Vocalist.org archive


From:  Greypins@a...
Greypins@a...
Date:  Thu Jun 21, 2001  5:20 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] neck tension in pop singer


melinda,

it IS strange that he should be able to tense that muscle and have a
loose jaw. the only way i could do it is to push my head back and down
without tilting my head. the jo estill crowd actually talk about a similar
move that they call 'anchoring' and, i never really figured out what they
were talking about. and why would i want to? it's all so unnecessary.

whenever i come across someone doing something screwball while they are
singing that doesn't occur when they are not, invariably, it turns out to be
the result of their concept of what they should be doing in order to sing.
a more common example would be singers who stretch their necks up to reach
high notes as if 'high' and 'low' pitches were a question of height as
opposed to frequency. any effort to get them to stop 'looking over the
fence' for their high notes will ultimately be futile as long as they think
those notes are 'up there' (it's amazing how many of these people think the
vocal folds are vertical instead of horizontal). showing these folks how
pitch really works and how the larynx really works in achieving these
pitches, gets them trying to do something that works rather than something
that doesn't.

in light of what i have written above, i'm guessing this guy with the
weird neck thing, has a concept of what he should be doing that is leading
either directly or indirectly to this odd behavior. it most likely comes
from either some idea he has about how singing should sound or look or feel,
etc, or, a misinterpretation of what has been discussed as to how the voice
works.

if he were my student, i would demonstrate the difference between the
role of the vibrator and the role of the resonator. i usually snap a
stretched out rubber band to illustrate the vibrator and then touch one end
of it to an empty coke can (pepsi is fine too) illustrating the coupling of a
vibrator to a resonator. in that coupling, the initiation of the vibrator
doesn't change. applying this to the voice, it is necessary to demonstrate
to the student just how small an area in the neck is actually involved with
making the vibration. i like to use vennard's glottal click or seth riggs'
'door creak' exercise to demonstrate this. it is really an area no bigger
than a sesame seed. in the simplest form of singing, the resonator (the
vocal tract) need do nothing more than one would do if mouthing the words
without making a sound.

it is our perceptions (like thinking of our voices as one clump), our
desired 'ideal' sound and the idea that it must be hard that keep us from
keeping it that simple. sorry if i got a little carried away.

mike

emusic.com