I’m back after a protracted absence and I’d like to follow on from my last post about humming. As I said, it is not recommended practice in the true bel canto training. E. Herbert-Caesari in his book “Vocal Truth” writes in depth about this and I thought it worth quoting in full.
“In view of the fact that humming is part and parcel of certain methods and a supposed solvent of the question of tonal placing, we deem it expedient to bring into relief the dangers of this practice, the possible benefits of which are negligible.
One can hum on M or N; however, the former is most in use. The mouth is closed, the cords are set in motion and the sound issues from the nostrils. And because the cords are set in motion the singer must be careful now he hums or ‘emms’. When an ascending scale is ‘emmed’ it often happens that as, or even before, the upper medium pitches are reached the larynx rises unduly and the tongue with it, while the soft palate comes down in equal degree; a dual movement that considerably narrows the mouth-pharynx cavity. It is true that this cavity has not to be shaped to any particular vowel during the humming process; nevertheless, the vibrator mechanism becomes deranged and cannot function properly in the presence of such cramping of the said cavity – its primary resonating zone. It is deranged as soon as the larynx itself rises beyond a certain physiological level (floating level we call it); which deranging prevents accurate general adjustment. As the pitch rises still further, conditions will worsen if the larynx continues its upward movement. If it does, up goes the tongue with it and down comes the soft palate in equal degree. This increase in the flattening and cramping of the aforesaid cavity is assuredly not going to improve matters. In such cases, the higher the pitch the more the elevation of larynx and tongue, and the descent of the soft palate becomes abnormal, and more than ever it is impossible for the cords to function correctly. If this indiscriminate humming is persisted in for half and hour or so at a time, as sometimes is practised by teachers and choirmasters, the voice – or rather the cords – register unmistakable fatigue, developing also an uncomfortable feeling of ‘rawness’. In the case of choirs, this may happen only once a week, so there is time for recovery before the next dose. The added mischief lies in the possibility of young singers adopting the method in their own studies.
In light sopranos especially, and more than the other categories, the larynx is already set in a naturally high position in the throat; consequently, if its elevation is unduly and therefore unnaturally increased with this humming business, then the strain is considerable, particularly on the high pitches.
We have even read that humming was one of the ‘secrets’ of tonal placing of the Old Italian School! We are not of this opinion. In any case, this school had no ‘secrets’ of this or any other kind.
It is not a genuine process for the so-called placing of the voice nor for exercising it systematically. It teaches little or nothing as far as the basic tonal sensations and their variations are concerned, and it is only in exceptional cases that a singer is able correctly to hum up the scale to the highest pitches with a balanced vibrator mechanism. Even so, it will profit him or her but very little. On general lines it wastes both time and energy.
To our thinking, a limited use can be made of humming: (1) for giving the student an idea of what is meant by absolute freedom of vibration, because on the lowest notes the cords can be felt to be working freely, to be ‘singing’ in an unhampered medium; (2) for the slightest warming of the voice just on the first octave, in places where actual singing is impracticable.
For our part, we have no use for it; furthermore, we consider that all available energies should be devoted to the advancement of the student without halting to trifle with such negligible factors.”
I think this is a definitive and comprehensive statement, so take heed and leave it to the bees to do all the humming!
I would be interested to hear your views on vocal exercises that use the special type of humming on “ng” (as in the word “singing”) with parted lips. Do you use these in your technique/teaching?
If you want the purist answer it would have to be “No!” to the ‘ng’ hum. The historical bel canto school advocates training the voice at the source (ie the cords) with the vowels and most particularly the ‘ah’ vowel. The ‘ng’ can be a distraction and a waste of time and energy. Kirsten Flagstad is reputed to have vocalized on the ‘ng’ (see David Jones’ website http://www.voiceteacher.com) but I myself don’t use it. I do sometimes resort to using it in my teaching of very inexperienced singers and it is preferable to the ‘m’ hum.
I am a big advocate of the -ng hum. I believe it to be an honest friend. The type to say “Yes, your butt DOES look fat in those pants.” I firmly believe that if you are having an insurmountably difficult time humming thru something on -ng, it is not indicative of -ng being bad for you, it suggests problems elsewhere (lack of support, insufficient independence of laryngeal movement, ie. depth) The reality is that the tongue so often gets used to help keep the larynx low (to the singer’s detriment) that when they need the tongue to act independently, the larynx raises right back up. Practicing on an -ng, until one can hum throughout their range fully, is a great exercise. As my teacher once put it, “if you can’t hum, you can’t sing.”