Learning to sing is a curious business, as is research into how that business was conducted in the past by famous voice teachers, in this case, Pauline Viardot-García.

Something she taught came to mind recently after I had a conversation with a colleague who observed that singers of yesteryear—and we're talking the beginning of the 20th century—sang with more head voice than they do now.

Is it true? That depends on how one listens to early gramophone recordings, which didn't capture women's voices very well. That said, it is a perception that rings true to my ears. Of course, one has to listen to many old recordings to make this deduction, which is quickly done now that YouTube is flooded with recordings of yesteryear.  

Now, to my remembrance.

I have within my files at least five references to Viardot-García teaching her students to sing very quietly during beginning practice—in octaves, starting in lower middle voice and going as high as possible.

What might this accomplish, and how would it have been done?

Let's say the student has a good handle on the "Singing Position" concept articulated by Herman Klein—an essential García School teaching. The student with this knowledge will find that the ascension into the higher range will hold no terror after some practice. The student will also find that when full voice and mezza voce are attempted (hint: the breath must stand still during quiet practice and be reinforced without force), the resultant tone will be oriented towards the head.

Photo: Pauline Viardot-Garcia circa 1865.