Last week I had the pleasure of teaching an acting workshop for a group of 25 18-22 year olds and it was truly inspiring.
When you are an aspiring actor/artist it seems like you have a thousand questions with no answers, and the chaos of dealing with that uncertainty takes heaps and heaps of courage.
I salute you for daring to show up with all that you are - it makes me think of this great quote and let that be the blog this week as an after thought of what happens to you after you have reconnected with yourself.
Our Greatest Fear by Marianne Williamson:
it is our light not our darkness that most frightens us
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of
God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.
—Marianne Williamson
The Philosophy of Voice Training.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Why Voice #6 - other misconceptions...
These are the 5 most common misconceptions about singing that I meet while teaching or just discussing it with my fellow man
1. It's not a learned skill.
You would maybe be surprised at the amount of people who, when I say I am a voice teacher say; "oh, really, I can't sing, but I wish, I could". I don't know if piano teachers and guitar teachers or flute teachers hear the same thing, but I image they might hear something more along the lines of "oh, really, I once tried to learn, but I never practiced so I am not very good at it". I don't know why people don't think of singing as a learned skill just like leaning how to play any other instrument - but it is! If you practice and get guidance from a qualified teacher you get better just like most things in life.
2. If I just had more air I would sing better.
Well, this is a tricky one because it could be true if you are a very experienced singer and wanted to sing more Wagner (but then you probably would not make that statement:-) For the general beginner this is not true. Breath training unless you are training for a specific genre is not about capacity, but about management, more capacity - requires better management, so when you just start learning about breath and how it works with the voice, it is more about learning how to manage the air you have than increasing the amount. Sort of like having a budget account at the bank, its not about making more money, but about living within your means :-)
3. I need to learn how to sing from/with my diaphragm
This always makes me smile, because that is one of those things people say and have no idea what they are taking about. Of all the things you try to control while singing your diaphragm is not one of them, it is controlled by the involuntary nervous-system and mostly the training of it consists of learning how to leave it alone and not get in its way. There are other muscle groups in your torso that you can train however - to help create a steady breath flow to support voice use of all kinds, but the diaphragm is not one of them.
4. If I was a better singer I would be famous.
With the danger of making myself unemployed by saying this - it doesn't work that way! There are thousands and thousands of absolutely GREAT singers in the world who are NOT famous and maybe not even making a living using their voice at all, so I think it is safe to say that becoming famous is not a matter of skill. First thing that is off in that sentence is BETTER - what does that mean and who decides that? The people on the panel in X-factor? Well, I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to. The only thing I do know is that you should become a "better" singer in your own opinion first - because YOU want to, and LOVE doing it. When YOU think you are "good enough" start pursuing a career - only if you can live with an artists lifestyle and all it's insecurities - then cross your fingers to win the lottery and become famous. Having a higher skill level is maybe the equivalent of actually buying a lottery ticket:-)
5. I don't have a good voice
Again, who decides that? Compared to what? Do you think that is why Tom Waits sings? Does people really care about "good" or is it about something else entirely and are you missing the point when you say you don't have a good voice? I am currently reading "The World in Six Songs: How The Musical Brain Created Human Nature" by Daniel J. Levitin and he talks about how humans are the only species on the planet that creates art, and how music specifically is an art form that combines both absolute and relational processing in our brain, meaning we both hear the absolute pitch and its relationship to other pitches at the same time. To our knowledge no other species on the planet can do this. We as in the human rase can't stop making art, of all forms, because we have used our ability to think in both absolute and relational ways to survive as a species. I want to recommend this book as a way of answering why it doesn't matter whether you have a "good" voice or not - but rather that you have one and are willing to use it!
1. It's not a learned skill.
You would maybe be surprised at the amount of people who, when I say I am a voice teacher say; "oh, really, I can't sing, but I wish, I could". I don't know if piano teachers and guitar teachers or flute teachers hear the same thing, but I image they might hear something more along the lines of "oh, really, I once tried to learn, but I never practiced so I am not very good at it". I don't know why people don't think of singing as a learned skill just like leaning how to play any other instrument - but it is! If you practice and get guidance from a qualified teacher you get better just like most things in life.
