By Carol Kirkpatrick, author of ARIA READY, The Business of Singing
When someone in our industry talks about musical style, just what do they mean? It is easy to hear that the music of the different periods of time themselves sound different from each other. For instance, the music of Mozart (1756 to 1791) reflects the country and its politics, life style, fashions and times in which he wrote his music. His music had a very different style than Rossini, (1792-1868) whose music reflects his country its politics, life style, fashions and times. Each composer reflects and preserves through his music and story line, his interpretation of the time period in which he wrote. Puccini sounds different than Verdi, Wagner, Stravinsky, or John Adams. They did all of this through the construction of their music, the story they chose to tell and the orchestration.
Does this mean that a singer must adjust their voice and vocal technique to what they perceive the musical style demands? The answer is NO! Because the structure of the music is the style and all you do is sing it with your voice and vocal technique. It’s like magic. You don’t have to do anything different at all. Just sing with your own sound, your own voice.
This is also why we have voice fachs. It’s important that you chose wisely what works for you and your vocal technique. If you’re not sure what fach you are in, ask someone whose ears you trust to help you with this. There is an intrinsic quality to a singer’s voice when this process is done well.
When you choose an aria, role, or song, you start the learning process by studying the words, rhythm, and notes. Often times that is all we do. That, however, is just the beginning of the investigative work that must be done to be able to interpret the music and nail the musical style. Here is how I suggest you proceed.
Bear in mind that you must know both the time period of the composer as well as the time period in which the piece takes place. They may be different. However, by being familiar with both you see how one might have influenced the other. If you can, start with the original story behind the libretto or poem. How many of you have read, ”La Vie de Boheme” by Henry Murger? It is what inspired the libretto for “La Boheme”. It then makes sense to read the libretto from the opera, even if you are just singing one of the arias. Research both what was happening in the world when this opera or song was written and when it actually takes place. The purpose of the work is to give you an opportunity to immerse yourself in a different time period and perhaps a different class structure which helps inform the style of the music.
The next step is to fill out a character chart which can be found in my book or online. Bring in as much detail as you can about this character based on the time line work you have just completed. If you are performing a complete role, you might want to fill out a character chart for each of the characters with whom you come in contact within the opera so you have a place to start if performing in a production as there is little time these days to go into character building by the stage director.
You have now created for your character a family tree, a general time line, an historic time line, and an emotional time line. You can see where you came from as the character, where you are presently, and where you are going. As you understand your character through the work you have done, and because we have an intrinsic mind/body connection, you will start portraying this character first through your singing voice; then your body will want to follow. Science tells us that the mind does not know the difference between real and imagined. That is how and why we can act and become someone else for the duration of the performance. It’s making believe.
As you work on your song, aria, or role, bring in all the elements you have just worked on together and you will see that a style is starting to take shape without your having to think about it. There is now a form, color and character to the piece you are singing. It happens without your having to think about it as something separate. It is not something that you put on top of what you are doing; it is a natural marriage of all the elements. You are not trying to make something happen, you are allowing style to occur spontaneously because you now think and behave as the character, within a particular time frame. You are using your voice to activate the emotion you are feeling through the words you are singing. You are acting with your voice, which allows the body to follow. You gain a deeper layer of confidence with each new encounter with your character. Aria Ready?
You know what I think. Now I would like to know what you think about musical style and how you attain it. Avanti and ciao until next time. Carol
Email Carol at Carol@ariaready.net.
Since retiring from the stage, Carol Kirkpatrick continues to be in demand as a voice teacher, clinician, and adjudicator of competitions including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Combining her knowledge of performance, business, and interpersonal skills, she has written the second edition of her highly regarded book, Aria Ready: The Business of Singing, a step-by-step career guide for singers and teachers of singing. Aria Ready has been used by universities, music conservatories and summer and apprentice programs throughout the world as a curriculum for teaching Ms. Kirkpatrick’s process of career development, making her “the” expert in this area. She lives in Denver, Colorado.
