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Singing Technique (Part II)

2007/12/4 20:49:39

These past couple of days I've been in a great mood, so why not indulge in some refinements with you all and revisit the technical issues of singing. By the way, this ID's old music podcast site seems to have gone permanently belly-up. All previously uploaded music has been wiped clean. Now that this ID is in good spirits, I'll find time to reincarnate the music podcast. Where would be a good place for it to be reborn? Please suggest, everyone. This ID is rather lazy -- ideally something like the old one, with a dedicated player that can automatically upload music and stream it here. Actually, Sina should have set one up long ago -- technically it shouldn't be too difficult.

Today let's talk about consonants and vowels. Many people sing as if they've got something stuffed in their mouths. The most important thing in singing is clear enunciation. In fact, clear enunciation is the most fundamental vocal technique.

How are words produced? First, to produce a word, you must produce both the consonant and the vowel. All singing problems ultimately come down to not figuring out how to produce these consonants and vowels.

Note: what I'm about to say is not found in any book on singing.

We can divide the physical mechanisms involved in vocalization into three sections: below the diaphragm is one section, from the diaphragm to below the larynx is another, and above the larynx is the third. The section below the diaphragm is responsible for supporting the breath. The section from the diaphragm to below the larynx supports the vowel. The section above the larynx constructs the consonant and releases the sound.

When learning to sing, you must first find the correct placement for vowels. There are only a few basic vowels. Note: when producing vowels, they must never be placed above the larynx. Vowels seem to emerge from an opened chest cavity. There seems to be a tube from below the larynx to the diaphragm, and this tube constantly adjusts according to pitch, color, and other factors, producing vowels of various pitches, colors, and emotions. No matter how high the pitch, the vowel component of the word must remain stable and full within this tube.

Note: consonants actually don't need to be deliberately produced, because human linguistic habits mean that when we prepare to sing a certain word, everything above the larynx naturally forms the consonant state for that word. Everything above our larynx will promptly and automatically adjust to that state. Note: this state naturally facilitates the release of sound, rather than trapping it in the cavity.

These three sections of vocalization must first learn to coordinate freely, becoming a completely natural response. In any pitch, emotion, or color, the coordinated operation of breath, vowel, and consonant must be maintained. Words produced this way will be the loudest, clearest, fullest, and richest in color, dynamics, and so on.

When each individual word can be produced freely and correctly at any pitch, the next step is connecting these words into a continuous stream of emotion. This is the most challenging test of all singing technique. If the pitch, dynamics, and color of a single word constitute the vertical dimension, then the seamless connection between words as melody undulates constitutes the horizontal dimension.

So-called singing technique is about presenting a three-dimensional stream of emotion in the most rational, most free manner at the intersection of horizontal and vertical. No matter how this stream rises and falls, each word is produced through the perfectly coordinated three sections. Each word is like a perfect pearl, and the melody connects these pearls seamlessly and freely -- the connections between words are flawless.

Appreciating such singing, you'll have a completely three-dimensional experience. You can appreciate it from every angle -- this is the perfect art of time made three-dimensional. And within this perfection, emotion and poetry themselves are expressed even more perfectly.

A perfect singer must first be a poet, must first be able to perceive all secrets behind the verse, and must in the present moment use perfect technique to completely manifest that perception.

Singing is a present-moment manifestation. The same song, this time and the next, will certainly be different -- like two different lives. Perfect singing that perceives the secrets of verse is alive. Each time is a new life. Unfortunately, such singers can no longer be found today.