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Free Singing Tip for the Week from Brian
Gilbertson 2008.
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singing tips singing tips
Singing Tips
from Year 2008 - Previous tips
Tips in date order!!
6/1/08
First
tip of a new year. (NB there will be no tip on the 13th Jan. Next
tip 20th Jan)
A
simple exercise to build awareness of the diaphragm
Sound
the phrase Di di di di di, pulling the ee out freely. All on the one
note! Pick a note in the middle of your range.
Add yo yo yo. Observe a slight movement of the tongue. Observe extra
energy above the line of the nose.
Finally open the yo yo yo into yah yah yah. Pull the phrase out quite
firmly like a stretch. Feel the effect on the diaphragm which follows
upward. You will also feel a strengthening of the sound now that it
is more fully supported by the diaphragm.
What
should be the benefit of this simple exercise? = learning how to allow
the diaphragm to work through the simplicity of thought. This is far
better than making it work through forced muscle pressure.
Picture an eel in its small cylindrical cave under water. Its head
is just out. It looks like a rock. A small fish swims nearby. The
eel is at the ready and as the fish comes into range it pounces out
and grabs its prey. Its powerful tail has been at the ready and thrusts
it forward.
The diaphragm also needs to be at the ready all the time. this readiness
to activate help us with the change in intervals and effective opening
of phrases and higher notes.
When
we use the throat, the diaphragm is not at the ready. The eel in the
above analogy, would not catch the fish. It would just stay in its
cave. The eel simply retreats into its cave as does the diaphragm
sink back to its resting place and lets the throat do the work.
The
more you open up and release the voice higher into the head and with
less control, the more the diaphragm will naturally become involved
and the stronger your overal voice will become in every respect.
Let the breath out and leave the stomach and diaphragm free and it
will engage itself so long as we are always allowing the sound to
be on the breath and constantly drawn out. If we think about the eel
analogy, rather than think about the eel's tail pushing it out, with
singing, think as if the eel's thought is that it is by some magnetic
connection to the small fish, being drawn out uncontrollably toward
the fish. It is the tail responding to this thought which engages
it.
Once
you get the feel of this principal, use the same vowel sounds on some
various scales but applying the same principals.
I
will be away next Sunday so the next tip will be on the 20th January
and weekly thereafter.
Just
in case you missed last tip of 2007 here it is...
13/1/08
No
tip this week.
20/1/08
- Sorry this is a little late and I wasn't at my computer last week.
What
songs to sing and what key?
When
I was a young singer I listened to more experienced people than myself
and believed basically everything I was told, I believed. Why? Because
they were experienced and I was not!
As I grew to be more experienced I started to realise that the advice
I had received was both beneficial and also restrictive. I also came
to assess that some of what I had been told was in fact wrong for
me. Is this a dilemna? No, its just part of the universal process
of learning if we don't know how to learn.
When I studied with Maestro Schuch Tovini, there were many things
about which he did not tell me or instruct me, which other students
were being taught by their teachers. I often queried him about this
but he showed no real interest in teaching in the way others taught
or following a strict formula or teaching method. Oddly enough there
was significant method underlying what we did but we lived in the
moment as student/teacher. We did not work to a chaptered process.
I also had the privilege of observing several of his other students
in lessons with him. Once again, on the surface there seemed to be
no consistent process or curriculum. It was all about each moment
and questioning what we as singers were experiencing as we produced
better and better sounds.
My earlier teachers chose songs for me. Often I sang them because
they were chosen for me and so assumed they must be good for me. Why?
Because the teacher chose them. He/she followed a curriculum. They
had a list of songs for tenor that fitted the audition and competition
programs and so you sang them. The fact that Istruggled with them,
that I didn't enjoy singing them seemed not to matter. There was an
expectation that in time I would get the notes nore easily etc etc.
Because of my early lack of experience I was not really thinking for
myself. I always felt that singing was a struggle and that it was
part of the learning process. To quote others, "Life was not
meant to be easy!"
Schuch Tovini brought back the joy in singing. When I sang my audition
pieces for him he believed there was something to work with but said
he could not take me as a student. Had he met me 5 years earlier he
would have taken me on straight away. There were so many others who
wanted him to teach them. I persisted. I worked with one of his students
for 2 weeks. Horst Gross was a baritone who has since gone on to perform
in major houses in Europe. He arranged for me to be heard by Schuch
Tovini a second time, which was not usual. By this time I was over
a throat infection I had suffered at the time of my first audition.
My voice was therfore somewhat easier and Horst's advice had been
very helpful.
Almost reluctantly, Schuch Tovini told me to come back the following
Monday for my first lesson. I brought 2 lyric arias with me and started
to sing. I got through about 4 bars of the first (Mozart), "Dies
Bildness ist Bezaubend Schön." He then said, "Was noch?"
meaning "what else do you have?" I sang about 4 bars of
"Una Furtiva Lagrima." He stood up, walked to the music
stand, picked up the music and walked to the window. Outside it was
snowing, a fresh white covering over the wonderful gardens outside
in this very picturesque part of Vienna. He opened the window and
threw my music into the snow. "These are not the arias for you
Herr Gilbertson. Du bist ein geborn Spiel tenor. Geh zum Biblioteck
und bringen Sie zu mir Pedrillio." I went to the library and
told the librarian that the Maestro wanted to seen him. The librarian
advised me he was not Pedrillio and that what the Maestro had been
asking for was the music from the opera "The abduction from the
seraglio" by Mozart in which there is a role called Pedrillio,
who is a character tenor.
From this moment on, my life as a singer changed and of course I became
well known in the school as the Australian who came to the library
and confused the librarian with Pedrillio. The librarian and I had
a great friendship and he was very helpful to me from that moment
on.
As for the singing, suddenly I felt an ease I had not previously experienced.
A whole new repertoire opened up to me. The songs were challenging
but my voice fitted the category. For all those years other experienced
teachers had been encouraging me with a repertoire of music to which
I was at the time totally unsuited. Of course, in my youth I started
as a rock singer and was noticed by an opera teacher who thought I
could do more. As my understanding of my own voice became more clear
through Shuch Tovini's guidance, my voice opened up and I was able
to sing the character arias extremely well but also was in a position
where I was better able to manage the more difficult lyric arias.
Had I kept persevering with the stress that comes with singing songs
that were beyond my natural voice, I may have never succeeded in opera.
From this experience, I now allow voice students to choose songs they
like and which are easy in the first instance to sing. Once certain
levels of undertstanding are reached, the level of challenge can be
increased and the student then welcomes that challenge rather than
fears it. This goes for the choice of song AND the choice of key.
always remember that a song is usually written with a specific singer
in mind. Often that may be a singer song writer or a composer writing
for voices known to them. When a second and third singer take up the
song for themselves to perform or different casts in a musical or
opera have the chance to sing those songs in public, then the outcome
is sometimes like fitting a round peg in a square hole.
In opera, your voice either suits or it doesn't. You need to be able
to sing in the original key, language and style. This is why it takes
so long for opera singers to fully develop what are eventually significant
skills in performing classcally written material. There are exceptions
where some singers have been so famous that the keys have been changed
to ensure they are able to sing certain roles that they could otherwise
not sing. In the contemporary industry this is not the case. Songs
are recorded by many different artists with their own interpretations
and shifting the keys to suit their own voices. This is fantastic
because it gives an audience an opportunity to hear a particular song
sung in many ways by many different voice both male and female.
So in short! When you are learning about your voice, if the song feels
strained, choose a lower key to start with and slowly semitone by
semitone work your way up to the original key. If it is still too
high, then choose the key which feels most relaxed for you. Singing
is about story telling NOT about hitting the highest note or having
the strongest sounds. As for song choice? Sing what you like to sing
and leave the book closed on the songs you don't enjoy singing. If
your teacher is forceful about you singing certain songs (sometimes
because that's the repertoire he/she gives to all their students,)
then it is up to you to go out and research similar songs in the genre
being given you so that you can select a similar song but that you
like to sing. Remember it is YOUR voice and instinctively you will
know when a song is right or wrong for you.
27/1/08
The
journey of a Singer
Part
1
Who
knows where our journey begins as a singer. It seems to just happen
somehow. So are we born to be a singer or was it part of us before
we were born?
When I look in the mirror there is the physical part of me that I
see, but after many years of contemplation I am very much aware of
that other part of me that is more the non physical. Do you understand
what I am saying?
It is that part of you which is calmer, quiet, thoughtful, soulful.
I believe it is the driving force of each one of us. It is from this
force or energy, spirit, soul or whatever we choose to call it, that
our singing comes.
If the source of our singing is so natural, why do so many of us with
the desire to sing, find it so difficult? Why do so many of us who
want to sing, need to be searching the internet or seeking out teachers
to advise us?
Complex questions and not easy to answer. However, I believe that
the calmer, quiet, thoughtful, soulful part of us is what triggers
the physical. If we try physically to sing rather than "think"
what we want and let the body respond, then we put the cart befor
the horse and we get nowhere.
So, despite what you have been told (I was also told this), the starting
point for anyone who is a singer is to reignite the natural gift within.
The older we are when we start this learning process, the harder it
is to see with clarity, the naturalness of our given voice. This clarity
will also be clouded by the many influences we have experienced through
our lives to the point we have currently reached.
