Vocalist.org archive


From:  Greypins@a...
Greypins@a...
Date:  Sun Mar 4, 2001  4:22 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Pencils and corks in the mouth


In a message dated 3/4/2001 9:55:59 AM Eastern Standard Time,
johnlink@c... writes:
johnlink@c... writes:

<< where we offer students an opportunity to systematically
explore a variety of options. >>

ah john! you have really hit the thumb on the nail! i believe that most
people who begin a study of singing (or anything physical) would be best off
starting with the possible or, i should say, the likely rather than the
ideal. the ideal often requires learning a new skill and more often than
not, that skill is quite foreign to the singer. a better place to start, i
believe, is with remanaging what the singer can already do. and i don't
mean just singing. for example; i learned to sing high notes by yawning on
an elevator and wondering why i could yawn higher than i could sing. i had
been instructed by several teachers to use the feeling of the yawn without
much sucess. it never dawned on me until that moment just how far i had to
take it (duh!).

the point isn't 'just yawn a lot more'. a lot of people do it too
much. the point is to find the extremes of the spectrum first and then find
where in between you wish to be. to know the entire palette from which you
have to choose, you can change your mind about how you want to do something
whenever you wish.

a problem often discussed in vocal circles is 'safety'. there are some
who feel that if it is safe, it is artistically satifying. (i doubt rod
stewart would agree.) it is apparent to anyone who has followed the careers
of jose carreras and alfredo kraus that one chose adventure while the other
chose guarding his resources (a faustian deal vs. the rewards of heaven).
who knows? perhaps if carreras had been a little more practical about his
choice of roles, his voice may still be as beautiful as it was when he was
twenty-nine and, if kraus had been willing to take some calculated risks, he
might have been a more exciting artist. on the other hand, we might never
have heard of either one of them.

mike

mike


  Replies Name/Email Yahoo! ID Date Size
9960 Re: Pencils and corks in the mouth John Link   Sun  3/4/2001   4 KB
9964 Re: Pencils and corks in the mouth Greypins@a...   Mon  3/5/2001   2 KB

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