The Most Important andMost Unexplained Concept in Singing
There is a very particular sound ofsinging from the neck up.
It is a thin sound, usually, a very throaty sound - the sound of the unsupported voice.
The singer producing this sound has the feeling of vocal fatigue, strain, stress, hoarseness and possibly pain.
One of the main factors which causes vocal stress and eventually, nodules, is singing without support or incorrect support.
This being said, it is surprising that the most commonly used command in most vocal studios is more support.
Ifit is true that a vast majority of singerslack proper breath support althoughthe most common suggestion by voice teachers is to support, it must be concluded then, that there is a mysterious missing link between the execution of this command and the way it is being taught.
Having been an observer in the studios of some of the most famous singers in the world,who, after they retiredfromtheir singing careers, became voice teachers at the most reputable schools in the country, I can attest to the lack of explanation inregards to breath support.
These famous teachers would constantly yell "more support".
That was, however, as far as it went! What is support and howit is done was not really discussed.
I studied with many of these teachersat the best schools in the United States and Europe andexperienced first hand, the frustration and mystery of trying to understand the secret ofhow to support the sound.
At very best, a hand was put onmy diaphragm and I was told to push against it.
At worst,support was described as the feeling of a bowel movement or of giving birth but most of the time nothing was said because my voice was resonant and powerful and it sounded as if I was supporting, although I was not.
How to use the diaphragm as the flexible muscle which generates the airflow istruly an art which has tragically been lost along with the bel- canto school of singing.
I use the word flexible to describe the diaphragm because the whole point is to connect to the airflow and if the diaphragm gets stiff and overly hard it cannot perform that function.
Very few teachers have the key to developing a flexible diaphragm that can support the sound and finding a really great voice teacher is, unfortunately, for the most part, a matter of luck.
Even if a teacher has all the other parts of the puzzle of healthysinging technique, withoutproper breath support, nothing else works.
Resonance, high placement, pronunciation, use of the tongue and lips in the different registers, relaxation of the jaw, smooth changing of registers, relaxation of the larynx - allof these elements of singing must work hand in hand and simultaneously with the breath.
It is a thin sound, usually, a very throaty sound - the sound of the unsupported voice.
The singer producing this sound has the feeling of vocal fatigue, strain, stress, hoarseness and possibly pain.
One of the main factors which causes vocal stress and eventually, nodules, is singing without support or incorrect support.
This being said, it is surprising that the most commonly used command in most vocal studios is more support.
Ifit is true that a vast majority of singerslack proper breath support althoughthe most common suggestion by voice teachers is to support, it must be concluded then, that there is a mysterious missing link between the execution of this command and the way it is being taught.
Having been an observer in the studios of some of the most famous singers in the world,who, after they retiredfromtheir singing careers, became voice teachers at the most reputable schools in the country, I can attest to the lack of explanation inregards to breath support.
These famous teachers would constantly yell "more support".
That was, however, as far as it went! What is support and howit is done was not really discussed.
I studied with many of these teachersat the best schools in the United States and Europe andexperienced first hand, the frustration and mystery of trying to understand the secret ofhow to support the sound.
At very best, a hand was put onmy diaphragm and I was told to push against it.
At worst,support was described as the feeling of a bowel movement or of giving birth but most of the time nothing was said because my voice was resonant and powerful and it sounded as if I was supporting, although I was not.
How to use the diaphragm as the flexible muscle which generates the airflow istruly an art which has tragically been lost along with the bel- canto school of singing.
I use the word flexible to describe the diaphragm because the whole point is to connect to the airflow and if the diaphragm gets stiff and overly hard it cannot perform that function.
Very few teachers have the key to developing a flexible diaphragm that can support the sound and finding a really great voice teacher is, unfortunately, for the most part, a matter of luck.
Even if a teacher has all the other parts of the puzzle of healthysinging technique, withoutproper breath support, nothing else works.
Resonance, high placement, pronunciation, use of the tongue and lips in the different registers, relaxation of the jaw, smooth changing of registers, relaxation of the larynx - allof these elements of singing must work hand in hand and simultaneously with the breath.
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