General Singing Techniques
Posture
The head is erect without stiffness; the spine straight, not slumped; the chest moderately
elevated and the feet firmly and squarely placed so that the entire
body is buoyantly supported.
Breathing
With the chest already elevated, with respiration there is
comparatively little or no movement in the upper chest and shoulders.
Expansive rib action surrounds the entire chest, especially toward
the lower and middle back rib, while the diaphram and abdominal walls
remain flexible and vital.
Relaxation
Relaxation is defined as freedom for action, a sate of balance,
equilibrium, or readiness to perform. It is not limpness nor
inertia.... It must be understood that the skills necessary for good
singing call for the most delicate balance and interplay of muscular
adjustments in and around the larynx, neck, tongue, and mouth;
adjustments which often change with great rapidity in the act of
singing.
Resonance
The vibratory activity of voice encompasses many structures, muscles,
bones, ligaments, and cavities of the body all at once and, in a
sense, the entire human body maybe regarded as a complex resonator of
voice.... The absence of constriction of local muscular efforts with
the resultant feeling of complete freedom assures proper coordination
of all parts of the vocal tract with maximum resonance and vocal
quality.
Registration
Registration in singing refers to the "change" or "break" in vocal
quality that occurs when the vocal cords readjust themselves for
pitches of faster of slower frequencies (higher or lower pitches).
Most singers who have not benefited from formal vocal training will
experience a noticeable change in quality when they reach a certain
point in tessitura (range) of the voice while singing a scale passage.
This "lift" in the voice marks the point where the low (chest) voice
ends and the high (head) voice begins. The sensation of the register
change, which can fluctuate according to the intensity of the tone or
the form of the vowel used in a vocal exercise or musical phrase,
normally occurs somewhere in the area just above the pitch of the
speaking voice.
Diction
Diction in its complete sense, means not only the clear, beautiful,
sensitive and intelligible communication of language, but the whole
technique and art of the song-text delivery, i.e., word emphasis or
stress, emotional color, nuance, continuity of the phrase line,
etc.
Vowels are the vehicles of voice and, as such, they are
resonated throughout all the resonating areas. The position of the
tongue and shape of the mouth are contributing factors in vowel
formation.
Consonants are formed in the mouth area by movements of the lips,
tongue and the palate. Such movements should not in any disturb the
freedom of the throat for tone production.
hausmann@www.houston.omnes.slb.com