For some of us we have remained in that natural state. I have known
many colleagues who seem to just do it. They don't know how but they
quite naturally resound in a free state.
For the most of us, the first stage in the journey is undoing habits
or limitations we or others have placed on us so as to reach that
point of clarity.
Next Week: Undoing old habits and inhibitions.
3/2/08
The Journey of a singer
Part 2
From the day we are born, we are influenced by our parents, our social
setting, our piers, teachers, friends, colleagues and so on. These
influences affect us in many ways. I myself was affected and I have
in my time seen many singers limited by habits developed from their
early years.
The adverse affects are both physical and phsychological. As we get
older we tend to lose our instinctive intelligence and become followers.
Compare our learning from say birth date to age 2 or 3 years. In the
first six months or so we go from lying where we a placed, to rolling
onto our bellies and wriggling across the floor to get to a toy or
something else that catches our eye. We do not learn how to do this
from the people around us. We find our own way.
From about 6 months to 12 - 18 months, we start to stand, at first
holding something and then by ourselves. We often fall at first but
ultimately we walk. We do not learn how to do this from the people
around us. We find our own way. However, by this time we are also
observing the people around us and learning habits from them. They
start helping us to speak and so we start to say things like them.
Depending on the country in which we are born, we start to express
sounds in the birth language which affects the placement of our voices.
As we develop between ages 3 and say 7 years, we also observe how
the people around us sit in chairs, how they get out of chairs, how
they walk, talk etc. If we are in big families we learn that we need
to raise our voices to be heard. If we are in families with strict
rules of conduct, we learn to be subservient, we may become withdrawn,
we may change the nature of our phsychological state.
We start school and the people around us grow in numbers and become
more diverse in behaviour. Our kindergarten teachers, then school
teachers with their own life's pressures, our parents, our pier groups
of differing ages. Depending on the influences around us, we start
to become influenced by singing styles and various music styles .
If we are too loud we are told to be quiet and if we are too quiet,
to be more involved. The pressures of engaging in the social fabric
around us can be daunting.
If we like to sing, we learn that certain singers are successful so
we should sound like them, but we are not them so we struggle to copy
them. We forget that at one time in their life they were just like
us, finding their way. We forget that it is their individual voice
that we have come to like. We don't stop to think that perhaps one
day a larger audience might actually like our own voice just as much
or that those singers who have been our heroes might even buy one
of our recordings because they like what we produce.
No wonder we develop habits which inhibit the freedom of our expression
and hence our singing voices.
The first objective when learning to sing is not learning how to sing
but "learning how to learn." The first process is to encourage
the singer to find his/her natural tone or sound. Therefore, I invite
singers not to think of our time together as singing lessons but rather
as a journey to discover resonation, sounds and vocal vibrations which
are tending towards 100% freedom. This means that the singer cannot
be concerned as to how he/she sounds. This is the first step. Find
YOUR natural voice. For some, this can take 6-12 months. In this period,
the aim is to develop an understanding of what it is to let go! Sounds
produced can feel ugly, open and strange. Patience and persistence
pay dividends.
Often in this time, it is clear that the singer cannot LET GO without
first recognising or remembering what it is that is causing them to
hold on to the past. Some examples have been:
...My teacher in my first choir always told me I was too loud so I
shut down my voice..
...I would scream a lot in the play ground. It never hurt me but the
teacher always punished me because there was no screaming in the playground..
...My parents thought that children should be seen and not heard..
...My parents liked everything to be in order. I had to raise my hand
and get permission to speak..
...All my family talk out of the side of their mouth..
...I came from a big family so I always had to yell..
...My parents always said how good my older sister was and never paid
much attention to my successes..
...My parents told me I would never amount to anything as a singer
so I should get a real job. But I really wanted to be a singer. I
am just now starting to sing again and I am 30. Is this too old now.
Have i missed the boat?..
The list goes on. How does one recognise these moments? How does one
wipe these from the slate so as to stop them from affecting us, stop
them from shutting us down and limiting our possibilities.
We can of course go through a process of phsychological treatment.
However, I have found much success with many singers when I have invited
them to treat this issue in a certain way. If they are having trouble
opening the voice up (constriction, quiet weak voice, pitch problems,
inability to focus, tense, fidgety, nervous etc..) I invite them to
ask a simple question of themselves just before they go to sleep at
night. I recommend they do this every night for a month. The question
is something like..."What is it that stops me from letting go?"
or "Why am I so nervous when I sing?" and so on. Something
from the past WILL come to mind. This something can be very simple
and seem ridiculous now, but at the time would have been quite damaging
to you. Some singers immediately know what that something is or those
somethings are as soon as we talk about this. For some, they may be
in the shower or standing at a bus stop when the thought suddenly
hits them and they know what is holding them back. This can be a week
later or more. Some recognise several somethings from the past.
Once identified, consider who you are now compared to who you were
then. That was the past. Today is today and tomorrow is the future.
The past is weighing you down so how do we get rid of it?
We don't need to be negative. We don't need to be angry. We need to
be accepting. Maybe our response to that something has held us back,
has held us up, but it no longer needs to. We are older now, we have
much to be grateful for and we have a whole future in singing if we
are prepaed to let go and be ourselves.
At this time I invite singers to picture themselves on a large motor
boat driving along a wide open river. Up ahead there are many beautiful
places they can see and experience as they progress through this river
(of life). However, I invite them to feel that something is dragging
them from behind (the past). i invite them to see themselves walk
to the back of the motor boat. I invite them to see a dinghy tied
by a rope to the back of the motor boat. To see that the boat is upturned
and pulling on the motor boat, dragging and straining against the
motor boat engines. I invite them to see themselves cut the rope attached
to the dinghy. As they do so, to feel the surge forward by the motor
boat. Feel the renewed energy, the motor boat pick up speed. Then
I invite them to go back to the wheel of the motor boat. To feel that
they have regained control. I invite them to take in the beautiful
views and experiences along the banks of the river ahead of them.
To drive as slow as they like or as fast as they like. To change course
as much as they like but to keep sailing onward taking in every unexpected
opportunity that awaits them around the next bend, the past no longer
draining on their energy or holding them back. I invite them to LET
their voice open up and celebrate who they are.
You'd be amazed at the changes I have seen in the singers who have
thought through this process. Should this process bring to mind memories
that are more disturbing for than you expect and you have trouble
dealing with those memories then you should seek professional help.
More often than not, the issues that hold us back are not serious
in this context.
Next week Part 3: Some exercises in freeing the voice.
10/2/08
The
Journey of a singer
Part 3
What is it to free the voice? Having assessed why we have psychologically
restricted or constricted our natural ability to sing, we must then
start with the physical process of freeing the voice.
This involves learning how to let go of the voice.
Most singers I have worked with have at one time or another and to
varying degrees, demonstrated that when they sing they believe that
their voice is confined within their body and needs to be projected
out. I have dealt with my view on projection in other tips. Singers
with round shaped faces tend to sound a bit broader than singers with
thinner more oval shaped faces. You can see the energy of the sound
trapped within the confines of the face shape.
Most singers with constriction also tend to project the voice out
through the area of the mouth and just below the nose.
Put the two observations together (shape and mouth projection) and
these singers have limited potential for freedom without help. If
they have been singing like this for some years, then they will have
been using their secondary vocal folds (their throat) to force sound
and hence the diaphragm will have been used sparingly.
Each bodily cell has memory. Memory = habit. Instead of allowing the
sound to be supported by the diaphragm and rise up and out of us through
the region of the upper face (forehead) these singers sing across
that energy out of the mouth. The breath has therefore not been able
to rise into the fullness of the face. In these circumstances, instead
of rising and supporting the voice, the diaphragm falls away and the
throat forces the sound.
What we need to do is work out how to LET the sound be drawn upward
and out of us toward and spreading across the audience in front of
us. We cannot limit the spacial size of our voice to the shape of
our face, nor to a delivery through the mouth. In this regard singing
is not like speaking. What we need to do is contemplate that our sound
could start outside our body always above the nose and drawn out and
away from us. If we do not force the sound we give the diaphragm a
reason for continuing to rise and support the breath/sound being drawn
out.
Sound the voice on middle C singing ma(ah) me(eh) mi(ee) mo(oh) mu(oo),
just on the one note. Let the last note ring for 4 counts. As you
repeat this go up a semitone at a time.
As you are sounding the voice in this way, notice where the energy
of the breath and sound is located in relation to your face. What
we should be looking for is the feeling of:
a. a column of breath from the body (feels like it comes from the
stomach but its from the diaphragm at base of lungs) rising up into
the forehead.
b. starting the sound well above the mouth and more in the region
of the eyes or forehead.
c. pulling the sound out of you and away from you.
d. the diaphragm rising and your stomach becoming thinner from front
to back as the exercise continues. The more released and free in the
face, the faster the stomach (diaphragm) rises.
e. less control as you know it but oddly a different kind of control
as the energy of sound fills the forehead.
You may notice that you find it hard to pull the sound out. It may
feel as if the sound has a roof on it stopping it from flowing out
of you. If you feel this then think of an hour glass. Imagine the
roof over the sound is the top inward curve of the bottom section
of the our glass. You want to draw the sound through the narrow gap
and into the upper more open part of the hour glass.
