"[...] the voice never lies—everything you are thinking and feeling will come through in your singing. If you fully immerse yourself in the experiences and emotions of the character you are embodying, you will communicate them incisively to your listeners; likewise, if you become consumed with a need to micromanage your technique or wrestle with stage fright, those activities will color your performance, because the voice is physiologically wired to respond to and communicate all your thoughts and feelings in real time." (p.78)It may be a little daunting to see it spelled out this way but it makes sense that if our mental and emotional energies are focused on something other than the character of our songs, that focus will be reflected in our performances. Of course, technique is a crucial part of the creative process. But, ideally, that is not what we want to be thinking about when we are performing. It's ironic, then, that singing without thinking about technique is something we have to practice.
Friedlander goes on to explain why our focus should not be on technique when we perform:
"The more vulnerable, passionate, and sincere your intentions, the more impactful your singing will be. A singer with a flawed technique can deliver a compelling performance because dramatic and musical commitment sometimes transcends imperfect coordination. Yet a singer who has little to say can deliver an impeccable performance but leave listeners cold, because virtuosity for its own sake cannot compare with raw passion." (p.78)Once again (for the people in the back), dramatic and musical commitment transcends imperfect coordination. This is not an excuse to neglect your technical development—we still have to do all we can in that area. But we have to remember that audiences are moved more by the communication of ideas than by flawless technique.
I sometimes ask students not to perform in a way that forces me to focus on their voices. By simply telling a story through the unique medium of your voice, you are offering audiences something that no one else can.
Thanks for a great semester. Keep working and let's finish strong!
Now go practice.
I love these quotes and completely agree with them. However I also feel this is much easier said than done. I think the same goes for straight acting as well. When a performer is focusing inwardly on how they are doing, or if they are doing a "good job" it takes away from the performance. I believe in any performance the energy should be directed outward. In many ways this is the most difficult part of performing and constitutes true mastery. As you said, it is ironic that to sing without thinking about technique requires a lot of practice. I'm a firm believer that freedom comes from learning technique so well that you can forget about it. In a chapter of his book on voice and speech David Carey talks about the learning process, he frames it this way: first is unconscious inefficiency, then conscious inefficiency, then conscious efficiency, and lastly unconscious efficiency. To me unconscious efficiency is the mark of mastery for any craft.
ReplyDeleteI find this both frightening and comforting. When watching others sing, if I can see that they are pushing or focusing more on getting the notes I find myself less engaged than someone who can just tell the story. However I do think that there is a certain comfort in one's skill and technique that is often necessary for this to happen. I think that in both acting and singing there is a certain perfectionism that needs to be practiced with, but in an actual performance living in the moment and moving past mistakes is important.
ReplyDeleteLately I have been really trying to figure out how to blend my chest and head voice and have been receiving some conflicting advice. As soon as I start thinking about the break in my voice I lose my focus on the singing. My hope is that with enough practice I won't feel like I need to think about my technique as I perform.
Who is this?
Delete~Jessica Graham
DeleteI find these quotes definitely resonating with me right now. With being a little under the weather, I notice I start to freak out about how I sound more than I usually would because I feel less confident in my voice. And so, instead of being entirely focused on story, I’m constantly micromanaging every note. Which results in a performance that was mostly fabricated by pushing and trying to show something vocally rather than just simply breathing and trying to convey a story.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a fine balance of having to remind yourself what techniques you should be using while living and singing in the moment. Or practicing enough that the technique becomes second nature and you don’t even have to think about it when you perform.
These principles are definitely resonate with me. I am very stagnant in my opinion when it comes to developing sincerity alongside technique. I feel as if I let loose too much, that my fear of messing up overrides me and controls my performance. I tend to struggle when it comes to this because i do not have a lot of confidence in my ability. Hopefully with time and practice, I can push past these barriers.
