> Isabelle I'm trying to absorb what you have written > but the first problem that strikes me is that they > are completely in opposition to the principle of > using a support belt such as some professionals > advocate.
Yes, exactly... the "down and out" method works for some people -- and it was from Hines' book Great Singers on Great Singing that my own observation (that men use down-and-out more than women, who are more likely to use in-and-up) was reinforced. I believe that many of the men talked about the "push outward" or tight-belt method of support, while many of the women disagreed. Hines made some comment about this tendency somewhere in the book.
Like I said, the outward method works well for some people. But for me, the lower abs come gently inward as I exhale (while the ribs and back stay expanded). The counterbalancing of these two motions, which happen almost unconsciously (and perhaps someone like Ian does it from the start, rather like the "natural voice" who never has to think about placement), take all breath pressure off of the throat. I flatter myself that I have a good long line (I can now get through all of Donna Elvira's long runs in one breath, as opposed to the two or three I hear in most recordings), although that could have to do with innate lung capacity and not the method of breath support.
Isabelle B.
===== Isabelle Bracamonte San Francisco, CA ibracamonte@y...
__________________________________________________
|