Look at your face in the mirror. Your smile line could be the upper
curve of the lower half of the hour glass. The line of your nose could
be the narrow passageway to the upper section and if you follow each
side of the nose up into the eyebrows you might see the shape of the
upper part of the hour glass. Sound the voice again and draw the sound
up through the line of the nose and then wider following the eyebrows
but thinking that line also pulls forward and away and up from your
forehead. As you do this pull the sound forward from your face and
wide.
If you have been able to follow and understand the above, you should
have felt a release in the voice and a strengthening of the upward
movement of the diaphragm rising up to support the released sound
and breath. By repeatedly following this approach to singing, the
diaphragm becomes engaged quite naturally and strengthens. The cells
build memory and you develop a new and more natural habit. If you
have not succeeded, email and describe what you experienced and I
will try to take this further.
Next week: The journey continues with more concepts for finding the
free voice.
17/2/08
The
Journey of a singer
Part 4
Diction and the vowels
One of the biggest causes I have seen in singers with constriction
is the overuse of diction. I have seen many school choir conductors
really work hard to impress on their young choir members, how they
should use their mouths to shape their diction. Even the overuse of
the smile can bring about the same problem. So many young singers
are told how important it is to have good diction. This, combined
with the instruction to physically manipulate clarity causes great
problems for singers as they grow older.
There should be no misunderstanding, it is important for the audience
to clearly understand what a singer is singing about, but not at the
expense of the free voice. Clarity can be achieved in another way.
When we sing, we go through the following general process for every
phrase:
1 we anticipate the opening of the phrase in a physically relaxed
state
2 we breath in with a relaxed and open intake of air
3 we feel that breath rise upward above the nasal region into the
facial mask (area of the eyes and forehead)
4 as we feel the energy of the breath drawing away from us through
the forehead region we start to sound the phrase
5 we continue to pull the sound out of that forehead region toward
and above our audience, ever increasing in width
6 we are aware of our diaphragm rising
6 we maintain our awareness of free resonation passing through us
from torso to forehead with (if possible) no gripping at the throat
7 we continue to pull that energy of sound and breath through and
out until after the last word of the phrase has been sounded
8 we repeat this for each phrase that follows.
All of the above happens inside a second. Simple? With patience, if
you are aware as you sing, you will ultimately see all of this happening
even though it happens so quickly.
If we grip the words in the throat as the sound is being drawn through
us as described above, then the rising energy we have created gets
cut off or reduced in intensity. Even if the energy cut off amounts
to as little as say 2%, this will have an adverse affect on the diaphragm.
The diaphragm will drop off its intensity and the secondary vocal
folds will press inwards towards the true vocal chords. What began
as a minimal throat constriction will then quickly increase. Over
time this will become habitual and chronic. It will need undoing before
any meaningful vocal development can occur.
Over-stating diction causes the same constriction. The energy of the
rising breath needs to flow through and out freely. Using the mouth
to shape the diction in a dominant way will cause a "cut off"
of the through energy. Once again the diaphragm will feel less need
to participate and drop away in intensity. The secondary vocal folds
will compensate for the loss of energy from the diaphragm and the
singing will become constricted and not free.
That is enough to set the scene. Next week I will talk about how to
let go off the diction and how to develop clarity of diction "on
the breath" above the mouth, inviting the diaphragm to be the
dominant aspect of clear diction instead of the mouth.
24/2/08
The Journey of a singer
Part 5
Diction, using the diaphragm
As I have said already, I have seen too many teachers conducting school
choirs making their students clarify their diction by the use of over
pronounced mouth movements. Each time I see it happen, I feel for
the students who are receiving this bad advice, knowing that later
in life these habits will need undoing if the individual involved
wants to be a serious singer.
When
assisting students I try to encourage them to ignore diction and in
fact to deliberately sing sloppy and ugly. "Aaaaagh! Heaven forbid!!"
Al is not lost. If they follow the process the voice returns with
greater beauty.
I use the image of an egg timer to explain to the student the two
chambers they can choose from when singing.
Egg timer
Consiedr the egg timer. The centre tube connecting the bottom cup
of the timer to the top can be equated to the full length of the nose.
The bottom cup is the smile line from the bottom of the nose that
runs outward and down to each of the corners of the mouth. The bottom
of the cup at the top of the egg timer starts at the top of the nose
just where each eye socket begins to curve outward from the nose into
the eye brow line to about half way along each eyebrow when it curves
upward across the forehead above each eye to the hair receding lines.
You can look in a mirror and draw these imaginary lines onto your
face. You will see what I mean.
When we use our mouths to over annunciate, we become trapped in the
lower cup area. Try it. You will feel as if all your energy is trapped
inside the face, approximately between the upper lip and the base
of the nose. Your sound will feel as if it comes out of the mouth.
You may feel it a little higher than this but no matter, you will
feel as if your sound and the energy has a lid on it. As if the tube
between the bottom cup and the top cup is cut off. This is how many
people (even those with some considerable fame, sing).
We need to encourage a release which enables the voice to be drawn
up through the tube and into the upper cup area. If we push the sound
into this area, we will force the sound, the throat will dominate
and the diaphragm will not fully engage, if at all. The energy will
fall back on itself and you will be in trouble. So how do we get up
into the upper cup area so as to engage the diaphragm fully, reduce
throat involvement and discover free sound.
First we have to let go of the diction and release the voice high
into the forehead, without fear. We have to ignore sensations of ugliness
and lack of control when we do this. We have to ignore breathiness
in the initial stages of this change.
Have a look at the two Elvis's below. The circle in front of Elvis
A is like a pie chart. I have removed the front top quadrant. Singers
who over enunciate are generally singing in the bottom front quadrant
and from time to time shape the sound back into the rear bottom quadrant,
particularly when singing an i (ee) vowel.
Firstly, to experience free singing, we want to release upward to
the front and then wide in an arc to the left and right as if the
sound is coming out of our foreheads becoming wider and wider as it
leaves us. When students first undertake this exercise, they will
place the sense of the pie chart in the head, as if it sits central
in the head thereby making the front upper quarter of the head the
quadrant into which they sing. If they draw the sound straight up,
this creates an upward movement of the energy but it it is quick to
collapse. If they contemplate the pie chart is in fact forward and
outside their head then the enrgy is less likely to collapse. This
can feel extremely open and many students will immediately back off
this degree of freedom because they feel scared of the lack of control.
However, they also experience surprise at a different kind of control.
They can't understand what that control is or where it comes from.
It is in fact the diaphragm!!! By opening in this way, (that is, releasing
the sound fully as if it starts outside of you and drawing it further
and constantly outward, the diaphragm MUST work. In opening up the
sound in this way, the diphragm works naturally and to its fullest
capacity. We don't have to physically force it to work, it simply
responds to your thought and takes up its responsibility to support
your sound. The throat is no longer needed and it retreats. Regular
repetition increases diaphragmatic strength and thus the vocal strength
and consistency improves with time.
Elvis A ...........
Elvis B .......
The ultimate position is Elvis B. By narrowing the apperture of the
outward pulling of the sound, we can avoid any sense of the "straight
up" energy collapsing on itself. To achieve this we need to sense
that we are drawing the energy out along the bottom line of the angled
up top forward quadrant. NOT the one that goes straight out but the
one that is angled upward. Getting back to the egg timer image.
At first, you will feel as if the sound starts somewhere in the tube
between the two egg timer cup areas. As you think of the sound being
pulled upward and forward, you will sense it opening into a broader
space as you draw it higher and higher. Once you first feel the sound
opening up, then think that
the sound can be pulled forward and wide from the left and right,
heading out of you as if at about 35-40 degrees upward and toward
each rear corner of any theatre. Gradually you will know when the
sound is no longer in the tube but fully in the upper cup area. Gradually
you will be able to start the sound in this upper cup area. Elvis
B above brings that upper cup outward and well forward of the face.
In other words, he has taken the image I gave you about the egg timer
associated with the face now to be extended to a place forward and
above the face. By breathing in and allowing the breath energy to
rise up and out to that imagined upper forward quadrant of the pie
chart, you can start your sound and keep drawing it outward from there.
You will immediately notice the diaphragm rise upward and continue
until the phrase is finished.
Try sounding the voice with these images in mind firstly on one note
using the vowel a (ah). Then repeat it on one note on each of the
vowels. Then still on one note, change the vowels and move from ah
to eh to ee to oh to oo. Notice which vowels don't want to be drawn
out as easily, if at all. If you notice any, then repeat the exercise
but let this vowels be less clearly enunciated and allow them to be
drawn out into the same space as the ones that do not cause you difficulty.
Now add a phrase or two from a song you know and observe closely what
happens.
Next week, Vowel assimilation.
(I hope you like the drawings.)
2/3/08
The
Journey of a singer
Part 6 - see continuation of Part 6 below -
9/3/08 I have left last week's tip here to revise with its
continuation below
Assimilating the vowels
I have been saying a lot about diction lately. Some will agree with
me, others may not.
However, it is true that if we try to be too clear in our diction,
we will more often than not, muddy the sound and create the opposite.
Is an Ahh truly an Ahh? Is an Ohh truly an Ohh, an ee truly an ee,
a uu truly a uu and an eh truly an eh? When singing, the answer is
unequivocally NO!
