Should Singers Read Music?

A few years ago, I thought that was a given; something so basic that it shouldn't even come up in any conversation. Turns out I was mistaken. (On it not needing to come up in conversation, not on reading music.)

I try to be polite. I try to guard my tongue. It doesn't always work.
(Yesterday is for listening while you read on. It will become clear later.) (And by the way, Yesterday is the most recorded song in the world.)

While we were living in Germany, I had quite a few students. One was a young woman who sang in a band. Or wanted to. I was never quite clear on that. She was told by the band that she needed to take voice lessons before they's consider keeping her. So, she came to me.

Now, I don't require all of my students to become fluent in reading music, unless they are serious singers. What makes you a serious singer? Are you auditioning for All-State, college scholarships, Broadway or an opera company? If the answer is "Yes," then you are a serious singer. You need to be fluent in the language of music. If you sing in a church choir, with no real interest in solos, or sing at the nearest karoake bar, then a nodding acquaintance with the language will do. Meaning: I expect you to learn whether the notes are going up or down, how long to hold them out, and to have a pretty good idea of where each note falls in your voice. 

So, back to my young rock-star wanna-be. I tried to explain the importance of this to her. How could she expect to learn the songs for her band if when she looked at a piece of music all she saw were funny little dots and squiggles? One of her guitarists like to compose. She and I were spending a lot of time with me trying to teach her where the notes were.

I explained to her that the staff is like a ladder. When the notes are at the bottom of the ladder, they are lower than the notes at the middle of the ladder. The higher the notes on the ladder, the higher they were in her voice. You can easily learn to gauge how far a jump it is from one note to another by where it is on the ladder in comparison to the last one. Then, it is "simply" a matter of learning where these notes fall in your voice. I put simply in quotation marks, because where these notes are in your voice can change from one day to the next. Factors that can affect this include the weather, how well you slept the night before, what you had for breakfast; anything that affects you will affect your voice.

She resisted every effort I made in this direction. Out of an hour lesson, 10 minutes are devoted to warm-up. Ideally, the student has been practicing properly (See How Long To Practice, my post on proper practicing,) and we can spend most of the remaining 50 minutes on technique and interpretation. That time can fly and often feels like we've barely scratched the surface. 

Lessons for this problem student took a completely different track. Out of an hour lessons, 10 minutes were devoted to warm-up. Normally, I like to let a student song through a song once before interrupting them. Unless it's really a train wreck.  She never sang anything all the way through. I'd have to stop her, not only to correct the same mistakes from the week before, but the new ones she'd managed to acquire. The law of averages would lead one to believe that occasionally a person will sing the correct note, if only by chance. One would be wrong. It seemed that she was just singing notes at random with absolutely no idea of whether the notes were even going up or down.

So, most of the remaining 50 minutes were spent with me pounding out her notes on the piano. And I do mean pounding. I couldn't play anything else - no part of the accompaniment - nothing other than her notes, or it confused her.

Had her attitude been better, I like to think I would not have said what I did. I've had other students with problems with pitch, breathing, stance, focus, artistry, everything. But, usually when people have vocal problems they are aware of at least a few of them. Usually. Why else take lessons? And usually, they are not trying to sing with a band. And usually, they don't yell at me when the band is on the verge of kicking them out because they cannot carry a tune in a bucket. She did.

I suggested that if she would just spend a little time learning to read music, then we could spend more time in each lesson on technique; how to sing. I offered that going on the way we were was just wasting my time and her money.

And then she said it. I can still hear her arrogant tone. "Paul McCartney doesn't read music. And if Paul McCartney doesn't need to read music, neither do I!" 

I stared at her, stunned. She had just put herself at the same level as Paul McCartney, a musical legend, a musical genius, a Beatle, a god. And that did it. The words came tripping out before I even knew what I was saying. "Honey, if you had a fraction of Paul McCartney's talent, that would be fine. As it is, let's sit down and work on reading music."

