The Here And Now

The now moment is not a genuine aspect of time. It is pure illusion. Time is always a bidirectional movement- forever coming and going- constantly moving toward the future while receding into the past. What we call "now" is a perversion of reflective experience that involves an almost instantaneous and indiscernible psychological projection of the immediate past onto the locally moving future.

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Physical Sensations In Singing Pt. 2

Read Physical Sensations In Singing Pt. 1

Facial (Mask) Sensations The most popular sensations in the singer's world are face or mask sensations. According to many voice instructors, mask sensations, above all other sensations, hold the key to correct singing. Why? Because, in their view, mask sensations indicate that mask resonance is occurring. But there are a couple of serious problems with this position. If by mask sensations voice instructors and singers mean vibrations in the nasal cavities, then there could be little disagreement. Sensation in the nasal cavities is an undisputed fact of voice production, but mostly with certain consonants like m or n. If you place the tips of your fingers on either side of your nostrils and then begin humming mn, you will feel your fingertips vibrating, as well as feel vibrating sensations in your face.

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Physical Sensations In Singing Pt. 1

One notion that has gained enormous popularity in contemporary voice coaching is the idea that the presence of physical sensations in certain instances, and the absence of sensations in other instances, hold important clues for the correct way to sing. We have to admit in advance that this is a curious idea since singing is largely devoid of distinct physical sensations. Nonetheless, since many noted voice professionals subscribe to the importance of sensations to singing, we should give this idea a fair hearing. Advocates of this view maintain that sensation-based singing is an experiential fact. So let’s try to fathom what a singer might mean by sensation-based singing.

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Freedom And Constraint

Human freedom emerges only when it's guided by constraining factors—this is the paradox that many lovers of freedom fail to realize. I am reminded of the meaning of a "technique"—say, a technique for playing tennis. A tennis player learns specific ways of gripping and moving a tennis racket, for example, of moving around a tennis court, of making contact with the ball, of moving to the net, of serving, and of returning tennis balls from an opponent. The more consistently a tennis player carries out these activities, the better the person will be at playing tennis. These consistent ways of playing tennis, taken together, make up the player's technique.

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My Angel Shirley MacLaine

The news of both Michael Wilmington and Larry Carlton's voice recovery circulated quickly around certain circles in Hollywood, and before I knew it, I was receiving calls both from singers and those suffering from voice problems. One call was from noted publicist Dale Olson who knew Michael Wilmington professionally, and apparently was “stunned” by his vocal recovery. Dale insisted that he take me to lunch and said, “I would like to find out what you do with the singing voice.” It was obvious that the lunch was really an interview. For what? I didn’t ask, and I didn’t particularly care. At that time, I was eager to talk to anyone who might have valuable connections or helpful suggestions.

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