I too, never was taught to use my abs, I guess it was just there naturally
and no one brought attention to it until my latest teacher, Molly Rich
(Stetson U). She is a great techie when it comes to the voice. My reason
for working with her again was because I began to feel the effects of
Menopause (drying of the vocal cords causing to crack when I never did
before right at the break). When I began to work with her she went over my
medical history and realized that the c-section I had was done bikini and
cut through my abdomen muscles. This along with menopause has caused me
problems. So this was her solution. For weeks she would make me do deep
knee bends while vocalizing. This accomplished many things. #One - it
focus my support and strengthened what muscles I had left down there, #Two -
it took my mind off the breath, so I quit focusing on the "oh, God, here is
the end of that long phrase" and added about double the breath control. Now
the phrases in the Four Last Songs (Strauss) are a breeze. I do not crack
anymore, and my voice is stronger and fuller than ever. Of course at my
age, I am no longer a lyric, but a spinto, which was another barrier for me
to topple. Changing FACH was pretty traumatic.
So two things:
1) ABS work for me
2) If you have to have a c-section, or any other surgery involving the
abdomen, don't get a bikini cut and talk to your doctor about your voice and
the effect the surgery is going to have on it.
Buffy Hunt
----- Original Message -----
From: <leskayc@a...>
To: <vocalist-temporary@egroups.com>
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2000 10:34 AM
Subject: Re: [vocalist-temporary] Avoid Frustration While Starting Out
In a message dated 04/14/2000 9:00:38 AM Central Daylight Time,
BLYTHE@B... writes:
<< I
believed, or had been led to believe that you needed a lot of abdominal
tension to sing, among other fallacies - you don't, but I felt I *had* to
*do* something. Singing can't be as easy as that. It can be, though. >>
I hesitate to write this, but it is really bothering me. My teacher is a
big
proponent of using the "abs" in singing. She tells me to actually
contract
my lower abdominal muscles on the exhale. Not forcefully or jerkily, but
steadily. The previous teacher I had never mentioned abdominal muscles, but
it works for me. I have much more available air, and 2 of my
*non-smiling*
NATS adjudicators (I love that word) commented that I had good breath
support. I know that Dr. Hanson says there should be no conscious pulling
in
of these muscles. Are there 2 (or more) schools of thought here? I find
Karen Mercedes' advice to begin tones below the navel most helpful, and that
seems to go along with the use of the Abs.................
Comments?
Leslie
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