Breath Techniques of Power, Path &Performance and Alexander method for singing

OK... are you ready for some serious vocal technique study?

Vocal technique methods, if correct, should lead a singer to the same optimal operation of the voice. The imagery may be different, but the anatomy is the same.

In the next few posts, I would like to discuss Power, Path and Performance vocal training method techniques in relationship to the "Alexander Technique", which is a tremendously important study of connecting the body and mind to the voice. I am going to give you a link to a very informative article from teacher Ron Murdock on the Alexander Technique which I encourage you to read as you ponder the following techniques I teach in "PPP". This post will concern "Power"... of the breath. .

Please click the following link: http://www.cursa-ur.com/articles/BornToSing.htm and scroll about 1/3 of the way down. Begin reading where the paragraph begins "The breathing organ makes up the other half of the singing instrument..."

When you've read the paragraphs concerning the breathing apparatus, please focus on Illustration (Fig) 15.
Notice the intricate scaffolding connecting and suspending the diaphragm to the bottom of the ribcage... AND to everything from the neck to the lumbar spine. Looking at this, we can see how important it is to be flexibly tall, not allowing the chest to collapse inwards. Support and control of breath truly is dependant on balancing the weight of the body on the strong leg bones, lumbar spine and pelvic bone (which I refer to as the "Power of the pelvic floor"). The importance of lengthening the muscles between the neck and pelvic bones, The importance of freeing the head upon the neck are also clear from the illustrations. This information also shows why it is important to:

• Stand or sit tall (like you do with your back to a wall)
• Stand or sit flexibly (as when you dance or feel the groove)
• Don't stiffen legs, ribcage or neck
• Think of the diaphragm as a space invader and stay the heck out of it's way. Allow the diaphragm to have a wide, flexibly suspended area at the bottom of the ribcage and let it support and control the breath naturally with no conscious manipulation. (also ... see note below)
• Correct, tall and open (not slouched) posture, weight balanced at the tailbone, allows for the correct sense of power coming from the pelvic floor.
• A silent, deep and wide (but not huge) breath which you let "fall in" instead of trying to "suck in", allows the correct inhale. Open nose mouth and torso and air will rush in to fill the vacuum created in the chest.

One note of difference: In my personal and teaching experience, I have found it universally better to inhale through both nose AND mouth... not just the nose. Most people tend to suck air in too high when trying to get air in only through the nasal passages. There are times when a person needs to focus on the nose, especially if sinuses feel stuffy, but it is imperitive to ALLOW BREATH TO FALL IN instead of sucking it in. Notice that Ron Murdock also mentions this in his article.

I have found that if you pay attention to just one small area in the upper spine, about an inch below the shoulder blades, you can cause the chest to open and the diaphragm to have the correct "tonus". Put your hand behind your back and press this area forward. You should notice an automatic inhale, caused by the opening of the chest. Keep this point flexible and forward (as it would be with you standing against a wall) when you sing, and the chest will not collapse. You must be careful not to allow your lower back to become "sway-back" when doing this... the lumbar spine should stay steady, tailbone tucked a bit inward. Flexible knees should make this happen. This is why feeling the groove in your spine and legs is so important.

Another issue this article doesn't address (though I've received a comment from Ron and he agrees) is the importance of having "life" in your arms and hands, to keep them from causing the chest to collapse, as I discussed in a recent post.

My next post will compare my "path to the open throat" to the Alexander technique. Your thoughts, as always, are most welcome. Is this post interesting to you? Do you undertand it? lemme know by clicking "comment".

Recording "Studio Hands"

I just got back from 3ABN studio in West Frankfort, Illinois. I had the pleasure of working with the awesome husband and wife team Reggie and Ladye Love Smith. During the sessions, I shared a quick vocal technique with them that really made a difference in our singing- and we all needed it- me as well. I call it "studio hands". If this was helpful to such great seasoned singers as Reggie and Ladye, it can work for ANYONE.

What is the technique I call "studio hands"? (I was hoping you'd ask :)

It is simply using your hands in a way that causes the bottom of your ribcage to stay flexibly expanded. This gives your diaphragm the ability to stay taut and to control your air pressure. You see it in great singing of all genres- classical to hip hop. There are many ways to do it, and I recommend trying them all to see what works best for you.

For vocal control, for high or low notes, for sustains (holding notes out), for more volume, for subtle licks, etc... (For just about any vocal chore you'd like to accomplish):

• Clasp your hands together, classical style, at the bottom of your ribcage. Press your hands into each other for vocal power and control.
• Alternately, Lace your fingers together in front of your ribcage. As you "go for" a difficult note, press your fingers into each other. If you're doing this correctly, you'll notice your ribcage just got wider, your butt & abs tightened.
• Or, try touching your fingertips together, again in front of your ribcage. Press your fingertips into each other as you sing.
• Another way: Squeeze your fists to expand your ribcage. Caution: don't squeeze your ribcage when you squeeze your fists. Keep the squeeze only in your hands. Your ribs should go OUT, not IN!
• Or, try "talking" actively with your hands. Sometimes this is all you need.

