - MISCLASSIFICATION .......................................................................... 20 CHAPTER III – TRANSITION ACCOUNTS ................................................................. 31 Simon O’Neill ....................................................................................................... 36 CHAPTER IV – APPOGGIO (THE MISSING PIECE) .................................................. 42 CHAPTER V – TONGUE TENSION, PUSH ELEMENT, AND LISTENING ............. 59 David Jones’s Tongue Exercises .......................................................................... 62 CHAPTER VI – NEGOTIATING THE PASSAGGIO.................................................... 77 APPENDIX A – INTERVIEWS ....................................................................................... 96 APPENDIX B – LITERATURE CONSIDERATIONS ................................................. 112 APPENDIX C - IRB Approval Letter ............................................................................. 126 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 127 v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1 Male Vocal Chart ................................................................................................ 6 Figure 2 Lung Illustration By Jerome Hines ................................................................... 52 Figure 3 David Jones Tongue Positions .......................................................................... 61 Figure 4 Suggested Repertoire for Baritone transitioning to Tenor. ............................. 124 vi LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Musical Example 1 Raymond Gibbs “Blup” Exercise ..................................................... 57 Musical Example 2 David Jones Tongue Exercise ........................................................... 62 Musical Example 3 David Jones Tongue Tip Exercise .................................................... 63 Musical Example 4 David Jones Jaw Exercise ................................................................. 64 Musical Example 5 David Jones [ng] Exercise ................................................................ 65 Musical Example 6 David Jones “Hung-gah” Exercise ................................................... 65 Musical Example 7 David Jones Descending Exercise .................................................... 66 Musical Example 8 Bill Schuman “Go, Go, Go” Exercise............................................... 66 Musical Example 9 Everett McCorvey [k] Exercise ........................................................ 71 Musical Example 10 Moving From Open to Closed Vowels. .......................................... 86 Musical Example 11 Moving From Open To Closed Vowels Disjunct. .......................... 86 Musical Example 12 Connecting chest and zona di passaggio. ........................................ 91 Musical Example 13 Connecting zona di passaggio and secondo passaggio. .................. 91 Musical Example 14 Sustaining tessitura. ........................................................................ 92 vii INTRODUCTION Many notable opera singers have been virtuosic tenors. This includes voices like Franco Corelli, and the ease with which he accessed even the highest notes and most difficult passages in some of Giacomo Puccini's most challenging operatic roles. Another prominent tenor is Plácido Domingo. Most avid opera goers are sure to associate his name synonymously with Puccini's Tosca or Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. In addition to these are other tenors such as Raymond Vinay, Lauritz Melchior, Max Lorenz, James King, John Vickers, and Carlo Bergonzi. Besides being great tenors, each of these singers share the fact that they transitioned from baritone to tenor. Perhaps nothing is more destructive to the confidence of a singer than to have his vocal identity or voice type challenged. Many singers have experienced this, and not always by way of advice or as a gentle suggestion; but rather, as a solution to a fundamental deficiency regarding the singer’s voice and technique. In Karen Sell’s book The Disciplines of Vocal Pedagogy: Towards an Holistic Approach, she presents the case of a professional baritone headed to Europe to study with a well-known voice teacher. Armed with a generous scholarship and travel grant, this opportunity would be a major step in securing the beginnings of a potential career as an operatic baritone. When he arrives in Europe, and upon meeting with his teacher, the baritone mentions several vocal problems he is having, and without any ambivalence (and with the second affirming opinion of a colleague), the teacher pronounces the baritone is really a tenor. As a baritone, the singer had experienced success; and according to Sell, was on his way toward a career. The scholarship and the generous travel grant were awarded 1 specifically because of the young man’s voice and prior success as a baritone. With this revelation, the funding he depends upon might be in jeopardy. Sell goes on to note that “Retraining, which entails learning new repertoire and new roles may take at least two years—who will pay his tuition fees? How will our new tenor maintain himself