Speak easy

No, this post is not about Prohibition or bootlegging. (sorry to disappoint)

There is an old Italian, bel canto phrase that says, “Si canta come si parla” or “You sing as you speak.” The idea is that if you have bad habits in the way you speak, those habits will impact your singing voice. Conversely, if you use your speaking voice efficiently, that bodes well for your singing.

One of the negative practices we can fall into is speaking too loudly. Just as singing loudly uses more force and pressure than singing at a medium dynamic level, speaking loudly can similarly cause vocal fatigue.

We often get subconsciously tricked into speaking louder than is necessary. Try this experiment: get in a car and, before starting the engine, turn on the radio to an acceptable sound level. Then turn on the engine and start driving and notice how much louder you need to turn the radio volume in order to hear it (especially if you’re driving at interstate speeds). This tells us just how much noise our voices have to compete with when we’re in the car. This applies to any noisy environment (loud restaurants, music or sporting events, classes with theatre majors, etc.). We always have to be guarded about how loudly we are speaking but especially when we are competing with background noise.

Another pitfall is speaking below our optimal pitch level. We all love the sound of deep, radio-announcer voices and our culture definitely tells us that low voices are viewed as powerful, sexy, and authoritative. But the truth is that most of us speak at a lower pitch than is ideal for our voices.

As we all know, the vocal folds lengthen for high notes and shorten for low notes. Interestingly, one study I read pointed out that, when going from silence to speaking, most of us actually shorten our vocal folds. This means that when we speak, our vocal folds engage to take on a shorter position (using a lower pitch) than when they are at rest.

A common rule of thumb is the “uh-huh” test. When we say “uh-huh,” as if we are answering “yes” to a question, the pitch we use tends to be pretty close to where our natural speaking voice sits.

One other inefficiency is the use of glottal fry (also called vocal fry). This phenomenon usually happens when we drop in pitch or trail off at the end of sentences. In recent years, however, it has become an unfortunate trend in the way people speak—especially young women.

Watch this video to see what it is (and to see how annooooooying it is):

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/faith-salie-on-speaking-with-vocal-fry/

While speaking in vocal fry is not necessarily harmful, per se, it is definitely inefficient and in no way benefits our singing. Author and Speech-Language Pathologist Karen Wicklund points out that vocal fry can play a role in some voice therapies, but in singing it may encourage imprecise onset.

There are lots of ways we use our vocal folds that can have negative impacts on our singing voices, like throat clearing, coughing, and sneezing. Given how much we speak throughout the course of a day, it’s a good idea to pay attention to “how” we speak as well.

Si canta come si parla.

Now go practice.

Tongue tied

As you all know, we must sing with freedom. While singing is not a relaxed activity it does require the releasing of any tension that may be extraneous or detrimental to our singing.

One of the main culprits when it comes to unhelpful tension is the tongue. If the tongue is not free and flexible it cannot properly shape vowels or articulate consonants.

I do tongue-freeing exercises with all of you, usually toward the beginning of our singing (Session 1), in order to encourage a release that will carry over to the rest of your singing as well.

In exercises like la-la-la and da-da-da the tip of the tongue moves to the front part of the roof of your mouth (the alveolar ridge) or even to the teeth. The freer the tongue is the faster you will be able to do this.

In exercises like ga-ga-ga and ya-ya-ya the middle and back part of the tongue moves up and down. Do these exercises quickly with the jaw as released and uninvolved as possible.

Then you can do combinations of these exercises, again as quickly as you can manage and with release at the jaw: ya-la-ya-la, di-ga-di-ga.

Those of you who can trill your r’s can use that as well. I always like to go from a trilled r to a vowel so you can get as close to “real” singing as possible.

Another thing to consider is that, since the base of the tongue is so near the top of the larynx, if the tongue is pressed too low it will push down on the larynx. While we do often want the tongue to be flat and out of the way for our open vowels, we don’t want it to be held in a way that depresses or excessively lowers the larynx. One helpful image I’ve read to help with this is to imagine that the tongue is falling forward. You may think of the tongue as being weightless or even floating in your mouth as you are sustaining vowels.

