"Don't do that!"
So goes the old Burlesque sketch. Why can't curing singing problems be this simple. Just stop doing whatever is getting in the way of your singing freely.
Recently I have been operating the Burtis Hospital for Fractured Voices here at Rood Hill Farm. I have been working with several singers who have been experiencing vocal stress, fatigue, pressure, or discomfort. Or all of the above. They have already tried various changes in their technique to alleviate the problem without much success.How do singers get in this fix in the first place? Usually, gradually, over a period of time, we allow changes to come into what was hopefully a free, energetic technique, without realising this is happening until we 'suddenly' have a problem singing.
This happens especially when singers are not having someone they trust listen to them from time to time. In the learning stages, a young singer should be seeing the teacher on a regular basis. As a professional, the singer should be singing for the teacher as often as the career permits.
What is apt to happen when one is in a busy vocal career, is that, what with rushing from rehearsal to performance to the plane to the train to the rehearsal- well, you get the idea- singers don't have time to think about how they are singing. They just try to push their way through the day, the week, the season, and hope for the best.With a few, this may work. Most singers, professional or amateur, need to give themselves time to slow down occasionally to reflect on what their voice is really doing. If it hurts when you do that- stop doing it.
But we can't just stop singing if this is our life. So we need to find someone to listen to us and watch us sing, who may give us some ideas on how to do it better.
With singers who come to me, I find we must begin with establishing a perfect breathing technique. This involves relaxation, learning how to take the perfect inhalation and how to immediately return the air to focused sound. I have written four books on this subject. I'm sure my students are tired of hearing me harp on breathing.
Until they get into vocal trouble. Then I come back to haunt them!
The two singers I have worked with this week, a tenor and a soprano, were both spending a lot of energy fighting their voice. With each of them I started with breathing, posture, relaxation, and phonation. All of this happens in one step if you inhale with the 'aw' breath and immediately return it in sound. This is so simple it actually works. Both of them at the end of the session were singing more easily and making beautiful sounds.
We have to stop listening to what we sound like and discover what we feel like when we sing. Feel first, then listen. It works every time. Get out of the way of your voice!
