When Thinking about Technique Gets in the Way of Good Singing

The central theme of most of these posts is to discuss vocal technique and how the voice 'works'.  However, there are times when thinking about the mechanics of vocal production actually inhibit good vocal production.  I find this occurs most often with advanced students, who already know and understand the basics but start to 'overfix' little technical issues.  By overdoing the fix, they start to feel tension in other parts of their body and may find it more difficult to sing well.

When this occurs, I use several different teaching tools to increase the student's vocal ability without addressing the actual mechanics of the voice.  The most effective is focusing on the 'acting' or 'emotions' of the piece.  Acting creates another focus for the student and allows their body to 'relax' by not concentrating so hard on their vocal mechanism that the student introduces tension to their voice.  It also has the enormous side benefit of increasing the student's musicality and acting technique, as the most successful singers are often strong, effective actors.

Another teaching tool is the use of imagery, placement, and physical gestures to create a sound.  Many of these teaching tools do not have an actual 'scientific' explanation behind their use, but through years of teaching and my own personal experience as a student, I find are as useful to teaching as knowing the actual mechanics behind strong singing.  Knowing when to use which tool is the job of  a voice teacher. 

DWS