Odd thing. I never saw her after that. I do hope she kept on singing. In my own past is the music professor who told me I had no talent and should get out of music. In my youth and arrogance, I had a lot of probably inflated ideas of my own worth. I felt that all I needed was for a teacher to have the ears to hear what I could become. Maybe I didn't have the right ears for her. And that does make me sad. 

Should singers read music? YES! I know there are lots of stories of amazing musicians who cannot read music. I always wonder what more they could have accomplished had they also possessed that skill. Even Paul McCartney.

May the Force Be With You

What can Star Wars possibly have to do with singing? Actually, quite a lot. Am I out of my mind? Possibly. Well. . . probably, but bear with me, and hopefully this will all make sense.

One of my favorite things to say to students is: "There is no try, young Jedi, there is only do." Which is a misquote, I know, but it gets the idea across.
What do I mean by this? It's both very simple and very difficult. It means exactly what Yoda was trying to explain to Luke. There are times when trying just won't hack it. You can try all you want, but eventually, you just have to throw yourself into it and DO it. I tell young actors this a lot. If you are worried about looking like an idiot, then you probably will. If you put everything you've got into your role, and go over-the-top, then, yes, people might laugh (in fact, hopefully they will, if you're trying to be funny) but you won't look like an idiot. Sometimes, we need to set our fears aside, and give ourselves completely to whatever it is we're doing. And that includes singing. 

Yoda may not have been speaking directly to singers, but I think the message is clear. You've been trying that new concept in technique, and it's almost there, but somehow you just can't quite break through. Your voice still sounds like it's behind the curtain. Or that high note is still a little strained. Well, it is just possible that you are too busy trying to actually do anything! (See, very simple and amazingly difficult at the same time! Yoda would be proud!)


(Listen to the above sound bite. There will be a test later.) I know that anger is one of the paths to the Dark Side, but as a singer, I think we can use our anger. Sometimes, I find that channeling the anger, and frustration that we often feel into my singing, does give me more power and more raw emotion. This is not always a good thing. Singing a lullaby and channeling anger into it would be wrong. But pouring anger into the final phrases of "Vissi d'arte" as Tosca is asking God why he is allowing these things to happen to her, seems quite appropriate. 

Obi-Wan gave Luke a quick introduction into the ways of the Force, in what I still refer to as "the first movie". I know, I know, it's "The New Hope", but, I'm getting old and set in my ways. (And I don't like to admit that Episode One, whatever it's name is, even exists.)  This was followed up in "The Empire Strikes Back" by a more in-depth explanation by Yoda. What possible bearing can the Force have on singing? Well, way, way back in my second blog: Element 1: Good Posture, I gave an exercise. Reprinted here for the first time! 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. Does any of this sound even vaguely like Yoda's explanation of the Force? Singing should involve your entire body. It should encompass your chi, your core, your soul, however you want to put it. 

Perhaps Chewie said it best: 

You Want Me to Perform, Too?

Why do we do all of the hours, months, years of vocal studies? Do we do it for the sheer fun of the struggle? Because it is a struggle. Everyone has something that is hard for them. It might be breathing properly. It might be standing up straight. It might be raising the soft palate. It might be something as seemingly simple and yet hard to explain as finding the right note. Why do we do it? So that we can sing for other people and they won't run screaming from the room. We do it so we can perform. Don't misunderstand: I think the struggle is fun. I enjoy it. But, if I don't perform, I allow myself to get lazy. There really is a lot of work that goes into this, and without an ultimate reason for it, it is very easy to slack off.

Performing. There is nothing more frightening, or more fulfilling that I can think of. Well, OK, raising children was kind of frightening, and very fulfilling, so besides that. . . OK, yeah, being married to the Nameless Cynic for 24 years can also be frightening and . . . you get the idea. But performing ranks right up there! And performing is more in the moment. Let me try to explain - 

Sometimes when I am singing I realize that the audience and I are both existing strictly in the moment. Nothing else matters but the current note. The past is done and gone. The future will come on its own. Outside events, worries, joys, whatever, are outside and don't matter. The only thing that matters is the note that is currently being sung. It's an amazing feeling. Most of our lives are spent worrying about the future or regretting the past, to let all of that go and exist in the moment is an almost unbearable gift.

