I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing

For the person who's "always wanted to sing"

The Power of Vulnerability–Video Share

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There are so many topics I’d like to write about here that I really struggled with what I should post first after my summer hiatus this year– until a friend and fellow teacher shared this Ted Talk video on Facebook.

I find that I personally learn a lot more about singing from sources not aimed at singers–and I think you’ll see what I mean after viewing this video.  Watch it, keeping in mind those things that keep you from being the singer you wish to be.  Brene Brown gives us a unique overview of all the core elements that keep us from living the life we’d choose–and of course these very same things hold us back from our potential as singers.  I found myself laughing out loud several times and by the end of the talk, was so moved–that I came right here to post.

Being Effective vs. Being Efficient

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Upon reading The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Feriss, Chapter 5

If you get it in your head that practicing is the way to reach your goals as a singer and you as a result, add an hour of practice time to your current routine—you may indeed get a lot out of that extra practice time if it is well spent.   But is that the most effective way to your goal?  Is more time practicing always the answer?
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“positive” doesn’t capture it properly….

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One of my mentors, Bruce, sent me this link a while back and I think about it all the time.  Try doing this–silly as it may feel–and I challenge you not to feel your energy and sense of humor about yourself sky rocket.  This would be a great exercise for those of my students who struggle with expanding their sense of how much energy it takes to perform.

We have a lot to learn from the very young….

common thread

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It seems to me that good singing technique all boils down to awareness of how sound is created and how it is sensed in the body.  More specifically—to understanding the relationship between engagement and release.

  • Where/when does a consonant release into a vowel?  (In the syllable “la” for instance, are you aware of precisely the second that the “l” becomes the “ah”?)
  • Where/when does an inhale turn into an exhale, and vice versa?  Is there a state of being “between” the inhale and the exhale?
  • Where/when does the diaphragm engage—where/when does it release and how can we best use the momentum created by that release?

Having to slow down enough to be able find the exact point of departure between an “engage” and a “release” has, for me, been the single most helpful tool I’ve used in improving not only my singing technique—but my level of satisfaction in the sound produced.

 

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