Pedagogic Theory

What is the truth about singing?

Usually, the speaking voice resonates freely because we have studied the spoken voice since infancy. Yet our introduction to singing is not as consistent, and our first attempts may be  accompanied by fear of failure. Gradually, we teach ourselves to inhibit and manipulate our singing voice into something that sounds safe inside our own head. This gives the voice teacher a great deal of work to undo when a student finally shows up in the studio. The bad habits require patient reversal.

So given that you aren’t tone deaf (an over-used term; few people are) or vocally injured, what are the basic tools you will need in order to uncover at least a competent instrument?

The fundamental tool is the breath. 

The breath is the fuel that rushes into your lungs and then passes back over your vocal folds, causing the vibrations that resonate in the cavities of the skull to produce song. Without that fundamental tool, no part of your instrument will function. Unfortunately, most of us have learned to compensate for our lack of breath control with tension in muscles that were never designed to accomplish the task. Learning to sing is a painstaking process then, of disengaging the muscles that should be relaxed, and engaging the muscles that should be working. I cannot emphasize enough that:

1. This does not happen overnight
2. This does not happen without faithful practice, and
3. This requires daily psychological surrender.  

First, this cannot happen overnight, because years of incorrect habits require time to undo. The way we breathe every day is so deeply ingrained that learning to breathe properly for singing is counter-intuitive. Just as proficiency at the piano or violin requires an investment of time and patience, so does the voice.

Second, I am a technical and physical vocal instructor. My goal is to show you, very practically and tangibly, how to perform exercises that will train the right kind of engagement.  So many students apologize to me for needing constant reminders of the basics after only a couple voice lessons. Yet the basics are far easier explained than done! The attitude that expects change to happen overnight is a barrier that keeps a student from progressing. Accepting that the fundamentals of breath can take years to master is literally life and death to the voice. 

Finally, this requires psychological surrender, because the things I ask you to do in the studio will be things you’ve never tried before, and they don’t just involve an inanimate instrument. The instrument we’re working with is YOU! In your lessons and daily practice, you must learn to surrender the inner monologue that counsels you not to take the risk. Put that monologue to death, and infuse life into the one that applauds your every discovery.

If anything within you desires to sing, take those first few lessons. It's possible you'll decide your energy is better spent elsewhere. But make that decision from the vantage point of truth, not misconceptions. The risks we take in order to know the truth are never wasted