Knowing how involved the tongue is in our singing, it’s a good idea to regularly “check in” and see if it is free or if it is carrying any undue tension. Freeing exercises like the ones discussed above are great to incorporate into your regular routine.

Happy singing!

Now go practice.

Practice Analysis

As we kick off another semester and are establishing new routines based on our schedules this spring, it’s a good time to analyze our approach to practicing.

This article presents some thought-worthy ideas on the subject:

http://snip.ly/KSjJ#http://www.artoffreedom.me/how-long-should-you-practice-every-day/

One concept that particularly struck me was "quality over quantity.” It’s good to remember that while we have to practice often, it is more important to practice well than it is to practice a lot (the quality of the minutes spent practicing are more important than the number of minutes spent practicing).

I also appreciate the notion that we should consider how our musical practice fits in with our life priorities. Does your singing make you a better human being? Does it contribute to society? How? Practicing those elements of our singing are just as necessary (arguably MORE necessary) than the elements of our singing that make us “marketable.”

What perspectives do you take from the article? What might you adjust or give more focus to in your own practice routine based on what you read?

Now go practice. 

Homework

You may have heard that Dame Julie Andrews is scheduled to direct the 60th anniversary production of My Fair Lady this summer at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. You can watch an interview about it here:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-10/julie-andrews-offers-advice-to-aspiring-actors/6929054

In the interview she gave some good advice to artists:

"The underpinning of discipline is the foundation that leaves me free to then fly. If I know that I've done my homework, which is what I suggest to all young talent these days, then I've got something there that I can spring from. But if you haven't learned it well, paid your dues or put in the hours, you don't have as much to pull from.”

The end of the semester is really when we find out if we’ve been doing our “homework.” In other words, has the process you’ve been following this semester prepared you and helped you grow?

As indicated in your class syllabus, I firmly believe that your final grade in Studio Voice should be a reflection of the work you have been doing all year. If you have been disciplined and on task, the jury performance is almost always solid. If, however, you have an outstanding jury performance but you were not disciplined in meeting your other responsibilities throughout the semester then you will not receive a high grade just because you "aced your final.”

I adhere to this policy to emphasize exactly what Dame Andrews indicates: if you have done your homework, you have more to pull from as an artist. There may be shortcuts to throwing together a performance, but creating something artistic and powerful takes time, discipline, and practice.

When the semester is finally over and you have moved on to your happy holidays, I hope you all take some time to go back and honestly reflect on the last five months. Though this is not an exercise that will be graded, it may be the most important assignment of the year.

Work hard in your last week of class. I’m looking forward to your juries!

Now go practice.

Systematic practice

The November issue of Classical Singer magazine (I have extra copies in my office if you would like one) has an article by Laura Portune called “Practicing Efficiently.” In the article she suggests an order for how to practice a song, once all of the notes and rhythms are learned:

1. Warm up your body.
2. Warm up your voice.
3. Speak through the text in rhythm.
4. Sing through the piece on lip trills, humming, alternating vowels. Focus on easy production through phrasing and breathing.
5. Sing through the piece with words, focusing on technique.
6. Sing through the piece with words, focusing on expression/acting.
7. Sing through the piece putting together technique and expression/acting.
8. End with “performance.”
9. Warm down.

A lot has been written about “The Myth of Multitasking” and how trying to do too many things at once actually wastes more time than it saves. This can be true in our singing as well, which is what I like about the process above. By intentionally focusing on a single element of performance we can fine tune that aspect before moving on. 

Of course, we tend to want to jump right to the expressive elements of singing. After all, that’s why we sing in the first place. But if we haven’t solidified technical elements, or haven’t learned the song properly, then we may be distracted when performing because we haven’t ironed out those deficiencies yet. 

Following a systematic approach can ensure that we aren’t skipping steps in the process and getting ahead of ourselves. It takes time and can be tedious. But the learning that occurs is ingrained more thoroughly, which always saves time down the road.

