Singers' Alienation

For singers, however, the inability to observe directly the actual functioning of their vocal apparatus, and the lack of sensation during singing, have caused not a little mischief, not the least of which is that singers often do significant damage to their vocal apparatus without being aware of it. It is very typical for a singer, for example, to begin experiencing difficulties with hoarseness, loss of power, and range only to discover upon a medical examination that he has developed vocal nodules—calluses on the lips of their vocal folds, that disrupt the movement and vibration of their vocal folds during singing (and speaking). Vocal nodules develop over time as a result of habitual, abrasive vocal fold contact.

Yet singers are always taken aback to discover that, despite the physical abuse that they have perpetrated on their own vocal folds, they typically didn’t feel pain or physical discomfort as the nodules were being formed. I first became aware of the extent to which singers are alienated from their voices when I began teaching gifted singers who were experiencing voice problems. I was surprised to observe the extent to which they were ignorant about what had happened to cause their conditions. With some students with vocal nodules, statements like, “I feel fine, and my high notes were there last week, but now they're gone; I don't know how that happened or what to do to get them back,” were not unusual.

What I also found equally remarkable is that many singers who were experiencing difficulties often accepted patently absurd explanations as to their causes. One very famous singer once told me of the sense of panic she felt when she woke up one morning to discover she had become completely hoarse. She went to see a new age voice teacher who told her that severe tension in her left calf caused an emotional imbalance that precipitated the collapse of her voice. The singer began psychotherapy and daily leg massages and continued this regime for six months. Not surprisingly, these treatments didn't help her ailing voice.

Another singer of equal fame confided in me that his therapist had told him that his lack of courage in ending a relationship was the root of his aggressive behavior which, in turn, was causing him to sing sharp. The singer actually considered stopping to sing all together because he was unwilling to terminate his relationship. So what is the remarkable implication of these stories? That there is a natural disconnect between singers and how they sing. It’s for this reason that singer’s convictions of how they think they sing can, in many cases, be discarded altogether. And it’s not the case that less gifted singers are more inclined to being out of touch with how their voices function.

One of the most technically accomplished of all pop singers, Frank Sinatra, once said in an interview that he sang by putting his voice into his facial cavities— into the “mask”; the problem with his view is that mask singing, as a basis for resonant singing, has no scientific basis. Luciano Pavarotti, certainly for many, the greatest Italian tenor of his generation, was convinced that proper vocal technique must include “singing from the diaphragm”; yet as we know, this is not possible because the diaphragm is thoroughly disengaged during exhalation—the phase of breathing when voice production occurs. These sorts of confused or misguided comments from outstanding singers are not rare; in fact, they are very common and show to what extent the mechanics of voice production can remain hidden from the our natural intuitions—even in the case of our most exceptional artists.

Comments

[Builder Auckland]

Singing is a great art popular in whole the world. Every one want to listening a different and beautiful voice. So this post is helpful for singers.
Builder Auckland