Music Teacher Eliza Fyfe
Music TeacherForum Replies Created
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If it’s any help, I think the recoil bit is from the Vocal Process method which is what my vocal coach is trained in.
Woohoo, I am so glad we are on the same page. It’s a nightmare to explain. But yes, I have found lately that tonal changes with just things like mouth shape can be enough to affect the airflow naturally without actually trying to change foundation of breathing that we are born with. But as each student sings, I’m always saying “try this, now this, now a bit of this” till we get the thing that works! It’s just not black and white. Maybe they feel like I contradict them sometimes, but it’s just saying different things until the balance is right. I think I’m making sense. But it is 2am…
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Wes – so true about swimming! I took swimming lessons a couple of years ago to learn how to swim underwater, breast stroke and front crawl, and it really improved my singing!
Kat – it’s not deep breathing that helps necessarily, it appears to be natural diaphragm recoil. This is what seems to have wowed me of late! A physical help yes.
I think that’s really interesting and true with the rest of what you said!! That’s why I’m changing my method. Teaching breathing means that focus can end up being too much on breathing, which inadvertently increases air in the student’s singing I’ve found! I tend to think, drawing on what you said about a chest sound feeling more supported, is that it’s the proportion of sound and air together… that’s the bottom line here… (at risk of stating the obvious?!) and the student just needs to find that balance! -
Pretty much. I went from not teaching breathing (apart from quickly demonstrating not raising shoulders, making sure your stomach inflates! Again, same as every day breathing) to going into more detail recently with diaphragm recoil, as that’s what MY singing teacher has been doing with me and it’s really helped. I over-exert when I sing and subsequently run out of breath a lot.
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Engaging with the diaphragm means connecting and getting the abdominal muscles working and getting your breathing in place, e.g. the natural diaphragm recoil when warming up and being aware of it in general singing.
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Sign o’ the times.
