On Sun, 9 Apr 2000, Reg Boyle wrote:
> Hi all,
> My experiences lead me to pose this question
> in the hope of nailing down once and for all the views
> for and against support and the bogy man of tension.
>
> ** If easy singing is good and difficult singing is bad,
> how do you describe in words the degree of effort
> essential to good singing and vocal survival? **
>
Good question. My answer to it is only based on my own experience, therfore
subjctive, but I'll give it a whirl:)
I think that only be being aware of the body first can a person understand
the balance between too much effort as compared to too little. I've
found that excersises such as the mittendorf techniques and the accent
method has really helped me become ware of my body and what it is doing
at all times, inclusive of too much tension/nerves which leading to bad
singing. If I can make the person notice which part of their body is doing
whatt at any particular time, They then in turn are able to apply such
attention to what they are doing while they are singing. This has helped
them recognise the feeling of too much tension, of trying too hard
or of interfering with their own singing process. Likening it to
singing when "you are so tired that you just don't care"
seems to help, especially when the person has come in for a lesson, chock
full of qualifiers " I've had a really long day, so I *know* I won't be
singing well" and then their voice rings out beautifully because they've
"got out of the way". Having them register what they are doing right
as in noticing the physical feelings does seem to work.
Unfortunately, as this is not a quick fix solution, it does require
patience, practice and effort on behalf of the student and many aren't
willing to devote that kind of concentration over an extended period.
> I have found that freedom from tension in the
> immediate emission areas equate with substantial
> tension in the motor areas: good singing: and easy
> singing.
> It seems to me that to sing on natural ability
> usually leads to bad singing and vocal difficulty.
> So how can we impart verbally why tension
> is essential to good singing, where that tension is,
> and its degree? Dismantling the incorrect tension
> system is counterproductive.
I'm not sure of what you mean by correct and incorrect tension, but
the checklist that i use to see whether i'm singin correctly or not
is the following( feel free to disreagard at will):
Breath management
Vowel formants
Resonance factor
if something is going wrong as far as production is concerned, checking
throgh the above always leads to recognition of the problem and
hopefully correction.
> Credit to Colin in his reference to this and the potential
> for Alexander Technique interactions.
> Although it's a little off the theme, I don't want to let
> go without reference to the need to mentally focus on
> the pure vowel. That is to _not_ anticipate the word closure
> which, if we allowed it, would unconsciously transmit tension
> to the tongue and lips. But then...can we artfully think of
> the words but aim at the vowels? Alright...alright I've done
> it too. Thinking of the words in the next verse as I sing
> quite correctly the one before. Am I unique? ;)
>
*grin*
Somehow I dont' think so. I'm still working through this one personally
and Finally it's coming together! I've found recently that focussing on
the vowel formants has really made a difference to both line and colour
of pieces that I'm singing. I have a real tendency to focus on the
aspirates such as "h" adn "g" as well as "t" consonants and over mouthing
them unnecessarily. By creating enough space and lifting the soft palate,
keeping the back of the throat open when singing on the vowel, it's made a
real difference to the line and teh sound is much richer, with more
ping/ring to it. For me it's not so much thinking of the next lot
of phrases, but focusing on the consonants within the upcoming phrases
that has created the problem.
eg"Gia ti donai il mio cor" The " gia ti" would sound thin - I knew I
could sing the notes, singing on the vowel was fine too, but once i put
hte consonants in ... Yick!
Now singing "gia" with concentrating on the accented 'ah' has made a big
difference. Focussing on the "Gi" sound and the following consonants
made keeping the line so much harder, unnecessarily so.
Now with the correct vowel formants i can make so much more of teh music
and the emotion expressed and it's much easier to do!
(Surprised the proverbial out of me:)
Anyway, that's my $0.0225 ( including GST for John Howard's benefit)
:)
Kylie
|