As we sing each vowel, we need to take from part of the vowel before,
and give to part of the vowel that is coming after it. There are also
instances (many) where each word or syllable should be thought of
as a more open vowel so as to maximise space for those vowels that
are less rounded or are thin and have a tendency to cut across or
narrow the outward energy of the breath or sound.
For
example if we were to sing "I need you," I would be looking
for a space more like "eh" when singing "I." I
would look for the space of an "er" on "need"
and I would look for a space more like "oh" when singing
"you."
Naturally when we sing before an audience we do not want that phrase
to sound like "eh nerd yoh!" However, when we work the song
away from the audience, we should let it sound just like that. Once
we have seen the openness that this gives to the phrase, we should
then let the energy of the released breath still open into those spaces
but at the same time, think the actual words "I need you"
whilst still letting them fall into those bigger spaces. WoW! Try
it and you will see what I mean.
As you let the space be open and you think the actual phrase sound,
you should notice that the singing feels freer but you may feel that
the words are a little strange. Perhaps a little drunken or as if
you are trying to speak with swollen gums. This will feel this way
inside you but on the outside as soon as you assimilate the vowels
to the wider space and think the real sound of the words, people listening
will start to hear the shaping of the real words, particularly if
the diaphragm has been engaged as a consequence to support the sound.
The trick then is to work backwards from that "overdone"
assimilation to a point where you have both great freedom and the
word is clearly understood. When you achieve the ability to deliver
a song or aria in this way, the diction will be formed high in the
region of the head and this will quite naturally be supported by the
diaphragm without interference from the throat or mouth. In other
words, without doing anything to physically activate the diaphragm
(eg using muscular strength) the diaphragm will have become self engaged.
The sound will ring truly and carry without the need to project. Because
of this the audience will hear what you are singing about with great
clarity and your ability to deliver this clarity throughout the range
of your voice will be enhanced. Best of luck with this. Take your
time.
9/3/08
Continuation Part 6
How many teachers have you come across who try and teach you how to
use the diaphragm? Have you heard stories about how strong certain
singers diaphragms have been. "I can push a grand piano with
the strength of my abdominal muscles," is the boast of some....
so what? Singing is not about strength, its about balance.
In reality, how many singing teachers are there who actually know
what the diaphragm does when it is 100% doing its job? For that matter,
even given the training of doctors and speech pathologists, how many
of them know the answer, exactly? Even if they do know the answer,
which is doubtful, they will have spent years studying to achieve
that knowledge. How does a singing student or teacher expect that
in half hourly or one hourly weekly lessons a singer will be able
to understand this phenomena sufficiently to physically make the diaphragm
do what is necessary? At even 2 x 1 hour lessons per week, that only
amounts to about 100 hours a year of assisted study on the subject.
A singer cannot expect to fully understand the required workings of
each part of the body to produce free relaxed tones.
What if we could find a way to "think" in such a way as
to naturally engage the whole body in the singing process, to naturally
engage the diaphragm? Then we would never need to understand the workings
we would simply need to develop an awareness of the correct way to
think so as to set the workings in motion. Can this happen? Of course!
What makes you think that? A child teaches itself to roll over for
the first time. It teaches itself to crawl. Through thought, it slowly,
patiently works it out. Can it describe what it did to get onto its
stomach the first time or to move from one side of the room to another
for the first time? NO. But it can do it. It then observes and improves
what it does. It can be that simple a process for the singer as well.
Lets think of how we might invite or set the workings in motion? Should
we expect a lot from first successes? NO. We need to simply look for
outcomes that feel free and open.
Allowing free space in the higher regions of the face is a way of
setting the workings in motion. However, to allow free space requires
courage (to overcome the fear of cracking or sounding different) and
calm (to ensure a relaxed state of balance where the right balance
of relaxed bodily tension can be achieved.)
If we could reduce all of this to one thought we would really be achieving
something wouldn't we? It can be done! However, to get to that one
controlling thought we need to "work" through several stages
which might include:
1 Relaxed inward breath
2 Open relaxed body to receive that breath
3 Allowing the inward breath to rise toward the forehead as if pulled
out of the forehead
4 Spontaneous opening of the sound once the rising breath has passed
the lower level of the nose
5 Opening and relaxing of the vowels into space by releasing the diction
and assimilating the vowels
6 Release of the torso upwards to follow the rising diaphragm which
is in turn following the rising breath/sound through and out of the
forehead region
7 Feeling the sound pass through the throat from torso to forehead
without interference from the throat
8 Continued pulling out of the sound once started until the end of
the phrase, that being AFTER the last word of the phrase, even if
the melody is going from high to low
8 Repeat above phrase by phrase
Note that all of this happens in a fraction of a moment when it comes
to performance. However, in the learning phase it all needs to happen
very slowly so that you can recognise the stages. Once recognised,
they will start to happen more quickly until ultimately they all meld
into one.
Once the above steps are learned and become reasonably consistent,
they can be simplified to say four stages:
1 Open the relaxed body to receive the breath and feel it rise as
in 2 above all in the one thought
2 Draw the sound upward
3 Continue to draw the sound forward from that upward feeling, forward
of the face/forehead
4 Draw the sound from that forward space wider to the right and left
and at the same time more forward of the face
The more the above can be achieved in a relaxed environment, the more
you will notice the torso rise to follow the sound. The greater freedom
(less accurate diction/wider more open vowel assimilation/more open
space in the forehead) the more you will notice the torso rise to
follow the sound. So what is happening when this happens? It is the
freedom you have created, that automatically engages the diaphragm.
The diaphragm rises to follow and support the sound that you are pulling
out and upward. (Like a waiter carryinging a tray of drinks on one
hand but add to the thought that each drink is hung from above. The
balance is between the pulling up of the glasses and the hand (diphragm)
supporting from below. If either is withdrawn, you will need your
other hand (throat) to grab the glasses (sound) and stop them (it)
falling.
During this process of discovering freedom students might complain
"but we can't sing like in performance" or "the words
sound like I'm drunk" or "I don't feel any control."
or "I feel as if the sound must be ugly.....etc etc...."
From a performance point of view, these are accurate descriptions.
However, without more, what has been achieved is the first stage "freedom."
(crawling if you like) In achieving this we have automatically engaged
the diaphragm through thought and WITHOUT force!!! This is HUGE!!!!
By thinking the thoughts above we have created a free state of sounding
the voice.
What is then left to achieve? Confidence in the process and clarity
to a point where the feelings of ugliness, lack of control, loose
diction etc etc slowly disappear as the student becomes more expert
at "thinking" the process and strengthening a different
kind of control. When in time there is a greater balance between the
diaphragm and the hanging voice, the singing will gain excellent articulation
on breath not in breath combined with ringing tones. This is the voice
that lives within every singer, the voice that we are searching for,
that has always existed, waiting for us to find it. Learning how to
sing is first about learning how to learn, recognising wisdom within
and then using it.
Next week we will attempt to understand how the 4 stages described
above might ultimately become one thought to achieve all we need.
Now wouldn't that be something? And yes it is possible!!
16/3/08
!!
Love to know how many of you are visiting! Can you all visit the site
this Wednesday at some time? Please pass on the site details to another
singer or teacher you think might benefit. It is very rewarding to
hear of the success you are having as a result of reading and using
these tips!!
The Journey
of a singer
Part 6 continued - One thought provides everything!!!!
Reflect on the four stages. If you want to revise the earlier two
parts toPart 6 then go to previous tips 2008 in the left margin. I
have repeated the four stages below.
1 Open the relaxed body to receive the breath and feel it rise upward
to the forehead region. When it arrives start the sound.
2 Draw the sound upward
3 Continue to draw the sound forward from that upward feeling, forward
of the face/forehead
4 Draw the sound from that forward space wider to the right and left
(stereo) and at the same time even more forward of the face
When working on improving anything, we first work slowly and then
speed up the process. Think about it! Swimming, football, tennis,
dancing, martial arts etc etc etc. We first recieve instruction. If
we try to achieve the outcome straight away, we have trouble. If we
slow everything down we come to understand what we are doing and as
we speed things up it all falls into place. So in the first instance
exercise each of the fours stages separately. Then slowly combine
them. In time stage 1 will take care of itself and stages 2, 3 and
4 become one thought. The best way to describe that thought might
be through contemplating an opposite perspective. Think of a picture
with a road leading to the horizon. It goes from wide to narrow as
it gets further away from you. Think the opposite. Narrow at the bottom
of the photo to wider on the horizon.
Now think of that picture as a photo in your hands and bend the photo
across its middle so that the top half curves away from you and the
bottom half remains vertical. The top half should not bend to horizontal
but rather be angled up and away by about 45 degrees. Look at the
road now as it goes from narrow at the bottom to wide at the top.
Bring your thought to the left and right side of the road edges.
Look at the photo and think of stages 2, 3, 4. The edges of the road
in the bottom half of the photo represent the drawing upward of the
sound (stage 1). The bend in the photo represents the sound being
drawn forward over the curve you have created in the photo so that
the road is now drawing outward from you (stage 3). The widening road
represents the space widening further and further as you draw the
sound out, getting wider and wider with no end (stage 4).
By working with this image, after taking in that relaxed breath (stage
1) you can see how stages 2, 3 and 4 can become one thought as you
link them together. Pull up, out forward and wide in one smooth motion.
