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From:  Naomi Gurt Lind <omigurt@a...>
Date:  Fri Jul 19, 2002  1:02 pm
Subject:  re: New Member has a question

Julie wrote:

>>>I think I am tensing the back of my neck or something when I sing songs
>>>though. Two days last week I was holding a position (neck posture)
>>>straight and I was singing well. Now I can't find that straight
>>>position nor am I singing well. Before the sudden shift into not
>>>singing well I had practiced an aria at home, memorized words, read
>>>some, worked on diction and practiced piano. Could it be that the
>>>forementioned activities place the song in the wrong hemisphere of the
>>>brain?. <<<


Without knowing much about you, I offer some suggestions and ideas -- maybe
some of them will hit the mark with you. Trust your instincts!

If neck tension is the issue, you could consider taking some Alexander or
Feldenkrais lessons to bring more purposefulness and awareness to your use
of your body. Meanwhile, in your practice sessions, do one phrase at a
time and really focus your mind on releasing the neck. This will include
slowing down the breath (for now) so that you don't grab the breath with
the neck. Release all the air gently and then, as John so eloquently said
in a previous message, allow the breath. Sing on *that* breath, paying
attention to releasing your neck. (Sometimes I give a command like "back
of neck free" and sometimes I gently place a hand on the back of my neck,
just to remind it that its role in singing is passive.)

I'm also interested in the sudden shift you described above. All hte
things you were doing were necessary and important, but maybe your body
expects some kind of signal as you change gears -- five minutes of quiet
breathing and releasing the tensions that might have crept in as you were
hunched over the books or practicing the piano. (I personally have
terrible neck tension when I play the piano, so I never go straight from
piano to singing, but rather take some changeover time. One thing that
works well for me is to lie on my back for a few minutes and concentrate on
releasing muscular tensions into the floor. I imagine myself to be cookie
batter spreading in the warm oven.)

One other thing that occurs to me is that as artists, we are bound to have
days when everything works and days when nothing works -- and lots of
variety in between. My strategy for the uckier days is to set a timer for
5 minutes and gently do my warmups for that amount of time. If it starts
to go well, I can renew the contract for another five minutes or just go on
and practice as normal. If it still feels ucky, I do something else.
Nobody says you have to practice every day for the same amount of time.
There is plenty you can be doing to advance your artistic growth without
singing. And if the voice technique is getting worse as the practice
session goes along, you're actually reinforcing bad habits in the name of
discipline. Sometimes it's better to work on translations or acting
choices or diction/articulation -- or even go to the movies and rest your
mind! Tomorrow is another day.

Good luck, Julie!

Naomi Gurt Lind






  Replies Name/Email Yahoo! ID Date  
19698 Re: New Member has a questionKaren Mercedes   Fri  7/19/2002  

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