This Sunday Sept 29th! Door opens at 2.00 PM; singing demo, tea, cookies, chitchat! You can ask any question about any singing style, high notes, low notes, meet new people… Rain or shine, free, no need to sign up for lessons. RSVP if you can make it!
When: Sunday September 29th, 2-4 PM
Where: 72 A Coleridge Street (garden flat)
I am reposting an article which illustrates perfectly how postural imbalance creates overbite and underbite and vice versa – how irregular bite can lead to tension in the neck, jaw, spine and even be connected to flat feet! This is anecdotal, but I noticed some of the best singers I know have perfectly developed arches.
I only recently understood how neck tension affects the position of the larynx and voice quality. I will write more about it soon, for now it is interesting just to look at the image of the neck muscles with the larynx lodged in the middle. Any stiffness in this area will lock the larynx in a certain position vs. the resonators and the sound will not be optimal. Sometimes just changing the way you stand on your feet will release shoulder/neck/jaw tension and produce a more beautiful sound.
Below the Google translation of the original article, seems quite good as translations go.
BITE AND POSTURE (Худоногова Е.Я)
First, there is a close relationship between the head and the spine. If a person holds his head anterior to the shoulders, the neck and shoulders will also change their position to compensate for the front position of the head. The bite is also exactly related to the spine and depends on the position of the head and posture in general.
This is done through the system of connections of the lower jaw and temporal bones, which on the one hand participate in chewing (through the temporomandibular joint), and on the other hand are the receptacle for the vestibular apparatus (inner ear and snail) that are responsible for the balance. As a result – difficulties in walking and motor skills, abnormal gait, curvature of the spine, scoliosis.
Try tilting your head back and gently close your teeth. Pay attention, that first of all the back teeth will be closed. Now tilt your head forward, to your chest, and gently close your teeth. Now the first contacts appear on the front teeth. This example clearly demonstrates how the position of the head affects the closing of the teeth.
It is important to understand the relationship between the musculoskeletal and dentoalveolar systems, to ensure the stability of the vertical posture of a person. This is a very complex, dynamic process. It involves various functional systems of the body: musculoskeletal, vestibular, visual, dentoalveolar, etc. Gurfinkel VS, et al. (1965) showed the effect of articular receptors on the human posture. Receptors of joint capsules and ligaments signal the position of the structures of the joints forming, the direction and speed of their mutual displacement.
When considering the profile of a person standing, the centers of gravity of his head, shoulder-shoulder articulation, hips, knees and feet are, as a rule, on one vertical axis, which is characteristic for a harmoniously developed, statuesque figure.
In anomalies of occlusion (irregular bite), the center of gravity of the head is often located in front of this vertical axis, which leads to a change in posture and an increase in the load that affects the muscles of the neck. In this case, the preservation of the correct position of the head and the horizontal position of the gaze is possible only with the increase in the tension of the muscles of the neck. In patients with anomalies of occlusion, the forward position of the head is tilted forward, the chest of the chest, its anteroposterior size, the angle of the ribs, the protrusion of the scapula, the protrusion of the abdomen, the curvature of the lower legs, flat feet (Khoroshilkina F.Ya., Malygin Yu.M. 2009).
In the early stages of the process, these deviations can be regarded as a weakness of posture. The increase in deviations, which with increasing age is manifested to a greater extent, is characterized as a violation of posture.
There is also an opposite tendency: the functional state of the musculoskeletal system determines posture and affects the formation of the musculoskeletal system. In this case, the fixed pozotonic reflexes, conditioned by bad habits, lead to an incorrect human posture and, in turn, contribute to the development of dentoalveolar anomalies.
Anomalies of occlusion (bite) can be both a cause and a consequence of disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
That is why it is important not only to restore the correct position to the teeth, but also to get rid of the problems with the spine, to strengthen the muscles of the whole body for successful correction of an incorrect bite.
Different types of disorders of posture are not a purely aesthetic issue, since in the future this leads to the development of osteochondrosis, discogenic radiculitis and other diseases of the spine in adults. Proceeding from physiological regularities, posture is a dynamic stereotype, a complex of conditioned and interconnected conditioned reflexes (Kalb, TB, 2001).
The formation of the body’s posture is influenced by many factors. A significant role is played by social living conditions, work activity and even hobbies (Rybakova VV, 1997). Posture can change, despite the relative stability of anatomical factors. It can improve in the process of special physical training and worsen in chronic diseases, hypodynamia (Movshovich IA, 1964). Progression of scoliosis is associated with a decrease in the potential of the body, increased fatigue, the formation of ugly deformation of the figure, the emergence of psychological and social problems.
