Healthy Singing Habits – DevelopingVoices

Are We in Gym Class? I Thought This Was Choir – PT III

Adding Movement To Benefit Healthy Singing In Your Rehearsal

by Contributing Author Niccole Winney

How Can I Incorporate Movement in Rehearsals?

Just do it! Movement is a natural human response, especially movement to music, which makes incorporating it into rehearsal quite simple. There are a few listed below for you to try . . .

Movement in Choral Warm-Up :

Movements that are core strengthening.

Movements that support breath energy and muscle energy.

Movements that support the sound.

YOGA POSES help with technical aspects such as body alignment, strengthening the core muscles, and connecting the breath to movement. But it also teaches focus, presence, vulnerability, patience and self-love. These yoga poses can be found at these links: https://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/beginner-yoga-poses-positions/ https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/types/forward-bends

Mountain Pose opens the chest and belly while grounding and elongating the spine.

Chair Pose strengthens the legs and back, which is helpful for standing rehearsals.

Forward Fold releases tension in the lower back.

Warrior 1 strengthens the arms, legs, hips and chest -considered an energizing pose.

Warrior 2 stretches the legs, hips and chest.

Downward Dog yoga pose stretches the calves, hamstrings, spine, chest and shoulder while toning the abdominal muscles.

Energized movements are another way to rid singers of tension while warming up the breath and body. Many of these are good to get blood flowing to the muscles and also help improve focus and concentration.

Shake it out: Starting with the right hand, count out loud with each shake eight times. Switch to the left hand counting each shake eight times. Then move to shaking out the right foot eight times followed by the left foot eight times, still counting out loud. After completing both hands and feet start the exercise over but only count to seven. Continue counting down until you reach the number 1.

Mirror After Me: This is a movement exercise that helps improve focus and steady beat. All movements are done in 4/4 time. The director starts by clapping 4 beats while the choir is silent for the first 4 beats. On the second measure, the choir claps the same 4 beats that the director just completed. However, while the choir is clapping, the director makes up and completes a new gesture (such as snapping or stomping). It is the choirs job to remember what the new movement is and complete it one measure behind the director. The director may choose to make the movement as big or small as they would like. My students LOVE this game, but do not realize it is improving their memory skills, watching skills, and helping to warm up the body!

Marching in Place: Get singers to loosen up. Marching causes the heart to pump blood to the muscles faster and deepens the singers breathing. If marching in place is also placed with a vocal warm up, it has the added benefit of actively engaging and strengthening the core muscles.

Movement During Rehearsal

After involving singers in a movement based warm up, it is important to foster an environment that promotes and expects singers to move frequently in the rehearsal space. Singers need to know that it is okay to sway to the music, to be able to bend the knees, work out muscle tension or play with different hand gestures while singing in order to ease vocal and muscular tension. Furthermore, the more frequently the director uses movements throughout the rehearsal, the more likely the singers are to adopt these practices on their own. Below are some ways to incorporate movement throughout the rehearsal to make sure singers are staying engaged and tension free.

Movements that ease neck and jaw tension include “pretending to”:
- Use a paintbrush to paint the phrase that is being sung
- Smooth the frosting on top of a cake while singing
- Lift the sound up and over your head
- Draw a rainbow arch that follow the phrasing of the musical line
Movements that engage the core:
- Plie on ascending phrases
- Sing an entire phrase while holding a squat
- Throw a frisbee or baseball on an ascending line
Movements to improve energy and focus:
- Tap the sternum to keep the pulse while singing
- March to the beat
- Mini stretch breaks, shake it out breaks, or yoga pose breaks in between rehearsing pieces.
- Make standing a regular expectation in rehearsal. While it may seem that standing for a long rehearsal can be tiring, choirs that stand throughout their rehearsals sing with more energy and have less vocal and mental fatigue because their muscles are more likely to be engaged and do not collapse their breathing mechanisms as frequently.

What If This Is All Brand New Information For My Choir?

