>>>>>I would be most interested in how many of the voice teachers on
this list still use the Yawn-sigh techniques with their students.
<<<<<
Lloyd, I've recently actually come back to using this exercise with
all my contemporary 'sopranos' who complain about hating their head
voice. It actually has worked wonders with them being able to attain
those notes, build strength in them, and not be afraid of approaching
them from beneath. Rather than use it with them to actually blend
their upper registers I have probably used it more for them simply to
discover their head voice so that they can use it when they need to,
instead of being perpetually in fear of and avoiding it. (This is one
of the most common "problems" I encounter in my student base, females
in total denial or fear of their upper register the majority of which
are actually sopranos!)
When I was first training in performance and teaching from '79 -'82
Vennard was the "god du jour" and later when I took up further
pedagogy studies from '85 -'88 Miller had become "THE man". Because
the teacher I had later was also a student of the same teacher I had
earlier Vennard was still a cornerstone of our education. I haven't
seen anyone else come close to usurping their ideas despite fashions
changing over time.But I have to admit, *I* have changed (and the
expectations of my student base) and therefore perhaps I don't teach
their exercises or concepts with perhaps the purity I did when first
exposed to them. It's the same with most things I think. I have
altered, albeit, ever so slightly, the pedagogy and practises to suit
the everchanging needs, expectations and abilities of the students,
not made the student a slave to the ideal of a "one size fits all"
teaching style.
Singing "in the masque" was taught to us a bel Canto technique and
considering our voices, thanks to our Australian accent, were
probably already pretty bright and nasal it certainly never seemed to
add it to our sound. If anything it balanced the tone and made sure
the resonance was where it should be. (But then again I think there
may be wildly differing tastes in what we want from our singers here
compared to the Northern hemisphere, especially compared to the Brits
for instance. For the most part they seem to favour a sound which to
our ears is more often than not, far more "swallowed" and dark in
it's timbre and production for instance.) The yawn-sigh, for me at
any rate, had a tendency to overcome tension in the back of the
tongue rather than produce it. It was a way of linking a natural
process with lack of tension to a process which could create tension
and circumventing it. The big deal was to over-emphasis that it was
only the impulse for a yawn that was required and being followed up
by the release of a sigh, as a teacher it never once occured to me
how this created tension. The feedback from my students has always
been about the feeling of freedom this created for them which has
been reflected in their sound.
So yes, I do still use Vennards yawn-sigh concept and exercises
(embellished and personalised) and would continue to do so if it is
what's needed and works, even with my classical students, few and far
between though they sadly often are.
What would you replace it with?
Michelle
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