What to avoid:

• Don't hand your hands and arms stiffly at your sides. Your arms can easily become "rib anchors", causing your ribs to tighten. This will truly screw up your vocal control. If you leave your hands and arms at your sides, be sure there is "life" in the muscles, making them feel weightless.
• Don't press your hands into each other at hip level. This can cause the opposite of what you want... it can make your ribcage tighten. Make sure they are at chest level.

We talk with our hands. Why on earth do we make ourselves sing without them??????? Next time you record something... try using some "studio hands"! Let me know how it comes out... and by the way, Reggie and Ladye have an incredible new Christian music project. I will let you know where to find them when their new website gets up and running.

Development and use of Vibrato

I was asked this week about my thoughts on developing and using vibrato.

It is an important skill; however you can place too much emphasis on it and create unnatural vibrato that's hard to unlearn.

In my professional experience, it has everything to do with developing breath support/control, learning to use a feeling of compression centered in the pelvic floor, AND sending this breath through an open and relaxed throat. Then you find yourself with control of all kinds of vocal choices, vibrato being one of them.

My course (at www.judyrodman.com ) includes an old exercise called "Messa di Voce" in which you hold a tone as richly as you can. Once you master this exercise, you can try backing off the pressure even more and allowing a little controlled vibrato to begin in the middle of the sustain. Then for even more control, you can try and smooth the vibrato out into a straight tone again. Jazz singing requires great control of vibrato; you MUST learn to back off pressure while sustaining support, "spinning" the tone in the back of your head to give ultimate control.

Try this:

Put the back of one of your hands on your tailbone. Stand tall and flexible with head back and chin level. Take a breath into, and sing out of, a spot deep in the pelvic floor just in front of your tailbone. Hold a tone steady. Don't lean forward; use so little forward pressure that it almost seems you're inhaling the tone. Then try THINKING a sweet, even vibrato and just imagine it..."will" yourself to do it. Let it come naturally... it's SO IMPORTANT NOT TO FORCE VIBRATO TO OCCUR. As you gain experience with it, try allowing it to occur without thinking.

IF you don't lean on your voice or push too much air, AND you support your tone, I think you'll find yourself with a vibrato you can control naturally. Above all... DON'T JUMP ON YOUR DIAPHRAGM and try to make vibrato that way.

Another thing you can do is to mime a singer who has the natural and free vibrato you want. Watch out for mimicing bad technique from singers whose vibrato is too fast, too slow and wobbly, or uncontrolled and forced.

I have found that this is all my singers need for the vibrato they want to use. I will, as always, be learning more about the voice and will pass other information to you as I find it useful.

Let me know how effective you find this exercise by clicking "comment" below this post. I also value any of your own thoughts or experiences you have with vibrato and it's control.

Vocal problem: How Do You Cure Hiccups?

Hiccups can be a real nuisance when they manifest in the middle of a performance, whether on stage or in recording studio.

I've had to waste valuable studio time waiting for hiccups (and resulting giggles) to go away. I decided I would do a survey and ask this question for the sake of all singers and speakers:

How do you cure hiccups? What has really worked for you???

These are the things that keep me up at night :)

The Voice of Hank Williams Sr

I had an interesting gig last Thursday. I booked veteran studio vocalist friends Margie Cates and Michael Black to drive out to Hartford, Tn with me and sing on Jet Williams' new album. She is the daughter of Hank Williams, senior. This was contested for quite a while by her brother Hank, but it was adjudicated that she is indeed his half-sister. It was a blast. Bobby Bradley was the engineer who hired us. Bobby is the nephew of the great Owen Bradley, who produced among others Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Buddy Holly.

I was raised listening to my father play Hank Williams songs at our kitchen table to relax after his job as an air traffic controller. It gave me a rush to watch Jet pull out her father 's old acoustic guitar upon which he recorded "Your Cheating Heart". She smiled as I touched the strings. When I turned it over, I could see the worn wood where Hank had held it against him, and there was a scratched place on the front near the bridge where many pick strokes had scraped wood.

She also played us a part of an old radio show that her father sang and did a comedy bit on. This audio ended up in a dumpster at one time. It and many other audio shows were rescued, remastered and will be included in an upcoming Hank Williams Sr. release you will be hearing about in a few months.

This chance meeting with the past reminded me of the first time I ever played the Grand Ole Opry and stood on that worn wood circle they kept at the mic, saved from the original floor. Also the first time I played the Tonight Show and stood behind the curtain waiting to go on, in a spot where so many had waited their own turn in the past.

