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Observations for one who teaches a Soprano.[3]

he Faults in Singing insinuate themselves so easily into the Minds of young Beginners, and there are such Difficulties in correcting them, when grown into an Habit that it were to be wish'd, the ablest Singers would undertake the Task of Teaching, they best knowing how to conduct the Scholar from the first Elements to Perfection. But there being none, (if I mistake not) but who abhor the Thoughts of it, we must reserve them for those Delicacies of the Art, which enchant the Soul.

§ 2. Therefore the first Rudiments necessarily fall to a Master of a lower Rank, till the Scholar can sing his part at Sight; whom one would at least wish to be an honest Man, diligent and experienced, without the Defects of singing through the Nose, or in the Throat, and that he have a Command of Voice, some Glimpse of a good Taste, able to make himself understood with Ease, a perfect Intonation, and a Patience to endure the severe Fatigue of a most tiresome Employment.

§ 3. Let a Master thus qualified before he begins his Instructions, read the four Verses of Virgil, Sic vos non vobis, &c.[5] for they seem to be made[4] on Purpose for him, and after having considered them well, let him consult his Resolution; because (to speak plainly) it is mortifying to help another to Affluence, and be in want of it himself. If the Singer should make his Fortune, it is but just the Master, to whom it has been owing, should be also a Sharer in it.

§ 4. But above all, let him hear with a disinterested Ear, whether the Person desirous to learn hath a Voice, and a Disposition; that he may not be obliged to give a strict Account to God, of the Parent's Money ill spent, and the Injury done to the Child, by the irreparable Loss of Time, which might have been more profitably employed in some other Profession. I do not speak at random. The ancient Masters made a Distinction between the Rich, that learn'd Musick as an Accomplishment, and the Poor, who studied it for a Livelihood. The first they instructed out of Interest, and the latter out of Charity, if they discovered a singular Talent. Very few modern Masters refuse Scholars; and, provided they are paid, little do they care if their greediness ruins the Profession.

§ 5. Gentlemen Masters! Italy hears no more such exquisite Voices as in Times past, particularly among the Women, and to the Shame of the Guilty I'll tell the Reason: The Ignorance of the Parents does not let them perceive the Badness of the Voice of their Children, as their Necessity makes them believe, that to sing and grow rich is one and the same Thing, and to learn Musick, it is enough to have a pretty Face: "Can you make anything of her?"

§ 6. You may, perhaps, teach them with their Voice——Modesty will not permit me to explain myself farther.

§ 7. The Master must want Humanity, if he advises a Scholar to do any thing to the Prejudice of the Soul.

§ 8. From the first Lesson to the last, let the Master remember, that he is answerable for any Omission in his Instructions, and for the Errors he did not correct.

§ 9. Let him be moderately severe, making himself fear'd, but not hated. I know, it is not easy to find the Mean between Severity and Mildness, but I know also, that both Extremes are bad: Too great Severity creates Stubbornness, and too great Mildness Contempt.

§ 10. I shall not speak of the Knowledge of the Notes, of their Value, of Time, of Pauses, of the Accidents, nor of other such trivial Beginnings, because they are generally known.

§ 11. Besides the C Cliff, let the Scholar be instructed in all the other Cliffs, and in all their Situations, that he may not be liable to what often happens to some Singers, who, in Compositions Alla Capella,[6] know not how to distinguish the Mi from the Fa, without the Help of the Organ, for want of the Knowledge of the G Cliff; from whence such Discordancies arise in divine Service, that it is a Shame for those who grow old in their Ignorance. I must be so sincere to declare, that whoever does not give such essential Instructions, transgresses out of Omission, or out of Ignorance.[7]

§ 12. Next let him learn to read those in B Molle, especially in those[8] Compositions that have four Flats at the Cliff, and which on the sixth of the Bass require for the most part an accidental Flat, that the Scholar may find in them the Mi, which is not so easy to one who has studied but little, and thinks that all the Notes with a Flat are called Fa: for if that were true, it would be superfluous that the Notes should be six, when five of them have the same Denomination. The French use seven, and, by that additional Name, save their scholars the Trouble of learning the Mutations ascending or descending; but we Italians have but Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La; Notes which equally suffice throughout all the Keys, to one who knows how to read them.[9]

§ 13. Let the Master do his utmost, to make the Scholar hit and sound the Notes perfectly in Tune in Sol-Fa-ing. One, who has not a good Ear, should not undertake either to instruct, or to sing; it being intolerable to hear a Voice perpetually rise and fall discordantly. Let the Instructor reflect on it; for one that sings out of Tune loses all his other Perfections. I can truly say, that, except in some few Professors, that modern Intonation is very bad.