If we release every part of us below and backward of the start of
the road at the bottom of the picture (base of the nose or slightly
higher) then the diaphagm must work as God intended it to work. It
will become free to respond fully to support the sound, not in part
as would be the case if we interfere by manufacturing a physical action.
We want any physical activity to be a natural response to the thought.
LET LET LET and you will experience tremendous freedom. Don't be scared
of this freedom. Singing should be easy, not a chore.
Next week we'll look at what you might feel when you achieve good
outcomes with what I've described above and how the outcome to the
one thought is all you need to sing freely and with ultimate power
without strain. The trick is to learn how to let go of old habits
and not to treat singing as something complex. You need to replace
old habits with a trust in simple thought and the gradually devloped
knowledge that you are capable of much more than you think if you
let the body do things for you.
23/3/08
Happy Easter
to all celebrating Easter this week.
The Journey
of a singer
Part 7 - One thought provides everything!!!! How will it feel???
I
have drawn three images. Please excuse the quality. Please excuse
the size. When I tried to reduce, they lost clarity. I am not very
good at this. However, they are designed to help you understand the
sensation of free sound production.
Image
1: This is an image from above your head looking down. Imagine the
circle represents the top of your head. The yellow line represents
your nose. The two blue oval shapes represent your eyes. The blue
arrows represent the energy being pulled out of you. In other words,
after your relaxed inward breath rises from the body into the head,
you should at the very least feel as if the energy of the sound starts
from the base of the nose and is being pulled out of you upward and
out. Later this positioning will change, developing to start more
upward and further out. (see 2 and 3)
Image 2: Extends the strength of the energy being pulled out of you.
Notice how image 2 (below) draws the circle out in front of the face
by half the width of the circle. In other words, in this image, we
start the energy of the sound further out from the face. It is as
if the face is no longer relevant, as if the energy of the breath
has passed out in front of it before we even sound the voice. The
circle no longer represents the head shape but is a full half circle
in front of the head.
Image 3: This is a side view of image 2. The feeling is as if the
energy has started outside the face. This time I have raised the starting
point to above nose level, pulling outward in the line of the blue
arrows. When experimenting with this, you need to allow the energy
of the breath to rise to a position forward of the face and upward
of the nose before you sound the voice.
In summary, the level of energy should be felt drawing out through
the forward upper quadrant of the 3 dimentional circle of energy.
The rear upper quadrant, the rear and front lower quadrants and below
that into the body, should be allowed every freedom to respond naturally
to do what it needs to do to support the thought you have given to
pulling the sound out through the upper forward quadrant. The more
forward and upward you release/pull the sound, the greater reaction
you will notice from the body. This reaction will feel as if the breath
in the lower body follows the energy you are pulling out of you. You
don't need to do anythingthing physical in the body if you get the
thought right in the upper forward quadrant. Simply work your thoughts
in that upper forward quadrant and the rest will work for you.
Remember the image of the postcard/picture I described last week.
I invited you to think of that picture as a photo in your hands and
to bend the photo across its middle so that the top half curved away
from your face and the bottom half remained vertical. Looking at image
3 below, the bottom of the card would sit where the two green lines
meet at right angles. The card would then curve upward and outward
to the start of the first bottom blue arrow. Every sense of drawing
out the sound would then be outward and above in the direction of
the blue arrows in image 3 and also growing wider as in image 2.
The
one thought combines all stages of drawing out sound. Pull upward,
outward and wide with no end to it until after a phrase is completed.
Breath, then start again. The energy of the sound is pulled higher
and higher and wider and wider. If at any time you let the sound energy
slip back behind or below the forward upper quadrant, you will be
inviting the throat to participate. This slipping back comes from
over singing, over pronunciating, inability to release ee or eh vowel
sounds etc.
Slowly but surely, if you can work out how to release the voice into
this upper forward quadrant at all times, singing becomes easy and
the one single repetative thought controls all.
Forgive me. It is easier to get this meassage across with a student
in the room. Describing it on the web is no quite so easy. I hope
this helps. Any queries, send an email.
Next
week we move on to other things.
This
Week's Singing Tip
30/3/08
Silent Singing - Part 1
Singing as an amateur singer can be loads of fun. Singing as a professional
singer can be hard work. Any saving a singer can gain over a long
career is important. (more about this next week)
When I introduce singers to silent singing, they are at first skeptical
and somewhat embarrassed but not for long. Some find it hard to work
out what silent singing means. Is it marking or is it miming? Neither
really. It is full on singing but with no sound. Having been told
that, some will still ask, "but do I move my mouth?" (benfits
are significant. more on thst next week)
In 1987 I was engaged to sing Ernesto in Don Pasquale. As a Spiel
tenor, singing this particularly florid role will a high tessatura
was always going to work me hard. Yes I had lyrical qualities in my
voice but my main repertoire was the character roles. In the month
before opening night, I started to feel unwell. It was not a head
cold or flu virus but something non descript. It caused significant
dry white phlegm on the chords which made it very tiring to sing.
It was ultimately diagnosed as an allergy. For three weeks I studied
the role in silence. Why? I knew I would tire myself and be in trouble
for the performances if I sang on the sick chords. My teacher had
taught me how to sing in silence. We had not done much of this but
for this three weeks that is all I could do. I rehearsed the role
singing without sound. My body still worked and in fact without the
sound I noticed my diaphrag worked even harder and more evenly. So
even though I made no sound I remianed physically strong and prepared.
I resisted the temptation to sound the voice. Not easy.
At first this was somewhat depressing. However, I soon came to learn
of the many benefits of singing in silence. I ultimately did not sing
a note until the final dress rehearsal, despite the pressure I had
from director and music director. I saved everything for the audience
on opening night. By that time I had learned that I had an allergy
and with treatment it slowly improved. I got through opening night
very well and went on to have a good solid season. One crit compared
me to Tito Schipa, which was very flattering and in my view, untrue.
However, given the lead up to the opera it was very complimentary
and vindicated my silence. i don't think I would have achieved the
level of singing I did achieve had i simply sounded the voice for
that three weeks even if I had been healthy. I learned a lot in those
three weeks. In fact, without silent singing I would not have made
it to opening night.
Select a song you are singing. Start to sing it as if you are performing
it. However, don't let out any sound. The whole purpose of the exercise
is to observe what the body is doing while you sing (in silence).
Notice where the energy of the diction is placed when you sing in
silence. Many singers will notice that the words are very much in
the area of the mouth. It is my view that producing lyrics in this
region will only cut across the rising breath and therefore reduce
diaphragm involvement. If you are one of these singers, LET the sound
rise (start) above the lower part of the nose and feel it pulling
upward and out. When doing this bear in mind what I have been showing
you over the last few weeks, in particular the diagrams I posted last
week. Without sounding the voice and without the narrowing effect
of sounding lyrics you may be fortunate enough to notice the sound/breath
energy rising and been pulled out of the forward upper quadrant of
the face. The stronger this feeling of spacial release, the more you
will notice the diapgragm rising up and supporting the sound. Isn't
it interesting to note that this support from the diaphragm happens
automatically as a response to your thought to draw sound out of you?
It does this automatically if you get the outward release right. Once
you realise this, you will realise yet another fact which supports
the concept of developing one thought which invites the whole body
to respond and produce what is required for free, suppported sound.
We see with our eyes! When we really focus on what is happening in
silent singing, there is a sense that our eyes become less aware and
there is a sense of seeing behind the eyes, as if we are watching
what we are doing internally. I know when a singer reaches this place
because their eyes glaze over. It is as if they are no longer in the
room but somewhere in their own mental reality. As if they are playing
a virtual reality game. When the focus is really strong we become
oblivious to our surroundings and start to live in what might be described
as a virtual reality. This is how I describe focus in the context
of singing. Focus on thought. Notice that if you achieve this state
of being when you sing in silence, the diaphragm works as it should
without effort, the passage through of the breath energy into and
out of the face is easy and you see greater possibilities. Examine
which words or syllables cause your energy to drop below or back from
the lower nose area. Do that phrase again and insist through thought
that the offending words or syllables be drawn upward with the rest
of the phrase. One way of achieving this is to think of the phrase
as being one long word. (More on this next week) Pull the long words
as one, upward and outward and don't let individual words have their
way.
Next
week: Some comments from students as to wh
This
Week's Singing Tip
6/4/08
Silent Singing - Part 2
Student comments regarding the silent singing approach.
For those of you who are teachers visiting the site, this exercise
is extremely beneficial across all ages.
1 It helps me focus on the feeling not the sound.
2 Its as if I can see the words.
3 I achieve greater freedom because there is no sound.
4 I can sort of see my breathing.
5 My awareness builds.
6 I am less embarrassed and so I have less pressure to get it right.
7 I feel greater width and when I feel greater width the singing is
freer and easier. As the sound feels wider the diaphragm is more active.
8 The body works better because I'm watching more and not trying so
hard. I get extra power but it seems lighter.
9 I can see my voice being bigger without sound and when I add sound
my voice seems smaller.
10 Its exciting. I can feel a rush of adrenalin. At first it seems
that to sing this way would be riskier but the more I see what is
possible in silence, I also feel a greater sense of confidence growing.
You know, if I could achieve the sense I freedom I can visualise in
silence, how good would it be when I sound the voice?
11 Before I did this exercise, I felt as if my stomach leant outward
as I sang. Now I feel the stomach coming back inward as I sing in
silence. It rises up under the energy that is singing in silence.
