Watching the Naked Choir and Gareth Malone this week I have been reflecting on why we as a human race never stop singing. It’s interesting how we all became very gloomy a decade ago that no one was singing and so we had a real drive to get singing going again, in schools and communities and yes it has really blossomed. One thing I have been aware of with the LeoSings project which has just ended is how singing bubbles away under the surface and then suddenly erupts, so we now have A Capella festivals and choirs all over Europe and the world and that is truly wonderful.

One of the exciting things that has happened is that LeoSings although finished as a project is going to continue with a singing roadshow, to help these a Capella groups and any singers, learn more about good singing, repertoire and technical skills.

It was five years ago that I completed my PhD on the Perception of the Singing Voice and one of the major findings from my research interviewing singers across all ages and expertise up to professional level was that those with advanced performance skills spoke about their perceptions of singing in terms of space and movement. This might seem obvious to any singers reading this but we tend not to focus on that when we teach. If I have learnt anything from this summer’s experiences with LeoSings, Eurovox in Riga, PEVOC in Firenze it is that we need to teach our students to feel and think in more effective ways when they sing.

I am going to work on a programme where I focus on specific vowel sounds and consonants to encourage the singers to be consciously aware of the internal space in the pharyngeal area as well as the acoustic feed back they are getting from the internal feedback, bone and fluid conduction etc. and the external acoustic space as well. And link it to their whole body sensations in terms of balance as the inner ear and balance mechanisms are so fundamental to our well being and optimum performance.

I have become very aware of this trying to teach French song to my University students as the complexity of vowel colours in French is so rich and diverse and gives the singer such opportunities for exploring levels of timbre in the sound. We have been exploring Rimbaud’s poem Voyelles, in French and English and it is really helping them think and feel what vowels are all about!

More of this later!

It is only a few days now before I go to Florence to present a workshop and paper on the seminal book by Johan Sundberg “The Science of the Singing Voice”. This came out about 25 years ago and as well as other books by great voice scientists it has shaped the way we think and teach singing. So myself and other EVTA colleagues are going to demonstrate and workshop some of the ways we have been influenced by the whole voice science discipline. In Florence 31st August to 2nd September PEVOC, the Pan-European Voice Congress will meet along with MAVEBA, another medical and scientific voice meeting. Why is EVTA going? Well, we believe that we have much still tomlearn about the singing voice and we also sincerely believe that as teachers of singing, we have much to give to voice scientists and doctors.

In our profession we meet the individual singers and the choirs who are using their voices in an intensive way and we see the effects of misuse or the wonders of a free, colourful and dynamic sound. So our practical experience counts for a lot, hence we are doing this workshop for all those interested in learning a little of our expertise. And we want to ask the scientists questions ourselves. What is it that is really important to us as teachers? What do we want more research on, which areas of voice science have practical significance for singers and their teachers? So plenty of discussion to be had!

Already with our Pan-European projects we have explored teaching styles, digital technology and most recently with LeoSings, the diversity of singing across Europe particularly the opportunities for choral singing and A Capella music. We hope to take part in the Singing Roadshow which we hope will be a continuation of this very successful joint venture. EVTA has learnt much from the participating partners and we feel we have also shared some of our knowledge too.

Singing in choirs and as individuals is done at amateur and professional levels and our singing teacher members have to teach all ages and abilities so there is plenty of scope for research!

I will blog again on my return but I am getting excited at the prospect!

Recently I was at a party with friends and family and music began to play. Everyone was sitting around chatting and enjoying each other’s company but I found myself dancing. Well,  it helps if you are standing up holding a 10-month old grandson in one’s arms but I surprised myself by dancing and all on my own.

And then I began to think… I often find myself in situations where music is playing and I feel an urge to dance, and it doesn’t seem to matter whether it is Mozart or Mamma Mia, I do want to move, or get in the groove, or just enter body and soul into the moment. In the past music involved singing and dancing, there weren’t all the different boxes that we like to categorise music with today. In the Baroque period they would have felt it normal to dance to the music. Even in the Messiah we have wonderful dance tunes, particularly for ‘How beautiful are the feet’  quite appropriately.