Take time to build trust with your choir while incorporating these new ideas. Your singers may surprise you and be excited about trying something new. If they seem reluctant or uneasy, start with smaller movements and work towards bigger movements over time.

Helpful Tips On Implementing Movement

Know the pedagogical reason for asking your choir to do a movement exercise and share that with your singers. Is it to help engage the core? Is it to help create a relaxed, tall posture? To help with breath support or moving through a register break?
Be confident and completely comfortable with the movements you present to your choir. Often, directors have to give 130% of their energy and confidence to get even a 70% engagement from their singers. If you are hesitant and uncomfortable with the activity, your singers will be too. If this is the case, practice teaching it and get comfortable with the movements several times before even presenting it to your choir.
Create a positive, trusting and encouraging environment. Singers have to feel comfortable and safe in the rehearsal space to truly let go and try new ideas. Experimenting and modifying movements is welcome and acceptable, so trying things on a smaller scale are better than not trying at all.
Make movement in warm ups and rehearsals an expectation. Do not let it become routine that movement is for the warm up only. If movement throughout all parts of the rehearsal is the norm, it will take away the novelty of doing a “new” or “strange” movement exercise and will allow singers to relax into it and reap the benefits of the exercise.
Encourage singers to adopt movement for exercise at home or even in combination with their at home vocal practice. Simple things such as yoga, planking, daily walking and diaphragmatic breathing exercises can help strengthen muscles and will get the singer more comfortable with moving their body at their own pace.
Give it time. The singers will catch on eventually and gradually take ownership of their own movement. The more encouraging the director stays towards movement, the more frequently it will occur.

Take Away

Consistent and encouraged movement in rehearsal (and performance) may be the opposite of what you have experienced. However the benefits that come with movement help singers use their instrument by weeding out unnecessary tension and focusing on what is best for their voice, mind and body.

Please check out the resources below ~

Resources

Bech-Hanssen, G. (2017, November 8). Why Your Diaphragm Could Be the Core Strength Game-Changer You’ve Overlooked. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from

https://www.yogajournal.com/teach/why-your-diaphragm-could-be-core-strength-game-ch anger#gid=ci0218f62e90002522&pid=3_straw_diaphram

Benson, J. S. (2011). A Study of Three Choral Pedagogues and Their Use of Movement in the Choral Rehearsal. Florida State University Libraries . Retrieved from https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:253955/datastream/PDF/view

Berbari, G. (2017, July 26). 13 Unexpected Life Lessons You Can Learn Just From Practicing

Yoga. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.elitedaily.com/wellness/life-lessons-from-yoga/2026746

Cefali, V. (2018, September 24). A Mindful, Community-Building Choir Warm Up. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.smartmusic.com/blog/a-mindful-community-building-choir-warm-up/

Harvard Health Publishing. (n.d.). The real-world benefits of strengthening your core. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/the-real-world-benefits-of-strengthening-your-c ore

Healthline. (n.d.). What Causes Muscle Rigidity? Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.healthline.com/health/muscle-rigidity#causes

Healthline. (n.d.). Diaphragm Overview. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/diaphragm

Menehan, K. (2013, June 23). Movement in Rehearsal. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.chorusamerica.org/singers/movement-rehearsal

Montigne, J. (2013, July 24). 5 Essential Yoga Poses for Singers. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.chorusamerica.org/node/3155#.UfWQExAUsHQ.facebook

Oare, S. (2017, December 30). How and Why to Incorporate Movement in Choral Rehearsals. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from

http://kansasmusicreview.com/2017/12/30/how-and-why-to-incorporate-movement-in-cho ral-rehearsals/

Are We in Gym Class? I Thought This Was Choir – Pt. II

How Does Movement Benefit our Singing?

Since we now know why stillness and rigidness is not good for fostering good posture and vocal health, check out the many reasons movement is beneficial for singers.

Movement Combats Tension!

