The Choral Challenge: Practical Paths to Solving Problems

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PART I

SOLUTIONS TO CHORAL CONDUCTOR CONCERNS REGARDING THE VOICE

INTRODUCTION: THE HUMAN VOICE

The human voice is a marvelous instrument that is effectuated by a remarkable anatomical and physiological mechanism involving breathing, laryngeal muscular function (vocal folds, sometimes erroneously referred to as vocal cords), and overarching cerebral control. Of particular interest to singers and choral conductors is the quality of the resulting vocal function, characteristics that issue both from natural ability and developed ability. It is this process of developing vocal ability that is both accessible and pertinent to choral conductors and voice teachers. The challenge is to develop in their singers the various aspects of vocal technique that have not come naturally but would add to the overall beauty and effectiveness of their voices. Hence, the natural flow of choral teaching is, first, the identification of vocal problems and, second, the application of specific solutions. Many expert physicians, choral clinicians, and voice teachers have advanced medical and pedagogical solutions to certain vocal problems, but choral conductors must prepare themselves to deal with an amalgamation of all the vocal problems common among choral singers. Part 1 of The Choral Challenge offers accessible explanations of these vocal concerns, followed by practical steps toward solutions for each.

Each of the following categories of vocal concerns lists specific vocal questions from choral conductors related directly to that concern. These questions were submitted to me by choir directors from throughout the United States and Canada during thirty-five years of teaching choral workshops. Directors in these workshops were asked to describe vocal problems they had encountered in their choir members or in their own voices that they had not been able to solve or did not fully understand. They were to describe these vocal concerns in any way that made sense to them, much in the style of public radio’s Car Talk.

HOW TO USE THIS INFORMATION

The intention of this portion of The Choral Challenge is to enable a director dealing with a vocal concern to find clear, concise, accessible explanations of what causes the problem and what steps singers should take toward correcting the problem. To use this book effectively:

Look through Troubleshooting Common Vocal Problems on the following pages to locate the description of the vocal concern resembling the one you want to research. The left-hand column called key word will prove useful in locating your specific concern. The second column contains related questions about vocal production.

Read the quick answer provided in the third column.

Look in the fourth column to find the primary category of vocal concern related to your problem, along with its page number in the fifth column. Locate and read the overview to that primary category of vocal concern.

In the sixth column are secondary concern categories related to the question, with page numbers in column seven. Solving a problem often requires a combination of steps in several areas, so it is beneficial to read the overviews to these secondary categories as well.

RELATED CHORAL AND VOCAL EXERCISES

Later in part 2 of The Choral Challenge, there are sixty-two functional vocal and choral exercises, many of which are directly related to the vocal concerns approached in this section of the book. Each of the exercises designates the skill it is designed to improve or the concern it helps solve. Each exercise includes not only the musical notation and choral text but also instructions for how to use the exercise. These exercises can be used as additional resources in solving vocal concerns, whether in rehearsals or in individual voice lessons. So the final step is to choose exercises in part 2 that might be useful in solving your concern.

TROUBLESHOOTING COMMON VOCAL PROBLEMS

CHAPTER 1

LOOSENING UP THE ARTICULATORS

In the same way that runners stretch their muscles before actually running, singers need to stretch their bodies; that is, they need to lubricate and build the flexibility of the various vocal articulators (face, jaw, lips, tongue) before singing warm-up exercises.

LUBRICATING THE VOICE

Several hours before a rehearsal or performance starts, drink one to two glasses of water. Drinking just before singing is moderately helpful, but drinking water earlier allows time for it to be assimilated by the body, providing lubrication for the voice. Avoid caffeine, since it has the opposite effect on the voice; it dries out the voice. Whenever possible during singing responsibilities, keep a bottle of water with you and take small sips often.

LOOSENING THE TORSO

Grab hold of the two handles of an open door (or any stable object that is about waist high). Back up about a foot and a half, and pull out with your lower back, holding that position for a count of twenty. Then, for personal warm-up, hold a broomstick or similar long handle across your shoulders behind your neck, arms draped over the handle. Keep the top of the spine in a tall position throughout. Now, initiating the movement from your sternum, turn slowly to the left, looking over your left shoulder. Then repeat on your right side. Go back and forth between the sides several more times. In choir rehearsals where broomsticks are obviously impractical, take your left arm under your right arm and hold it at the elbow. Then pull the elbow to your left, turning the entire torso and looking over your left shoulder. Repeat on the right side. Finish this loosening of the torso by rolling your shoulders forward and up in circles with elbows held slightly out from the body, hands in a conducting position—palms down, keeping your hands horizontal to the floor as if pointing forward with your little fingers. Always keep the top of the spine stretched tall. Note that rolling your shoulders back and then up (instead of the more helpful forward and then up) creates unwanted tension in the neck and displaces correct neck and spinal alignment. Proper spinal and head alignment is discussed later at length (see chapter 1).

ABDOMINAL EXERCISE

Developing better strength in the abdomen, lower back, chest, and shoulders makes a substantial difference in the vitality of conducting gestures. Consider finding out about light weight-training for the chest and shoulders, and specific exercises for the abdomen. There are many effective abdominal exercise devices that would be of significant benefit for conductors.

