NEW YEARS IS ALWAYS A TIME TO REFLECT AND REVIEW. THEREFORE MY FIRST BLOG OF 2019 IS ABOUT CHECKING INTO OUR OWN DEVELOPMENT AS CLASSICAL SINGERS.
ALL SINGERS NEED TO CONSTANTLY BE HONING THEIR CRAFT AND SKILLS. SO IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO STEP BACK AND LOOK AT THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOLS WE HAVE THAT ALLOW US TO SING FREELY, MUSICALLY, EXPRESSIVELY AND DYNAMICALLY.
THERE ARE MANY APPROACHES TO DEVELOP THE SKILLS OF A HEALTHY VOCAL TECHNIQUE OF THE “BEL CANTO SCHOOL AND STYLE” THAT APPLY TO ALL CLASSICAL VOCAL REPERTOIRE. BUT THERE ARE ONLY A FEW BASIC TOOLS THAT WE NEED TO USE – AND TO BE ABLE TO CALL UPON THEM AT ALL TIMES.
UNLIKE INSTRUMENTALISTS, SINGERS ARE NOT ABLE TO OBJECTIVELY LOOK AT THEIR INSTRUMENT. THEREFORE THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR IMAGINATION IS CRUCIAL TO HOW WE “PLAY” IT.
“WHEN YOU FIND A TECHNICAL TOOL THAT WORKS FOR YOU REPEAT IT WITH THE SAME MENTAL APPROACH EVERYDAY UNTIL IT BECOMES HABITUAL – DONT DEVIATE”. (Luciano Pavarotti)
DEVELOPING AWARENESS: THIS SKILL IS VERY OFTEN LEFT UNDEVELOPED. IT INVOLVES CONSTANTLY “CHECKING IN” TO BE SURE THESE BASIC TOOLS ARE IN PLACE IT IS BEST TO BE AWARE BEFORE YOU SING A PHRASE. AS WELL,
“CHECKING IN” AFTER YOU FINISH A SONG OR ARIA WHEN YOU ARE REHEARSING OR VOCALIZING WILL DEVELOP THIS SKILL. IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU LISTEN TO YOURSELF AS YOU ARE SINGING A PHRASE.
HERE ARE A HANDFUL OF THE “TOOLS” WE WANT TO DEVELOP AND THEN BE AWARE OF :
POSTURE: (“FIND YOUR NOBLE POSTURE” – Richard Miller “The Structurer of Singing”
INHALATION: TAKING TIME TO PREPARE THE INHALATION FOR THE PHRASE WE ARE TO SING. (Inner Ear/Inner Eye)
MAINTAINING THE SENSATION OF AN OPEN THROAT ACHIEVED ON INHALATION THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PHRASE AND BETWEEN PHRASES. (“I OPENED MY THROAT WHEN I WALKED ON STAGE AND CLOSED IT WHEN I WALKED OFF” – Luciano Pavarotti)
MAINTAINING THE POSTURE OF INHALATION TO THE END OF EACH PHRASE.
LEGATO ENERGY. – ANTICIPATING THE NEXT NOTE AND NEXT VOWEL THROUGHOUT EACH PHRASE.
DICTION: CLEAR,HARMONIZED VOWELS AND WELL ARTICULATED CONSONANTS (“IN THE FIRST VOWEL ARE ALL THE OTHER VOWELS”. Nico Castel)
DEVELOPING A STRONG POINT OF VIEW ABOUT THE WORK YOU ARE ABOUT TO PERFORM.
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TWO IMPORTANT MAXIMS THAT SUM UP DEVELOPING OUR AWARENESS:
“I COULD TEACH YOU THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF BEAUTIFUL SINGING ON THE FINGERS OF MY HANDS – IT WILL TAKE A SINGER PATIENCE AND AWARENESS TO HONE THEM. “. Maureen Forrester, Canadian contralto
“KEEP YOUR THOUGHTS AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE BUT NO SIMPLER”. Albert Einstein. TAKING A GOOD LONG LOOK AT THESE PRINCIPLES AND FORMING SIMPLE BUT STRONG THOUGHTS WILL DEVELOP THE “AWARENESS” WE CAN “TUNE INTO” AT WILL.
A WORD OF CAUTION: YOU CANNOT DEVELOP AWARENESS WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE. A SIMPLE, CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR INSTRUMENT. (RESONATORS, BREATH MECHANISM, SPEECH MECHANISM) IS ESSENTIAL.THIS IS USUALLY DEVELOPED WITH THE TEACHER UNTIL THE STUDENT IS ABLETO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THESE PRINCIPLES. BUT WE CANNOT TAKE THE PRINCIPLES FOR GRANTED. THEREFORE WE CONTINUE TO BE “AWARE” THROUGHOUT OUR WHOLE PERFORMING CAREER.
SINGING WITH MANY VOICES 