12 I get a greater sense of awareness but it is like an unconscious
sense of awareness. Strange and opposite to what I thought. Its great
I can see possibilities.
13 I seem to be able to become more critically aware. I see more.
There is no noise to distract me.
14 Rather than see a floor (if I can compare it to that) I'm seeing
the energy that makes up the floor. I am also sensing the floor under
my feet more, as if my breathing anchors me there. Never noticed that
before.
15 It helps me begin a phrase. I can see what the sound should be
before I start to sound the voice. It helps me start a phrase in a
higher and more forward space. When I sound the voice I then let the
sound fill the space I achieved in the silence. Awesome. *******
16 I am less distracted and feel like I almost see or understand or
sense what my perfect voice could feel and sound like.
17 I can see with more clarity the inner struggle I have with constriction
verses letting go. It helps me see much more clearly what it is to
let go and what it is to be free. This silent approach gives me possibilities
to overcome the inner struggle. Gives me a sense of balance or harmony.
18 It is like being in an environment of exploration which leads to
realization as opposed to trying to achieve. The answers seem to come
to me rather than me pushing to get better at it.
19 It helps me create a mental map of my voice which helps me get
closer to the actual territory of my voice. I can now see that there
is a realistic true voice which sort of already exists in me but for
some reason I have been distracted from the freedom of my true voice
because of the limits of the mental map I have drawn for myself. I
think that having seen this, I now need to let go even more than I
have and build a greater trust in the bigger picture, the natural
map of my voice, not the one I have limited myself to until now. *************************
(You should have heard this students voice after he came to this realisation.
And what an intelligent way to descibe his observation.)
20 Enables me to see. There is no real difference from singing other
than there is no sound. I see more of what the voice is doing and
so the silence gives me the opportunity to fine tune the smaller things.
21 So much more relaxing.
22 I see my voice can be strong even though there is no sound.
23 Gets you in a state like how you can like just concentrate.
24 You can try different things without making any noise so there
is no embarrassment.
25 After singing in silence I opened the voice into sound and was
surprised. The voice felt a lot stronger.
26 It shows me how to achieve freedom and letting go.
27 Its like I am in a tunnel that protects me. Like being in the ringing
column of a didgeridoo. As if I'm in a place where I can travel with
my sound without anyone watching me. The journey becomes specific
which allows me to focus inward. Somehow it also restores passion
about wanting to sing as if I reach a part of me that is not reachable
if I am distracted by the sound. I feel again the energy for singing
and why I want to do it. I think this also helps the nerves. If I
could live in this state of awareness when I perform I would not worry
about what the audience thinks.
28 In the silence I seem to touch an emotional core.
29 Helps me identify an inner vibration and to follow that vibration
as it travels through. It seems endless. It just keeps going unless
I am not opening up wide enough. Then it seems to stay in one place
and feels heavy. So best to let the vibration always continue to travel.
30 Its as if before now I have placed my voice in a certain field.
The silence shows me that I can go beyond that field. My voice can
go further. The things that stop the voice travelling are when I make
a choice (style) when I am distracted from watching, when some vowels
want to go back or spread to the side I notice my diaphragm drops
away so its better to keep pulling. Also when I sing dipthongs I tend
to lose the space a bit and let down the diaphragm.
This Week's Singing Tip
12 /4/08
Sorry but it must be a short tip this week. I have to travel.
When thinking about release or letting go, think of the following
statement: "Learn how to allow the voice to escape you NOT how
to control it as it escapes."
20 /4/08
In German it is called Vokal assimilation. In English that translates
to Vowel assimilation. What is it exactly?
The prime vowels in Italian are: a, e, i, o, u. In English these would
be pronounced: eh (a), ee (e), eye (i), oh (o), you (u). In Italian
they are sounded ah, eh, ee, oh, oo.
Legato singing is singing smoothly. If we try to be too clear with
our diction, we run the risk of breaking the flow of energy of the
breath. Clear diction can be produced in a different way. As we have
discussed in recent weeks (see previous tips for 2008) singing can
be very simple. We breath in, nice and relaxed so that our body fills
to our back, sides and front. We feel the breath energy rise up toward
our forehead and when it reaches there or beyond we open our sound
and think to pull the energy outward and away from us. Over the years
I have used a variety of analogies to demonstate this process. Ultimately
we hope to have one thought to achieve this. (See previous tips for
2008.)
In achieving a sense of pulling sound out of us, we in fact are engaging
the diaphragm to act naturally in supporting our sound from below.
(This is a far better way of engaging the diaphragm than forcing the
diaphragm to be supportive.) If we achieve 100% freedom of release
of the breath energy, then the diaphragm will become fully engaged
and the throat muscles will play no part other than that for which
they were naturally designed (vibration of chords). In other words
we will not feel throat strain.
To help achieve this 100% result, once our energy of breath has started
its upward and outward journey, we cannot allow the energy to fall
back on itself or be still or stop. If we do this then the diaphragm
loses its engagement and the throat recues the sound. Poor use of
the vowels will cut across the upwardly pulled energy and produce
this negative result. Interestingly, this poor use of the vowels can
be caused by intentional clear diction, which when manufactured can
sound very clear at close range but is unclear through a microphone
or at a distance. Why? Because over dictioned words cut across and
muddy the clarity of tone. Therefore it is far better to link the
words together as if each phrase is one word. To do this we assimilate
the vowels. This is a big part of clear bel canto singing.
When we sing, we need to accept and practise the principal that each
vowel takes from the vowel that precedes it and gives to the vowel
that follows. None of them should stand alone. This is inviting strain
and a false sense of clear diction.
For example; John Denver's Annie's Song using italian phonetic....You
fill up my senses, like a night in the forrest. The vowels here are
you = u - fill = i (variation of) up = a - my = e (variation of) -
sen = i (variation of) ses = i (variation of) like = e (variation
of) a = a - night = e (variation of) in = e - the = a - for = o est
= e (variation of). As you can see, if using the Italian phonetic
with English words there are variations of the base phonetic sound.
Using the English phonetic it would be: you = u - fill = ee (variation
of) up = a (variation of) - my = eye (variation of) - sen = eh (variation
of) ses = eh (variation of) like = eye (variation of) a = oh (variation)-
night = eye - in = ee - the = oh (variation of)- for = oh (variation
of) est = eh (variation of). As you can see, if using the English
phonetic with english words there are still variations of the base
phonetic sound.
I would first approach this song singing only the vowel ah but thinking
the vowels as follows..oo ee ah eye eh eh, ah ah eye ee ah ah ehst.
As I did this I would be linking the vowels to each other so that
as I thought about them, I would allow the oo to be a little also
like ee and as I moved into the ee of the word "fill" I
would be thinking about how closely that could sound like the following
ah. would be seeing which of the vowels naturally pulled upward and
outward and which of the vowels wanted to drop down. I would also
be watching to see which vowels combined with the melody wanted to
drop down. In doing this, I would find that the line of the song would
have less peaks and falls because the vowels would be transitioning
smoothly from one to the next as if linked by energy bridges. I would
then think of "You fill up my senses" as one word and "like
a night in the forest" as one word and so on. One word pulled
out of me.
Then I would sound the voice allowing the vowels to move from one
to the next, again without any consonants. I would observe that the
transition with sound would not be as smooth as when I was just thinking
about it and singing it in silence. None the less, it would be much
smoother than if I simply sang the words without any assimilation.
After a few minutes of this examination I would sound the words with
the consonants included. Again I would find that the phrasing would
be affected by the addition of the consonants. I would observe that
although the phrasing feels like the words are very different to how
I would speak, somehow, the diaphragm is strong and the words are
very clear. Sometimes the words feel different within me compared
to when I speak and yet to the listener, the words are clear and the
diction is clearer than if I had tried to accurately pronounce the
words.
Have a practice and tell me what you think. This is not an easy exercise
to describe over the internet but I hope it brings you all some improvement
and less strain. Welcome to the rush of new visitors over the last
month or so. You are all most welcome.
This
Week's Singing Tip
27/4/08
Dealing with dipthongs
A dipthong is one sound made up of two vowel sounds.
Examples are: day (deh ee), may (meh ee), duke (de ook), fly (fly
ee), maid (meh eed), haze (heh eez).
Sound the voice on the vowel ah. Notice how it seems to open upwards
and forwards in the face.
Sound the voice on ee. Notice that the vowel tends to spread the voice
sideways and back and down.
Often we will have to sing a word that is a dipthong. It may start
on "ah" and gravitate to "ee" on the second part
of the sound within the one vowel. Lets work with the word "day".
Deh ee. The "deh" part will tend towards "ah".
If it does not, then assimilate the sense of the first vowel more
into the "ah" position.
Once you feel the first vowel sound of the word "day" forming
in the "ah" position, notice how the energy of the breath
and sound tends to drop down and back as the dipthong "ee"
follows.
I have found that the energy of the breath/sound can work a bit like
a swing. By this I mean, one can sound a sound that can have mobility
between a forward position and back. This will happen if we simply
think that the sound energy can swing from the back of the head to
the front and back and forth. If you achieve this feeling you will
notice that as the voice swings forward it feels free but as it swings
back it tends towards constriction.