But, performing has it's downside, too. Stage fright, jitters, butterflies in the tummy, whatever you want to call it, it can be scary standing up in front of a group of people and singing. I've played in piano recitals, and that's scary. I've played in guitar recitals, and that's scary, too. But singing is in a whole category by itself. When you're playing another instrument, if you mess up, you can lay part of the blame on the instrument. "I'd never played that piano before; the action was too stiff, and it threw me!" "My guitar string broke in the middle of the performance, it almost hit me in the eye!" That kind of thing. When you mess up while singing; it's all you. It's hard to get more personal than singing. And, It's hard to find something scarier than singing in front of a group of people. (OK, maybe bungie jumping off the Empire State Building, but that's another blog.)

How do we do it? There are a lot of ways, tricks, if you will.

1) Know your music. Do not neglect practice time because you think it's not cool, or not professional. It may seem like the pros don't practice all the time, but we do. And we've worked very hard to get to the level where it seems fast and easy. Hours and hours should go into whatever you are singing. The better prepared you are, the less reason you'll have to be nervous.

2) Keep in mind that chances are no one in the audience has your music. If you flub a word here or there or sing a note that isn't quite the right length, no one out there will have a clue. So long as you don't let them know! This means no grimacing, no head shakes, no frowns, nothing to let them know that you sang the wrong word. 

This one backfired on me once, though. I hadn't sung in public for a few years, and was singing in a huge church choir in Sacramento. It was Christmas Eve, I had a solo in the oratorio. There were about 150 people in the choir, plus a 50 piece orchestra. Several of the choir members were lead singers with the Sacramento opera. As an aside, I was 7 months pregnant. (This becomes important later.) I was a nervous wreck. I knew my solo quite well, but, I was still a mess. I tried to tell myself that the congregation didn't have my music, and that was true. But the choir did. And they were the ones I wanted desperately to impress. It ended up being a good thing I was so pregnant, because the only way I could see my music clearly was to balance the folder on my preggo belly. My hands were shaking so badly, I couldn't hold it still! (The solo went just fine, and everyone loved it, but I was asked not to come back until after the baby was born. I was so big they were afraid I'd give birth right there in the choir loft!)

3) If you wear glasses - try singing without them. When I was younger I'd take my glasses off. I could still see my music, and still see the people, but they were fuzzy. It's hard to be scared of people who are fuzzy. This is a variation of the "imagine everyone is sitting in their underwear" ploy. That one never worked for me. It was just too silly and distracting. Nowadays, if you see me performing without my glasses, it's for one of several reasons: they don't fit the character; they're annoying me; or I'd like to see the music. Often I keep them on so I CAN see the audience. It is easier to connect with people when you can see them.

4) Visualize your performance. Don't dwell on the possible negatives, focus your mind on the best performance you can possibly give. This one needs to be done well in advance of the performance itself. Pick a quiet spot and close your eyes. Imagine every aspect of the performance; what the venue is like, how your voice sounds in the space. See the audience smiling, settling in to hear your song. Imagine singing the song, flawlessly. Hear how effortless the top note is, it's clear and ringing. Feel the energy flowing through your body as you sing the final note. There is a moment of silence. No one wants to disturb the shared experience, but then everyone bursts into applause. 

But - also visualize things going wrong, here's the important part - see yourself dealing with it in a positive, creative, and fun way. Don't let the many things that can and do go wrong throw you for a loop. See them simply becoming another aspect of the overall performance.