I remember Nancy Argenta explaining that the secret of Bach singing was to dance to it.

What has become of our 21st century generation if we feel we can’t dance to music? I think we are losing deep connections with our inner beings. Recently in Latvia, dancing around oak tress and Linden trees singing the 1000 songs which are especially written for midsummer solstice I was struck by how natural it all felt. The links with the land and each other, the smell of the woodland floor as we danced on the leaves, it was a complete holistic experience and one that once a few generations ago would have seemed normal and natural.

Singing and dancing are too important to lose, for our individual health but also for cultural identity, our historical rich heritage. And I don’t just mean the traditional folk songs but the popular songs of our culture. I’ve been around since the fifties and grew up with the Beatles and the Beach Boys, I want to dance to that music too. I’ve never been to Glastonbury but I would guess part of that vibe is the dancing and movement to music and the singalong with football matches and even Wimbledon now is part of a need we all have to move.

Our sedentary lifestyle is slowly killing us, sitting at computers, desks, in cars or trains or planes. Music should make us get out of our seats and dance!

Phew! It is all over and I am sad but also relieved that it all went so well. No blogs for the past few months because of this big event organised by the Latvian Singing Teachers Association and the European Voice Teachers Association. We finished with an amazing summer solstice party with 25 countries singing and dancing together wearing floral and oak leaf crowns.
But we had some amazing speakers including the Grand Lady of Voice, Kristin Linklater. The things I hold onto at all these conferences are the golden nuggets of Information, that help me to view singing and my own teaching in a new and creative way. I’ve also been involved in the LeoSings Project in the last two years but more of that later.

I will write about some of these ideas and how I have used them in later blogs but for now it’s back to the minutes of the EVTA COuncil and Board, waiting to be finished.

I’m in Freiburg at the moment at the fourth LEOSings event. We have had some excellent presentations and lots of fun warm-ups. But I am having to really challenge myself about how we use social media to develop our ideas and also to spread what we understand about singing and teaching to a wider audience. Learning about overtone singing, and gestures and movement when we sing have been excellent sessions.

I want the singing teachers to be more involved in these projects. So many warm ups are more physical than vocal. I could say are we really singing? I love all the vocal percussion and beat boxing they are such great fun but they are not singing and don’t pretend to be. How can we as singing teachers make vocalising as fun and as rhythmic as these contemporary styles. Someone asked me why we had not more ‘classical’ singing in these sessions.

I like the use of space and movement when we do vocal noises and this can be transferred to actual singing.

Be brave!

Breath…. Resonance… Articulation… Variety…Energy…

Breath

It is a useful exercise to stretch the upper body with the ‘tulip stretch’ at least that is what I call it. Lift your arms above your head and stretch the middle of your torso to make space for your diaphragm to work and be released. Then drop your arms but DO NOT drop your chest. You need to keep the breast bones off your lungs so they can expand. It is the noble posture that singers and actors adopt to enable them to deliver their words with resonance. Breathe out for 5 then in for 5. Then do some short quick breaths feeling the ribs spring and expand around your middle.

Resonance

High hums, sniff hums and sirening on ‘ng’ can help wake up the resonances in the sinuses and nasal passages. It also helps if you are congested to breathe in steam!

Articulation

Consonants need to be crisp and clear and forward in a big acoustic space. The sound is carried on the vowels and the consonants make the meaning clear. Tongue rolling and lip trilling wakes up the essential muscles you need.

Variety of tone

Without being ridiculous you need to make subtle changes in the pitch and timbre of your voice to keep the listener engaged! Have you ever heard a monotone speaker? You soon switch off and fall asleep! ‘Falling off a cliff’ exercise is a simple way of extending your range. Start with a gentle sigh as high as you can and slide down in a pitch that feels comfortable. You shouldn’t hear any breaks in the sound. It is an excellent warm up!

