Element 2: Relaxation of the Vocal Mechanism

"So," I can hear you ask, "just what does that mean?" Simply put, it means - relax your throat. But there is a lot more to it than that. Of course, you knew that, didn't you? If it was so simple, I wouldn't need to write about it and many voice teachers would go out of business. In fact, just like "Good Posture", it's harder than it looks.

Let me give you an analogy. When you play a piano, is the piano actually doing anything? Where is the work happening? The work is in the fingers of the person playing the instrument. Your larynx (voice box) is really doing very little. The bulk of the work is in other parts of your anatomy. (But that's for another show.)

Which brings me to the first point: Good Posture. Quick review (although there's nothing stopping you from going to last week's blog. I'll wait.)

(Oh, you're back, that was fast.) Good posture means standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, bottom tucked under, head straight with your chin slightly tucked under, and your ribcage lifted. (Pay attention: this is in the test.)

Going down the list, that brings us to: Throat and neck relaxed. Have you ever seen someone singing, and you could see the muscles in their neck are standing out like steel cables? Whenever I see someone like that, I gives me a sore throat. Because it's completely wrong!

If you look at her throat, you can see the muscles standing out. (Yes, I know this is Diana Ross, and I know that she is world-famous. I love her. That doesn't mean she does everything right. Very few of us do.)Think back to the piano analogy. If the instrument is doing the work, in this case the throat, then something is wrong with the technique.

This brings us to: Jaw loose (submissive look). Herr Weinsinger also called this the "village idiot look." Think "Duh," something any village idiot could say.

I have a friend (I have more than one, but he's the only one in this story) who was told by his teacher to imagine that he was holding a wine cork between his teeth. Kind of like this, if the child had any teeth (I love this picture!)

Once he was used to this, he was then told to practice holding the wine cork between his teeth the other way, up-and-down, shall we say. All in an effort to relax and loosen up the jaw.

Now, I am aware that there exists TMJ, which I thought stood for Tight Mouth and Jaw. Turns out that it stands for: Temporomandibular joint disorder, which, roughly translated, means you have a tight jaw. There's a lot more to it than that (and I should know, because I have it), so let's take a break while I read up on it at Wikipedia.

(OK, break over. Where was I? Right, relaxing the jaw!)

Most people think their jaw is relaxed and that they are opening wide. Most of us are so self-conscious that when we think our jaw is gaping wide, it's barely open. (Possibly one of the most difficult lessons to learn in vocal training is how to get over yourself. Don't feel bad, I had the same problem.) Just look at the maw on this woman! This is what I mean by opening your mouth wide. This is wonderful!

(And, yes, I know that I have used Diana Ross as a good and a bad example in the same blog. Voice training is just that complicated.)

Now we get to the really complicated part: Back of Throat (soft palate) lifted as in a yawn. First we need to establish just what the soft palate is. If you lift your tongue to the back of your teeth, and slide it just a little ways back, you can feel the hard palate. If you continue to slide your tongue along the roof of your mouth, until you feel the roof go soft: you will have found your soft palate.

In order for the voice to gain in range and volume, and to acquire the ringing tone that is so desirable to Western ears, the soft palate must be raised. But how to we do that? I can tell it to raise up all I want, but it just doesn't listen to me.

Well, we have to trick it. (We'll be doing a lot of tricking our bodies to do things in the coming weeks.) And we trick it by yawning. Give it a try right now. (It's not that you find this blog boring; I won't get my feelings hurt.) Pay attention to what is going on at the back of your throat as you yawn. Can you feel the soft palate raise up? If you exercise your soft palate by yawning with your mouth closed, you'll soon be able to raise the soft palate without yawning. This is an exercise that you can do waiting in line at the grocery, or while your watching TV, pretty much anytime. I know it sounds silly, but it really is essential to good singing.

Are you starting to get the idea that there's a lot more to singing than you'd ever thought? It really is far more complicated than most people imagine. But, when it all starts to come together and become automatic, it is the most glorious feeling in the world. And, yes, with enough practice, all of this and much more, becomes so automatic that you can actually begin to think about the music and not the mechanics of singing.

Next week: Proper Breathing

Element 1: Good Posture

The first of the 5 Basic Elements is "Good Posture." Good posture is also the first sub-point of the next 2 elements. That should give you a clue as to just how important it is. But, this can be a little tricky. I studied mime in college, (I'm sorry. Don't hate me! I don't do street mime anymore, if that helps!) and good posture for a mime involves leaning forward too much for singing. Good posture for a soldier puts the shoulders way too far back.


Here are the steps for a singer:


A. Feet shoulder-width apart - its important to feel like you're grounded. You don't want to feel like you're about to collapse into a blob on the floor. 

B. Bottom tucked under - this is the same as tucking your pelvis. We want the back as straight and flat as possible. The pelvis tuck is just a pivot. The easiest way to accomplish this is to squeeze the gluteus maximus (butt cheeks) together. I found this picture. I hope it helps.

This actually takes it a bit too far in the other direction, but I hope you get the idea.

C. Rib cage lifted - once again, a pivot. Imagine there is a string attached to the bottom of your sternum (breast-bone) and someone is gently pulling it up. This will be a very small motion.