Think about your own process for practicing and learning a song. How is it the same as the process above? How is it different? Which element(s) on the list above would improve your practicing? 

Now go practice. 

Silent Practicing

At the beginning of the semester we talked through the syllabus and discussed dividing your practice time into three sessions. I highlighted the fact that much of your session 3 practice can be done silently.

Many of you have been finding that out over the last couple of weeks since it seems about half of you have been fighting colds or some other illness. Having no voice because you are sick, of course, does not excuse you from practicing. It just means you have to practice differently.

This article includes a list of things you can do for practice that don’t require vocal use. Since it’s written for choral singers, not everything on the list applies to you, but most of it does:

http://doreenfryling.org/2015/09/15/practicing-choral-music-ten-ideas-for-the-singer-who-doesnt-think-they-can-practice-on-their-own/

#2 on the list suggests listening to a recording. Hopefully when I assign you songs you don’t just run to a professional recording or youtube in order to learn the piece. If you have you probably found out just how different some renditions can be from the notes and rhythms printed on the page. But at this point in the semester, now that (most of) you know (most of) your music well, this is a good time to listen to some recordings to compare interpretive ideas. You may hear some things you like that could work in your voice or you may decide you like your own choices best. Either way, it’s good to see what other singers have done with the same song.

I find #8 particularly helpful. I get some of my best text work and memorization done when I’m on my morning run or sitting on the train heading to campus. I just let my mind go through the songs and the repetition helps solidify the parts I know and clues me in on the sections that still need more work.

Experiment with the list this week. Which exercises do you find helpful? Which are difficult for you to do?

Now go practice.

Agility

The ability to move the voice quickly is a technical skill that has important applications. While fast moving passages of music (called coloratura or fioratura) are more common in classical music than in music theatre repertoire, agility exercises encourage flexibility in the voice and balance throughout the range. It would be a good idea to work agility exercises into your regular vocal regimen.

Probably the simplest agility exercise is a five note scale 123454321 (Do re mi fa sol fa mi re do). After you have done some session 1 exercises (most agility exercises are better used in session 2) try singing this pattern in the middle voice on an “ah” vowel. Move quickly but not so fast that the notes get sloppy. Move up and down the middle voice using the exercise on different vowels. As you approach the passaggio allow the vowel to modify to whatever works best. If a certain vowel is not working well, try a different one.

Try setting the exercise to a metronome. Gradually work faster and faster, working for the same evenness and clarity from note to note.

You can easily extend this exercise a couple of different ways. Try starting on scale degree 5 (sol) and descending first: 5432123454321 (Sol fa mi re do re mi fa sol fa mi re do). Again experiment with different vowels as you move throughout the range.

You can also try the exercise two or three times in a row using different vowels each time: start with [i] (“ee”) and sing 123454321 then move immediately to [e] (“ay”) for 123454321 and then to [a] “ah” for 123454321. Work for the same evenness from note to note and gradually increase the tempo.

Another one I like to incorporate is even shorter, though not necessarily easier. Choose a vowel and sing the pattern 121232321 (Do re do re mi re mi re do). Again, try it on different vowels and at increasing speeds. You can string this pattern together with the first pattern: 12123232-123454321.

Why are agility exercises important? We all want a bigger sound (in coming to lessons, many singers have two main goals: to sing higher and to sing louder). The result is the tendency to sing too heavily or with too much weight in the voice. Physically this means that we use more mass of the vocal folds when we sing.

To sing fast agility patterns (and to sing higher) we need to use a lighter balance that encourages the edges or outer layer of the vocal folds to handle most of the vibration. Then the voice doesn’t get bogged down with too much pressure and the result is better flexibility and range. Often, if the voice can’t move quickly it’s because we’re just singing with too much weight. Finding how the voice can move faster through agility exercises builds the balance of pressure that will allow us to access more of our full range and will gradually develop into greater dynamic control as well.

Move the voice!

Now go practice.