Sound the "ah" and pull it forward. As you finish the word
into the dipthong "ee", feel as if there is a tree trunk
standing right in front of your face. The trunk is twice the width
of your head. Think that the "ee" is pulled towards the
tree trunk and as it gets close to its circumference it can be pulled
around the trunk to each side of it. Feel as if the sound pulls out
of you in two lines from perhaps each eye or above each eye and then
around the trunk as if the two lines meet and continue outward on
the other side of the trunk. Approaching the dipthong In this way
enables the dipthong to still be clearly audible but it does not cause
the word to fall back and we can produce a well supported and free
sound supported by the diaphragm.
Learn also from this that we do not have to force the diaphragm into
activity through a physical act directed at the diaphragm or torso
musculature. By pulling energy out of us, the diaphragm is automatically
engaged in the right and most natural way.
4/5/08
Using the diaphragm better
Feel your way along the bottom of your rib cage from your sides to
the centre breast plate. Just inside this lower rib is the diaphragm
which is like a floor to the rib cage under the lungs.
When you breath in, the diaphragm expands downward. When you sing,
the diaphragm gradually returns to its rest position. The feeling
you get in your stomach when you breath in is in fact the diaphragm
leaning down on the intestines and causing a sense of outward expansion.
If you watch a baby breath, you will notice that its inward breath
causes its body to expand front back and sides like a little bellows
opening and closing. As we grow up and start to walk, we develop more
of a curve in our lower spine and slowly we tend to stop opening that
area when we braeth in. Without further knowledge, many singers don't
use their diaphragm to the best advantage. Imagine a trampoline! Think
of it having springs in place on 3 sides but on one side there are
no springs. This is how most people sing. The rear expansion and spring
of the diaphragm is missing.
Stand up and fold your arms loosly behind your back. The forearms
will be resting in the small of your back. Breath in. You will probably
notice that your stomach comes out as you breath in but there is very
little or no outward movement in your back.
Lay on the floor. Place your hands flat on the floor by your side
and slip them under you into the small of your back. Let the finger
tips touch each other in the centre. Breath in again and notice that
your stomach comes out but when lying down you may notice this time
that there is some movement from your back, perhaps putting a little
bit of pressure on your hands. To increase this activity in the lower
back, bring your attention to your inner spine. Start at the occipital
region (where the spine meets the skull). As you breath in, imagine
the breath is running along the spine opening each vertebrae downward
as it passes. As you pass over the hands notice how the spine can
open up and out pressuring the hands. Keep breathing downward along
the spine. When you feel the breath energy pass the belt line, imagine
the coxyc vertebrae. It curls upward slightly. Feel as if the energy
of the breath roles this final section of the spine out straight along
the floor and that your breath energy continues down to your feet.
Feel relaxing?
What you will have observed is that it is easier to open the breath
into the back when lying down than it is when standing. However, we
stand when we sing. If only we could open the back when standing.
Go to a door and sit with your buttocks pressed firmly against the
door. Let you back be relaxed but basically leaning straight up the
door with the back of your head resting on the door. Place your hands
behind your back into the small of the back just like when you were
lyng down. Leave your legs straight out in front of you. You will
notice there is less room between the small of your back and the door
than when you were on the ground. Now raise your knees up with your
feet flat on the ground in front of you. Notice there is virtually
no room for your hands any more. Follow the same breathing exercises
as I have described above. You should notice the back open even more
against the door or your fingers.
You need to now remember and your cells need to build a memory of
what this outward back release feels like. Remember the relaxed state
of mind you need to have to allow the back to open. At first you may
have felt little opening but as you practise this you will feel greater
expansion.
Now stand up again. Remember what the relaxed outward release of the
back feels like and especially what the lower back felt like when
lying and when sitting. Now relax and breath in the way I have describe
above. From the occipital region down passed the lower back and through
the coxyc region and to the feet. Can you feel your back open slightly?
If so you are on the way to expanding the use and power of your diaphragm
without forcing but rather by allowing the body to rspond to thought.
If you dont' feel it opening, then bend your knees slightly and place
your left hand on your left knee and your right hand on your right
knee. Lean forward and breath again while standing but leaning forward.
This causes the lower back to open out and it may help you to feel
this outward expansion of the lower back by the breath as you breath
in. Slowly raise yourself toward standing straight upright, each time
feeling the inward breath opening the lower back. Eventually find
yourself standing straight once again and hopefully feeling the outward
expansion. Slowly but surely and with patience. Getting this to work
will put a lot nmore "spring in the sing" (c).
Next week I will give you the "tsz" (no thats not a typo)
exercise to help you strengthen the diaphragm and give you a more
expansive base to support your voice. This is the way to build power
without force.
10/5/08
Just enough time to say hi to you all. Unfortinately I am unable to
consiedr a tipe for you this week. I have an extremely heavy schedule
over the next few weeks. The earliest I will be able to post a tip
at this stage will be the week commencing the 26th May. If I get a
chance between now and then i will try but cannot make any promises.
In the mean time I hope you can make the best of the previous tips
and I look forward to catching you again soon.
Kind
regards to you all
Brian
Gilbertson
1/6/08
Hi. Great to be back. Interesting that visits to the site increased
in the two weeks I was away. Maybe I should write less tips and I
will get more visitors. It's fantastic. At last count there are over
150 countries visiting this site now. I cannot believe it.
This week, lets loosen up that diaphragm so that we can get some greater
ring in the voice.
Play a downward scale C, G, E, C and sound "dibbidi" on
each note. It will sound like "dibbidi, dibbidi, dibbidi, diiii".
(The "di" on the end of each word is like an English speaking
"e" sound.) It could be written "dibbidy." Start
on middle C and then go up by semi tones.
As you sound this exercise, pay attention to how the energy of the
sound feels in the face above the nostril openings. If a line drawn
horizontally under the nose represents the equator, then the energy
of the sound and resonation should always feel as if it is in the
northern hemisphere or above that line. If you feel any words energise
in the southern hemisphere (below the nose) then you will be limiting
the engagement of the diaphragm and encouraging stiff jaw and throat.
Does the opening "di" feel like it is pressing inward in
the centre of the face (eyes region) or does it feel wider than this.
On the word "di" it will probably feel like it needs to
centre itself.
What if the "di" could be torn apart as we sound it. What
if this were the natuaral way we spoke? To understand what I mean,
imagine you have an egg out in front of your eyes. It has already
been cut around its middle so that it is easy to pull apart. Imagine
the egg represents the word "di." As you currently sing
"di" it probably feels like you are crushing the egg. Now
sing "di" and think, believe, that to produce the sound
"di" it (the egg) has to be pulled apart and away from you.
As if the left side of the egg is pulled towards the left and outward
and upward away from you at 45 degrees to the left and the right,
exactly the same but at 45 degrees to the right.
Does it now feel as if instead of pressing our words central when
we speak, we could pull each word apart. if you can achieve this,
do the words seem to be wider as they are formed? If you can achieve
this, you will find that the diaphragm is automatically engaged in
a natural way without tension. As a result, the voice strengthens,
gains natural vibrato and is easy to produce. The greater openness
and through and outward sensations you can achieve, the more the energy
of the voice wants to rush upward and out of you. A wider tine will
be produced, bringing a richer, warmer tone.
The higher you go in pitch, the more you will notice that the voice
wants to sound the words inward to the centre of the face. As you
get higher, the concentration needs to be even greater and more assertive
as if to tear the words apart.
Having achieved a sense of this, the next thing to do is to gain the
feeling that each phrase can after initial setting up, sing itself.
Woh! How do I explain this over the internet???
An ugly thought, but have any of you seen a cows tongue? I apologise
to any of you who love animals, who are vegetarians or have religious
beliefs that venerate the cow. However, think about the size of your
tongue. Replace it with an imaginary tongue the size of a cow. The
back muscle of the tongue is huge. It sits high at the back, curved
over and sloping down toward the front with the forward part of the
tongue tip drawing out wider than the centre length. To allow sound
out above that sort of tongue would require you to raise the energy
of the sound/breath to a level at least above the cheeks and possibly
to eye level.
Imagine the back of that sized tongue like a huge slope up which the
energy must be puller. As it reaches the top it is then pulled further
and over the crest of the rear of the tongue. Then imagine the energy
is pulled further forward down the slpoe of the tongue and out like
a ski jumper over the tip of the tongue.
You might also liken this curve of the tongue to a roller coaster.
Hard to imagine a huge roller coaster in your mouth but we already
have a tongue, hence the image above. Yuk!. So, imagine the phrase
you are singing is a little like a roller coaster train. Each word
is a carriage linked to make a phrase. The train pulls to the crest
of the roller coaster tracks. It slows as it gets to the top. The
first carriage draws over the crest and starts on the downward run.
(Your first syllable pulls over the crest of the large highly placed
cow tongue and starts on the downward run of the toungue). If you
don't keep pulling the first train carriage (the phrase syllable of
the phrase) until the balance of the energy causes the remainder of
the train (phrase) to pick up enough energy to run on over the slope
the weigh of the phrase (train) might just start to fall backwards.
If it does, then in terms of singing, the diaphragm has no purpose
and stops support from underneath the sound energy. The throat then
jumps in to rescue.
