9 Little Mistakes Singers make with their Bodies.
One of Nature’s greatest miracles is the human voice. How it all works; the muscles that support the organization of the breathing; the fine air control in the larynx that produces singing, shouting, whispering; is a marvel. The lips, the palate, the tongue, the complex adjustments as well as the nervous and mechanical skill all add up to unparalleled and refined function. A role so unique and skilled, it’s unfathomable.
Mistakes happen when we interfere with this fine physical and mental mechanism. If you don’t fully know and appreciate how your body works you have less control of its function and its effect on your singing.
Error #1. It is a myth that the deep breathing exercises increase lung capacity.
You build a picture of ‘good breathing’ according to what you have been taught. Filling your lungs to sing a long phrase is not only unnecessary but can also be detrimental.
If you can’t sustain a phrase long enough, it is not because you took in too little breath.
The problem with deep breathing as a means of enabling longer phrases is that over time it causes us to interfere with the involuntary and natural flow of air, breathing in and out by subtly holding the breath. Unrecognized patterns of holding and tightening cause a rigid frame.
Breathing is natural; learn to work with it not against it. Become your own teacher in observing your breathing tendencies and habits gained over time. It can improve just by changing one thought about how you are doing it.
Error #2. Your voice and your singing is a whole body activity.
While singing happens in the throat, chest and voice, too much emphasis is given to only these areas.
No amount of training can undo that unless the real cause is identified and restored.
Each part of the vocal organization can be trained, but each part is a piece of a larger scheme, and can be altered.
Behind your performance is a total person, a total experience which operates perfectly when whole.
Error #3. Your concept of where your lungs start and end and their function may not match the truth.
Misconceptions about the movements of the diaphragm and rib cage can cause rigidity and more strain.
Their use and function are directly affected by how you think about them to how well they work.
Your lungs begin just above your collarbone and reach the lowest rib bones. They are surrounded by the bony rib cage which by its name sounds like a solid wall. In truth, its ingenious design is very expandable due to the soft cartilage that connects the breastbone to each rib in front.
The great opera singer Beniamino Gigli said at a London conference in 1946
“As soon as I begin to sing I forget all about the diaphragm and the ribs,
all about the breathing machinery and its action
and sing on the air accumulated right underneath the larynx” concluding….
“think more and do less”.
Try out my free eCourse for Easier Breathing here
Error #4. How you breathe can be a very confusing concept.
To grasp the ideas of air pressure, air vacuums, intra-thoracic spaces etc can be mind-boggling! Actually breathing is way simpler than this.
Outside the body there is atmospheric pressure; in the lungs there is a compensating (lack of) pressure. As the lungs release the breath (exhaling) it causes a pressure to build up to its peak. The rib cage and diaphragm react automatically (inhaling) to even the pressure. So the natural exchange takes place.
In a motor car engine where fuel, air, pressure, and electricity come together to create the small explosion, it moves the car’s pistons up and down. This creates the power to move the vehicle. In the heart/lung exchange there is a similar action; in a much more dynamic way.
Error #5. More and more practice does not equal a stronger voice:
Practicing till you are exhausted or bored is not beneficial. Too serious, too determined, too fixed practice can ultimately cause great tension and stifle a voice.
Some tension is a good thing BUT too much tension can be counterproductive.
Practicing effectively can happen in more ways than one e.g. while you are not singing
Error #6. Standing badly can affect your singing.
There can be little doubt that in these days of slumping in front of a computer and in general everyday activities, the tendency is to collapse and lose front length of the body. The three major muscle systems affecting the flexibility of breathing are the extensors (the major back muscles maintaining an erect spine), the flexors (in the front of the torso) and the outer layers of the back which allow flexibility to the back.
Gradually slumping more and more becomes a habitual stance as we are generally unaware this is happening.
The way you stand will affect breathing and have an effect on the sound you produce. Sensing correctly, really knowing your true balance supports your confidence, your voice an ultimately your Self!
Error #7. Your eyes play a big part in how you sing;
Being too focussed and fixed, staring at a screen, frowning to force more focus closes and tightens the throat and puts pressure on the voice.
Too much eye fixed-ness squeezea your whole attention and also your ‘mind/muscle’ eyes!
Listen with your eyes. Think of smiling with your face (without actually smiling).
Error #8. Boxing your attention in holds back your creative and open spirit.
When performing and or singing, fixing on one focal point, seeing only the music dulls aliveness.
Let it stretch to everything, to your Self, all that is infront of you and all that is in your side views. The more attention you give to all your surroundings outside of your immediate attention, the greater your vocal reach.
Error #9. Fear drives rigidity!
Fear of that high note! You always get stuck there! Fear of freezing or worse, losing your voice! when you’re hitting the high notes!
So more and more practice doesn’t change it! Is that true? More and more stage work does little to ease it;
Learning the art of letting go before you start singing, this is the little secret. Letting go of the whole moment!
Getting peace to stay before you start singing changes what happens in your mind, in your voice and in your entire body.
The more you can enjoy being on stage, the more you can empower your voice.
Awareness is half the journey! The more you know about you and your natural function, your blue-print, the more your vocal and performance production improves.
Your path to a free and easy voice and a confident physical mind-body lies in reclaiming your natural design. Just like Nature intended!
Here’s my Easier Breathing online course free for you. Leave your details to receive it.
