Singing and posture–see Categories, About, Launch 4-2014

From:  http://themodernvocalist.punbb-hosting.com/viewtopic.php?id=3164

By Nathan…

“So I know we all have our preference when it comes to singing methodology. Some use SLS, CVT, TVS, RYV etc. The problem is that all of these 3 lettered abbreviations we swear by have very differents methods and opinions on, often, the same area. Rarely do you find that they all unanimously agree on any particular thing. I’ve been encountering this problem all over the place whilst at music school. Different teachers, following different methods, will teach different things to the same students, which leaves us all dazed and confused….”

Instead of trying to figure out what the right technique is, start with determining the message you’re trying to deliver to the audience. Ask the question, what’s your singing worth without the audience’s hearing?  It is well known that people hear emotional messaging surprisingly well.

So, instead of trying to create specific tones, start with actualizing your emotional message.   Then, set the emotional in rhythm with the music.  Then make the message melodic (and a little poetic)    These are easier steps, and are difficult as is.   But, actually, you will probably do well, because you’ve had a lifetime of practicing this, as you’ve already expressed emotionally simply growing up, and your vocal apparatus know how to do these.

So, the first step, in my opinion, is to get to know yourself (as above).  (Isn’t it interesting how ancient philosophical ideas are so true?)

The next step, is to get rid of tension, and I believe this is accomplished by straightening body posture.  Tension makes it very difficult to sing properly.  Again, this is a view of “Know Thyself”– that is know by ridding what shouldn’t be with you.

The above two steps may take some time, maybe even a few years– to know yourself isn’t so easy.

After learning these two, it then may be appropriate to learn some methods to enhance.  But ask the question again, if know thyself is true, shouldn’t you be able to know your own produced sounds?   And also, know how these sounds are produced?   That is, If you can hear properly, you’ll be able to adjust your singing accordingly.   (Simple things can be very difficult).

Focus on the simple things first– know thyself, hearing thyself, straighten posture  – singing will naturally follow (isn’t this what Buddhists also says, in a way?)

In summary, sing to the audience an emotional message they’ll understand first, then learn what’s stopping your emotional message from being tonal.

from themodernvocalist.com [quote=ronws]I know this thread has aged a little bit. But I have thought about it some more. I think most any system of training, whether full of technical jargon or hokey imagery can benefit and expand a range and ability, primarily because it is offering some training and method by which to approach singing.
I still get plenty from technical descriptions. To me, knowledge is like a salad bar. Try the julienned carrots, they might be good.[/quote]

Can we learn dancing best by naming the muscles, explaining how ligaments worked, and  analyzing the physics of muscle contractions?  That is, instead of teaching steps and movements and interpretations, dance instructions becomes more anatomical, for example, contract the tibilias posterior slightly, tighten the peroneus brevis, set the rhomboideus major at 30 degrees, would dance teaching be served?

The ridiculous part of singing via SUBTLE anatomy descriptions is evident.   This isn’t to say anatomy descriptions can’t be used– just as in dance, one can say, move the calf half way forward, but the subtle anatomy descriptions such as accelerate the gastrocnemus while lengthening the peronus longus are inane. 

And worse yet, these subtle descriptions are 90% likely to be wrong.  I’ll bet the physics-physiology for even the simplest dance is extremely difficult, as the body is a vertical figure in balance, counter-balance, and doing all kinds of 3D, very complicated supports, contractions, and motions.

If we can’t even understand well the physics-physiology of dance, which we can see and uses the physics of better understood hard motions, what makes one think one can use physics-physiology for singing, which we can’t see and deal with lesser understood physics of soft tissues?

Returning to a topic we had a year ago–the question was, is it possible to hear oneself sing accurately.  If it is possible, singing is much simpler–just interpret-match one’s voice to the music.

The vibrations move to the eardrums through the air vibrations from the mouth, the soft tissues in the vocal apparatus, and the head’s bones.  Most of the prior answers responded said it is possible, but it takes years of practice.  

I had stated that the mind then take these vibrations and interpret in very unusual ways; a process that I call Maya, the Maya in Indian and Buddhist thought.  Maya is illusion (delusion), and as it applies toward singing, I’m suggesting that aural Maya is one’s own mind’s hearing delusion of own voice.   Maya literally creates a different heard sound from what one’s actual singing–filling in missing notes, creating artificial highs, making one believe one sounds like the original recording, and more self-delusions.

How does Maya work?   The mind is powerful, and I can only guess at parts of this.  We can partially derive this from the way great gurus and bodhivisttas of the past tackled Maya.  Through meditation they bypassed Maya’s trickeries to see religious truths.

In meditation, the first step is to straighten one’s spine and align one’s head (sounds a bit Alexander technique?–well, it is).  

I’m suggesting that we can apply the similar spinal alignment treatments to bypass vocal and aural Maya (delusion).  When one spinally aligns, the vocal apparatus detenses and tones itself to sing naturally better.  This is getting rid of vocal Maya.

I’m further suggesting that when the spine and head are properly aligned, the detensing coupled with differing and better sound travel paths (through air, tissues and bones, above) enables one to hear better.   The hearing better will enable one to sing better with the also heard music.

So, I’m suggesting to sing better, one of the easiest things to do is to “hear” and effortlessly create truthfully one’s own sounds–and this is a process called getting rid of aural and vocal Maya.   

Hence, if meditation posture alignment is appropriate to see the “religious truth”, I’m suggesting that posture alignment is appropriate to hearing and vocal emission truths–one’s natural, best tonal voice.   You can read more about methods describing these at www.vocalposture.com, a random blog.

The idea of aural Maya I’m uncertain about–I’m claiming that the head positioning actual makes a difference in the way one hears.  What are your thoughts?

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