Vocalist.org archive


From:  "Lloyd W. Hanson" <lloyd.hanson@n...>
"Lloyd W. Hanson" <lloyd.hanson@n...>
Date:  Thu Feb 15, 2001  6:18 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] The /u/ vowel


Dear Mike and Vocalisters:

Thanks for your reply.

One comment. I do not approve of the practice of singing with
pencils in the mouth. It is a common device that was heavily
promoted by a teacher in California but I have seen many damaging
results of this practice. I primarily do not approve because it
attempts to achieve tongue and internal mouth adjustments while,
simultaneously, restricting the very adjustments it is purporting to
achieve. Often, the singer becomes overly conscious of restrictions
in adjustments of the vocal tract rather than the freedom of
adjustment that is more desired.

It is my opinion that is much better to teach breath management so
that the singer is always in control of sub-glottal pressure and can
adjust these pressures as needed for the kind of singing that is
desired. Although breath management issues tend to bring forward a
plethora of management techniques, most of which are physiologically
erroneous, it is still necessary to address the way in which we all
use our breath as we speak and sing. It is not difficult to bring
the students attention to how they use the breath in a most natural
way and help them to understand that the natural use of the breath is
also a most efficient method of controlling the breath.

I find your experiments with the spectrometer software very
interesting. Keep up the good work. I am a Mac computer user and I
have not found any available on-line software for this platform. If
you know of some, please let me know.

--
Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011

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