One of the main tasks is to return the initial amplitude to the muscles: with the existing disorders of the spine, they “get used to” working incorrectly, because of what becomes more difficult to regain normal posture over time.
An increasing number of doctors, when examining their patients, pay attention to the posture, the position of the head, shoulders and the physical development of their patients. There was such a direction as neuromuscular dentistry. All this once again confirms the fact that everything in the human body is interconnected.
“Treatment of distal occlusion in patients with musculoskeletal disorders”, Khudonogova E.Ya.
The first time that I saw a person with really good posture was at summer camp. I was 9. There was a friend there who was a gymnast. She could do splits and cartwheels, which was awesome, but I also noticed she walked different. I must admit that at the time I perceived it as unnatural, since no one around me moved and stood in such a way. As if she swallowed a stick and her stomach was falling out? I remember looking at children with really protruding bellies and thinking they needed “fixing”. I did not realize I needed fixing myself.
In my family my father was the one with a hunched over back and always in pain. My mom never had any back trouble. I think you might see from this photo that I took after my father with a slightly collapsed chest and head thrown forward.
School nurses never commented on that, it was not noted in the physicals. Well, of course, when you walk into the doctor’s office you try to look presentable. Had the health practitioners evaluated children in the schoolyard during play they would have noticed it, but would they have done anything about it? They would have prescribed some God-awful corrective regime that would just make me miserable.
I still believe it is good to practice sports for good posture but it is not the whole story. While unveiling the secrets of voice production I looked for something that gymnasts and large bodied divas have in common. I concluded that it must be good spinal alignment, when the posture muscles are engaged – neither strained nor stretched. This is something subtle and cannot be addressed by a simple trick. Pulling the stomach in or pushing it out, curving the spine in places or stretching it out does not do it. It is unsustainable. The moment you stop thinking about it your body will return to the most easy stance.
My friend from the camp did not have to watch herself every moment of the day to maintain her good posture. It was completely natural to her. Why then could I just not copy it and enjoy a such a more graceful and healthy way of living? Why when my singing teachers encouraged me to “walk like an opera singer” I was not able to copy them?
The answer in the next post. In the meantime, just for inspiration, a few more examples of great posture in female gymnasts. Notice their spines – don’t they remind you of Jenny Bernals?
I was going to continue reviewing Leyerle’s book but cannot pass the opportunity to say some more about the issue of posture. What is the perfect posture for singing? These days singers performing live on stage assume all sorts of positions, standing, lying down, dancing, even hanging down suspended from a bar, whatever the dramatic situation requires.
However, in recital or auditions little acting is encouraged. I would not go as far as saying there is one “correct” position to deliver an aria or a song, but there are some that work better than others. Unfortunately, those are not the positions that you can find by googling “perfect posture”.
What you find instead are the positions of a character that goes to a doctor’s office and is asked to stand straight.
Is any of it really useful? In my opinion it’s not. So is there a better way? Of course. Just learn from the masters. Let’s take a posture class from Placido Domingo.
This is what he does:
This is a characteristic posture of a male lead in an opera. Some people find it old fashioned but it is still used by singers to deliver challenging arias. As you can see it consists of leaning forward on your “stronger” leg, slightly bent. Does he stand “straight”? Does he stand tall, “as if a suspended on a string from the crown of his head”? Certainly not!
But he is well balanced, grounded and expressive.
Let’s make his position into a diagram.
Let’s remove the photo:
Let’s simplify it still further and make it into a stick figure:
Now the diagram doesn’t show the arms, but gives you an idea how the singer holds himself, how he supports his body. The front leg carries most of the weight and is flexible. I left off the arms as they are used more for expression than balance.
So this is it, this is how Placido stands.
Well, not just him. Look at Mick Jagger!
So the slightly forward leaning stance seems to be working for all kinds of singers.
Their e is a reason for it. It makes singing easier. It takes care of itself, once established you don’t have to think about it.
Because of that it can be especially helpful for beginners. Once you can vocalize well in “Placido’s” position, you can adjust it to the more elegant, modern recital pose.
It is harder to maintain, but doable. At the end of the day a great singer can sing in any position.
So, look around YouTube and find some other singing masters. Look for live recitals and shows where camera captures the whole silhouette, from the head to the feet. Turn off the sound and just observe how they move.
Hope this helps – if you don’t trust me, trust Placido and Mick!
Next time – best singing posture for women. Stay tuned.
