You’ve probably seen his picture, perhaps on a brochure for a workshop or master class that your voice teacher received: The droll, slightly smiling face; the colorless, thinning hair; the eyes reflecting a seriousness that nonetheless welcomes approach. One of his publicity pictures used to show him seated on a piano bench, earnestly engaged in teaching a lesson, with the vertical slit windows of his Oberlin College Conservatory studio behind him.
Richard Miller is one of the deans of 20th century American vocal pedagogy. His second book, The Structure of Singing, first published in 1986 by Schirmer Books, has been in continuous print for nearly two decades. As Miller describes in the book’s preface, his performing career as a professional tenor in Europe and his teaching career have run parallel paths.
“Helping other people learn to sing,” writes Miller, “contributes to one’s own vocal understanding.”
The Structure of Singing is the result of the years Miller spent trying to sort out the confusing array of technical approaches to singing, years that led him to the conclusion that teachers need to know just how the singing voice functions as a physical instrument.
Vocal pedagogy at the time Miller’s search began was seemingly devoted to developing the most specific guided imagery possible. One teacher might say, “Place it in the mask, dahling,” and another, “Take a deep breath through the nose and smell the roses.” In learning the principles of resonation, a student singer may or may not feel these sensations as the teacher described them—and if one teacher’s imagery didn’t “resonate,” well, there was always another teacher nearby who had even better images to share. But Miller wanted to know the why and how of resonance balancing, and that demanded a more uniform, a more scientific, answer.
The Structure of Singing is subtitled System and Art in Vocal Technique. Richard Miller’s methodology is highly systematic, and rightly so, since each skill builds on the skills preceding it. The first section teaches the coordinated vocal onset and release, and the establishment of dynamic muscle equilibrium during this process. The exercises used to point the singer to the correct, balanced way are excellent.
To learn the difference between aspirated attack and glottal attack, Miller suggests that we say “HA, HA, HA, HA” several times slowly and deliberately, lingering over the initial aspirated /h/ sound. We are able to sense exactly when breath passes over the vocal folds. [Author’s comment: Pay attention to the quality of vowel that results from this aspirated onset. Is that the vowel you really want?]
Next Miller has us say a sequence of “UH, UH, UH, UH” to learn to feel the moment at which the glottis has been sufficiently released to produce phonation. (This is just teacher-talk for breath pressure building beneath the vocal folds and forcing its way through. Again, pay attention to the vowel quality that follows.)
Finally, after going to both extremes, we reach the middle ground, the balanced muscle equilibrium necessary for a well-coordinated onset. Repeat the spoken sequence “AH, AH, AH, AH” slowly and deliberately, thinking a slight /h/ before each vowel but not allowing it to become audible. Miller says that there should be no sensation of breath expulsion (HA) and no sensation of breath moving before the tone (UH).
When done correctly, the perfect AH has no vestige of breathiness or glottal click. There is a distinct beginning to the tone, but all shock has been avoided. The tone can now be as loud or as soft at its beginning as it is at its ending. This is a basic cornerstone of laryngeal function, and unless a singer understands it on a kinesthetic level everything that comes after it will be built on a faulty foundation.
Miller next tackles the weighty subject of breath support, or (his preferred term) breath management—an excellent description, as it removes any negative semantic connotations a student might have about the word “support.” “Support” often implies that one half of any given relationship is doing all the work, while the other half does absolutely nothing. In singing, nothing could be farther from the truth.
Miller goes into scientific detail about how the diaphragm and abdominal muscles interact, even quoting from Gray’s Anatomy. Once you’ve waded through the techno-speak and medical lingo, the principles stand out loud and clear by virtue of the exercises he gives, which systematically train the muscles to achieve consistent coordination and balance. As Miller says on page 37: “Any error in vocal technique, or any accomplishment of technical skill in singing, usually can be traced to techniques of breath management; control of the breath is synonymous with control of the singing instrument.” We’ve all heard it before—but Miller shows us how to do it with concrete, efficient exercises.
The chapters discussed above and the two chapters on resonance balancing are extremely useful for self-study. Other important chapters include agility in singing, range extension and stabilization, and vibrancy (which includes vibrato and vocal timbre). Each chapter includes a multitude of exercises designed to help the singer acquire the skills necessary for terrific vocal communication. As Miller the musical artist so aptly closes the chapter titled “Coordinating Technique and Communication:” “Technique is of no value except as it makes communication possible.”
The book features a wealth of pictures, drawings, and diagrams to make each point visually accessible, as well as an excellent chapter on healthy singing that covers dry throat and coughing, a singer’s attitude, and even “Performance-day Routine.”
Yes, The Structure of Singing can be a tad scholarly, and at first glance may seem to be directed towards the teacher of singing instead of the singer. But the exercises can be decoded easily by anyone who has little more than a rudimentary knowledge of vocal function. Singers who use the exercises will achieve observable results over time.
The more we know about our instruments, the better we can use them. The more technically proficient we are, the more well-tuned our performances can be. Miller effectively sums up his own mission on his dedication page by quoting Reuben Fine’s book The Ideas Behind Chess Openings:
“In every field the man who can merely do things without knowing why is at a disadvantage to the one who can not only build but also tell you just why he is building in that way. This is especially noticeable when the prescribed cycle does not obey the laws it is supposed to: then the laborer must sit by with folded hands while the mechanic or engineer comes in and adjusts the delicate mechanism.”
The Structure of Singing is a book every singer should own. After all, why should your teacher be the one responsible for your instrument? Join the process and take the power yourself!
