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From:  peggyh@i...
peggyh@i...
Date:  Thu Nov 8, 2001  7:08 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] stopping the air


Molly wrote:
<< Lately my teacher has told me I sing with too many "h's" in my sound, and
that I "Stop the air" .

<<I am having the HARDEST time hearing these h's and knowing how I am stopping
the air flow. I am trying what *I* think is legato, yet it does not feel right
to me and seems..so difficult! Any thoughts?>>

I have found the hardest thing about learning to sing effectively is connecting
the meaning of words to the feeling of what's happening in my body. Almost
everything voice teachers tell us to get us to sing better are words attempting
to describe the indescribable. Even something that sounds mechanical like
"lift your palate", really doesn't relate to what we may "think" is responding
correctly to the teacher's instruction. (I like to rationalize this by
pretending that words are done by my left brain, and muscular coordination to
sing is done by my right brain. Please don't tell me if I'm wrong!!!)

So when your teacher says you "stop your breath" or need to sing "more legato",
she may be literally correct, but your body/mind may not really understand in
terms of being able to follow the instruction as she intends. That's why the
teacher needs to have a great ear and eye to hear and see what you're actually
doing, and the sensitivity and creativity to give you the words that will get
your body to do what's necesssary.

Personally, I've always had a hard time with negatives in singing (e.g., "don't
tense your jaw") and do much better with positives ("have a relaxed feeling in
your jaw"). But that's me.

And sometimes something has worked in the past, but for some reason has stopped
working for you - such as you may have overdone the instruction.

Anyway, where I'm going is: teachers are only human, and far from perfect, and
sometimes at a loss for the next thing to tell you, so they sometimes stick
with what seems logical to them, until they think of something better, or until
YOU give feedback that something's not working for you.

So my recommendation is, tell your teacher something like, "I don't understand
why when I "think" legato, it's not what you want. I don't understand what you
mean when you say I'm stopping my breath. Can you show me what you mean?"

As to legato, I found I did not get a good handle on it until my body learned
how to properly manage my breath. Then legato was easy. Before then, it was
work! When I try to describe how it feels to me, now that I KNOW how to do it,
it's a feeling of my breath being flowing out out in one continuous flow, with
no interruptions. The air isn't pushed, it's released, and almost comes out of
its own accord. My breathing muscles feel engaged, but not tight. (There's a
muscle just under my breastbone that my teacher likes me to feel the engagement
of with my hand to check if this is working right for me. The experts here can
remember the name of the muscle.) Consonants don't interrupt the air flow but
feel as if they're floating on the air, as a ping pong ball or balloon on a
column of air.

When these images were explained to me before my body had learned the feelings,
I felt unable to accomplish legato. Now they work for me, as a reminder of how
my body needs to feel. Just keep at it, and eventually, it will all come
together for you. (It took me years, but then I'm much slower in that regard
than anyone I know.)

Good luck!

Peggy

---
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...


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