I have to be real careful with my younger students and constantly ask myself "How much can they take? How much can they give?" But they constantly surprise me. So I had some revelations this week with a 13 year-old who hung in there for an hour of pretty demanding singing and with a sparkle in her eyes managed to make it through a song she never would have been able to tackle just two weeks ago. Once again, the power of music working with the human body and spirit constantly amaze me.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
REVELATION OF THE WEEK
This week's revelation is about hard work, sweat, and laughter. "Is it hot in here?" is the typical question for a woman going through menopause. It's also a question for a student really working well in the voice studio. I find myself stripping off layers of clothing during every lesson. (Don't worry . . . there is a limit to how far I'll go!) This week my studio was a veritable strip tease/comedy club! "I'm exhausted!" "Is your voice exhausted?" "No." "I'm tired too but let's take off a layer and keep going for a little while longer." Then when I sense that the student's muscles can't support the tone anymore and/or they are singing "from their throat" we stop. We rest and drink water and breathe easily and let the muscles recover. But those supporting muscles are getting stronger each week and the beautiful, tiny vocal folds are protected and no one walks out unable to speak or sing at the end of a lesson. They may need to take a nap or a shower, but that's OK by me.
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As a personal trainer and a singer, I find this blog fascinating for 2 reasons. First, it's always amazing to me how everyone will go to the gym and follow the rules of fatiguing the muscles and then resting between sets to recover for the next one, but singers will sing incorrectly and to exhaustion. Then they wonder why they loose their voice. DUH!! Vocal technique is just like doing a bicep curl or a squat. A muscle is a muscle not matter how big or how small - it contracts, it fatigues, it recovers (if you treat it properly). But, just like in the gym, if you abuse the vocal muscles as if you would a bicep, your chance for injury increases. I know this first hand from almost destroying my voice when I was younger. The other part of the blog that amazes me is Joan Barber. You see, without her tireless education of the voice and vocal technique, I would have never recovered from my vocal abuse and learned how to treat my voice the same way I treat my quads, my triceps and my pec. Her understanding and teaching of the physiological aspects of singing rang out loud and clear with me, because she related to me on a level that I understood - MUSCLES! If you learn nothing else from this woman (and you will learn A LOT) you will learn how to treat your vocal chords with respect. And oh the results you will get!! My voice has never tired since I met this woman over 10 years ago. She gave me the tools, just as I give my clients in the gym the tools, for treating my muscles with care & respect. Thank you Joan! You dedication to the voice is unmeasured!!
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