The ‘3 + 1’ Map of Singing- Pt 1 describes how Breathing management, Vibrating source (vocal folds), the Resonating system, and Inner Life (thinking and feeling) all play a role in singing. It is not uncommon for uninitiated singers to think (mistakenly) that singing is somehow a linear process. In a linear model of singing, […]
The ‘3+1’ Map of Singing – Pt 2 (interactive model) Read More »
Everyday breathing in Everyday breathing out Singers breathing in Singers breathing out Breathing for singing is an extremely important topic, and there are many subtleties to learn about it. So we are going to work on it step by step. However, once we have worked through the various ideas, I hope that it will have
Breathing for singers is different from normal breathing (Breathing 1) 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 »
All models (or maps) are wrong The statistician George Box once said that “All models are wrong, but some are useful.” There is more than one way to talking about singing, and how the voice works. Some models are definitely confusing or misleading, or stray wildly from what we know scientifically about the physiology of
The ‘3 + 1’ Map of Singing – Pt 1 Read More »
The ‘3 + 1’ Map is a broad overview, and fits onto the Alphabet Map that starts to drill down into more detail. Our use of language can subliminally and powerfully affect how our students think about singing. It is worth noting that six of the nine points below are expressed as verbs. This is
The Alphabet Map (‘A to J’) Read More »
In the ‘transmission model’ of teaching, the teacher transfers a body of information to a relatively passive receiver, the student. While there is some information on singing that can be conveyed this way, the student needs to embody the knowledge in how they think, feel, and inhabit their own skin and muscle. Learning to sing
The Learning Map (7 points) Read More »
As students learn, they consciously or subconsciously try to fit each teaching point coherently into a bigger picture – developing their own ‘cognitive map’ of how singing works. But do we as teachers have a coherent map? Can we articulate it? Is it useful to our students if we do so? In an AOTOS article
Models and Maps for Singing Read More »
or … How can we help students become independent of teachers? (First published in ‘Singing’ – the Journal of The Association of Teachers of Singing (UK), Spring 2011) What exactly is a warm-up, and who should be in charge? Students often ask for ‘warm-up tips’ or what might be called a ‘recipe’ for warming up. They
The perils of warming up 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 »
