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Working
with the voice as a
holistic system:
the
Voice Pentagon
Our
voice is our identity. It
is both our deepest, inner self, and a means through which we engage
with
the world and from which others form an impression of us. The ancient
Greeks said that “as men’s life is, so is their
talk” – our
voices seem to echo precisely everything that we are. This is
presumably what prompted
Socrates to say, “Speak, that I may see you,”
and prompted the title of Boone’s book,
‘Is your voice telling on you?’.
Our voice is also an expression of our power. Through our voice, we can
claim our place in the world. The energy and sound of our voices can
have both positive and negative intention and impact, as can our words.
The
voice
and the person are indivisible. As Stengel and Strauch say,
““work on the
voice, whether conscious or subconscious, is always also work on the
self”.
Andrews writes: “No problem exists in a discrete form. Any
problem that
affects the ability to communicate creates social and emotional
difficulties.
Similarly, social and emotional problems can themselves create or
exacerbate
communication disorders.”
Effective development of voice and communication skills therefore needs
to
take account of both the physical dimension of voice (how the body
produces
the sound most efficiently and healthily), and the personal dimension
(the
inner landscape of the person, and their social and relationship
context).
It can be useful to think of voice and communication with a five-part
model
that can be represented by a pentagon.
- First of
all, it is important to realize that although we use the
word ‘voice’
a lot, actually, there is no such thing as a voice. There is no
physical
object we can point to and say, ‘there it is,
that’s my voice’. More
likely, when we talk about someone’s voice, we are referring
to the
acoustic phenomenon, the sound that our listening brains interpret as
voice
and, of course, language. So, the first point on the pentagon is called
VOCAL
SOUND.
If we
want to have any influence on our vocal
sound, we cannot change it directly; we have to look to other points on
the model. Vocal sound
is an acoustic event in the physical world, and is produced through
physical means.
- So, the
next point on the
pentagon is the BODY.
The physical
process can be simplified into three components: the breath
mechanism (which is governed by many muscle systems, and
influenced by posture and how we move and hold ourselves); the
vibrating
mechanism (the vocal cords, the structures that surround them, and
the muscles that act most directly on them); and the ‘sound
shaping’
element (the structures and muscles that influence timbre, resonance,
and articulation, the conversion of the raw sound signal into
words). Our biological inheritance, our genetic make-up plays a role in
the
sounds we can make, but is the least significant element. A great voice
is not so much about the accident of genetic inheritance, but how we
use what we have. An important part of all vocal training happens at
this physical level. There are sound anatomical principles that govern
the healthy and free production of vocal sound. It is useful to be able
to distinguish these sound and logical methods from the mass of
mis-information and incomplete understandings that abound in the voice
training world! Any good voice trainer should be able to describe
exactly and precise detail the physical basis of what is happening,
and why something works. Effective physical technique can also
enhance the delivery of what we want to say or sing.
- Knowing
about the physical
basis of producing vocal sound is not
sufficient in itself to have a free, expressive or interesting voice.
Our
voices can still let us down however good our physical technique is; so
too, we can sometimes regret the words we choose in a given
moment. This is because what we do with our bodies is deeply
influenced by our EMOTIONS.
Without having to consciously plan, our
vocal sound immediately reveals feeling. A person’s facial
expression or
how they are ‘in their bodies’ arises from how they
use their muscles –
this indicates something both about their personality and their current
mood. Our emotional selves, and emotional history, are mapped into
our bodies. To master our voice, we must master our bodies; to
master our bodies fully, we must master our emotions.
- Emotions
clearly have a
physical dimension - they are always felt in
the
body, albeit sometimes subtly. Emotions also always have a cognitive
component. With practice, we can track through our internal process,
and discover that there are THOUGHTS
that are triggering our
emotional states. For example, it is not difficult to recognize which
thought process will serve me better – ‘Will I
speak / sing well in the
next few moments, or will I make a complete fool of myself?’
or
“Whatever happens now, whatever sounds / words I emit,
whatever
responses come from others, none of this has to affect my internal
equilibrium.” As well as affecting our emotions, our thoughts
can also
directly help or hinder the conscious instructions we give to our
bodies
in the physical technique of sound production. How we think about the
situation also governs the words we choose.
