 It
may not be obvious to many, but the pure Helden Tenor is a different
instrument altogether from the Italian Dramatic Tenor. The Helden tends
to possess a thickness and depth of color as well as an ability to visit
the tenor upper tessitura. Usually the Helden Tenor is not a voice that
tends to sustain quite as high a tessitura as the Italian Dramatic tenor.
One of the first names that comes to mind when one thinks of the Helden
Tenor is Lauritz Melchior, who does not sound anything like an Italian
Dramatic tenor such as Corelli. While Melchior’s instrument was
both great and rare, many argue that it was not particularly beautiful.
I personally disagree with this opinion. Larger voices are quite beautiful
if produced without the push element, a term I heard used by
Lindquest in his teaching. Melchior definitely had an understanding of
breath (low breath) and breath management (budgeting the outflow), a
must for the creation of vocal freedom in any voice, but it is especially
critical for the Helden Tenor. Breath management involves the perfect
compression of breath in the body WITH the presence of the perfect flow
of air as well. There are exercises on how to achieve this on my
instructional CD, An Introductory Lesson with David Jones: A Resource
for Teachers and Singers. (Available at www.onesoulrecords.com)
The Helden Tenor is usually a large, thicker, and more dramatic tenor
voice that sometimes produces a similar timbre in the high range, as
it possesses in the middle voice. Many call it a ‘Baritone with
a high extension’. In actuality, this singer is strong enough to
sustain higher dramatic phrases because there is an upper register flip
(upper register mechanism) that is completely different from a Baritone. While
a Baritone may have similar acoustical changes, the Helden Tenor has
a stronger upper passaggio and upper register mechanism that allows this
voice to soar higher with more dramatic color and intensity than even
the Lyric Baritone. While the definition of the ‘Baritone with
an upper extension’ is somewhat true, this description is misrepresentative
of the true nature of the Helden Tenor voice and how it is produced well.
It is important to note that the Helden Tenor does not change timbre
as much as a Lyric Tenor or even an Italian Dramatic Tenor when he goes
up through the upper passaggio range. A large operatic sound, if well
produced, can best be described as a coordination of two factors: largeness
of sound through intensity of ring in the voice, and largeness of sound
due to an ablity to produce purely a large and thicker mass of sound,
a result of an open pharynx. The heroic sound in any singer is produced
through the marriage of these two elements without the push of too much
breath pressure through the larynx. It is important to note that
the Helden Tenor cannot be trained to go easily into the high range until
the vocal weight (usually caused by depressing the larynx with
the root of the tongue and too much breath pressure) is taken out of
the middle voice and upper passaggio. Every singer needs to learn to
release the root of the tongue, achieve a slightly down and back jaw
position with a forward and arched tongue position, and accomplish a
freedom of body connection and breath flow in order for the upper range
to function properly. For the Helden Tenor, it is critical to produce
the voice with the perfect vocal protection that results in mastering
these concepts. This vocal protection is absolutely critical for any
singer to achieve vocal longevity. (See article on “The Vocal Protection”.)
Defining the Push Element
 I remember when I was studying with Alan Lindquest in 1979, he spoke
of the push element; the single element that is most responsible
for creating throaty and inefficient singing. Lindquest was absolutely
correct in his assessment of this vocal issue and he often referred to
his discussions with Jussi Bjoerling regarding the push element and
how to avoid it. They both discovered in their study that the single
largest vocal problem for the tenor singer was the issue of pushing too
much breath pressure, overloading the larynx and the vocal cords.
I remember a very exciting experience during the time I was studying
with Alan Lindquest. I had the opportunity to hear him teach a 70-year-old
dramatic soprano. During the first few minutes of her lesson, she suffered
an extraordinarily wide vibrato (wobble) in her tonal production and
she had resulting intonation problems. Amazingly, after he vocalized
her for about 10 minutes, this singer sounded focused and beautiful with
a shimmering vibrato. Lindquest worked almost exclusively on solving
what he called the push element or the driving of breath pressure.
He used the concept of cord closure through specific exercises and worked
toward the thin edge function of the vocal folds. He also used what he
called the Flagstad ng to assist in creating more focus in the voice
without closing the pharynx. Using these previous concepts plus teaching
the body to hold back a major amount of breath pressure quickly resolved
this singer’s major vocal issues.
The natural human reflex is to push harder on the breath pressure as
one goes higher in pitch. In essence, the singer needs to hold
back more breath pressure with the body support system rather then driving
harder on the breath. Of course this is the exact opposite to the singer’s
natural response. Breath pressure must be replaced by space and ring,
two elements on which a singer can thread his/her voice and be heard
in a concert hall or opera house.
 Certainly the Helden Tenor is not immune to the push element instinct. In
fact, Lindquest considered it one of the more difficult voices to train
for several reasons. The following list outlines vocal characteristics
that often accompany the Helden Tenor and other larger voices.
