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In voice lessons, it is my primary responsibility to train the singer as a SOLOIST in which each singer has an unique and easily-produced instrument. However, most of my singers also sing in ensembles - chorus for a musical, choirs in high schools, small groups like duets etc... and a question comes up: Do you sing the same in your ensemble as you do as a solo singer?
The overall answer is yes. Many of the exercises to create good diction, pure vowels, musicality, and a stable vibrato carry directly over into your ensemble singing. Voice lessons will make you a much more VALUABLE ensemble singer because you will learn music more quickly, sing more musically, and sing in a much healthier and efficient manner. The only issue that arises from voice lessons is volume; Singers in my voice studio are able to sing with tremendous power, especially on their high notes. While singing loud is a great thing as a soloist, you literally may cover up your ensemble or duet partner. When this happens, we may need to focus on 'sotto voce': in Italian, literally singing "under the voice." We can work on exercises to allow you to sing high with a low volume so you are able to blend with your ensemble. Being able to sing quietly well is actually the sign of an excellent singer because it requires tremendous breath support and control. DWS For many students, removing nasality from their voice is perhaps the most difficult challenge for a singer. In voice lessons, several 'culprits' can be found as a cause for nasality: tongue tension, lowered soft palate, lack of energy, music that is too high etc...
In my experience, however, the single most important way to combat nasality is simply helping the student recognize when they are, in fact, singing with a nasal sound. Because we cannot hear ourselves accurately, students at first need to rely on a voice teacher to help them understand when their tone is too nasal. Over time, the student comes to associate physical and aural sensations with nasal singing, and often can adjust on their own with the appropriate tools and tricks of the trade. Fortunately, I have many different exercises and vocalisms that deal specifically with nasality. I have so many exercises because it used to my weakness as I singer, and I fought for years to reduce the nasality in my tone. In this case, I teach how to sing without nasality well because I had to solve it for my own singing! DWS The first question I get from voice students is often: "What happens in a typical 30 minute lesson?"
The basic answer is that I spend about 15 minutes on warmups and vocal exercises in order to build solid vocal technique, and then spend the rest of the time on a song in order to place that technique in an actual song. The longer, more accurate answer is: Your typical lesson is completely up to you. Your vocal education is yours to own, and your typical lesson depends on the goals you have for yourself. For many students, they want to become better singers, and a lesson plan can be set up for that goal. For others, they may want to become better choral members, audition for musicals, or learn how to sing pop in a healthy and easy way. Each of those cases involves a different vocal plan to help that student achieve their goals. DWS When glancing through your music, you may have seen the term "legato." Singing with legato means to connect all notes as smoothly as possible, with little interruption between vocal registers or consonants.
In many ways, being able to sing legato is the final result of voice lessons and long-term vocal training - the ability to sing any music phrase without interruption in the airflow necessary to sustain pitch. Singing legato addresses all the vocal issues that can come in a voice lesson - breath support and management, articulation, vocal registers and vowel modification. Singing legato is not a simple matter, but once achieved, becomes almost second-nature. DWS In voice lessons, the focus tends to lie in two areas: technique work and learning new music. However, as I have gained experience as a voice teacher, I have grown to appreciate the usefulness of sightreading for all my vocal students, not just for choir singers.
Sightreading is the ability to 'read' a piece of music without the aid of another musical instrument. In choir, sightreading is extremely important. Most choirs get relatively little time to learn a new piece with their ensemble, so being able to quickly learn a piece with little preparation is key. High school singers also must master sightreading because the competitions have a sightreading component to the student's audition. Even if you are not part of a choir, however, sightreading is quite nice to have as a skill. Aside from being able to learn a song quicker, sightreading gives you insight into how music and melody are structured. Sightreading also gives you an option on learning music when you cannot sing due to illness or have no musical instrument to aid your learning. Last, sightreading is seen as a sign of a professional musician, who does not need a recording to learn their music. DWS One of the primary focuses for voice lessons is improving how singers breathe. This seems elementary, but it is actually quite difficult due to the levels of stress and constraints we all feel on a daily basis. I suspect the improvement in breathing is actually why articles in newspapers have found evidence that singing improves our health; not only does singing help emotionally, it also has a physical benefit through releasing stress by proper breathing and posture.
There are a lot of things I can go into about breathing, but here is a quick, easy tip: Do not suck in your stomach when you breathe! This is the exact opposite of what your body naturally does when it takes a deep, relaxing breath. Rather, you should feel your stomach and lower ribs move out in inhalation, and slowly move back in during exhalation. I will discuss this more in my next post. DWS As some of you know, I have been going through a rough time lately with some events in my life. Singing when you are going through an emotional time in your life is perhaps the most difficult exercise in an artist's career. For most of us, we get involved in singing BECAUSE it allows us to release and feel emotions we cannot express in words. But if you have to perform professionally, you have a responsibility to your audience to give a professional performance, regardless of the current circumstances of your life.
I don't pretend to have a fix-all solution to how to sing when you are emotional. I imagine most people cope in different ways in order to remain effective as a singer. However, what helps me is that ultimately is that my singing is a way to help others. People do not pay me to sing because they want me to feel good about myself, but rather to help the audience experience certain emotions - joy, sadness, you name it. I can experience those emotions on my own during practice; but in performance mode, I am all business in trying to help the audience cope or experience joy with their lives. DWS |
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