reg,
i understand your plight. sometimes we have to put ourselves in a
straight-jacket because the old horrors are a much clearer target than what
we are trying to do.
in a reactive approach, the rest of the body is not in a coma by any
means. but it does do different things to different degrees.
what i feel in my torso (and in my throat too) when i sing is a feeling
of holding my breath in a mild way and, depending on my position, various
parts 'staying off' my lungs. i mention position because i am a firm
believer in slumping. the closest i ever came to standing up straight was
during a prostate exam. my experience with posture would then, certainly,
be different from ian's.
i have worked with a lot of different methods of support; ribs
out-squeeze the butt, spread the back, 'push down like your having a baby',
lift the stomach inward, push it down and out, etc. singing became much
easier and more pleasent when i stopped doing all that crap. what i notice
myself doing is as i have described above and though it may resemble some of
the elements, it is not the result of 'having done it so much it's automatic'.
where i teach students singing in a wide variety of styles, i notice
that a change in the sounds i am making cause little change in what happens
in my torso. for extreme differences, it may make an intensity difference
but nothing more. i notice much more change in the positions of my larynx,
soft palate and placement (which i think is purely subjective and too long
after the act to be useful).
in short (too late now), when i sing i either let it come out as an
extension of speech or, if i am trying to create a particular sound, i think
of the sound and do it and, my throat and body react. i use tape when i
practice so i can see what equals what. if i am looking for a new sound, i
try to build it out of sounds i can already make singing and non singing.
(is this stuff you wanted to know or, did i just get carried away again?)
mike
|
|  |