Photos: Anthony Ross Costanzo in Partenope, SF Opera, Huffington Post
Mick Jagger in concert with Taylor Swift , Nashville, Getty Images
Tenor Hak Soo Kim, Sarasota Opera 2012 sarasotaopera.blogspot.com
Russell Thomas as Pollione in Norma, SF Opera 2015, KQED broadcast April 2016
Videos:
Placido Domingo with Luciano Pavarotti at the MET in La Boheme (Domingo singing the baritone part of Marcello)
Jonas Kaufman German Arias recital in Munich (Munchner Rundfunkorchester)
Franco Corelli in recital, Hamburg 1971
Doodling: Anna Samborska
Can you learn singing from a book? Early in my studies I read quite a bit on vocal technique and I became convinced that you could not. Books can accompany your training when you have a real teacher that can always get you back on track. I still believe this to be true.
However, recently I got curious about literature on voice, since the times are changing and new approaches and methods arise. It is never a waste of time to expand your vocal bag of tools!
I went and checked out the shelves at San Francisco Public Library.
I started with the oldest one, Vocal Development through Organic Imagery by William D. Leyerle. It grabbed my attention since I also use “organic imagery” in my own method, although I call it visualization.
I both hate and love this book.
I hate it because on page 2 it has one of the most harmful pieces of misinformation. After discovering Esther Gokhale’s method and her insight into natural posture I just cannot stomach seeing images of anatomically wrong “flat back” being taught as useful for singers. The same piece of advice I got during my voice lessons at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. We had to assume the “supine position” flattening the small of the back on the floor, which made the pelvis go into posterior tilt. It looks ugly, it is uncomfortable and it makes singing harder. How did people come up with this idea and held on to it for so long, since I still see this diagram in countless versions in books and all over the internet?
I cannot say that posture a. is any better, both are totally artificial.
Look at the real singers, how they stand, and try to fit a wall to them!
So, a lot to think about at just page two. Luckily, the rest of the book is much better and some diagrams and concepts are useful. I can imagine someone studying with this script and getting more clarity on resonance and registers. For me the most revolutionary info was about the “middle passaggio”. “Passaggio” is the transition point between lower and higher parts of the voice, a few notes which can be difficult. I knew about the “break” around E and F (top of the staff) and also about the upper limit of the chest voice around E (first line of the staff). But Leyerle talks also about another transition, around C:
For years I had trouble navigating this spot, even while my higher notes soared with complete ease. Now I know why.
Of course knowing about problem spots doesn’t necessarily help to overcome them. On the daily basis I chose – and this is a legitimate approach according to Leyerle – to just ignore the registers and think of one, smooth quality of tone across the whole vocal range. When you believe in it, hear other singers do it just fine, you can do it too.
The most unusual think about this book are the “funny pictures”.
They look like secret symbols or as cartoon characters from an avant-garde animation. They say “don’t judge the book by its cover” but in this case you could teach the whole Leyerle method from the cover of his work. I can see how these can make people find their sound and look for the right sensations in unexpected places, sometimes seemingly outside the body. They are in a way more practical that the usual cross-sections of the head and throat. I like how the author uses the term “focus” instead of placement. All these pointy triangles are directing the attention of the singer to the “focal” spot, as if behind the neck. Such focus achieves two goals: 1) the singer imaging the voice coming from outside the body does not tense the body 2) stops the urge to “project” which for most people means the attempt to push the air outwards.
Another good point is Leyerle’s take on “raising the soft palate” – another opportunity for students to get stuck for years trying to lift something up their throats. For him this is rather the expansion into the back of the throat, a much better image and direction of energy.
I have a bone to pick with him as far as his understanding of “support”. I feel that his images are better than his words. He speaks of breath support but means “back support” – visualized in the shape of a dark cone – going around the back of the rib cage, around the diaphragm. This is ok. Any teacher that does not tell the students to “push with their diaphragm” has my respect!
TBCnd
The “Ave” noise was made in 1996 after the lady’s first singing lesson. The second one, on the balcony was made yesterday before dinner, no warmup. In 1997 she had a vocal range of one and a half octave. If she pushed really hard she could get up to A (High note in Solvejg’s Song). The notes on the balcony are F and Bflat.
Terry Gross just fell in love with opera! She interviews dramatic soprano Dolora Zajick, star of the MET and teacher of Wagnerian singers. Fantastic question, superb answers with exercise examples by a singing master.
Zajick started her training “late” – at 22. She chose singing because it was too late for piano and she wanted to live in the world of classical music. She says that it is getting harder and harder to find great voices, maybe because of the emphasis on chorus singing,. Because of “kinesthetic empathy” a great voice can get totally muted by blending in with average singers.
Zajick leads the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices. Sounds great, except… where is the Institute for Mature Dramatic Voices? Where are the competitions for people who started singing not “late” like Zajick, but “very late” – in their 30s or 40s or even later? Hope someone will one day announce to the world that you can learn to sing at any age.
Bernal Opera 