Movement is a natural remedy for relieving muscle pain and tension. When we move our bodies our oxygen levels and blood flow automatically increase, helping to ease the muscles while releasing endorphins that aid in stress-relief. Even simple movement in the rehearsal such as naturally swaying to the music, or lightly massaging neck and jaw muscles can help warm up the muscles and relieve stiffness and pain. Over time, the more a singer practices movement, the less likely they are to suffer from chronic tension.

Movement Improves Posture!

Creating an environment where singers are invited to move freely helps singers tune in to what their body needs and allows them to act accordingly. Simple movements during rehearsal, such as bending the knees, swaying, stretching, using hand movements that support the sound can help a singer to re-energize tired, tense muscles. This helps the singer to reset and establish an open, buoyant body alignment. These small movements can even be modified and carried into performances without becoming a distraction to the audience!

Movement Builds Core Muscles!

A large part of the singer’s support mechanism is made up of core muscles. Many singers have been ill informed with the advice to “sing with your diaphragm!” While the diaphragm is a part of the core mechanism, it is a completely involuntary muscle. Controlled by the phrenic nerve located at the top of the neck, the diaphragm acts as a top to our core muscles and attaches along the base of the ribcage. The diaphragm’s main purpose is to create a vacuum effect to help pull air into the lungs. It contracts and flattens during inhalation and relaxes during exhalation. The diaphragm is interconnected with the other core muscles (abdomen, back muscles and the pelvic floor) that help support a singer’s sound. It is important that all core muscles are equally strengthened and engaged in order to help manage a singer’s breath support and airflow. “You can think of these muscles as forming the sides of a pressurized container: the pelvic floor is the bottom, the deep abdominal and back muscles form the sides, and the diaphragm is the lid on top. If any of these muscles don’t perform their important tasks perfectly, the container will start to lose pressure, weakening the stable base you need to move effectively.” (Bech-Hanssen). If any part of the core muscles are weakened or not equally engaged, then a singer will involuntarily compensate in the intrinsic or extrinsic muscles of the larynx. Thankfully, movement during rehearsal acts as a ‘reset’ to the body by helping to engage ALL of the core muscles. Even simple movements such as swaying the body, engaging in hand motions, or bending the knees while singing relaxes the muscles in the larynx, eases leg, back and neck tension, and automatically engages the core muscles. Constant movement while singing helps to strengthen those muscles over time and helps the support mechanism that manages the airstream through the vocal folds without any added tension.

Movement Gives the Brain a Distraction!

Singers have to balance so many aspects of their craft both technically and artistically. Sometimes, a singer may have perfectionistic tendencies and overcompensate on directions given by a director because they want to ‘do it right!’ Other times, singers may experience mental roadblocks (usually manifested through neck and jaw tension) because they are uncomfortable singing passages that deal with register breaks, lack of breath control, or simply due to working through stage fright. These ‘stressors’ invite tension into the body. Thankfully, movement can serve as a distraction for the singer to focus on something else rather than ‘doing it right’ or potentially ‘messing up.’ According to a study conducted at Florida State University using gestures that mimicked the melodic line or rhythmic qualities of the music were proven to improve sound, ease tension and improve rhythmic and stylistic accuracy (Benson). Allowing singers the freedom to play with movement in rehearsal serves as a vehicle to get the singer out of their head and into expressing the music while dissolving tension and road blocks simultaneously.

Part III next week:

How Can I Incorporate Movement in Rehearsals?

Just do it! Movement is a natural human response, especially movement to music, which makes incorporating it into rehearsal very accessible. I’ll list ways that I’ve used movement during warm ups and throughout the rehearsal.

Are We in Gym Class? I Thought This Was Choir.

by Contributing Author Niccole Winney.