Hank Williams died way too young, a victim of his substance abuse. But he left a legacy of music that lives on. May we always honor the ones who came before (in every genre), and may we seek to make the kind of music that is good enough to live on, blessing people way beyond our time. If my son remembered his mother's song, I'd say this would be the ultimate in vocal success.

Fyi... www.music-and-technology.com is a cool site I've found exploring the web for info you might need. According to their blurb, this site has "Resources for the Recording Musician", including Message Board, How To Guides, Required Reading Book List, Links/Directory, and more. Let me know if you find any good spots!

Originality of Voice

In this post I'm going on a stretch with my blog theme "All Things Vocal". I'm going to talk about vocal originality- in this case defined as "What Do I Have To Say That's Original?". I've been tagged by my blog mentors "The Blog Squad" http://www.buildabetterblog.com/2007/04/tagged_again_be.html who were in turn tagged by Mohit Singhania at Best Blog Basket to be part of his project called Be Original. We are asked to share several ways that we create original content for our blogs. So here is a list of how I come up with original content for this blog:

1. Insights from my ongoing coaching experiences. I seem to learn some new way to teach a vocal technique every week... sometimes every day!

2. Experiences from my own performances.
Many times I get a "light bulb" insight from noticing what works (or doesn't) for me when I'm singing vocals in the recording studio or on stage.

3. My opinions on controversial issues. Contests, major label vs indie label advantages and disadvantages, vocal techniques I hear about, even what makes a valid or successful vocal performance are some issues about which I like to argue my point.

4. Teachings from my own trademarked coaching method. "Power, Path & PerformanceTM" http://www.judyrodman.com/ is my offering to the body of effective vocal training, and is unique in its focus on the synergy between breath, open throat and communication.

5. Reporting, commentary and review of trends in the current music biz. I glean info from my contacts, media news and Internet sources.

6. News from my clients and students. I like to encourage a sense of community instead of rivalry among voices. I share news of TV shows, songs cut, contest tryouts and placements, awards, signings, live tours, events, recording projects and other news from people with whom I work. I encourage attending each other's performances. We celebrate each other's journey, whether we're up or down.

If any of you have a blog, please consider yourself "tagged"! If you'd like to join the challenge, see this link to learn the "rules" of adding your own list of ways to add original content to your posts: http://bestblogbasket.blogspot.com/2007/04/be-original.html

Now, dear readers of my blog, would you please take a moment, click on "comments" link below this post, and tell me what YOU'D like me to write about? After all, this blog is useless unless it is of use to YOU! Join the conversation and the community! Thank you very much...Judy

Articulation: Got too much?

OK, so there's a downside to too much articulation. If you "grab" your words too strongly, you will be perceived as:

• Angry
• An amateur
• Insincere (I think it was Shakespeare who wrote "Me thinks he protesteth too much")

Truly over-pronounced words will also cause tongue and jaw tension. You don't want that because it limits your control, tone and range. That's a good way to know your diction has crossed the line.

Here are some tips to help balance the crispness of your articulation:

1. Give your jaw some flexibility. A slight sideways or circular chewing motion, if not overdone, can free things up marvelously.
2. Concentrate on communicating with your eyes. That usually helps keep over-pronouncing under control.
3. BIG TIP: Try singing only on the vowels. Yes this will feel silly, but I think we covered how "silly" can cause miracles in a post not long ago. Notice how much more resonance and range you can muster without the consonants. Now very lightly use the consonants again. Then, make the words feel more normal in your mouth.
4. Use the consonants and lose them... quickly let go. Think of a throwing a baseball... if you hold on too long you're in trouble.
5. Record yourself and see if you believe yourself. Be honest <:
6. Listen to masterful vocalists (a bit of rhythm & blues or soft jazz wouldn't hurt, Emmy Lou Harris is a great example in the country genre) who are clear but don't sound like they are dictating something. "Mime" a song with such an artist, trying to copy their style.

Here is a link to a performance by Jane Monheit, one of the country's hottest jazz artists. You might find it interesting to study how she uses words but doesn't over use them. Notice the life in her eyes. Note... don't be put off by the jazz genre if that's not what you're into. These concepts will work for ANY kind of music.

http://yoyenduy.multiply.com/video/item/14

Articulation- need some!

One of my pet peeves is listening to a song and not being able to tell what the heck it's saying.

I know some people will say they are only into the music and don't care about or listen to lyrics. I remember when my son was little, he used that rationale to protest my veto of music with inappropriate lyrics. (No, hehehe, it didn't work.) But in reality, most people are drawn to a song and to a singer whose message is clear.

