Audrey Howitt wrote :
<< I find that I am not always on the breath and that indeed, I seem to
"hold" somewhere in order to try to control the sound. The result is that I
end up "stuck" vocally from time to time. It also does not allow me the
flexibility toexecute quick melismas. I used to think that this was a
resonance problem, but am now thinking that this is a breath issue.>>
Was your "resonance" approach motivated by tension in your tongue, jaw or
throat? When one "holds" somewhere, it is indeed easy to designate the area
where the tension seems to be located. It is also true that it interferes
with one's resonance.
But it is also necessary, as you write, to change your breath support so
that the "holding" is not necessary any longer.
This should of course been done with a competent teacher. Here by mail, I
can think of no better advice that the famous one from Miller "stay in the
inhaling position", as if you kept inhaling while singing.
The most crucial time is between the air intake and the voice onset. No
holding and no expiring (unvoiced breath releasing...) should occur during
that time. It should also be kept as short as possible. Consciously thinking
of expanding your diaphragm down (and outwards) on the onset may also be
useful. Even if you have already breathed in or if you don't need breath, a
quick "surprise breath", or even a muscular move of the diaphragm without
any air intake may help you to establish your appoggio.
Then, all you need to do is NEVER lose that appoggio - that expansion
feeling, the base of the "air column" on your diaphragm, even when singing
some low notes or quick melismas or through difficult consonants etc.
It is also useful to pair this downward, outward and forward [breath]
expansion with an upward and backward [resonance] expansion of the velum and
the pharynx. If you think that both are really related and symetric (?), it
will help relax and expand both your breath and your resonance.
| Alain Zürcher, Paris, France
| L'Atelier du Chanteur :
| http://chanteur.net
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