Curing vocal ills

Recently I was asked to evaluate the voice of a woman who was complaining of serious vocal problems in her singing. Somehow or other, I have earned a reputation as a 'Vocal Doctor Fixit'. Admittedly, I have had some success in helping singers with vocal problems find a more comfortable, freer way to sing. But I can't pass my hand over someone's throat and turn then into Montserrat Caballe, as much as I might like to. Anyone coming to me for a 'fix' needs to realise this: rebuilding a technique that has developed unfortunate ways of working, is a long-time commitment.

This singer brought a song to sing for me that she was familiar with, as I had asked her to do. After we spoke for a few minutes I asked her to sing it. This is the way I always begin a lesson with a new student. I want them to tell me, by singing, what is wrong with the voice. There is no point in beginning by vocalizing with them until you know what needs fixing and which vocalise would be the most helpful to start.

She was completely correct. Her voice was indeed in a lot of trouble. She sang a fairly simple song for me that stayed pretty much in the middle octave. I could hear that at one time, there had probably been a very nice voice there, but the overlay of years of rash singing, developing bad habits, without getting help had taken its toll. She told me that she had been a high soprano years ago, singing roles like Monica in The Medium and Lucy in The Telephone. These are lyric-coloratura roles and require a wide vocal range. Well, that was then and this is now. Her low register was fairly free and sounded good. But once the voice rose above middle C, it ran into problems. Not only was the passaggio closed off, but everything above it was cloudy and labored. This is not the range of a lyric coloratura, needless to say!

At first I thought that she was taking a fairly low breath, but when we did our first breathing exercise, it was obvious that she hadn't been doing that since she hyperventilated. This often happens when one has not been used to taking deep, singing breaths, but breathes in a shallow manner. Once one takes a few really deep breaths that go down to the bottom of the belly, after having used shallow breathing heretofore, when that new quantity of oxygen hits the bloodstream and the brain, it's like a free high!

With the 'fainting spell' out of the way, we proceeded to the first breathing exercise. To begin with, I always ask the singer to listen to the sound the air makes on its way down the throat. It should sound like 'ah' or 'aw', never [I] as in 'it'. That open sound on inhalation means that you are allowing the larynx to drop naturally to its relaxed position. If you place your hand lightly on either side of the larynx and take this kind of breath, you will feel the larynx drop slightly. If you do the same thing with the [I] breath, you will feel the larynx rise and tense. This seems to be such a simple way to begin to sing that I often wonder why more people don't do it! I have also found that it is impossible to take a high breath when you hear the 'aw' sound upon inhalation. You just can't avoid taking a deep, singing breath. This is the only breath I allow for singing. A deep, through the mouth breath. Nose breaths are handy for relaxation-keep-the-air-moving-moments when you are between singing phrases. I always encourage a singer to keep a steady movement of air in and out of the body throughout any piece of music. This way you will never allow yourself to become vocally tense.

The first exercise we did can be found in Sing On! Sing On! (Sorry to keep plugging my book, but what's a Blog for?? And it's only $15.00 or so and it has a lot of information a singer could use. End of commercial!). The singer takes the 'aw' breath we just discussed and immediately blows out all the air that went in. There is to be no hesitation between the inhalation and the exhalation. I had a teacher years ago who had us take the breath, hold it for a second, and then sing. What happens when we do this is that the vocal cords will close and the epiglottis will close. You will need to produce a 'glottal attack', as it is called. (I hate that word 'attack' when applied to singing!) This is the body's way of protecting us from drowning or choking.

Baby's are born with a high position of the larynx, which permits them to nurse and breathe simultaneously without choking. As the child matures, the larynx gradually drops and that is when speech usually begins at around eighteen months. Our cousins, the apes, start with a high larynx and it just stays high. No talking from them (so far!).

Here is the exercise: 1) Inhale on 'aw' and immediately blow out all your air in a whoosh on one beat. 2) Inhale on 'aw' and blow out all your air over two beats. 3) Then do the same on three, four, five, six beats. If you are blowing enough air out, that's about as far as you will get in the count.

The next exercise we did, which is also in my book, is one I learned has been used by Montserrat Caballé. Talk about someone who knows how to use her singing breath! In this exercise, the singer takes the same deep breath, and closing the lips lightly, allows a tiny crack to appear somewhere along the lip line. You then allow the air to ESCAPE. Do not push the air out. It will take a second for your lips to open a tiny crack and let the air begin to escape. I liken this release of air to sticking a pin in a tire and producing a very slow leak. At first it will feel as though you are doing nothing whatsoever. Then, watching the second hand of your watch, count the seconds until you are out of air. You will feel the abdominal muscles gradually begin to come in. Do not pull on them. This singer went to 45 seconds on the first try, so there is hope that she can convert to this kind of breathing pattern without too much trouble.

We then worked on focus exercises, keep-the-tip-of-the -tongue-on-the-back-of-the-lower-teeth exercises, and general relaxation exercises.

By the end of the hour the singer was feeling more comfortable and her voice was working and sounding a little better. It was still slightly cloudy above the passaggio, but the sound was a bit clearer and she said she felt she was singing with more ease. But it was no Dr. Fixit miracle. You need Doctor Dulcamara from L'Elisir d'Amore to get one of those.

I impressed on the singer that there is no quick fix to vocal problems. It requires dedicated time spent correcting the bad habits and replacing them with good habits. Everyone needs a garbage pail where he or she can throw away their bad habits.

A fine clarinetist I used to perform with, Roy Gussman, in our practice sessions would, from time to time, bat his hand to one side with vigor. I finally got up the nerve to say 'Roy, what on earth are you doing?' He answered 'Those are the bad notes I'm getting rid of!'.

Whatever works!