§ 14. In the Sol-Fa-ing, let him endeavour to gain by Degrees the high Notes, that by the Help of this Exercise he may acquire as much Compass of the Voice as possible. Let him take care, however, that the higher the Notes, the more it is necessary to touch them with Softness, to avoid Screaming.

§ 15. He ought to make him hit the Semitones according to the true Rules. Every one knows not that there is a Semitone Major and Minor,[10] because the Difference cannot be known by an Organ or Harpsichord, if the Keys of the Instrument are not split. A Tone, that gradually passes to another, is divided into nine almost imperceptible Intervals, which are called Comma's, five of which constitute the Semitone Major, and four the Minor. Some are of Opinion, that there are no more than seven, and that the greatest Number of the one half constitutes the first, and the less the second; but this does not satisfy my weak Understanding, for the Ear would find no Difficulty to distinguish the seventh part of a Tone; whereas it meets with a very great one to distinguish the ninth. If one were continually to sing only to those abovemention'd Instruments, this Knowledge might be unnecessary; but since the time that Composers introduced the Custom of crowding the Opera's with a vast Number of Songs accompanied with Bow Instruments, it becomes so necessary, that if a Soprano was to sing D sharp, like E flat, a nice Ear will find he is out of Tune, because this last rises. Whoever is not satisfied in this, let him read those Authors who treat of it, and let him consult the best Performers on the Violin. In the middle parts, however, it is not so easy to distinguish the Difference; tho' I am of Opinion, that every thing that is divisible, is to be distinguished. Of these two Semitones, I'll speak more amply in the Chapter of the Appoggiatura, that the one may not be confounded with the other.

§ 16. Let him teach the Scholar to hit the Intonation of any Interval in the Scale perfectly and readily, and keep him strictly to this important Lesson, if he is desirous he should sing with Readiness in a short time.

§ 17. If the Master does not understand Composition, let him provide himself with good Examples of Sol-Fa-ing in divers Stiles, which insensibly lead from the most easy to the more difficult, according as he finds the Scholar improves; with this Caution, that however difficult, they may be always natural and agreeable, to induce the Scholar to study with Pleasure.

§ 18. Let the Master attend with great Care to the Voice of the Scholar, which, whether it be di Petto, or di Testa, should always come forth neat and clear, without passing thro' the Nose, or being choaked in the Throat; which are two the most horrible Defects in a Singer, and past all Remedy if once grown into a Habit[11].

§ 19. The little Experience of some that teach to Sol-fa, obliges the Scholar to hold out the Semibreves with Force on the highest Notes; the Consequence of which is, that the Glands of the Throat become daily more and more inflamed, and if the Scholar loses not his Health, he loses the treble Voice.

§ 20. Many Masters put their Scholars to sing the Contr'Alto, not knowing how to help them to the Falsetto, or to avoid the Trouble of finding it.

§ 21. A diligent Master, knowing that a Soprano, without the Falsetto, is constrained to sing within the narrow Compass of a few Notes, ought not only to endeavour to help him to it, but also to leave no Means untried, so to unite the feigned and the natural Voice, that they may not be distinguished; for if they do not perfectly unite, the Voice will be of divers[12] Registers, and must consequently lose its Beauty. The Extent of the full natural Voice terminates generally upon the fourth Space, which is C; or on the fifth Line, which is D; and there the feigned Voice becomes of Use, as well in going up to the high Notes, as returning to the natural Voice; the Difficulty consists in uniting them. Let the Master therefore consider of what Moment the Correction of this Defect is, which ruins the Scholar if he overlooks it. Among the Women, one hears sometimes a Soprano entirely di Petto, but among the Male Sex it would be a great Rarity, should they preserve it after having past the age of Puberty. Whoever would be curious to discover the feigned Voice of one who has the Art to disguise it, let him take Notice, that the Artist sounds the Vowel i, or e, with more Strength and less Fatigue than the Vowel a, on the high Notes.