-
The singer tends to be a large bodied person or a person of great
strength. This strength often encourages the push element or
over-compression of the breath, resulting in expulsions of breath pressure
that over-blow the vocal cords.
-
The massiveness of this voice type tends to invite a subconcious
desire to sing loud most of the time. This can be a problem related
to the fact that head voice has often not been developed enough for
the singer to experience vocal freedom in the upper passaggio. If the
voice is heavy mechanism dominated (chest voice dominated) and tends
to produce a sound that is too thick, it will not go up freely into
the higher range.
-
Musicality is sometimes difficult because the ability to sing different
dynamic levels is compromised by the singer’s confused technical
approach to singing. Again, this can be due to the lack of head voice
production. (Head voice must be trained into the middle register
of this voice type with the proper tilting motion of the larynx.
The singer cannot sing the middle register with the same amount of
vocal weight as a baritone, even though he may be able to produce
a similar color. This is often a false color that is produced by
depressing the base of the tongue.)
-
 The perception of singing dramatic music, especially Wagner, is
confused by many dramatic singers and the Helden tenor certainly
tends to join in the pushing of too much breath pressure. Often this
is due to the confusion that singing dramatically is basically singing
loudly most of the time. What many singers do NOT understand is that
the dramatic intensity heard on recordings is NOT created through
the push of breath pressure, but rather with a healthy acoustical
coordination; a result of correct body connection, intensity of ring
resulting from a forward tongue posture and high soft palate, slightly
lower larynx position, low breath, and the proper holding back of
breath pressure with the lower body connection using the appogio
(sternum resistance). I
invite these singers to learn to sing loud and light; a concept
that I have heard rarely. Volume does NOT have to engage thicker cord
mass. Lindquest was a master teacher when it came to the proper training
of the dramatic tenor middle register because he insisted on working
with the thin edge function of the vocal cords. He also used the laryngeal
tilt, which allowed head voice to become present lower in the grand
scale; about G or A-flat.
-
There can be a subconscious ego reflex: the singer sometimes perceives
the instrument as a “responsibility to the world of music” just
because it is large. (See article on “The Right of Entitlement
Singer vs. the Professional Mind”). While not always the case,
singers possessing dramatic voices sometimes suffer this emotional
disorder. It blocks the singer from expressing the music as a first
priority. Flagstad once said to a friend of mine who was singing with
her in 1939 at the Cincinnati May Festival: “Remember Dear, we
large-voiced singers are the ones who tend to sing loudly all the time
and we are the ones who do NOT have to do so.” This statement
reflects the fact that Flagstad was an artist who was interested
in serving the music first.
-
Because the Helden Tenor instrument is often large, the singer’s
energy is often too outward. Again this can be due to over-breathing
and/or improper vocalization which does not develop the head voice
mechanism and/or the open throat. In reality, correct singing does
NOT feel external as much as internal. It is important for the Helden
Tenor to develop the head voice register and remain connected to
the body support without pushing too much breath pressure.
-
The jutting forward of the jaw. Often when singers sing loudly,
they engage the back of the neck with tension, especially if the
side ribs are slightly collapsed. If the singer’s jaw is pushing or jutting
forward, 90% of the time there is a tremendous tension in the back
of the neck. This neck tension tends to encourage the jaw to
push forward, creating too much of a hole at the glottis or the vocal
cords. If a singer suffers this vocal dysfunction, the vocal cords
will not come together properly and the only way to force phonation
at that point is the pushing of breath pressure.
Of course every Helden tenor does not possess all of these vocal issues.
At least some of these characteristics tend to be present in many true
Helden tenor singers.
Danish Helden Tenor Experience
A few years ago, a Helden Tenor came to my studio for instruction in
the New York. His attraction to this studio was the fact that I
use some of the concepts that were used in the training of Flagstad and
Bjoerling. Possessing an extremely large voice, he was especially interested
in the concepts of the Flagstad training and at first he was quite eager
to learn these concepts and apply them. This man was quite young for
a Helden tenor (about 30 years of age) and the instrument was in the
process of growing and maturing. As in any voice type, this often
causes such an individual to become confused in terms of vocal direction.
He began to sing for me with tremendous vocal weight or heaviness in
the voice, which sacrificed true freedom in the upper register. This
Helden Tenor was able to literally scream loud pushed sound for many
years, but musicality was impossible. At a certain point, he had
begun to lose his ability to sing high. This is a direct outcome of improper
vocalization that does not organize the muscular reflexes properly. His
voice was based on use of the thicker vocal cord mass, which made singing
quite an effort.
When this singer first vocalized for me, it was like being overcome
by a huge tidal wave of sound. Previously trained on a chest-dominated
vocal technique, he had little head voice development in the instrument.
