How much anatomy/physiology do I really need to know?

Last spring I was invited to participate in the Voice Pedagogy Summit hosted by the University of Southern California. The gathering of 40 voice teachers from across the country had the primary purpose of answering the question, “What should a responsible voice teacher be teaching in a scientific age?"

Participants in the USC Voice Pedagogy Summit

As you might imagine from a meeting of this many nerds, we had lots of inspiring, in-depth discussions that took up the better part of two days. We're working now to formulate our ideas into a voice pedagogy position paper that will attempt to outline the ultimate voice curriculum by identifying "best practices."

As academics, of course, we want to know as much as possible about how the voice works. But as voice teachers, the question that comes up again and again is, "How much of this information do singers really need to have?" For example, if we can't even see or feel our cricothyroid muscles, do singers really need to know what they do? One of the summit participants talked about his colleague whose students often achieve great success as performers even though, as their teacher, he claims not to know the difference between an arytenoid and a hemorrhoid. 

In my view, the voice teacher's job is to know what efficient vocal production looks and sounds like in order to offer students directions and exercises that will lead to more effective singing. In that regard, every exercise we choose should have a specific purpose. Sometimes I call students' attention to the purpose of an exercise to help them better understand the process. But other times I don't, because I don't want students to start focusing on muscle groups that they can't feel or directly control. Instead, I just want them to focus on doing the exercise with freedom and efficiency, knowing that it will achieve its purpose whether the student is aware of it or not.

In the same way, when you go to the gym, you don't need to think about how muscle fibers work when you're doing bicep curls. If you just focus on doing the curls with good form, you will build strength.

However, in the long run, I believe that greater knowledge about how the voice works will better allow you to guide your own singing. Author and voice teacher Claudia Friedlander says as much in her book Complete Vocal Fitness: A Singer's Guide to Physical Training, Anatomy, and Biomechanics:

"One of the reasons that I feel it is so important for singers to understand how your instrument functions is so that when a problem arises, you can discern whether it is an issue of skill or physiology and pursue an effective solution based on that information. If you understand how your voice ought to respond when it is healthy, it becomes easier to recognize when a medical issue is interfering with your singing. Conversely, if it is always a mystery whether your voice will work on a given day, you are likely to develop the chronic hypochondriacal angst so common to our profession." p.149

Ultimately, you are all your own voice teachers. Someone like me can offer guidance and direction, but I see you for a limited time each week while you live with your voices for 24 hours a day. You are the ones who will have to safely negotiate those voices through a lifetime of singing. In so doing, I believe that the more information you have about the voice, the better equipped you will be—both now and in the future.

How has your singing been this week?

Now go practice.

A great teacher on great singing

One of the most famous books about singing from the 1980s and 90s is called Great Singers on Great Singing. For the book, operatic bass Jerome Hines interviewed many of his colleagues at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City to learn how each of them approached their singing technique. What was eye opening for readers was to see just how differently the singers described their technique. Even though every singer profiled had established a successful career at the world's most famous opera house, they were often choosing quite different strategies in order to make their sound.

I'm currently reading a similar book called Great Teachers on Great Singing by Robin Rice. Using a similar format to Great Singers on Great Singing, Dr. Rice instead chose to interview "some of the finest singing teachers in America." As you might expect, there are similarities, differences, and even flat out contradictions when it comes to the technique each teacher promotes. But that was only one of the reasons I wanted to read the book. The other reason is that one of my former teachers, Dr. Robert Harrison, is one of the "master teachers" featured in the book.

Dr. Harrison was my voice teacher as well as the chair of my doctoral committee when I was studying at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. At the time, he had come to Indiana after serving as a professor of voice at Colorado University. I had the honor of being his first doctoral student at IU.

It's fair to say that I learned more about singing, about the voice, and about teaching from him than from any other teacher or mentor I have had. Reading his chapter of Great Teachers on Great Singing was like having another voice lesson with him and reminded me of so much of what he had taught me in our time together. He is retired now and living in Denver and we are still in touch.

For this blog, I thought I might choose one of the important points from his chapter to expand upon but I couldn't narrow it down to just one great point. Instead, I'll share several of his quotes below to provide a picture of his perspectives and maybe give you some ideas to ponder in your practice this week.

"Well, to me there are three general standards that all singers need to meet. They must sing accurately, both with respect to pitch and rhythm, use correct diction, and by all and every means, be able to communicate effectively...You might have noticed that I didn't say anything about a beautiful voice." (p.81)

"A beautiful voice that says something enlightens me. I'm also okay with a voice that is not so beautiful but that says something to me." (p.81)

"...a good singer is always someone who is ultimately providing an autobiography of him or herself. When we hear somebody sing, they're not talking about that character. They're actually talking about themselves." (p.81)

"I want thorough resonance with the least amount of cord use." (p.82)

"The mission is, through singing, to say something to change the life of a listener who has often paid to be at a performance. We have a responsibility to say something to them that will change the way they feel and the way they think." (p.84)

"...in this world of sound and sensory bombardment, the use of silence can be a very powerful and expressive tool." (p.84)

"By the way, you are paid to breathe. Don't be afraid to earn money for not singing. I don't know of anyone yet who can sing without air." (p.85)

"My students know well my oft repeated axiom with regard to breathing and its relationship to singing: no air, no sound, no dollars." (p.85)

Consider some of Dr. Harrison's ideas this week. What are your goals for the second half of the semester?

Now go practice.

Dr. H. signing his approval of my dissertation defense.