§ 22. The Voce di Testa has a great Volubility, more of the high than the lower Notes, and has a quick Shake, but subject to be lost for want of Strength.

§ 23. Let the Scholar be obliged to pronounce the Vowels distinctly, that they may be heard for such as they are. Some Singers think to pronounce the first, and you hear the second; if the Fault is not the Master's, it is of those Singers, who are scarce got out of their first Lessons; they study to sing with Affectation, as if ashamed to open their Mouths; others, on the contrary, stretching theirs too much, confound these two Vowels with the fourth, making it impossible to comprehend whether they have said Balla or Bella, Sesso or Sasso, Mare or More.

§ 24. He should always make the Scholar sing standing, that the Voice may have all its Organization free.

§ 25. Let him take care, whilst he sings, that he get a graceful Posture, and make an agreeable Appearance.

§ 26. Let him rigorously correct all Grimaces and Tricks of the Head, of the Body, and particularly of the Mouth; which ought to be composed in a Manner (if the Sense of the Words permit it) rather inclined to a Smile, than too much Gravity.

§ 27. Let him always use the Scholar to the Pitch of Lombardy, and not that of Rome;[13] not only to make him acquire and preserve the high Notes, but also that he may not find it troublesome when he meets with Instruments that are tun'd high; the Pain of reaching them not only affecting the Hearer, but the Singer. Let the Master be mindful of this; for as Age advances, so the Voice declines; and, in Progress of Time, he will either sing a Contr'Alto, or pretending still, out of a foolish Vanity, to the Name of a Soprano, he will be obliged to make Application to every Composer, that the Notes may not exceed the fourth Space (viz., C) nor the Voice hold out on them. If all those, who teach the first Rudiments, knew how to make use of this Rule, and to unite the feigned to the natural Voice, there would not be now so great a scarcity of Soprano's.

§ 28. Let him learn to hold out the Notes without a Shrillness like a Trumpet, or trembling; and if at the Beginning he made him hold out every Note the length of two Bars, the Improvement would be the greater; otherwise from the natural Inclination that the Beginners have to keep the Voice in Motion, and the Trouble in holding it out, he will get a habit, and not be able to fix it, and will become subject to a Flutt'ring in the Manner of all those that sing in a very bad Taste.

§ 29. In the same Lessons, let him teach the Art to put forth the Voice, which consists in letting it swell by Degrees from the softest Piano to the loudest Forte, and from thence with the same Art return from the Forte to the Piano. A beautiful Messa di Voce,[14] from a Singer that uses it sparingly, and only on the open Vowels, can never fail of having an exquisite Effect. Very few of the present Singers find it to their Taste, either from the Instability of their Voice, or in order to avoid all Manner of Resemblance of the odious Ancients. It is, however, a manifest Injury they do to the Nightingale, who was the Origin of it, and the only thing which the Voice can well imitate. But perhaps they have found some other of the feathered Kind worthy their Imitation, that sings quite after the New Mode.

§ 30. Let the Master never be tired in making the Scholar Sol-Fa, as long as he finds it necessary; for if he should let him sing upon the Vowels too soon, he knows not how to instruct.

§ 31. Next, let him study on the three open Vowels, particularly on the first, but not always upon the same, as is practised now-a-days; in order, that from this frequent Exercise he may not confound one with the other, and that from hence he may the easier come to the use of the Words.

§ 32. The Scholar having now made some remarkable Progress, the Instructor may acquaint him with the first Embellishments of the Art, which are the Appoggiatura's[15] (to be spoke of next) and apply them to the Vowels.

§ 33. Let him learn the Manner to glide with the Vowels, and to drag the Voice gently from the high to the lower Notes, which, thro' Qualifications necessary for singing well, cannot possibly be learn'd from Sol-fa-ing only, and are overlooked by the Unskilful.

§ 34. But if he should let him sing the Words, and apply the Appoggiatura to the Vowels before he is perfect in Sol-fa-ing, he ruins the Scholar.