Reply to Alison from Julie Werntz

Alison wrote,

>> Yes, but my point is that for the foreseeable future singers are
> not going to be able to sing 72
>> tet. I could envisage reading the notation and I could envisage
> with much practice, being able to
>> split the semitone into three against a strong pedal. Top pros
> could perhaps split it into six.
>> But thet's a long shot off skipping from, say, tone 1 to tone 53
> at will, or even harder, from
>> tone 1 plus x to tone y.

Julie wrote,
>
Many people who have never tried it believe it to be impossible. They
hear
the number 72 and think they need to learn 60 new things to do,
instead of
the old 12. But it's a very simple process in the beginning: three
new
degrees of up and three new degrees of down. It's actually just a
matter of
concentration and practice, and many people do sing. I also believe
it
requires a certain amount of mental relaxation. (E.g. Maneri's class
is
based on continual singing exercises, as well as instrumental
playing, and
most of these students are not even voice majors (nor "top pros"!).
They do
fine, when they practice.) I'm not bad at it, myself, and I'm no
Maria
Callas.

Paul Erlich wrote:

> Alison wrote,
>
> >> Yes, but my point is that for the foreseeable future singers are
> > not going to be able to sing 72
> >> tet. I could envisage reading the notation and I could envisage
> > with much practice, being able to
> >> split the semitone into three against a strong pedal. Top pros
> > could perhaps split it into six.
> >> But thet's a long shot off skipping from, say, tone 1 to tone 53
> > at will, or even harder, from
> >> tone 1 plus x to tone y.
>
> Julie wrote,
> >
> Many people who have never tried it believe it to be impossible. They
> hear
> the number 72 and think they need to learn 60 new things to do,
> instead of
> the old 12. But it's a very simple process in the beginning: three
> new
> degrees of up and three new degrees of down. It's actually just a
> matter of
> concentration and practice, and many people do sing. I also believe
> it
> requires a certain amount of mental relaxation. (E.g. Maneri's class
> is
> based on continual singing exercises, as well as instrumental
> playing, and
> most of these students are not even voice majors (nor "top pros"!).
> They do
> fine, when they practice.) I'm not bad at it, myself, and I'm no
> Maria
> Callas.

Thanks, Julie. I'm glad to hear of your success. I'd be grateful for any references to recordings
and/or the ear training/voice production method. Have you had success with large choruses?

Best Wishes.

>
>