His jaw was thrusting forward and he used tremendous neck pressure and
breath pressure to go up high in the voice. It was physically one of
the strongest instruments I had ever heard because he could literally
scream a huge chest dominated sound improperly for hours at a time. When
I had a laryngologist look at his cords, they were found to be short
and extremely thick. This did not surprise me knowing the kind of sound
he could produce. The singer had difficulty finding any type of
falsetto and the cuperto exercise was an impossibility for him at first. However,
after a few weeks of instruction, he found the cuperto and singing began
to become easier. The upper register of the voice began to function without
tremendous breath pressure, which had forced the voice to go high before.
The instrument began to work more from the ring and less from the mass
of sound. The jaw began to fall slightly down and back in more of a natural
posture, resulting in more ring and more pharyngeal space. He began to
achieve color from body connection rather than a false color from depressing
the larynx with the tongue root.
 This singer made the supreme mistake: working out hours per day at a
gym. (I DO recommend reasonable exercise on a daily basis for any singer,
but NEVER heavy weights that build up the neck muscles.) His abdominal
muscles were so tight and tense that he could not breathe properly. This
made it extremely difficult if not impossible to relax a low breath into
the body. After 6 months of study, I suggested that he make a choice:
continue to embrace extreme exercise and STOP singing or adopt moderate
exercise in order to sing well. This created such an emotional crisis
for him that he left the studio to seek other instruction. In his mind
I am sure he felt that he could continue bodybuilding and still sing
well. This did not happen and, due to a lack of musicality, he
never became an accomplished singer. His inability to create a musical
phrase was a direct result of over-exercising the body to the point of
locking the breathing muscles. It reminds me of a phrase that a friend
of mine made many years ago. “Real talent is choice making!” This
singer made a choice that cost him his career.
American Helden Tenor
Presently, I teach several Helden Tenors in my New York and European
studios. One American Helden Tenor is a larger person with a dark and
beautiful timbre. It is unfortunate that he was trained at University
as a light tenor. Let me say that it takes consistent lessons and time
to understand the Helden Tenor voice. It took approximately 2 years to
find this singer’s true voice because of his closed throat, a direct
result of his previous dysfunctional training. The biggest vocal issue
for him was that of the high larynx position. Amazingly, even with the
larynx in a high position, he was able to function vocally for quite
a number of years, yet there was always vocal fatigue and imbalance in
registration. This is typical of younger singers. They can get away with
a high larynx position for a number of years (usually about 10 years)
and then the voice begins to fall apart.
At first in his study, he could only come into the studio about once
per month. He also had a church job singing in the tenor section, a deadly
situation vocally for a Helden Tenor. Later, he came more frequently
and it was then that the true voice revealed itself, mainly as a result
of low larynx work and the low body connection. (NOTE: Low larynx work
can only be done effectively with ng tongue position and a forward tongue
tip. Otherwise, a singer can begin to depress the larynx with the root
of the tongue.) Just within the last 6 months, this singer’s voice
has bloomed, growing in depth of color and ring. It is critically important
that school studios allow larger-voiced singers to sing with their full
sound. Instructing an 18-year-old singer with a large voice is challenging.
BUT the worse type of instruction is to tell such a singer to ‘lighten
up on the voice’. This makes a large-voiced singer disconnect from
the body and sing with the throat muscles, a training that can take years
to correct.
German Helden Tenor
I have a student in Berlin who is a wonderful singing artist and has
a successful voice studio in Berlin. He has sung for many years as a
Baritone, a choice that many Helden Tenors make when the upper register
has not been properly aligned. I instructed this singer on my trips to
Berlin. While he had a beautiful quality, the true ring of the voice
was not fully realized. About one year ago I was teaching him and realized
that the root of the tongue was bunching to help create the Baritone
quality. The solution to this was to have him think a little wider in
production and learn how to widen the root of the tongue. The result
was absolutely amazing. A huge Helden Tenor ring immediately began to
be realized with little effort. Suddenly singing became much easier
and he looked more and more relaxed while singing in the upper register.
In fact, he was happier singing higher than lower in range at that point.
This is a situation where a singer has been misdiagnosed in terms of
vocal fach. He now is singing with ease and the act of singing has become
much more of a positive experience.
Helden Tenor / Paris
A few months ago, a Helden Tenor having a fine solo operatic career
contacted me. I was on my way to Paris to teach at the Laboratoire de
la Voix when he contacted me in London. He was singing at the Paris Opera
and was having vocal challenges in singing heavier repertoire. We met
for two sessions in the Paris studio and the vocal issue that had been
causing him so much difficulty was immediately clear to me. His jaw was
jutting forward, making it impossible for the vocal cords to close completely.
The upper chest was not open and the back rib cage was slightly collapsed.
