Pitch and Volume

What I discovered, singing in the shower once again, was that I could sing D5 with two distinct sensations:-  The first was that of unnecessary tension and the voice being in the mouth and not having much ‘ring’ or volume to it; and the second, was that of ease and of the sound travelling up and ‘ringing’ above the roof of the mouth in what I have previously thought of as the nasal cavity.  Oo, nasal singing, taboo, not allowed is what I thought and then … but why is it so easy and why is the sound good?  The ease and quality of sound told me something was right about what I was doing.

On further experimentation, singing in the car on the way home from Melbourne, a good 90 minute drive, I was listening to Jill Scott and noticed that it sounds like her voice is resonating in the nasal cavity.  It’s not like the voice only resonates in the nasal cavity but that part of it does and this creates a distinct quality to the tone.  I decided to sing along and allow the sensation of the voice ringing above the roof of the mouth (in the supposed nasal cavity).  What I discovered was that this creates more volume and gives the tone more body.  Also, I realised that when I sing like this I tend not to put so much tension on the vocal chords.  My thoughts were something like:-  the vocal chords create the pitch easily and the volume is created by allowing the voice to resonate in the increased resonating space.

It all sounds so blazingly obvious as I read this last statement.  Again, I feel I should know these things by now.  It seems that these concepts have lived in me but are all a bit disconnected  ie. We don’t always embody what we know with our brains and we don’t always think about what we know with our bodies.  Through research and articulation I hope to bring together both my experience and ideas and thereby make a more conscious use of them, for example, articulating aspects of my singing that seem to work naturally or intuitively without much conscious thought.

E. Herbert-Caesari in his book “The Science and Sensations of Vocal Tone” states that “every note corresponds to ….. a definite adjustment of the vocal cords as regards thickness, length and tension.”    I understand this as the vocal chords are responsible for creating pitch and further that inappropriate tension to the vocal chords will distort pitch.  I suspect that there is a tendency for singers to produce unnecessary tension on the vocal chords in an attempt to create volume.  This is an incorrect conception and use of the vocal chords and by attempting to do the impossible, adds to singers’ tension.

I believe nasal singing (of the taboo variety) could be defined as the voice being trapped in the nasal cavity and when I imitate this sound the sensation is of the voice being more forward, just behind the nostrils.  Further research is necessary for me to confidently identify the resonating space where I feel the sensation discussed above. At this point it is probably most useful to think of it as the space directly above the soft palate.

More on this next time.

Revisiting the Basics

I am writing this blog to record my experience applying the Alexander Technique to a new singing project.

I have just completed a 3 year full time teacher training course in the Alexander Technique in Melbourne, Australia.  I completed a 2 years full time music performance course in jazz and popular in 1997 with my main study being singing and a second compulsory study in piano.

I haven't been singing professionally whilst involved in the Alexander Technique teacher training course as there wasn't enough time available.  I am now embarking on a new singing project with an old musician friend which will involve learning songs in a style which i have always loved listening to but have not ever learned.  I am keen to apply what i have learned from the Alexander Technique to this new challenge and record my experiences.

Here goes ...

I have been listening to new repertoir for the past few weeks and decided last night to make a start on one.  The introduction has been rattling around in my head and i decided to transcribe it.  I discover that i have been singing it away from the recording a minor third below where it actually sits.  I could drop the key but it would not suit the main body of the song.  It's just high in the introduction.

The intro is about daydreaming and has this lovely floaty, relaxed feeling to it.  Ah, but when i sing it at the correct pitch (D5)  it sounds anything but dreamy.  Over the next couple of hours i lip roll the opening phrase and sing it with various syllables which suit higher pitches.  I again sing the words and disappointingly the tone is still disconnected and the words difficult to relate to.

Later in the evening, whilst singing in the shower, i consider applying the Alexander Technique. I decide to apply the basic directions and realise that by doing this i will create a different sound.  So i realised that i must not 'endgain' the sound, ie. must not have preconceived ideas about the sound i will create.   So I experiment.  I think:- neck free, head forward and up, torso to lengthen and widen, knees forward and away.  I go into a 'little monkey' and allow a new and possibly unfamiliar tone to occur.  Hey presto, the phrase emerges with a much-improved tone and the words clearer, i can hear them and they have meaning, they speak. 

Directing is fundamental to the practice of the Alexander Technique.  We direct to improve the 'primary control'.  It is basic, I should know this by now but I have applied the alexander directions so many times in recent years and am still amazed by the outcome.

The thinking of the directions is the true introduction to this tricky little number.