2. If I just had more air I would sing better.
Well, this is a tricky one because it could be true if you are a very experienced singer and wanted to sing more Wagner (but then you probably would not make that statement:-) For the general beginner this is not true. Breath training unless you are training for a specific genre is not about capacity, but about management, more capacity - requires better management, so when you just start learning about breath and how it works with the voice, it is more about learning how to manage the air you have than increasing the amount. Sort of like having a budget account at the bank, its not about making more money, but about living within your means :-)
3. I need to learn how to sing from/with my diaphragm
This always makes me smile, because that is one of those things people say and have no idea what they are taking about. Of all the things you try to control while singing your diaphragm is not one of them, it is controlled by the involuntary nervous-system and mostly the training of it consists of learning how to leave it alone and not get in its way. There are other muscle groups in your torso that you can train however - to help create a steady breath flow to support voice use of all kinds, but the diaphragm is not one of them.
4. If I was a better singer I would be famous.
With the danger of making myself unemployed by saying this - it doesn't work that way! There are thousands and thousands of absolutely GREAT singers in the world who are NOT famous and maybe not even making a living using their voice at all, so I think it is safe to say that becoming famous is not a matter of skill. First thing that is off in that sentence is BETTER - what does that mean and who decides that? The people on the panel in X-factor? Well, I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to. The only thing I do know is that you should become a "better" singer in your own opinion first - because YOU want to, and LOVE doing it. When YOU think you are "good enough" start pursuing a career - only if you can live with an artists lifestyle and all it's insecurities - then cross your fingers to win the lottery and become famous. Having a higher skill level is maybe the equivalent of actually buying a lottery ticket:-)
5. I don't have a good voice
Again, who decides that? Compared to what? Do you think that is why Tom Waits sings? Does people really care about "good" or is it about something else entirely and are you missing the point when you say you don't have a good voice? I am currently reading "The World in Six Songs: How The Musical Brain Created Human Nature" by Daniel J. Levitin and he talks about how humans are the only species on the planet that creates art, and how music specifically is an art form that combines both absolute and relational processing in our brain, meaning we both hear the absolute pitch and its relationship to other pitches at the same time. To our knowledge no other species on the planet can do this. We as in the human rase can't stop making art, of all forms, because we have used our ability to think in both absolute and relational ways to survive as a species. I want to recommend this book as a way of answering why it doesn't matter whether you have a "good" voice or not - but rather that you have one and are willing to use it!
Friday, March 8, 2013
Why Voice #5 - The world of acoustics.....
Okay, I admit it! I have a new obsession - sometimes I almost feel sorry for my students who are submitted to these things - you probably already guessed it - acoustics!!!! My physics teacher back at Morso Gymnasium, Denmark will be thinking he did something right in having me drill all those silly rules for how sound travels, but they're sure coming in handy now.
In singing we talk a lot about vowels and their placement for optimal resonance - or maybe just a desired resonance. In speech and accent reduction we also talk a lot about vowels and their placement simply to fit the criteria of whatever accent we are trying to convey.
I often run into the belief, one that I actually think most people have, that you just have one "sound" to your language or your voice and then all you can do is make the best of it. That is however, pretty far from the truth, and I will make the rather farfetched assumption; that if you can imagine that your voice can sound differently - you can make it sound differently. The thing is that language and vowels in reality are nothing but the same acoustic phenomenons that are simple enough, that really we can all make them, if we can make the needed changes to our vocal tract (imagine if we couldn't - language would not exist) also remember that we are born into this world without a language, or if you like with the potential to speak any language. What makes changing the patterns of your vocal tract difficult is usually - habit. Change is hard (I seem to mention this a lot in this blog) especially if you don't really think it is possible, but here is the great thing about it. IF you can imagine that change, you can train your muscles, jaw, tongue etc that make up the individual parts of the vocal tract, and you can sound just the way you like by following some pretty simple acoustic rules - and some persistent training of course:-)
I make it sound very easy don't I? - my students hate me for this too:-) but the thing is, we like to think singing is something just for the selected few who have a "nice" voice - and granted you can't change the size of your scull and the other parts of your instrument which consists of flesh and bone, but when that is said you have an unlimited amount of options for how you want to "sound".