LOOSENING THE NECK

Standing or sitting with good posture and keeping the top of the spine tall, drop your head all the way down until it is hanging free. With the head still lowered, shake your head slowly side to side, as if saying no. Slowly roll the head back up to its normal position, always keeping the top of the spine tall. Twist the head all the way to the left as if looking over the left shoulder; then the same on your right. Now, without collapsing your spinal alignment, let your left ear lean down toward your left shoulder. From that position, let the head roll slowly forward and then up to the right side, right ear leaning toward the right shoulder; then back down and center again and back up to the normal position. Make sure your breathing is regular throughout—avoid holding your breath. Now pretend that a flashlight is coming out of the top of your head with the beam going straight up. Make little imaginary circles on the ceiling, first starting one direction, and then the other.

LOOSENING THE FACE, LIPS, AND JAW

Using the musculature of the face, brow, and head, wiggle and stretch your face all around. Now massage the temple muscles on both sides of your forehead with your finger tips, and then your whole face. With the jaw closed, purse your lips as far forward as possible into the shape formed for /u/ (as in soon). Then move back and forth between extreme facial changes for that /u/ and a very wide /i/ (as in see), activating that part of the face. Now repeat this facial exercise more rapidly. Then place your fingers lightly over the back part of your jaw (right under the ears). Clench your teeth and locate with your fingers the masseter muscles that bulge. Unclench them and gently massage that area with your finger tips. Now that the jaw is loose, do an imitation of circular open-mouthed chewing. Then, while continuing to chew, speak the following words several times each: Yum, yum, yum and meow, meow, meow. Check to see that your spine is extended up toward the ceiling. The flexible movement of the articulators (face, jaw, lips, tongue) is to singing and diction as fingers are to the violinist.

TONGUE POSITION

One of the most common vocal problems is a throaty, swallowed sound, usually accompanied by a slow or wide vibrato and a tendency to flat. These vocal characteristics are caused by a tongue position that is too far back in the throat. It is, admittedly, confusing to singers that such a back-tongue position produces a sound that seems to the singer to be mature and powerful. In reality, this tongue position decreases resonance and the voice’s capacity to project, causes a slowing of vibrato because the throat is not open (the vocal tract is constricted), and causes the voice to neither tune nor blend well.

SETTLING THE TONGUE FORWARD

Tongue stretches in these pre–warm-up procedures help develop healthy forward positioning of the tongue. Stretch the tongue out and down toward the chin as far as you can, making your tongue fat (like a spatula). Hold it there for five seconds. Let it slowly slide back into your mouth, but only until the tip of the tongue touches the back of the lower front teeth. Do this several times. Then, with the tongue again stretched out and down, begin speaking numbers, from one to twelve, three numbers to a breath. Relax for a moment, and then put the tongue back out, this time saying the months of the year, a few at a time. Articulate as well as you can. When the tongue returns to its normal position, the tone quality is often noticeably more free and clear. In a mirror, the pharynx (the open space behind the tongue) should be visible while singing, not hidden by an arching back of the tongue. To build flexibility in the now-forward tongue together with a loose jaw and ample airflow, whisper, Lah-lah-lah-lah-lah-lah several times, being sure not to collapse spinal and head alignment.

RELATED VOCAL CONCERNS AND SUGGESTIONS

Be aware that the tongue should always remain a little forward, with the tip of the tongue touching the back of the lower front teeth.

On vowels related to /α/ (as in father), the tongue should be fat, touching both side edges and the front of the lower teeth.

For vowels related to /i/ (as in see), the still-forward tongue is narrower, not touching the sides of the lower teeth, and humped toward the front (unlike the /α/ vowel, for which it is humped a little farther back).

I am indebted to the writing and philosophies of Dr. Robert Sataloff, MD, DMA, Professor of Otolaryngology at Jefferson Medical University, Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and to Michelle Horman, CCC-SLP, voice pathologist and singing-voice specialist, for sharing her expertise in this area.

CHAPTER 2

POSTURE AND SPINAL ALIGNMENT

Singers strive for good posture because it allows the body to function at maximum efficiency. The process of breathing and breath support are enhanced, the air flows upward unimpeded, the vocal folds are drawn together naturally, and the vocal sound is able to take full advantage of the resonators. However, an inherent danger is that too rigid a posture is almost as detrimental to good singing as bad posture.

THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE

The Alexander Technique suggests that, rather than setting ourselves in a certain posture, we would be better to think in terms of balance, mobility, and integration throughout the whole body. The following introduction to the concepts of the Alexander Technique was written for The Choral Challenge by Judith Grodowitz, an AmSAT Certified Instructor and extraordinary teacher in New York City:

The Alexander Technique suggests that with an optimum organization of the body, all the movable parts will work together in dynamic connectivity. Imagine a three-dimensional model of a human skeleton. Within this model, the skeleton acts as a kind of powerful, flexible scaffolding, which is mobilized by the muscle tissue surrounding it. Muscle tissue can have a very fluid, streamlined quality when there is an egalitarian distribution of effort.

The balance of the head in relationship to the torso is essential in this organization. Head balance influences how weight and effort will pass through the whole skeletal structure. Thus, it is vital to our ease, efficiency, and freedom. To locate the area where the head balances and moves in relationship to the spine and torso, stand looking forward with your gaze out, as if you are looking into the eyes of someone exactly your same height. Do not get set. Now, gently make a small circle with the tip of your nose, as if you are writing in air with your nose. You are now moving your head at the actual joint where your head and the top of your spine meet. Notice the difference between this place and the top of a T-shirt collar. We often initiate movement of our heads from the T-shirt top area—which is much lower down than where the head and spine actually meet. By