So, logic tells us we need to pull the first syllable out far enough
so that brings with it the rest of the phrase. It cannot risk falling
back on itself but rather, it needs to be drawn so far out that the
rest of the phrase has no alternative but to follow. Remember that
my attempt at an analogy here is an attempt to bring you to finding
for yourself, how to draw sound out of you so that the diaphragm engages
and continues to engage until the end of each phrase. Once one phrase
successfully draws out, you may notice that after the first syllable
is pulled far enough out the rest of the phrase seems to just follow
and sing itself without any effort on your part.
I hope you can make use of this thought. Despite the idea of a cow
tongue being quite gross, you won't believe the difference it makes
to increasing power and warmth in the voice and a sense of easy singing
even at the top of the range. any questions please email.
7/6/08
This tip comes a little early as I will be unable to get to the computer
tomorrow night.
Loosening up the diaphragm continued.
Last week I gave you an exercise. This week here is another exercise
and some ideas to picture which I hope will cause you to free up and
better engage the diaphragm
sound C, D, E, F, G, F, E, D, C on "hah." That means, hah,
hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, haaaah. The fifth hah is the highest
note in the phrase. Notice what is happening in the face and the stomach.
Does the energy of the sound in the face feel like it has a lid on
it or does it feel fully open and passing through the face and out
of you? If the latter, that is good.
Does the stomach feel like it is being pulled up and let loose throughout
the exercise? If so, then that is good. You should feel as if you
are panting uncontrollably as if you have run the race of your life
and are gasping for air. The looser you allow this to be, the better.
Remember this is not about sounding beautiful. This is about setting
in train the operation of the diaphragm. Don't pant for too long at
a time. You may hyperventilate which will make you dizzy. Take care.
If you feel as if the energy of the sound has a lid on it or if you
feel that the stomach is not panting freely, then you are possibly
singing the "hah" too strongly dictioned or as you are approaching
the 5th note, you may be narowing the sound for security.
Imagine you are standing on a platform and in front of you is a wide
river. Well ahead of you is a dam across the river. The river is flowing
fast away from you even though there is a dam. Why? The centre of
the dam is crumbling and the water is gushing through it. Think of
the river as being your sound, breath energy. It has significant energy
but is held back by the dam. Think of the dam as if it represents
your old habits. Bit by bit the energy of the river (new thoughts
about singing freedom) breaks away the old habits from the centre,
slowly widening.
What if in your minds eye you simply delete the bridge and let the
fullness of the water gush forth. One second the dam is there and
then through confident thought, it is gone. I wonder whether you will
feel a greater sense of freedom. Add to this the sensation that you
can give a very wide birth to a sense of pulling that wide river out
through the space where the dam once was. Don't try and sing any of
the "hah" words, just feel as if they are caught up in the
river and are being dragged along out and away from you by your pulling
energy.
Can we strengthen that energy of pulling? Imagine you have two pots
in front of you. One is full of water. One is full of honey. Literally
place your hand up to your elbow into the imaginary water pot and
pull it out. Notice what it feels like. Then put the same arm into
the imaginary honey pot and pull it out. Does this automatically feel
different? I think you will notice that when you pull out of the honey
pot you automatically pull stronger than you do for the water pot.
Why? Your body cells have memory and undertsand that the honey is
thicker and will cause a greater suction on your arm than the water.
Simply, the body has responded to a thought. The cells act accordingly.
If I told you to pick up a suit case full of books that was actually
empty, the results would be more noticeable. You would pick it up
with such force you would loose your balance.
Most of us as singers do not know (until we have been taught) how
strongly we need to think and pull out our sound. The stronger we
do this with greater freedom, the stronger the diaphragm reacts. The
cells have remembered bad habits and we have to replace those habits
with new memories. Think bigger, wider, more stretch when you pull
out sound. Let your voice flow out like a raging river that is not
impeded in any way by the banks within which it flows. In so doing,
the diaphragm automatically engages to push upward from below. As
long as your pulling out is constant then all will be well and your
tone will be freer and easier in its delivery.
14/6/08
Nervous body movements when singing
I myself have no nervous twitches when I sing in a musical or opera.
I think this is because I have a character to play and therefore I
have action set for me and follow that action. However, in concert,
I sometimes find myself rocking from forward to back and I have to
be attentive to this. When I studied as a student of voice, I often
used physical movements of my arms and jutted my jaw forward as I
reached higher notes. Once when recording, the producer was getting
a crescendo and decresendo when i sang. he virtually tore the recording
studio apart looking for a wiring problem to account for this. I had
young children at the time and had developed a habit of rocking forward
and back, the same as when you rock a baby to sleep. The producer
then noticed that I was doing this as I was recording which meant
that unwittingly my mouth was moving in and out from the microphine.
Here are some that I have observed over the years.
Arms tapping the thigh. Sometimes one arm, sometimes both.
Arms rubbing the thighs, particularly as a higher phrase is approaching.
Movement from one foot to the other, either side by side or forward
and back.
Bringing the hand across the waist.
Tilting the head to the left or right just before singing.
Tilting the jaw forward.
Terror in the eyes at certain phrases.
Rolling of the eyes when a mistake is made.
Giggling.
Blowing out air before starting a phrase as if in preparation.
Stiff neck
If you know of others please email and let me know.
NONE of these movements are necessary. ALL of these movements cause
tensions. NONE of these movements helps us relax. If we stop and think
about this phenomenon, and if we are logical about it, there is no
need for it and it in fact does us a disservice. Each of these activities
causes nervous tension and distracts us from watching and being in
the moment of what we are doing.
Undertake your next few lessons with your hands in your pockets, as
if you are standing around chatting with friends. Come in touch with
the energy within you from the lower torso up to the forehead. Increase
your awareness of the exchange of energy between the body and the
face and stop trying to do anything physical at all. This probably
flies in the face of things you have been taught by others, particularly
if they have taught you to place the sound or use the tongue or strengthen
the diaphragm etc etc etc. Let the mind think what you want to do
and let the body respond. The body can do a lot more than you think
if you let it. And don't worry about all those physical things you
have been told happen when singing. They do happen, its just that
we don't need to make them happen. We need to let go of physicality
so that the right and most natural aspects of the physical part of
singing can happen naturally.
So do your exercises standing, sitting with your back to a wall, lying,
in the foetal position, lying on your stomach then on your back, lying
on your side. When standing, let your neck loose so that while you
sing you lean your head to the left, to the right, back, to the front
dropping your jaw to your chin etc. Let yourself go in as many ways
you can to get a sensation of the breath and sound energy inside you
being independent of the physical. As if your wish to sound the voice
freely engages cell memory to do this NOT physical interference due
to you misinterpreted reading or understanding of the scientifc or
physiological reports you have read on singing or what you have been
told.
21/6/08
Freeing the voice, letting go
During my early years as a singer teachers would say to me, "let
it go," "let go of the voice," "release the voice"
etc...
This was all very well but as with a lot of other generalised statements
made by teachers I do not recall anyone teaching me how to do it.
Why? Because it is not such an easy thing to teach. It is not easy
to teach someone to let go of a habit whether physically or psychologically
created.
I think there are two parts to holding on to the voice. The apparent
cause is the physical. A habit of grabbing the voice with the throat
and thereby interfering with the body's ability to sing freely. However,
the underlying cause is usually psychological. This cause is the one
that should be looked at first. If this can be done, then the opening
and freeing of any adverse physical habits becomes easy. If the underlying
psychological block remains, then no matter what you do, the physical
will always be there albeit sometimes improved.
So what is the psychological component? Most of us don't like ourselves
as we are! Now many of you will disagree with me but if you are truthful
to yourself you will find that there is always something about us
that we don't like. No? Think again. When was the last time you had
a hair colour change? Do you wear make up? Why
do you seek singing lessons? Are you OK about embarrassing yourself?
Are you happy to stand up before a crowd and simply be yourself?
We often control our voices, just like we control our manners, just
like we feel guilty about what we might say to someone even if its
the truth and so on. Why? Usually the way we live our lives and our
principals and our self opinions get formed when we are young. This
is not a criticism of parents. We are all parents for the first time
and we don't have parents schools do we?
If you were told when you were young that you had an ordinary voice
or you can't sing, then even though you may have forgotten this, the
hurt you felt then sticks. If you were really good as a singer but
others had high expectations, then you may have forced the voice to
fit in with what those people expected of you. You may have been in
a choir with a big voice and told to quieten down and fit in. So you
may have shut down. And on goes the list. The worst historical affect
I have come across was a young woman whose work was affected because
her voice was breaking all the time. She wanted to sing but it was
very difficult to work out how to assist her. It was slow going but
she was committed to improve her voice.
One day I asked her why she thought her voice was as it was. She had
undergone speech pathology which had not helped much. There was nothing
she could think of. I suggested to her the information in the paragraph
above and suggested that just before she go to sleep each night she
should ask herself the question, "what is it that affected me
from a young age, that made my voice like this?" Now for some
people you need to do this for a week, a month or longer. However,
This young woman had an answer straight away. When she was a child
her parents insisted she raise her hand before she spoke in the family
home. I asked her whether she had brothers or sisters. She had a brother.
Yes, he suffered the same problem with his voice and yes he too had
to raise his hand to speak. Remember the old saying, "Children
should be seen and not heard."
Once we established that her parents actions in requiring this may
have caused her current predicament and then accepted that her parents
probably did what they thought was right, we could then accept that
she was now an adult and these rules no lon |