Freedom of Movement Creates Freedom of Sound

Two years ago, upon accepting a music education position in Kansas City, I decided to rebuild the after school choral program. Thinking about what kind of culture and expectation I wanted to create in my rehearsals, I determined that vocal-health awareness needed to be among the most prominent qualities. Of course, that meant establishing a routine of doing a full body, voice and mind warm up before singing our repertoire. However, right out of the gate in our first rehearsal one of my students raised her hand and asked “Um, I’m confused… Why are we stretching like its gym class if all we have to do is sing?” After asking a series of questions, I learned that my students had never heard of doing a physical warm up before singing. And when it came to posture, their previous teacher had said “stand up straight like a soldier, head up, hands down by your side and whatever you do, DON’T MOVE.”

Performance presence is important, but creating an expectation of absolute stillness invites tension into the vocal mechanism and body; ultimately sacrificing the singer’s ability to use their instrument freely.

How Does Stillness Create Tension?

Keeping a still stance while singing lets tension creep in for a myriad of reasons; some of which many trained singers and teachers may find surprising.

Stillness creates a breeding ground for poor body alignment. While some singers have learned to “lock into” singer’s posture, the reality is that, without movement, ‘perfect alignment or posture’ is never maintained. The inability to move, sway, or adjust during singing intensifies muscle fatigue causing long lasting tension. Practice makes permanent. Muscles are weakened from fatigue habits such as slumping forward, rounding the shoulders, standing with the weight on one leg, or projecting the head out and down. These poor habits cause the breathing mechanism to collapse reinforcing misuse of muscles in the throat and neck. A better result will occur when we rely on our core muscles for support. Remember that singing is a whole body-mind activity.
Stillness eliminates our ability to relax overly tightened muscles causing rigidity. Tight muscles are often caused by a sneaky and overlooked tension culprit called stress. Our body operates on a fight or flight system. While most of us do not face the stressors our ancestors did, such as outrunning a wild predator, the body’s nervous system still responds to stress the same way. Things as widely ranged from a long work commute to a strained relationship can cause fatigue to creep into the muscles.

We put additional pressure on our blood vessels when the body senses a ‘stressor” causing a lack of blood flow to the muscles which in turn causes them to tighten and lock up. Movement is the natural remedy for combating this issue as it stimulates blood flow and releases endorphins. Furthermore, a rigid rehearsal atmosphere where singers are not welcome to move will contribute to a singer’s subconscious daily stress. This is especially true if the singer is concerned with “getting it right”. Not being able to move to ward off tension intensifies muscle rigidity and which in turn causes the neck, throat, jaw and shoulder muscles to kick into overdrive instead of allowing the airflow created by the core muscles to support the voice.

Why Is Movement Good?

Since we now know why stillness and rigidness is not good for fostering good posture and vocal health, check out the many reasons movement is beneficial for singers in next week’s post: Why is Movement Good?

Lynn Swanson leading early morning choral warm-ups at Northview Elementary Chorus, Kansas City, MO.
Karen Hall, Chorus Teacher, 2016.

Resources

Bech-Hanssen, G. (2017, November 8). Why Your Diaphragm Could Be the Core Strength Game-Changer You’ve Overlooked. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from

https://www.yogajournal.com/teach/why-your-diaphragm-could-be-core-strength-game-ch anger#gid=ci0218f62e90002522&pid=3_straw_diaphram

Berbari, G. (2017, July 26). 13 Unexpected Life Lessons You Can Learn Just From Practicing

Yoga. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.elitedaily.com/wellness/life-lessons-from-yoga/2026746

Cefali, V. (2018, September 24). A Mindful, Community-Building Choir Warm Up. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.smartmusic.com/blog/a-mindful-community-building-choir-warm-up/

Healthline. (n.d.). What Causes Muscle Rigidity? Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.healthline.com/health/muscle-rigidity#causes

Healthline. (n.d.). Diaphragm Overview. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/diaphragm

Menehan, K. (2013, June 23). Movement in Rehearsal. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.chorusamerica.org/singers/movement-rehearsal

Montigne, J. (2013, July 24). 5 Essential Yoga Poses for Singers. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.chorusamerica.org/node/3155#.UfWQExAUsHQ.facebook

Oare, S. (2017, December 30). How and Why to Incorporate Movement in Choral Rehearsals. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from

http://kansasmusicreview.com/2017/12/30/how-and-why-to-incorporate-movement-in-cho ral-rehearsals/

Why are you doing what you are doing?

