All you vocal gurus, what do you tell a student who
refuses to use ANY effort to support?
I've tried asking her to do a variety of things, but
her main problem is that she relaxes all of her
abdominal muscles and refuses to use any muscular
energy at all. She says that singing should be as
natural as speaking and that she doesn't want to cause
tension, push, or become "muscle-bound."
Well, fine, but she's putting all the pressure onto
her throat instead. I am not a fan of this whole "do
nothing" approach to support -- it seems to work fine
for musical theater and lighter styles of production,
but I truly believe that to sing a connected,
correctly-focussed tessitura (not to mention anything
higher that won't flip into breathiness), you need air
compression. Firm air compression.
I myself have used a number of different methods --
pulling in the lower pelvic abs, bearing down, holding
the ribs out, pushing outward, a general firming up,
expanding the upper torso/back while squeezing in with
the lower mucles -- I've tried it all -- and have been
suggesting different methods to this soprano. But she
refuses to do anything that involves muscles!
This is Richard Miller gone too far. Her concept of
the so-called "Italian appoggio method" is simply too
weak to produce a correctly sustained tone. (The whole
"Italian appoggio" academic school is an Americanized
concept at best -- from my experience and from what
other teachers have said, native Italian singers use
the term "appoggio" to describe everything from
bearing down as if to have a bowel movement to
balancing the ribs outward to pushing against a belt
with the tummy). I don't know what else to tell her,
and I can't get her off of her throat unless she
learns to support.
Does anyone have any experience teaching support from
the ground up, to someone reluctant to push/squeeze in
any way, shape, or form? Is there a support 101 FAQ
anywhere I can get more ideas from? I remember some
good posts from Karen back in the old Vocalist days
about different images to use to find what support is.
I have tried to explain the concept of "good" tension
-- i.e., when you phonate, your cords are taut -- but
she'll have none of it. Someone beat it into her head
that breathing should be as natural as speaking, but
unfortunately that translates into doing nothing and
putting all the pressure into her throat.
Any suggestions?
Isabelle B.
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