Singing and the Actor (review)

In the second edition of Singing and the Actor, author Gillyanne Kayes provides a valuable manual to help musical theatre singers develop a clear understanding of their vocal instrument. Vocal technique texts are frequently dismissive of musical theatre, insinuating that singing in this style will cause permanent vocal damage and is therefore inadvisable for serious singers. Instructors of voice in theatre programs will be encouraged by Kayes, whose technique focuses positively on the many different vocal qualities needed to correctly perform in the genre.

The first section of the book begins with the fundamental question, "How do I make the notes?", and concentrates on the apparatus of the voice in a very detailed technical manner, complete with diagrams of the vocal mechanism. The author's admonition to singers is, "to take charge of your own voice: to feel, visualize and to listen for yourself, rather than relying on the teacher to do it for you" (vii). The text strives to help singers become completely familiar with all possible positions of the vocal tract and understand their instrument's full range of possibility, rather than be overly dependent on the feedback of voice teachers to make corrections. Issues of larynx position, vocal fold tension, and breath support are explored in detail. For every concept, Kayes presents several specific practical exercises designed to monitor and self-evaluate the concepts. Singers using the text must work through all of the exercises provided for each concept in order to discover which approaches help them connect with the key physiological and acoustic ideas being presented. If time is put into this part of the program, the results will show in section three. The payoff is a quite useful vocal technique.

Whereas the first section of Singing and the Actor explains the process of sound production, the second focuses on controlling the quality and character of that tone. Kayes gives detailed and thorough explanations of vocal issues such as resonance, register changes, nasality, and dynamics. Of particular interest in this section is the notion of external and internal anchoring of the voice, what Kayes calls "support via a muscular voice-body connection" (75). Something completely different from breath support, "anchoring" clearly demonstrates the considerable amount of physical strength needed for projection of the voice. "Anchoring" offers a practical way to express to voice students the inherent athleticism of good musical theatre singing.

Section three, "Working the Text," synthesizes the mechanical, physical, and artistic dimensions of singing the genre to focus on Kayes's six voice qualities: speech, falsetto, cry, twang, opera, and belt. Kayes comments that she "expect(s) advanced performers to make straight for this final section," though in fact the specialized vocabulary of the book could make that very difficult (119). Nevertheless, the author's point is well taken: the most exciting and original part of the book is the discussion of voice qualities. First, Kayes describes the sound of each quality, using multiple examples of recordings to illustrate clearly the characteristic of each. For instance, an example of twang quality would be the song "Take Back Your Mink" from Guys and Dolls as performed by Kim Kriswell (155). Kayes then explains exactly how to make each of the vocal qualities in terms of the sound production concepts presented in sections one and two. For example, belt voice is explained as "a mix of speech and twang with a high larynx and tilted cricoid" (158). The technical information taught earlier in the book is now indispensable: "The tilted cricoid (the lower section of the laryngeal cartilage) helps you to sing high notes with thick folds without traumatizing the voice" (158). While this is a meticulous discussion of vocal production, after the preparation of sections one and two it is very clear and useful.

Kayes effectively demystifies good vocal production through her careful and readable explanations. Singing and the Actor requires...