Highlights from a Master class with Bass- Raymond Modesti 

Thats's a really nice master class, also beatiful timbre of both singers.

Hello Raymond Modesti, You are the finest bass-baritone of more than half a century. I'm looking for a teacher like you as a model. I've watched several of your videos, although I haven't fully understood all your meanings yet. However, your singing technique is something that all singers in the world must learn over this half century. I'm younger than you by a few years. I study and sing tenor myself. You first have a very correct way of speaking. Caruso said that correct singing must start with correct speech. If young people could learn your way of speaking and producing sound, it would surely help. Here, you are demonstrating your correct method. However, the student did not understand. You asked him to touch his lower back, which is good! This area is the power zone for bass singing. But your student has not developed the chest space and abdominal space like you have. His breath cannot reach below the lower back waist. You say your part, he sings his part, and the problem is not solved. You must first point out his error in breath distribution. He lacks chest and back space, which is fine. As a teacher, I would first ask him to sing half as softly and reduce the volume by half, then point out the expansion of the back, waist, and diaphragm, and push the breath forward as you did. Of course, the most important thing is not what you are pointing out to him now, but letting him correct it immediately. He can't do it. He must spend effort to practice the space in the chest and abdomen, expand the front and back diameters of the abdomen and chest, and see that the waist and abdomen are much larger than he is! Although you have fat, I can tell at a glance that the internal space of your chest and abdomen is very large and can be compared with Caruso. This student has no space. When he sings a note, his mouth and nasal cavity are very hard, not relaxed, and you have to point out to him. He needs to exercise the internal space of the chest and abdomen like you, and it takes several years. Master, your demonstration, your physical condition, can be easily achieved. But he can't do it. Like the three tenors, he took a deep breath and sang the first note, and almost all the breath of the chest and abdomen was above the vocal cords. This is a bad habit. If it is not corrected immediately, he will never be able to use abdominal support correctly in his life, and neither the bass nor the high notes will have strength. I hope you have the opportunity to point this out to him. Nevertheless, I admire you very much! Thank you for your contribution to human singing technique!