- The fifth
point on the pentagon
represents the
‘ground’ from which our
thoughts arise. This is our personal PARADIGM,
which
includes our fundamental view of ourselves, our beliefs about how the
world works
and what our place is within it, and priorities. For example, when I
have a secure sense of self, and can meet with courage, honesty and
compassion those parts of myself that once I might not have wanted
to admit existed, then I am likely to engage with others with
a
much greater open-mindedness, vitality and confidence - and I will be
able to maintain my equilibrium regardless of how others
behave towards me. I need
to have a fundamental trust in the idea that the world is not a hostile
place, or that even if people are out are out to ‘get
me’ (or, for that matter, put me on a pedestal), I can remain
psychologically and emotionally intact. My thoughts will reflect this,
as
will my emotional state. My body is then, relaxed, vibrant and fluent.
My words are likely to be well chosen, positive, and engaging for the
listener, and my vocal energy will be at its best.
We
have taken a journey anti-clockwise around the pentagon, but there
is a
reciprocity between all the different parts of this five-part system.
Physical
processes, such as breathing, relaxation and postural alignment
techniques,
can help change our emotional and mental state. Physical movement, and
deeper breathing triggers endorphins in the body, lifting our emotional
state,
and we find ourselves thinking more positively. Sounds can influence
our
inner life (as shown, for example by music therapy, and the importance
of
music in all our lives). There is a large body of scientific evidence
that shows
how sound (which is a type of vibration) can also directly affect our
bodies.
We can shift our paradigm either by ‘changing our
mind’ or by a spontaneous
internal ‘realignmnent’ arising from the direct
impact of sound. (Have you
ever experienced a complete change in outlook from simply being
receptive
to prolonged sound meditation, or a piece of music?).
The
Voice Pentagon™ illustrates these paths
of influence. All aspects are related to and influence each other. What
this means is that in terms of voice and communication work:
- any feature
in one part of the
self has its parallel features in the other four
- an
intervention in one aspect
can affect, challenge and support movement in the other four areas
- voicework
does not have to be
confined just to ‘voice’ or the body,
so when
we feel stuck in those areas, there are other areas we can usefully
explore and work with; conversely, communication work does not have to
be
confined to ‘thinking’ and talking through issues
- for
voice and communication work to be effective, we need to be attentive
to which of these five aspects is the best ‘entry
point’ for change work at any given moment
- all voice
and communication
work is about coming more into our true selves, and then moving 'out'
again into voice and communication.
The
core principle underlying all the work is that
changes in vocal and communication behaviour imply a systemic change in
behaviour. For all behavioural change to be authentic, consistent and
sustainable (so that we reach 'unconscious competence'), we must be
prepared to be different. In practice, this means becoming more
ourselves, believing in what - and who - we have to offer, and being
willing and able to operate from ever deeper levels of integrity. When
we achieve that, our confidence is at its highest, and we can learn to
master vocal and other skills easily. Such systemic change work takes
time and sustained commitment. Most importantly, we
must be prepared to work on the 'inner game' and personal issues that
inevitably arise in voice and communication work. Working on the
'mechanics' of voice production can provide the scaffolding for this
work, but rarely on its own produces satisfying results. This five-part
model offers an approach that creates significant and lasting change by
working with the whole person - mind, body, emotions, and values.
References
Andrews, Moya
(2002) Voice
treatment for children and adolescents, Singular, USA
Boone, Daniel
(1997) Is
your voice telling on you?, Singular, USA
Stengel,
Ingeburg and Strauch, Theo (2000) Voice and Self: a handbook
of personal voice development therapy, Free Association
Books, London/NY
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