Building the
Foundation (original article by Scott McCoy)
As musicians, we
should be doing our utmost to create the most beautiful sound and
storytelling we can through our art. Each syllable, each word, each
phrase has a world of meaning that can be derived from it. We spend
countless hours building up our characters and our motivations to we
can create, what we hope to be, truly moving and breathtaking
performances. Though sometimes these things could be more of a
secondary importance than we might at first believe. After all, what
is the use of a stellar character or an emotional drive if you cannot
convey it through your singing?
As you may have
guessed by this point, this article focuses on the importance of the
basics, or foundation, of singing. The tool set we all should start
with, but don't necessarily receive at the very beginning. Within
every singers “toolkit” should be a few basic things, these
include (but are certainly not limited to): the ability to stand in a
proper posture (that encourages good breathing and proper technique);
the ability to breathe correctly and manage breathing well; etc.
As these are the
essentials to singing, you may be surprised to find out that it is
not uncommon for them to be overlooked (especially when a student
already has some musical background). Some students may go years
having an incomplete idea, and only learn that they have a problem
when they receive a comment on it (or switch teachers). Therefore, it
is our job as teachers of music to make sure that these skills are
honed in each of our students, allowing them to have a solid
foundation upon which they can build the musical talents.
After this solid
foundation, students should continue to work. This time the focus can
move more to the technical aspects of the music, phonation,
articulation, and resonance. It will take time and effort, but the
results will make the singing seem effortless and the sound full and
free. Let the student work up to pieces they can perform, and let
them be excited about what they're doing (after all this is an
amazing art form)! It is important to remember that some students may
need to be reigned in a little (the author tells a story about one of
his high schoolers trying to search out arias from Wagner's Ring
cycle), but help them to channel that enthusiasm and want of a
challenge into something more appropriate for the voice. There is no
rush when it comes to the voice developing, let it do so naturally
and healthily. In time, they may, one day, be able to sing those big
roles they so crave.
In the end, it
comes down to wanting students to be musically literate. Giving the
students the tools with which they can begin their musical journey.
Then, they are taught how to use them to solve their own problems.
With time their skill set begins to grow and you continue to add more
and more tools to their toolbox until they're standing on their own
two feet and ready to run off into whatever musical sunset they hope
to follow. As teachers we are guides, not dictators. Starting with
the basics, we should help students to learn on their own and pursue
the musical future that makes them happy.
In almost all choirs I've been in, the first thing the director would lead us in was posture alignment, then breathing exercises. This really helped me establish a basic foundation, even though I didn't fully comprehend it the way I do know. Basic foundations are very important!
ReplyDeleteI like that the article focuses on finding a solid foundation in the basics and then building more complicated techniques on top of it. I think that is the most beneficial way to teach and help your students grow as musicians and performers.
ReplyDeleteI like how it talks about the singer's toolkit. I wish that was something I had learned from the very beginning when I started taking lessons in high school. It is absolutely insane how just standing, breathing, or thinking a little differently can make such a huge difference on the whole package!
ReplyDeleteFoundations and basics are always super important. I think this article is a great reminder for teachers to focus on building good musicians before worrying about building an artistic singer.
ReplyDeleteYay for foundations and basics! Weak foundations don't support the structures above them in the way they need to... I have tried to communicate the idea this term to focus on the basic foundation of breath coordination with the vocal folds to have healthy production and go from there. Everything is related to that, and at least you can almost do no permanent harm if you have freely functioning tone occurring. :-) Start where you can find some success and then let the growth go out from there! Also, please don't be a magician with secrets who magically "fixes" people but doesn't really teach. Share the real information and be a resource so the students can go and start to figure things out on their own. It is so fun to see students taking responsibility for their instrument and just making their progress get better with their continued work and understanding of what to do.
ReplyDeleteI have had troubles with posture and breathing especially when singing higher notes. Once I was taught different techniques in my voice lesson, everything started to click. Of course I still have I still work on it every week but knowing the foundations has really helped me grow as a singer.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. When in previous choirs, we always focused on learning the basics of note reading. There was little emphasis on posture and breathing, mainly because of the size of our choir. I like that the article focuses on building foundations!
ReplyDeleteThings I promise to do as an educator; teach more than notes and rhythms. Breathing and posture are the the first things we should instruct and constantly look for in students.
ReplyDeleteI think it's pretty easy to catch posture problems as a choir teacher. It's pretty obvious when kids are slouching or not standing correctly. What's probably harder is noticing when kids are not breathing or supporting correctly. There's a lot to think about as a choir teacher, so we should spend part of rehearsal focused on good posture and breathing!
ReplyDeleteVery helpful article, I think emphasis posture is very important for students, especally when they just start something vocal techniques. It hlpes them contribute a more profesonall singers.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that presenting a piece of music is a diverse package of elements that fit together into an interpretive whole, but that doesn't mean that some of those elements aren't more important than others. Building basics of posture, breathing, tone, and resonance to the point where they become natural, automatic extensions of your expression is always the first step. With those firmly in place, then you can start thinking about characterization and movement, but if you have to think about too many things at once during a performance it all ends up falling flat.
ReplyDeleteIn my own personal experience I have found the majority of my vocal faults are tied the "basics" not being as solid as I would like them to be. Breathing and posture, I would argue, can be the most problematic if they are attached to bad habits.
ReplyDeleteIt's so true. It's amazing how much you can do with just the "basics" as well as how much you can solve by improving your "basics."
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered about "where to start" when learning good vocal technique. Posture and breathing seem to hold well, but I really enjoy the "releasing tension" method.
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