After a performance, we may go through a whole range of feelings. We need to allow those to subside before we do any serious evaluation of our performance. We should assume that we will experience one or all of … Elation Depression Apathy Disorientation Aggression or irritability (towards ourselves or others) … over the next […]
Taking a step back after a performance Read More »
My singing students are well acquainted with my teaching model for singing lessons, and this summary is a reminder for them of the core concepts. It serves as a draft outline of a book I would like to write about what I have learned and teach about singing. I don’t know whether the book will ever
A to J model of singing Read More »
1. ALIGNING In the ‘3 + 1’ map I set out how all vocal technique has to be relevant to the Breathing system, Vibrating source, Resonating system, or inner life of the singer. The one aspect that affects all of these is how we ALIGN ourselves. ‘Processes’, not ‘positions’ Some singers and teachers talk about this in terms of
Aligning and Awareness Read More »
Listening to one’s own voice as a singer is bound to distort healthy voice production. Adrian Fourcin has explained why in an excellent chapter called ‘Hearing and Singing’ in Janice Chapman’s 2006 book, Singing and Teaching Singing: A Holistic Approach to Classical Voice. First, sound is directional, which means that the sound is less intense
Singers shouldn’t listen to themselves Read More »
Whether learning, singing or performing, we function better when our minds are not distracted by anxiety, and when we can feel completely present physically, mentally and emotionally. The following exercise can help us achieve and sustain equanimity.
A post-performance evaluation exercise It has been said that there is no such thing as failure, or a mistake, just opportunities for learning. This is a method for how to learn from a past event that you have been involved in – perhaps leading a project, giving a presentation, taking part in a meeting, having
Learning from our performances Read More »
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.
The voice as a holistic system: the Voice Pentagon Read More »
Outlining a technique that helps explore the unconscious purposes of vocal behaviours. Therapists can train to use this technique, and voice practitioners can extend their intervention skills with clients who seem ‘stuck’ and apparently resistant to the more ‘mechanical’ remedial work undertaken in the voice professions. [A version of this article was originally presented at the May 2002 AGM
The Vocal Mirror: a tool for change Read More »