What is articulation? A simple definition, for the singer or speaker, is: the forming of words. A synonym for articulation is "diction". I really don't like to use these words a lot in my teaching or in my studio vocal production because they can make people think I want them to speak like an English professor... Which of course is not true. (My apologies to all you English professors!) So I say this instead: Communicate so I can understand you!
(Duh)

All kinds of things are involved in articulation: The mouth, tongue, lips, soft palate, yes. But to articulate not just words but the MEANING behind them involves other body parts such as eyes, nose, even spinal alignment (body language!) For instance, if your eyes are "dead" instead of communicative, I could tell you weren't "with me" - even if you were somewhere I couldn't see you. I would know you weren't really communicating with me in mind. See previous posts for more about the importance of eyes and body language .
Sometimes muddy articulation happens on a recording, but more often I notice it in live performance. The artist gets into the music and slurs through the performance, seeming to just assume everybody knows the lyrics. Hey, even if it's a hit and the audience does know the lyrics, you still need to say them clearly. Why?

When you aren't clear, you are "dis-ing" your audience. Whether or not you are aware of it, you are dismissive and disrespectful. I've heard hugely popular entertainers when they spoke so clearly I could understand every word. I've also heard the same entertainers when I could understand nothing. It was as if they could have cared less if the audience was there or not. An audience is a fickle thing, and my suggestion is to remember that without them your public career becomes a private hobby.

A great way to rev up the clarity of your articulation is to imagine you have a deaf contingent in your audience. Articulate so that a deaf person could read your face and know what the words are. Do this in the studio and the clarity of your performance can amaze you; do it on stage and you may find a connection with your audience that may surprise you. Do it in your next public speaking engagement and you may hear a pin drop because people are actually listening.

Toastmasters is a great organization to join to practice articulation, among other vocal skills.

Next post I plan on discussing: when articulation goes wrong......!

Strange Vocal Exercises That Work

Some of my vocal exercises are, well, strange. Bryan White once wryly observed to me "the more humiliating an exercise, the better it seems to work".

I think the reason a correctly executed weird exercise works so well is...
that it bypasses the tenacious but counter-productive vocal habits of the conscious mind by trickery. The Feldenkrais method used by some chiropractors does the same thing... a slight touch can suggest possibilities of movement that the conscious mind hasn't considered possible, and then amazing healing can take place.

Here's a prime example:

Memphis Cole, a young man who is has been studying with me for a few months, came in to his lesson this week with a grin. Memphis has been growing vocally by leaps and bounds, and has really developed his style, his sound and his confidence. Anyway, he entered his first Nashville contest- "The Grand Ole Opry Country Vocal Challenge"- just to get some experience with competing. In the male category he joined about 46 fellow competitors.

Before he went on, he was doing his "Forrest Gump" imitation of "Life is like a box of chocolates", a vocal exercise he learned from the Power, Path & Performance cd vocal training course he bought to go with his private lessons. One of his competitors started laughing and taunting "what are you doing, man?" Memphis shot back "I'm loosening up my jaw". The guy kept laughing and so Memphis started doing it silently instead of out loud.

Memphis got the last laugh: He won the contest! The other guy... he was eliminated rather quickly.

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A SILLY VOCAL EXERCISE! Be willing to ditch a little pride, and you may find a strange and weird sense of ... VOCAL FREEDOM!

Vocal Performance: Reveal... don't display!

There is a classical voice training textbook series by Van A. Christy called "Expressive Singing". In the Third Edition, Volume #1, Christy recommends this excellent suggestion for any performance in any genre:

"Meaning must be REVEALED, never DISPLAYED in a theatrical manner."

I can't tell you how very much I agree with this. There is a fine line between over- and under- acting. If you REALLY want to sing or speak in such a way as to cause an emotional response from your audience, learn how to master authentic delivery- the kind you can't fake!.

Authentic delivery balances several things:

• Vocal technique is definitely a major factor.
• The message (song or monologue) is a huge factor.
• Other factors include: The size and feel of the venue or room, the state of your own inner self, the cheeseburger you had for lunch, the label rep in the audience. Hey, it's amazing we can focus at all :)

Nevertheless, there must be such a balance in your mind-body-voice connection that you make it look almost effortless to get and hold the attention of the listener.

Here's an example to help you understand the power of revealing instead of displaying meaning:

When I was a recording artist on MTM Records, Alan Bernard (the CEO) let me in on one of his secrets at "meet & greet" events. Alan had been around. Among other things, he had managed Andy Williams and Dusty Springfield. Instead of going up to people to introduce himself and begin a conversation, he would often just sit or stand alone. People were drawn to his cool confidence, and soon were coming over to where he was to meet HIM.

Now think about this: Alan quite openly revealed who he was to people who had been drawn his way. He didn't put on a forward display to try to gain attention. I think this is a psychological tool we need to understand as performers.

Bottom line: Draw people in. Don't be a space invader! Reveal by... being real.