These three steps are designed to create as much space as possible in the torso. This will become important when we discuss Proper Breathing and supporting the tone. (The second is not one of the 5 Basic Elements - it'll come later)

D. Chin slightly tucked under (no goose-neck!) Goose necking does not involve a goose at all, but is the tendency to hold your chin up and out, in the belief that this will open up the back of the throat. It does the opposite. If the chin is just slightly tucked downwards, it will open up the back of the throat, which will be very important when we get to Relaxation of the Vocal Mechanism. 


This all may sound pretty easy, but nobody stands like this. Often, it's easier for female singers to practice in flat shoes. I remember going to voice lessons wearing heels, and kicking them off to sing barefoot.


Sometimes how we think is almost as important as what we do in singing. So, here's an exercise for you. Close your eyes. (No, wait! Read through this first and then try it. Whew! Almost lost you, there!)


Stand in the proper position and close your eyes. Imagine that there are roots growing out the soles of your feet. (We are leaving science far, far behind. Try not to let that bother you.) These roots reach through the floor and into the warm soil. (No, I don't care that there's snow on the ground! We are leaving reality behind, too.) These roots go all the way to the center of the earth, where, for our purpose, there is a huge pocket of warm air. The air comes back up to you through the roots. Your body is now supported by this column of warm air. It fills you. Standing is now effortless, and there is more than enough air to support the longest phrases. (But this is beginning to run over into Proper Breathing!)


I know this exercise sounds stupid, but it has some practical benefits. I was singing on stage in Germany. My aria (Aria is Italian for "Air" and in this case means a song from an opera.) For those of you who may not know me very well, I'm 5'5", and at the time I weighed about 150 lbs. There was a bass (male singer with a very deep voice - not a fish) crossing behind me. At least, he was supposed to cross behind me. He caught his foot on something and fell. On me. 


You need to understand something here: this was not a small man. He was about 6'8", and weighed in excess of 500 lbs. All of that mass landed squarely on my right shoulder. I think I will always remember the look of sheer terror on that man's face when he realized he was going to land on me. I'm sure he had visions of squashed soprano! 


Fortunately for us both, I was singing at the time. I was rooted not just to the floor, but to the center of the earth. I won't lie and say I didn't notice, because I did notice (adrenaline may have had a share in holding me up, too). But I did hold us both up and completed my aria without a problem. That's what your mind can do for you!


I'm not saying that you cannot move while you're singing. Of course you can, you just have to learn how to make those roots move with you. (That's advanced root-training.) 


(I'm kidding - there is no advanced root-training - yet.)


Next time: Relaxation of the Vocal Mechanism

The 5 Basic Elements of Singing

I've been studying voice for most of my life. And, while that is quite a while, unlike what the Wookiee (my younger son) says, I was not around at the same time as the dinosaurs. (I was around long before them!) That does, in truth, mean that I have been singing for almost 50 years; and working on improving my voice for most of that time.


My first choir experience began at the age of 3. It was a choir at church, but you had to audition to get into it. (Who makes a 3 year old audition!?!?) I got in. I got into just about every choir I ever auditioned for. I got most roles that I auditioned for. That doesn't mean that I was always any good, that just means that I managed to convince people that I was, or that I was better than the other aspirants. In fact, my older brother used to leave the house when I was practicing: in his words, I "sucked."


So, through the years, I've had quite a few voice teachers. Some good, some great, and a few who were REALLY HORRIBLE. But, they all contributed to bringing me here, and ultimately, they all made me a better teacher (if only as an example of what NOT to do).


This is about one of the great teachers, from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Kurt Weinsinger. I called him Herr Weinsinger (Herr being German for "mister"). And Herr Weinsinger was from Austria, a charming, short man, with salt & pepper hair, a full beard, and sparkling eyes. He often wore gold, half-rimmed reading glasses; I felt like I was getting vocal instruction from Santa Claus. Unlike the other teachers at the school at the time, Herr Weinsinger did not have his doctorate, only a Master's degree. But, his training was from a music conservatory in Italy, and he better trained than the rest. He was also a fabulous teacher. 


Studying vocal technique is tricky. Every other music student can see their instrument. We cannot take ours out and examine it. In order to sing properly, we have to learn how to control an automatic bodily process: breathing. So much of singing is bound up in how you think. It can really be a challenge. 


Herr Weinsinger had an outline that breaks down the process of singing into an understandable, objective set of fundamentals, that just about anybody can achieve. So, here, for posterity:

Five Basic Elements of Singing

1. Good Posture

A. Feet shoulder width apart
B. Bottom tucked under - back straight
C. Ribcage lifted
D. Chin tucked slightly under (no goose-neck!)

2. Relaxation of the Vocal Mechanism

A. Good posture
B. Throat and neck relaxed
C. Jaw loose (submissive look)
D. Back of throat (soft palate) lifted as in a yawn

3. Proper Breathing

A. Good posture
B. Take small breaths, down low, expanding the lower ribs in a barrel-like fashion. (This is breathing from the diaphragm)
C. Settle the breath before singing
D. Breaths should not be great gasps for air, but controlled intake as well as controlled outflow

4. Proper Focus

A. Tone well in the facial masque, or sinus cavities. This is also known as putting a spin in the voice.
B. On high notes, the focus becomes tighter, as is put right on the bridge of the nose

5. Good Mental Concept

A. "Hear" the note before it is sung. If you cannot "hear" what you want the note to sound like, it is very difficult for you to make it sound that way

Next time: I'll start with the first element, and try to explain each point in more detail