Energy

A subtle attribute, not too much or too little but a feeling that what you have to say is important and you want to get it across. Feel the energy coming from the space around you, sometimes you can feel you are bouncing on the edge of a diving board. Rotate the hips to release the lower abdominal muscles that need to be flexible for breathing. Make sure you haven’t locked up your energy in your jaw or your knees. Have a good shake down!

SJM 2015

Well it is almost a year that I have been blogging so it is time to review whether these have been useful or not, to me or to others. I realise I have to be careful as some silly typos have got through.
Teaching singing is a a complex process and it is not always possible to express this in a blog. For example today I have had a variety of students, all needing a slightly different approach to the same goals.
I want my students to sing with all their voice and body, to be expressive, to sing with ease and no stress or strain and yet working to their full capacity. This means stretching the ideas the students have of their own capabilities; moving them beyond the sound world that they are limited to.

When I work around Europe I am aware of how cultural experience colours our own tonal palette and often limits us to the possibilities of producing sung sound. We need to get our students to explore different languages, poetry, colours and concepts. Next month I am off to Freiburg with the LEOSings project and I know I will be stimulated by the sounds and ideas I hear and share with others.

It has been a long time since I blogged but I have been busy teaching and singing and it gets a bit frantic coming up to Christmas. I’ve just got back from Paris where we had the European Voice Teachers Association Board meeting near the Bastille where the shooting took place. It is such a shock to have been walking on the same streets as those poor victims. It makes me realise how important it is to keep these joint projects going, meeting people from all backgrounds and cultures, sharing singing and songs, learning from each other and respecting different belief systems. I believe and know that God is love and any God that is portrayed differently is not the true God. We need love in the world and we need people of all faiths to stand up for freedom, peace, justice and respect.
Musicians, singers, poets and artists all have a duty to encourage the creativity of all humankind, God’s life-giving, hope-affirming spirit is within everyone of us, whatever our ‘religion’ or atheism. Violence and destruction, terrorism and murder will kill the perpetrators’ soul and they will have no peace from their wickedness.
I fervently pray that the terrible atrocities of recent days will bring governments to realise that extremism of all kinds needs urgent attention and wisdom in tackling the underlying causes.

I will get back to singing blogs very shortly… Just so shocked! Je Suis Charlie

It has been a busy summer and I have been lucky enough to go to some beautiful places, Riga, Mechelen, Tours, all because of EVTA. The European Voice Teachers Association, of which I am the secretary is involved in the LEOSings project and we are exploring the diversity of singing practice in Europe which might sound a bit dull and irrelevant but it is actually really important and we have several productive meetings discussing how we use language when talking about singing and choirs and vocal music. We have been sharing best practices, learning from a huge variety of workshops and trying to find out how each country trains, voice teachers and choir directors. We meet and work together and part of the great benefit of this ongoing ‘process’ of discovery is that we make good friends and we open up our ideas and generously share our expertise.
I am principally a solo singer and singing teacher, though I do run my own little community choir and I also sing with an amazing choir. However I have learnt so much from seeing choir leaders work with singers and I have used some of their ideas in my own teaching. It is such a great opportunity across Europe to work together in groups that perhaps haven’t had the chance to network before.
Riga is the place for Eurovox 2015 so look out for that website. Mechelen where we had our annual council meeting, was very beautiful and we heard about some great presenters from our Belgian friends that we are inviting to Riga. Then in Tours for the 3rd LeoSings, we were able to enjoy glorious weather and the amazing city but also some great presentations sharing some of the events with the AFPC, the French singing teachers. The highlight for me was the concert on Tuesday evening from Mikrokosmos, a highly gifted creative French choir.
So now it is back to work at the University and the writing up of reports and getting ready for Eurovox.