Michelle,
Thanks for the compliment!! I think it was hard for me because I had a
teacher who was not very good at explaining technique. She sang with a good
deal of tension, and in general so did her students. When I started working
with a more able teacher, it didn't take long to release those issues. Good
guidance is so key.
I learned a lot by playing an instrument. I recommend it highly. Playing
in an instrumental ensemble really helped me learn to tune, listen and
balance with others, and we were held responsible for our own part in a way
that people in most choruses don't learn to do. Becasue it was a wind
ensemble, we played a lot of new music. It also helped a lot with
sight-reading, particularly rhythmic reading. Multiple meters are a cinch.
Stravinsky, Bernstein, and Barber are no big deal. However, I have also
heard many an instrumental conductor (particularly those who work with
strings) say that they wish their players could sing, in order to have that
sense of line and phrasing.
Another example of how being well rounded is a good thing, yes?
Jean Marie
>From: Michelle Albert <drama_diva_au@y...>
>Reply-To: vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com
>To: vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [vocalist] Woodwind players
>Date: Wed, 4 Dec 2002 11:38:06 +1100 (EST)
>
>
>Jean Marie Henderson wrote a great post (which I have filed away for future
>reference) about issues she faced as a singer who had played
>clarinet/saxaphone. I just wanted to say how much this really surprised me.
>I've taught two clarinettists and one oboe player and they were actually
>among my "easiest" students. They had a jump start on the musicianship
>aspects of performance which is always a bonus, especially in beginner
>singers. But to address Jean Marie's points, they didn't have the tonal or
>breathing issues, especially that of resistance and having learnt the
>clarinet myself, I really do wonder why, because Jean Marie is absolutely
>right. One of them did have major issues with overcoming her embouchure
>though. She initially sang with a very closed mouth and very little
>movement in her face and was one of the rare students I had to encourage to
>smile more while she sang to retrain the sensation of mobilizing her face.
>For her it was an issue of flexibility, and working different muscles in
>the different situations, which to her credit she achieved admirably in a
>very short space of time. Her tone blossomed once she activated her face.
>(She had practised yoga for many years too.) Her breathing technique was
>impeccable. Maybe she had adjusted naturally or maybe she hadn't been
>playing as long (ten years) as Jean Marie.
>
>Michelle
>
>
>
>Reality is just a figment of your imagination.
>
>
>---------------------------------
>
>
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