Oct. 17, 2013: What Bodywork CAN Do For Singers and Teachers! One major contibution that bodywork can do for any singer is to offer a stronger sense of body awareness and to help establish a clear vision of what the singer can expect to find in terms of balanced sensations while singing. What role does the body support or connection play in helping the singer find their fullest potential as a singer? What do the lower abdominal muscles do in relation to the upper abdominal muscles? Do the back ribs release at inhalation How much is a full breath as opposed to over-breathing or taking too much air? What posture is correct for fullest vocal efficiency? These are all questions that must be answered if a singer is to know what is blocking his/her body/voice coordination. Some singers simply do not develop incorrect habits along the way, and they sing in a balanced and healthy way. But this is rare and when a singer is a ‘natural singer’, then he/she may not know what to do when something goes wrong. This is why I have so many young professional singers who come to me wanting issues diagnosed and answered. They want to know what physical adjustment to make in order for the voice to sing in balance. No singer wants to perform from a point of fear, and the more knowledge one has about his/her body, the more likely he/she is to become more self-aware. This awareness gives the singer the power to self-manage to an extent. The reason I went into the Alexander Technique and still study it weekly is because of a back injury. Nothing would relieve the pain and I had muscles pressing on nerves, so I could hardly walk across a room without stabbing pain. It was lucky indeed that my friend Ron Murdock referred me to John Nicholls here in New York. Both are Walter Carrington students and are expert at their craft. Ron practices in Holland and Germany and John in New York. This bodywork brought me back to a healthy spine. I had developed incorrect postural habits (especially sitting for hours) of which I had little awareness. I also have an excellent singer, Alicia Briceland, who is also an Alexander practitioner. She brings her body awareness and her vocal awareness together to help singers coordinate with a fuller function in both areas. You can read articles on the Alexander Technique in relation to the singer at singalexander. As I said yesterday, no bodywork alone is a singing technique. But it opens doors toward releasing blockages that might impede one’s ability to sing heathily. Typical issues that haunt a lot of younger singers are (1) hyper-extension of the chest (puling it too high and arching the back) (2) locking the hip sockets, which does not allow for a complete breath (3) leaning backwards, which locks the abdominal function, making it difficult to move the small air stream (4) collapsing the ribcage, which tends to invite the singer to over-blow the voice when singing a musical phrase (5) a thrusting forward of the jaw, which raises the larynx position, and is related to incorrect posture, often a problem originating in the lower back and hip area (6) a thrusting forward of the head posture, which is also related to the lower body. Note: locking the hip sockets seems to invite the head to thrust forward. (7) tension in the back of the neck, which usually pulls or retracts the tongue. This can be related to a lower body issue a well. All of these problems can be corrected with the knowledge of an excellent bodyworker. Many singers search for body awareness in different modalities, including the Alexander Technique, Stough’s Breathing Coordination, Yoga, Felderkreis, Xigong etc. In the end, we are all looking for an understanding of the body that makes sense to the voice. We don’t think about these things when we are younger, but body coordination issues tend to grow with time. Body awareness can help protect us from developing further difficulties in coordination of voice and body. The Teacher and Body Awareness: Well it seems obvious to me that any teacher who studies bodywork will gain a fuller knowledge of what to look for in a voice lesson. What I have gained over the years working with bodyworkers is priceless in terms of my ability to diagnose and then offer a postural solution. I cannot recommend bodywork to teachers enough, because it draws a helpful coorelation between voice and body. Kirsten Flagstad studied at the Dalcroze School of dance to learn slow movement and body coordination for stage. She claimed that this was immensely helpful in her development as a singing artist. Teachers/Practioners: On pitfall I warn teachers against is turning a singing lesson into a bodywork lesson, especially if not a qualified practioiner. Singers come to a voice lesson to work on the voice. Bringing body awareness to the lesson is wonderful, but a voice lesson should not be turned into a body session. Most teachers who do this end up losing students, because those individuals are looking for singing training. I have seen this with some of my students who are bodyworkers as well. Enhancing a singing lesson with body awareness is a great tool, and from my experience the singer is more open to this kind of approach. Bodywork is wonderful and offers the teacher and the singer many opportunities to learn and grow in terms of their own awareness of what they do when they sing and teach. I am consistently aware of how I sit and try to balance it through my study of bodywork. It has been a wonderful tool at helping me to observe when a singer is imbalanced physically. If one looks at the posture of the Old Swedish-Italian and Italian Schools, there are many similarities. If one studies the Italian appoggio, it inspires much of what bodyworkers teach today regarding rib release. If I sit with my hands on my knees, lean a bit forward and hiss, I feel the rib release that is such a part of body modalities. If I stand in the posture that Lindquest taught me, it is strangely similar to an Alexander posture. In the end, search for the bodywork that inspires you to grow and one with which you identify. I have singers who study Breathing Coordination, Alexander Technique, Yoga, Xigong, Tai Chi, Feldendreis, and others. Wishing you all a nice day! David
Posted on: Thu, 17 Oct 2013 11:25:20 +0000
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