Why does your choir do vocal exercises? How to know what to do when – Sequential Choral Training Exercises and its importance

It’s important to think of the voice as not residing just in the pharynx. Think of the voice as being part of the mind and the body. Vocal exercises should have a reason behind why each and every one is done. For example: Singing a bright “nee-nee-nee” raises a suppressed larynx to a more neutral position. This is especially important to bass singers who find themselves pressing their larynx to sing even lower. Singing a “nee to a nah” brings the sound forward. Vocal exercises should include continuous body movement no matter how small. This increases circulation, enables natural breathing from the diaphragm, and provides oxygen to the brain.

Not only should movement happen, but the brain should be triggered to think about what the ear is hearing and what the voice is singing. Doing activities such as writing your name in the air with an imaginary balloon helps engage the mind. Looking about the room and finding something new about it, engages the mind. Calling out the new found thing and naming it’s shape, color, purpose and if it serves any purpose to you.

How we actually begin making our first sounds is important. Using descending slides to gently pull the vocal folds toward the cricoid ring and back toward the thyroid sets good habits into play.

Helping our singers understand the difference in our articulators (teeth, tongue, mouth, and jaw) that make consonants and resonators that make our vowels therefore our pitch is equally important.

I hope you will read below to better understand what a sequential vocal warm up is and how to employ customized exercises to maintain healthy singing for the whole of your life.

There are 8 steps in the SEQUENTIAL CHORAL TRAINING EXERCISE:

▪Connect Body and Mind

▪Alignment

▪Breath Management

▪Phonation

▪Articulators

▪Tone quality/Timbre

▪Aural skills

▪Reading skills

BODY and MIND
Wash car/windows ▪Dig a ditch ▪Swim front/back stroke ▪Swim circles ▪Quick jog ▪Hand off the dance ▪Draw name with balloon

•Williams: Happy •https://youtu.be/ZbZSe6N_BXs

•Copland: Rodeo (20:11) •https://youtu.be/SNZs82BZ9R8

ALIGNMENT Massage jaw, temples, neck muscles •Yawn and stretch with arms over head then open to side and drop •Shoulders to ears, drop with blades high •Roll up on toes; back on heels; side to side; soften the knees •Drop, hang over feet, roll up one vertebrate at a time as if stacking blocks on top of blocks •Look about the room – freedom to move •Tongue stretches

ACTIVATE DIAPHRAGM / BREATH MANAGEMENT •Choir Shoulder Check – right hand on neighbor’s shoulder, lightly tap if shoulders rise •Measure Air Stream •Silent breath in, out on “ch-ch-ch-ch-ch” •In 4 out 8 – lungs completely emptied (fast stream of air) •In 2 out 12, 16, 20, 24 •In 1 out 16

KEYS: No audible breathing – closed-mouth yawn Keep shoulders down during inhale Keep muscles engaged Keep moving

ARTICULATORS: Mouth, Teeth, Tongue, Jaw

distinguish articulators from resonators:

Other ex: Cha – tta – noo – ga, Cha- tta- noo – ga Choo.
Bu -tta – bu- tta, Bu – tta – bu- tta Boo

Other ex: Bu-tter-fly, bu-tter-fly, bu-tter-fly flew, Bu-tter-fly, bu-tter-fly, bu-tter-fly flew.
Six-ty eight, six-ty eight, six-ty eight-two, Six-ty eight, six-ty eight, six-ty eight two.