ReplyDeleteI resonate with all of those quotes so much. In the beginning of studio, Denny and Alex repeatedly told me that I was getting so in my head about the musical aspect of performing the song that it showed all over my face and hindered my progress of taking the song a step forward. I am a die hard perfectionist, so it feels pretty natural to constantly question if what I'm doing is "enough" or "right". However, this robs me from much needed joy, fluidity, and freedom that is vital to any performer. It feels restrictive; like you are locked in a jail cell and you are holding the key and it is up to you if you want to be released or night. I have definitely learned to lighten up more as the semester has gone on and focus more on the delivery of the text rather than the instrument.
ReplyDeleteI frickin love this so much! I've always considered myself a singer first above all else so I've always focused on the technique of singing and I've always felt safe in this bubble I've kind of created with my voice. Kind of in the realm of, "Ohhhhh if I sound good, then they won't see that I actually have no idea how to act. Huzzah." But I have always thought that the storytelling is more important than the singing, it's just that its always been hard for me to apply that. It's definitely easier said than done for me. I think moving forward, I should obviously keep working on my technique, but I should definitely start focusing on practicing enough that way I can just think about the acting and hope that the technique will still be there in the muscle memory. I. Can. DO THIS
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful post because I have little to no technique but I can tell a story. I have always felt that as long as there was intention behind it, I could be moved to tears by the song whether or not the technique is there. It is somewhat of a relief to know that even if I don't have perfect technique, I can still give a moving performance. I don't mean it to sound like the value should be on what's behind the technique, but when there is a mix of both of those aspects you can create beautiful and moving moments.
ReplyDeleteI always appreciate hearing reminders about the duality involved between the technique of singing, and the natural ability to convey a visceral story. I'm reminded of the complexity that comes with training to be a singer, and knowing that there are key components to learn to work towards your best voice. When it comes to technique and storytelling, I tend to feel like I struggle with both aspects of singing. I DO think over the course of the past year, my voice has come a long way, but there's always room for growth and I am constantly aware of that. I think it's healthy to be practical! I think my stage fright tends to get in the way of my ability to story tell. I need to continue to practice in front of people and slowly get more and more comfortable publicly singing. Too bad this is the last semester of singing for ATP Juniors! :)
ReplyDeleteIt is very refreshing to hear that the passion in a performance is always more impactful to the audience members. I have been struggling with focusing too much on my technique lately and after my performances I have always felt a little empty afterwards. Almost like I didn't do everything I could to make it great. I have really enjoyed this semester and have been happy to see my improvement over this course!
ReplyDeleteI think I definitely have to rely on this. My technique when it comes to singing is pretty subpar, so a full commitment (I'm still working on this as well) to the character is absolutely necessary. I also feel something coming on that may drastically affect my voice during finals week, which will make all the technical aspects of singing even more difficult. I will have to doubly commit to character not only in my singing final, but also in my acting finals.
ReplyDeleteI really love these quotes because I feel like I relate to them a lot. When I perform in front of people I am significantly worse than I already normally am because the stage fright of singing in front of people gets to me. When I’m alone and really connect to a song I always feel so much mite confident and connect to it so much better and personally feel like I sound better. Fully committing when I sing is something I need to work on since I don’t feel confident in my singing especially compared to my other abilities like acting and dancing and so I tend I brush it off more than I should. I have noticed this relates to straight acting too and I’m able to mire easily commit to it than I can with singing because I have mire fear signing. That is definitely one of the top things I need to work on with my singing performance.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely something I struggle with, especially with this last performance for the final. I find myself in the mindset that for the performance to be good, I must have impeccable technique and do it 100% “correct”. I say correct in quotations because the definition of doing a performance correctly is actually a loose one. I know for me when I’m focusing on technique and how well I sound, I lose the meaning and words of the song I’m singing, but when I see it more as telling a story and embody the text fully to convey the message, it’s a lot easier and more preserved by the audience. I know it’s as simple as just telling a story, but it’s easier said than done. I think on the last round of Little Cossette, I found pieces of story (more than technique) in it, and I enjoyed performing the song as well as the whole final a lot more. Hopefully I can hold onto not being a self-critic. As for my singing, it’s doing fine. As per usual, my vocal health is less than healthy and has been causing issues. It’s still being used in a healthy manner and still is able to get the job done, so I can’t complain. Now lets Les Mis the semester out and drop the mic!
