– Find the ideal voice of the individual, given the personality, anatomy.
– Teach the individual how to feel good by making sounds.
– To achieve maximum control over the voice maximally expressive.
– Maximise longevity of vocal production.
1. Develop the musical hearing
2. Develop the body (somatic awareness)
3. Develop the vocal instrument
4. Develop the speaking voice
5. Develop the database of sounds required for different musical theatre styles
6. Develop movement skills
7. Develop the “sense of play”, spatial awareness and imagination
For any voice users looking to optimise vocal performance, conditioning of muscles and connective tissues to gain physical efficiency for the tasks, are required.
An early step in developing physical efficiency is learning how to consciously recognise the difference between using and not using habitual unnecessary muscles when voicing.
Artistic Target: Thinking body and sense of play
The interactions and interconnections:
1.2.1) Body alignment and body balance are not different processes, but are two aspects of equilibrium in upright standing, sitting and movement. Your body must continually use muscles to adjust its balance-alignment during upright standing.
1.3.1) Stamina – Control over the speed and ease of inhalation, and over the expiratory, can be acquired in a systematic manner.
1.4.1) Appoggio is a system for combining and balancing muscles and organs of the trunk and neck, controlling their relationships to the supraglottal resonators, so that no exaggerated function of any one of them upsets the whole.
Breathing, glottal valving and voicing interact. For vocal training, these three systems cannot be treated independently.
Artistic Target: Releasing the “neutral voice”
In this Vocal Efficiency Foundation, we focus on:
2.1.1) La lotta vocale describes the vocal contest during which muscles of inspiration endeavour to retain their extension in opposition to expiratory forces. It makes certain that neither excessive airflow nor too much resistance to the exiting air is offered by the vibrating vocal folds.
2.3) Agility and sostenuto are opposing poles of vocal proficiency, but both are produced by the same muscles participants. Dynamic muscle balance is determined by synergism of muscles of torso, consisting of alternating movements of engagement and disengagement at a rapidly occurring rate, and the responding supple adjustments of the muscles and tissues of the larynx. Strength and flexibility are brought into balance.
A resonant voice is the target for vocal production in terms of vocal health, primarily because it is neither taxing nor restricting to low intensity. As important, resonant voice has been described as low-impact (in terms of vocal collision) as well as large amplitude vocal-fold oscillation, which should provide both preventive and curative effects (Li et al., 2008).
Artistic Target: Pre-phonatory tuning
Pre-phonatory Tuning - L’impostazione della voce and the related L’imposto refer to the manner by which the singing timbre is initiated and perpetuated throughout a phrase. Imposto embodies immediate sympathetic resonance sensations resulting from the unity of tonal balance, centered intonation, and vibrancy. Prephonatory tuning is practiced by highly trained performers when breath and resonation are coordinated actions, pitch targeting and exactitude of spectral balance immediately occur. Fine singing depends on an awareness of l’impostazione della voce.
Open Throat (Gola Aperta) - the nasopharynx is capable of playing a major role in sensations of open-throatedness. One often experiences openness in the region of the oropharynx and in the region of the nasopharynx (as opposed to concentrated sensation in the laryngopharynx) in moments of heightened emotion in speech. The presence or lack of “resonance” in the singing voice is closely tied to adjustments made in the velopharyngeal region.
Le jeu is an extremely important concept: it has at least two big areas of meaning.
(A) The ability to react, the attitude of the performer of reacting to everything that happens on stage. There is a relationship between the body and the space where it exists.
(B) But there is also another area of meaning, that is the pleasure of the artist. The performer must enjoy the event, and if he doesn’t enjoy it, somehow it doesn’t work.
Play is nothing more than an idea followed by an action where the outcome is not yet known until the action is taken.
If the "work" is playful it becomes pleasurable, and when you are enjoying yourself, you get bolder and take more risks.
Due to the risk of failure. Many students have come into my studio expecting me to give correct answers. Singing and acting is not about getting things right. It’s about embracing a process and being always active in the problem solving mode.
The more our body and mind embrace this process, the more creative, confident and expressive we are as performers (more in terms with ourselves as a human being as well).
Just do it and then analyse later. The exercises are organized in a way to help your understand (soma) and replicate it when required. Body learning and critical listening is crucial in voice learning.