RESONATORS and TIMBRE •Whistle register small [u] through head-mix-chest
•Bright to Dark [ne] using pitches A-C#-E over 8 counts
Reverse Dark to Bright
•“Pepe Le Pew”

•Moving Sound Forward: 1. nasal 2. nasal to open 3. open

Agility:

Breath Energy – use “z” to springboard the air:

AURAL SKILLS ~ PRACTICING AUDIATION

Pitch Matching Teacher calls, students echo; Individual calls, choir echoes; Altos call, sopranos echo, etc.

Audiation Using Curwen Hand Signs: Teacher signs three/four pitches: (“do-re-do”) singers sign & sing pitches

Hearing intonation: Explain that each pitch contains 100 cents; Give “middle E” pitch then gradually move over 10 pulses down a half step (moving 10 cents each pulse)

Divide choir into three or four groups. •All sing an ascending major scale. •On the descending scale, each group stops and sustains one pitch in the scale, creating a major chord, all resolve on cue to do, mi or so. •Use to work on tuning, balancing chords, dynamics, and harmonization.

SIGHT READING: Choose a system and use it everyday. Think methodically – do not leap frog over any steps

Systems that work include:

Sight-Singing for SSA, Crocker & Eilers, Hal Leonard Publishing

Sight-Reading for Success for SA voices, Stevens & McGill, Hal Leonard Publishing

J. Reese Norris: JReeseNorris.com available strictly online

Young Singers Journey Book 1 & 2, Baldwin, Bartle, Beaupre, Hinshaw Music

•Transfer and Recognizing Patterns and Which one is not like the others:

Major/minor scale

Major/minor arpeggio

Major/minor pentascale

Repeating rhythms

Sing the tune: OLD HUNDRETH, lyrics by Thomas Ken in the key of any new piece you are singing

soprano line in solfege: so-mi-do-re-fa-mi-re-do:

REFERENCES

Cooksey, J. M. (1992). Working with adolescent voices. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

Daugherty, J. (2012). Sequence of a Choral Warm-Up. University of Kansas, KS: Science-based voice education course, Department of Music Education and Music Therapy.

Freeman, C. (2014). Sequential Choral Training Exercises for Middle School. The Institute for Healthy Singing.

Hasseman, F. , Jordan, J. (1991). Group vocal technique. Chapel Hill: NC: Hinshaw Music, Inc.

McKinney, J. (1982). The diagnosis and correction of vocal faults: A manual for teachers of singing and for choir directors. Salem, WI: Waveland Press, Inc.

Norris.J.R. (2019). ACDA Interest Session: Unlocking Mystery of the Middle School Men. https://www.jreesenorris.com/resources.html

Shalberg, M. (2019). Breath Management Exercises. Una Vocis Choral Training Exercises.

Stultz, M. (2007). Innocent sounds. Building choral tone and artistry in your children’s choir. 1, 69-78. Fenton, MO: Morning Star.

Stultz, M. (2007). Innocent sounds. Building choral tone and artistry in your children’s choir. 2, 137-144. Fenton, MO: Morning Star.

http://Hymnary.org, Ken, T. (1694). OLD HUNDRETH

https://hymnary.org/text/praise_god_from_whom_all_blessings_ken

Images:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Curwen+hand+signs&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=7zd&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=JwqeU7PfBtW0yATgoICgBg&ved=0CB4QsAQ&biw=1229&bih=581#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=OqrWbRNsyr00FM%253A%3BvN5qlJ2L-cKzAM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.classicsforkids.com%252Fteachers%252Fimages%252Fhandsigns.gif%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.classicsforkids.com%252Fteachers%252Ftraining%252Fhandsigns.asp%3B292%3B364

https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&site=&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1229&bih=581&q=quarter+note&oq=quarter+note&gs_l=img.3..0l10.54.3137.0.4102.18.12.3.3.3.0.190.1215.4j7.11.0….0…1ac.1.46.img..1.17.1252.f6Mf41wDTFQ&gws_rd=ssl#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=SeL-RMLXFg9ifM%253A%3BGrazW_KWWUUDPM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.rath.ca%252FHomeSchool%252FMusicGifs%252FQuarterNote.gif%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.rath.ca%252FHomeSchool%252FFlashCardMusic.shtml%3B200%3B175