The Lindquest vocal concepts made an immediate positive response in his
voice. The upper passaggio began to align so that he could sing
higher with much less effort. The suspended rib cage allowed for a fuller
body connection, which played a major role in balancing his registration.
We then worked on a major Strauss role with great success. These vocal
issues are now manageable for him with the use of the mirror. (See article: “Self-Supervision
and the Singer”.)
Training The Psycho-Emotional Response
I am quoting Alan Lindquest when I speak of the psycho-emotional reflex
in training the Helden Tenor. Most of the time this aspect of singing
is not addressed thoroughly. Because of time restraints, College
and University teachers often do not have time to cover this aspect of
training. Training the physical singing reflex from a psychological reflex
was a specialty of Joseph Hislop and it is critical in the training and
preparation of any career singer. Does the singing response mean
joy, frustration, or sadness to the singer? Singing is a direct outgrowth
of training the mind. In the Helden Tenor’s study, it is imperative
that this be addressed. What muscles engage when taking the preparatory
breath? Do these muscles serve the singer for a successful performance
or disturb healthy vocal coordination? Joseph Hislop had Lindquest perform
the same vocal exercise in the same key using the three contrasting emotions:
joy, sadness, and anger. When taught this exercise, Lindquest was asked
to try and match the muscular or singing response for the three emotions.
This allows a singer to experience the different colors in vocal production
without changing the acoustical space or open pharynx, thus creating
technical consistency. What this does for the Helden Tenor is priceless
because the singer then develops an awareness of whether the preparatory
breath is helping or hurting his vocal function. Singers need to train
this way using a mirror as a feedback tool. Mirror work will help the
singer draw a true picture of what is happening when the mind thinks
of preparing to sing. This kind of analysis can help any singer, but
for the Helden Tenor, who often experiences the desire to push a big
sound, it is critically important.
Vocal Exercises for the Helden Tenor
There is nothing more frustrating than reading yet another vocal pedagogy
book that defines vocal problems without offering solutions. The following
exercises are designed to help the Helden Tenor coordinate the laryngeal
tilt and experience balance in space and ring.
Exercise #1:
1……………..1………5……oct…….5……..1
“French ain”….Ah……..aw….uh……aw…….ah
(Keep the feeling of the “French ain” sound over all the
other vowel sounds keeping an open throat of pharynx. The laryngeal
tilt (slightly down and forward) will assist in bringing point to the
voice by releasing the root of the tongue. Often, this does not sound
good too the singer. Also use the French ‘un’ over the ‘uh’ sound. This
will bring in more release of the tongue for the upper note and make
it easier to go higher. This exercise must be done with a released larynx,
open pharyngeal space and forward tongue posture.
Exercise #2:
1……….5……oct……5………1
Gah……Gaw…Guh….Gaw…..Gah. Make
G with middle of tongue not the back of tongue. (Like the Italian ‘c’ sound.)
This should release the tongue and the palate away from each other creating
a larger sense of space in the soft palate naturally. Remember NOT to
create too much sensation of space in the middle register. This
will weight the voice and make it difficult to get into the upper range.
Usually when a singer has the sensation of a LOT of space in the middle
voice, they are feeling the root of the tongue depress the larynx.
Exercise #3:
1….3…..5…..oct……5……3.….1
Zo…lo….no….to……………. …rno. Flip
and dentalize consonants with tongue working separate from the jaw. Remember
that the jaw must release slightly down and back as you ascend higher
toward the upper passaggio. Voice the beginning ‘z’ and the
ending ‘n’ so that focus can be realized in the beginning
and the ending of the phrase.
Final Thought: In the final analysis every singer has to meet the critical
challenges of developing a career mind set. Moving toward confidence
and self-awareness are two basics for any career singer. Confidence can
offer the singer the courage to perform in the public arena. Self-awareness
is the key to consistent growth, establishing the element of daily discipline. Remember
that singing is a life-study and we are always learning more and more.
We never reach a point where we know everything. BUT we can reach a level
of awareness that helps us sing consistently well. This is the measure
of a true artist.
Concepts covered in this article may be found on David Jones’ double
CD pedagogy course of study entitled, “An Introductory
Lesson with David Jones: A Resource for Teachers and Singers”.
© 2005 by David L. Jones
|
The
first priority in any article is to define the subject matter as closely
as possible, offer valid questions, and give solid solutions toward clarification
of these questions. Considered one of the largest and most dramatic voices
in the tenor fach, the Helden Tenor is also considered one of the rarest
of voices. During my almost 33 years of teaching this technique
I have taught only a few singers of this voice type that I could consider
to be true Helden Tenors. I have more often taught dramatic tenors who
sang both the Italian and German repertoire but would be considered of
the Italian Dramatic Tenor vocal fach. 