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* THE PROLOGUE *
I believe that every singer, or future singer, no matter what type of singing he or she is interested in - classical, jazz, rock, or popular, should know the sound-producing apparatus, command the basics of proper breathing, and be familiar with other components which comprise singing technique.
How hard is it to be a singer? Don't you just open your mouth and sing? It may look that easy, but it is not. Why not? A voice is not something that you suddenly find you have in your twenties; almost every singer has discovered this incredible instrument lurking within at a relatively early age. Now it is true that voices change and mature as the body does. But potential is not enough - to develop your voice, you have to get at it somehow. All singers need to be creative and resourceful in order to train their voices. This can be very difficult to determine by yourself. This is why so helpful to have another trained pair of eyes and ears - and this is where teachers come in.
* BREATHING DURING SINGING *
Breathing is the basis of singing. Italians say, those who know how to breathe properly, know how to sing properly. Thus, the voice coach should first teach the singer to breathe properly. I will not list the possible ways of breathing. I will simply focus on one - lower diaphragmatic - as the most effective for any style of singing (classical, pop, jazz), and as the most natural type of breathing at all. Remember, that the diaphragm is one of the most used muscle systems which singers use to control the breath on exhale.
Marilyn Horne, a great mezzo, once said that, to her, breathing was 90 percent of vocal technique. What could be more natural to any of us than breathing? And yet, it's not that you breathe, it's how you breathe that can determine how good a singer you will be.
It's obvious that every person can use the diaphragmatic breathing. To see this, lay down on your back and you will see how the upper part of your stomach rises and falls rhythmically. Let the air enter the nose gently, soundlessly. Hold it for a second or two, and then exhale through the mouth in a small stream, which helps create uniform exhalation.
While learning to sing, you should follow your own natural inclinations. Realize that there is nothing hindering your natural talent. And remember, that no matter how beautiful your voice is, without proper breathing, you will not achieve brilliant results.
So what I am teaching my students it is control, not strength.
* WHAT IS A "MASK"? *
Appogiare la voce - means to support and focus sound. There is only one specific place where such focus is possible. The Italian School calls this location a "mask". You can imagine an acute triangle whose base is the bottom of your top teeth, the sides of your nose, and the top is at the bridge of your nose. The current of air being exhaled meets the vocal chords along the way, and makes them vibrate, and the sound that is created is carried along through the regions of the pharynx, soft palate, nose and mouth, and gathers its true color, hue, and timbre. If allowed to travel into the open mouth without resistance, the sound will be shrill, or "white". Projecting too much on the hard palate, it will be hollow. So I try to encourage my students to direct the current to the upper teeth, in other words, to direct the sound "into the mask". Only this kind of sound will be clean, clear, and light.
To make it easier to understand the technique of projecting the sound "into the mask", try to sing the vowels separately "a-a, o, o-o, e, e-e" adding the consonants "l" or "m", at the same time accentuating the pronunciation with a strong but unforced, even relaxed movement of the tongue from the base of the upper teeth down.
In order to relax the vowels, the singer needs to relax his jaw, tongue, and his entire body as completely as possible.
You should note that you would find one of the vowels easier to project "into the mask". Take that one as an example, and try to practice holding this position on the other vowels. The sound "in mask" should be so "bright" that you should be able to "see" it "beat against" your upper teeth. The skill of directing the sound and holding it there during singing creates the artistry of proper voice training.
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* SMOOTH TRANSITION FROM ONE REGISTER TO ANOTHER *
The mechanical workings of the larynx change during successive sounds depending on the change in pitch. The sequence of sounds of certain character that are formed during the working process of the larynx and sound producing apparatus is called register.
Thus sound that resonates and is felt more in the chest is called chest register, and that which resonates higher than the larynx and is seemingly felt in the head is called head register. Finally, sound that resonates partially in the chest and partially in the head - mixed register.
You might notice that when discussing register we speak about resonators, which are the throat, the mouth cavity, and the nose and associated structures. I'd like to mention a few things about the importance "blending" of registers, since good vocal training is recognized through barely noticeable transitional tones of various registers. In other words, all my efforts, as a teacher should be directed toward your maintain one vocal line from the first to the last note and a smooth transition from one register to another.
The transition from chest to mixed register is extremely difficult - especially for women. Therefore, in transition from one register to another, I try to lighten the character of the chest sound, in order to make this transition unnoticeable.
* SUONO FILATE *
La messa di voce, o suono filate - that is the holding of sound and varying it between crescendo and decrescendo, strengthening and weakening the sound, during one breath. You need to practice suono filate very carefully and only when you totally master breathing and have formed the habit of projecting your voice "in mask." Suono filate, that is, strengthening and weakening volume is important component of singing, because a singer who has mastered suono filate, knows how to sing.
* MEZZA VOCE *
Mezza voce is nothing other than singing "half power," and forms one of the most magical adornments of song. It is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of pianissimo and mezza voce, because in the Italian School of singing, these concepts are entirely different. While the sound of piano and pianissimo should maintain all the character of a normal forte, the sound during mezza voce changes completely and becomes very airy, almost losing its chest character. The head sounds dominate it. But this is not a falsetto!
To master mezza voce, I'm practicing some exercises with my students. For example, after your vocal warm-up done, move on to gradual three and five note scales going up and down on vowels like "eeeee" "aaaaa" and "ooooo". Start on F below middle - C, (F-G-A-Bflat-C and back down), and move up a semi-tone after each scale. Keep focusing on relaxing and dropping your jaw, loosening your neck and throat, and breathing deeply from your diaphragm. Sing this twice: the first time forte (loud), the second time mezza voce. In this exercise, practice is all-important.
Sing this exercise every day and in all tones of your range, keep inching your scales up with each session and you will feel how good it is for your voice, or come to my classes and we will practice this together.
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* CONCLUSION *
At first all your voice training will take an incredible amount of concentration but as you gain "muscle memory" finally you will go automatically and we can then focus on your artistic self-expression and the joy of singing.
Apart from helping you improve your technique, as your teacher I will help motivate and inspire you to practice, and I will guide you into repertoire that suits your voice. After you've been studying for awhile, I will also give you a good idea of how much potential you have to be a professional singer, and will help you decide if and when to start doing auditions for professional performances. As a voice teacher I will simply help you reach your goals more quickly and efficiently.
For more information, or to inquire about performance or teaching availability, locations and rates, you may email me or call Julivanna Music Studio at 415-699-6196. I will gladly share my music secrets with you.
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