The Breathy Girl’s Changing Voice

Two videos attached for your reading enhancement ~

My favorite part of being a voice teacher is working with “Changing Voice Girls.” An email arrived this morning from Becca (8^th grade) who has an audition for a select 9-12 girls touring chorus. She’s been making bi-weekly recordings of her singing for me this season so that I can track her voice change progress. In January I noticed her sound becoming progressively more “breathy” and “gunky” so when I received the following message today, I was not surprised! Here is our exchange:

March 2018

Hi Miss Jamea!

My voice has just recently started to fade away. I have to work a lot harder than usual to sing even the S1 part of “Let the Sea Make a Noise[1]”. Do you have any tips that might help? Just a couple weeks ago I would have said with confidence I have a good chance of making the top girls’ choir next year, but now my sound doesn’t sound as pure as before.

Thanks!

Becky

~~~~~~~~~

Hi Becky!

I noticed on your recordings that some changes are a-coming! The most important thing at this time is to keep singing with all the healthy practices that you’ve learned. No pushing or forcing the voice. It’s going to be a bit breathy and gunky for a while. That’s ok! We know that this is normal and that most girls auditioning for the first time to the touring chorus are in this stage.

Girls.Vocal.Chink.Image. — Adolescent Female Vocal Folds.

Helpful Guidelines:

Practice daily. It’s important to stay ‘conditioned.’
Drink lots of water & swallow (or spit) the gunky stuff.
Avoid coughing or clearing as this is wearing and damaging to the vocal folds. Take care of the voice!

– Your sound will not have the same clarity as last year, but you will still do your ‘set up’ the same as always. We’ll keep watch that you don’t start any unproductive habits like:

pulling the lips, arching the tongue, over-blowing the air (this actually makes the breathiness worse)
pushing/pressing the sound, or even getting a strange head/body posture started. These things would ultimately undermine the sound.
Support the breath just like you have been! Nothing needs to change from what you’ve been up to already. You will feel like you don’t have enough air because you’re leaking[2]! It’s normal!

You can still get resonance. The more relaxed your teeth/mouth/jaw/pharynx is, the better! When these things are in place, your breath will be more efficient!

Vocal Exercises:

Descending glissandos. Start with your lighter head voice production and maintain that sound throughout the exercise.
Ascending glissandos throughout the range. You want the voice to sound even from top to bottom. If you feel a ‘yodel’ or ‘break’ in the slide, focus on:

1.) maintaining lighter “production” all the way through the line.

2.) energizing the breath where the break happens. (The tendency is often to back off when there’s a hitch, but you must keep that breath moving!) Note: when I say “light,” I don’t mean wimpy tone: I’m saying not to use a ”muscular” or “heavy” tone.

Skip-intervals will add flexibility to your voice. Strive for accuracy and ease. (“Let the Sea Make a Noise” has great melismas that make a perfect exercise!)
Sing your own voice! If you start trying to “do” your old sound or a more mature sound, you will likely be going in the wrong direction. Your new “changing” voice is beautiful. Embrace it!

XOXO

Miss Jamea

[1] “Let the Sea Make a Noise” by George Frideric Handel, Arr. Jacob Narverud for SSA & Piano. S1 range is E4 – G5, S2 range is D4 – D5, A1 range is A3 – B4. (This is Becky’s required audition piece.)

[2] During female adolescent changing voice, girls’ vocal folds develop a gap (place where the folds don’t fully close). This is an occurrence that is normal and that will eventually pass given good technique and time.

Please watch stroboscopy showing small posterior gap or vocal chink in normal teenage girl:

Allegro Choirs of Kansas City perform “Let the Sea Make a Noise”, Georg Frideric HANDEL. Christy Elsner, Director; Jamea Sale, Vocal Coach.