Singing – the Big Picture (Part 1)

I was recently contacted by a young man who won 5 voice lessons with me at a silent auction for a charity I donated my services to.  He will be going away to college in the fall as a theatre major and knows that there will be voice work and some singing and he has no experience (although his father told me he’s got a “good voice”).  So he’s hoping to get a leg up. 

Five lessons.  That’s quite a finite number.  It got me thinking about how I could best explain the basic principles of good singing so that, besides beginning some actual singing training with me, he’ll have some kind of context and understanding to take with him as he enters into his acting training.

For an actor, a good way in may be to explain how singing differs from speech.  I’ve broken it down as follows:

·        In speech we use spontaneous inflections for expression; in singing there are specific, prescribed pitches

·        In speech we can vary our rhythm at will; in singing the rhythm is laid out for us

·        Speech is limited in range; singing needs to encompass a much wider range of pitches

·        Speech is fleeting; singing is extended, stretched out over more time and sounds (mostly vowels) are often sustained.

 It may also be useful to know that the elements of the vocal system have other functions for us as human animals, functions that are more primary than the secondary function of singing. 

·        Our respiratory system obviously keeps us alive by moving oxygen in and CO₂ out 

·        The tongue and muscles in our throat are used for swallowing 

·        The vocal folds themselves are valves sitting atop the windpipe (trachea) that open to allow breathing and close to avoid breathing in food or other unwanted matter.  They also function as a pressure valve for heavy lifting (note the grunting among weight lifters) and defecating. 

It’s useful to understand that some of what singing training is about is overriding some of our natural reflexes with regards to this system.  For example, the swallowing muscles are very powerful and need to be relaxed for optimal singing.  Likewise, the ribcage will naturally want to relax back down and in after inhalation, but in singing we need to resist the collapse of the ribs and the quick exhalation of air.  There are other differences such as opening the mouth more than normal and gaining some awareness of and control over the muscles in the back of the mouth (soft palate).

In my next post, I will talk about the basic principles of good singing.  Feel free to leave any comments.  Thanks for reading!