So why is it not as simply as I like to make it sound (no pun intended) Because we use our voice to be unique, to stand out AND to feel like we are a part of something (hence the invention of language if you are not a Biblical fanatic and think it all happened in Babel way back when:-)
The voice is a HUGE part of how we see ourselves and how we want others to perceive us and language as a result is a big part of who we are. I think, we can all agree on; that it is a difficult thing when people start messing with our individuality one that we have carefully selected (probably unconsciously) through years of conditioning, cultivation, trial and error.
Why bother then one might ask? Well, why not, isn't it nice to be understood? To express who you are? Are you maybe not understood because your acoustics are a mess and you think your sending all these signals about who you are, when in reality they are being perceived differently by others?
In any case it doesn't matter why we bother. I salute anyone who looks change in the eye and goes for it in pursuit of a better life, a happier existence and a better world.
PS. The acoustic obsession will probably pass, so dear students don't worry:-)
One extra bonus I got from my little obsession is that I remembered how much I used to LOVE this voice and try to make my own voice sound like this one, because I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard - glad to remember forgotten passions:-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKZa6hNFouw
This is from the memorial ceremony in Norway for the victims of Anders Behring Breivik - July 22nd, 2011
In singing we talk a lot about vowels and their placement for optimal resonance - or maybe just a desired resonance. In speech and accent reduction we also talk a lot about vowels and their placement simply to fit the criteria of whatever accent we are trying to convey.
I often run into the belief, one that I actually think most people have, that you just have one "sound" to your language or your voice and then all you can do is make the best of it. That is however, pretty far from the truth, and I will make the rather farfetched assumption; that if you can imagine that your voice can sound differently - you can make it sound differently. The thing is that language and vowels in reality are nothing but the same acoustic phenomenons that are simple enough, that really we can all make them, if we can make the needed changes to our vocal tract (imagine if we couldn't - language would not exist) also remember that we are born into this world without a language, or if you like with the potential to speak any language. What makes changing the patterns of your vocal tract difficult is usually - habit. Change is hard (I seem to mention this a lot in this blog) especially if you don't really think it is possible, but here is the great thing about it. IF you can imagine that change, you can train your muscles, jaw, tongue etc that make up the individual parts of the vocal tract, and you can sound just the way you like by following some pretty simple acoustic rules - and some persistent training of course:-)
I make it sound very easy don't I? - my students hate me for this too:-) but the thing is, we like to think singing is something just for the selected few who have a "nice" voice - and granted you can't change the size of your scull and the other parts of your instrument which consists of flesh and bone, but when that is said you have an unlimited amount of options for how you want to "sound".
So why is it not as simply as I like to make it sound (no pun intended) Because we use our voice to be unique, to stand out AND to feel like we are a part of something (hence the invention of language if you are not a Biblical fanatic and think it all happened in Babel way back when:-)
The voice is a HUGE part of how we see ourselves and how we want others to perceive us and language as a result is a big part of who we are. I think, we can all agree on; that it is a difficult thing when people start messing with our individuality one that we have carefully selected (probably unconsciously) through years of conditioning, cultivation, trial and error.
Why bother then one might ask? Well, why not, isn't it nice to be understood? To express who you are? Are you maybe not understood because your acoustics are a mess and you think your sending all these signals about who you are, when in reality they are being perceived differently by others?
In any case it doesn't matter why we bother. I salute anyone who looks change in the eye and goes for it in pursuit of a better life, a happier existence and a better world.
PS. The acoustic obsession will probably pass, so dear students don't worry:-)
One extra bonus I got from my little obsession is that I remembered how much I used to LOVE this voice and try to make my own voice sound like this one, because I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard - glad to remember forgotten passions:-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKZa6hNFouw
This is from the memorial ceremony in Norway for the victims of Anders Behring Breivik - July 22nd, 2011
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