ReplyDeleteGetting the right technique is something I worry about quite often in everything including singing so it's nice to be reminded that technique isn't always everything where how good it is will make or break what you're doing. In an ideal world my technique would be impeccable and I'd also be able to do a good job of telling a story. Hopefully I can keep this in mind going into our final this week.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed that. I never thought about it like that, but I definitely am always thinking of my technique and how I’m sounding. If I’m being honest...I can’t recall a time where I’ve sang and thought about the character. I’m always in my head when I’m singing. I do believe that this class has helped me do a lot of technical things without thinking though. I’m definitely going to keep this in mind for the final though! I’m so sad this class is going to be over!
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that every time I get up to perform a song, I am constantly critiquing my technique. This article really resonated to me because, I often am not fully dropped into character while I am performing and it effects the quality of my sound. Next time I get up to perform I am going to try to be less analytical of my technique so I can find more confidence in my character choices. The performances that I enjoy the most come from actors who have fully dropped into character which allows their voice to be relaxed and open. I always second guess myself but now after reading this article and the seeing the scientific facts I realize that a song is very similar to a monologue and needs to be approached in a similar way. I want to read this article before I perform as a way to remind and encourage myself to stop critiquing and doubting myself while performing so my natural voice and rich performance can come through.
ReplyDeleteI love these quotes. I find them extremely useful because I’ve always considered myself a singer first. If I sang well enough, nobody would care about my flawed acting. Right? Wrong! People want to be immersed in a story. They aren’t here to listen to my voice. The technique will become second nature with due time, so prioritizing the acting/storytelling aspect will help to become the best performer you can be! I’ll be sure to remember this with vocal juries swiftly approaching!
ReplyDeleteThis is something I actually struggle with my own singing. As much as I try to allow my self to be vulnerable and/or tell a story when I sing, I always find myself letting my thoughts about my technique take over. I work hard to find character choices throughout songs, but if I make one tiny mistake I have to fight so hard to stay in that character. Im really interested in the practice of not thinking about technique as first priority, but rather the emotion of me and/or the character I am portraying. I'm going to try that method out while practicing this week for juries, for I think it might help my nerves just a bit more.
ReplyDelete-Caden Tudor
I have had quite a bit of experience with technique getting in the way of connection and authenticity. Throughout taking singing lessons, my teacher always told me that we have certain parts of the lesson that we are clearly working on technique, but that when it comes to performance or singing the song I have to trust what I have and let it go. I can even worry about it to the point that I'm actually screwing up my technique AND getting in the way of storytelling. Lastly, she asked why I wanted to start singing lessons in the first place and it's because I wanted to get better, yes, but ultimately because I loved singing. I believe that own sense of joy is very important and translates out to an audience of any size. Even if you're in Les Mis and it's a heartbreaking song and story, there's still the joy of singing and expression through song deep down. I struggle with this much more in my acting so I appreciate the opportunity to revisit this connection in singing and I will also need to apply it to other areas in my life.
ReplyDeleteFrom Keira Stogin: The only thing that allowed me to get up and sing in front of people for the first time was convincing myself that it was not me singing—it was my character singing. If people had critiques or qualms well then take it up with them because that wasn’t keira singing! As I started looking at the theatre as a career I suddenly lost that freedom in performance because now it was serious business. Big stuff happening here so I have to be perfect. If I can’t be perfect then I’ll let everyone else know that hey I already know I suck so I don’t have to hear it from them too. At some point in there it became keira singing and not the character. I think, after reading those quotes, I need to put focus into training and training hard as keira so that the body is ready but then let the character go because I can’t help it along anymore than I already have. Do the work. Don’t apologize.
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