Dear Amanda and List:
--- In vocalist-temporary@y..., Amanda Kelley <mandasings@y...> wrote: >But I guess I'm not very familiar with what is called 'speech-level singing'. What exactly does it mean? > Anthony Howden <antnee1027@y...> wrote: > How long did it take you to master that?! With speech-level singing they say generally btw 3-6 mos is a good window
'speech-level singing' could be some sort of generic term but I think Anthony Howden is referring specifically to Seth Riggs and his "approach" - see http://www.sethriggs.com/sls.html.
I don't know the legal issues - whether Riggs has trademarked the term or not, but Riggs has his approach and he "certifies" certain teachers as qualified to teach and use his name and the term "speech level singing" in their advertisements.
Randy Buescher, a frequent poster, would be well-qualified to answer your question, and he has recently. As I understand it, one of the key ideas in SLS is to minimize the involvement of muscles that need not be involved in singing - so the larynx should remain at a relaxed 'speech level' and not yanked up or shoved down.
For males, I don't think the SLS approach generates too much controversy. For females, there seem to be some issues as to the range of usage for chest voice - the discussions on this list have mentioned that SLS advocates a chest register for women extending until about A4 (a fifth above middle C).
On 10/22/2002, Randy wrote, (about how sls might differ from classical training)
"Well, a simple answer is that it focuses much more on laryngeal events which fine tune the prephonatory tuning of the cords (therefore calling for much lower airflow) and helps induce the necessary events that help the singer bridge into the upper registers including whistle tone. Where you located?
randy buescher
Randy further wrote, a day or so later,
"It's not except for the fact that the chest register is much longer in women in this approach, the vowel modifications sound purer in a sense, and a slightly longer closed phase is taught to those wanting to sing more modern rep. But, in the female voice, the chest register is much longer and because of that the mix and head voice take on different cuts... think of Natalie Cole.
Cheers,
Michael
|