Not long ago, in a performance of La Traviata, one of the party guests in the first act dropped a glass and it broke. There was now glass all over a part of the stage. My son, Chris, in the role of the butler, calmly went off stage, got a broom and dustpan, and swept up the mess, while the scene continued around him. They could have ignored the glass, but then there was a risk of someone getting cut. Some people in the audience thought that this was a planned part of the action. He didn't let this accident become a problem, he dealt with it in a very practical and creative way.

This type of visualization training is widely used in sports. Many highly successful business people use visualization on a daily basis. Listen to Dr. JoAnn Dahlkoetter talk about sports visualization. 

Now, visualization will not take the place of practicing! The only thing that will take the place of practicing is MORE practicing! But, visualization helps athletes perform at a higher level. Why not use it to help you perform your song at a higher level? Are you getting the idea that singing and sports have a lot in common? Good!

5) Practice the whole performance, not just your song. Just before a performance or audition, I lead my students through what they'll be saying, and doing, even to leaving their seat and walking to the stage area. This is related to visualization, but is more physical. Anything you can do to make this process more familiar is probably a good idea.

6) Breathe! Dr. Dahlkoetter talks about it in the video, too. When you are standing in front of your audience, take a slow, deep breath, and let it settle. Don't hold your breath, just let it rest for a moment. I've talked about this before. It helps to calm you by breaking the cycle of shallow breathing that accompanies nervousness. It tells your body that you are taking control of this automatic function. And, it tells your audience that you have something worth listening to.

7) Smile! Everyone likes to see a smile. It makes us want to smile in return. But a smile can also reduce stress. When we smile the brain releases endorphins, natural pain killers, that help to slow you heart rate and make the tummy butterflies go away.

8) Embrace your fear. "What? Are you crazy?" I can hear you shouting. But, it's true. Stage fright isn't always a bad thing. A little bit of nervousness, a little bit of excitement, that can be what takes a performance to the next level. If you were completely comfortable, you wouldn't necessarily care if you were any good or not. How boring that would be to watch. But, a little fear keeps us all on our toes. 

9) Know that if you do flub up, it's not the end of the world. Ralph Terry, a former major league baseball pitcher, and then professional golfer (See, more sports!) said this: "When you go out on the mound today, kid, just remember one thing. No matter what happens, win or lose, five hundred million Chinese don't care." (Expletive deleted.) Perhaps a tad brutal, but nonetheless true. 

10) And finally, the best cure for stage fright is do get up and do it again, and again, and again. The more you perform, the easier it becomes. With more experience, comes more poise and confidence.

So, to all of my students performing next Sunday - have fun, practice, and breathe!

Huh?

So, Minnich Music is having an open house/recital  on the 19th, (1-4, if you're in the neighborhood) and I foolishly decided to finish/refinish some furniture for this event. (I must be an idiot!) When I began this process, I thought I'd have lots of help. Sigh. My daughter has opted out. My older son is still a Marine in Hawaii. My husband has work from the office that must get finished - I understand that. He gets paid for this work to be done. My younger son, who I thought would be a great help, is still recovering from pneumonia and is of little use. My soon-to-be daughter-in-law is busy working the night shift. So, the score currently stand at: 2 end tables - one sanded, painted - done; one sanded stained and coated with polyurethane - done. One stool - sanded, stained and coated with polyurethane - done. One chair - painstakingly stripped, sanded painted (2 coats), and reupholstered - done. One breakfast nook - table, supports, two benches with backs, one bench without a back, and one corner unit - stripped. Still to be done - breakfast nook, scraping, sanding, staining, and coated with 3 layers of rub-on polyurethane. Tomorrow. We won't even talk about the reupholstering. . . 


I have the beginnings of a blog on performing. But it will have to wait till next week. 


In the meantime; please watch and listen to this video of Placido Domingo, Anna Nebrebko, and Rolando Villazon singing Dein is mein ganzes Herz from Franz Lehar's Das Land des Laechelns (The Land of Smiles). Normally this is a solo, but this was filmed in a trio recital, so they did it as a trio. Why not?

See you next week!