| Date sent: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 12:16:00 EST Subject: Re: Sensations To: vocalist Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>
In a message dated 12/10/99 9:44:21 AM Central Standard Time, les.taylor-at-gulfaero.com writes:
<< Names for things get in the way. We each have idiosyncracies in our personal languages - the language we use inside our heads when we are thinking - that don't quite match what other people think. "Head voice" is a tough thing to consceive of because there is no general agreement on what it is. The name was derived from someone's subjective notion of feeling. It means so many different things to so many different people that it is useless in any practical sense. I'd suggest not getting too hung up on the word and go with offering them techniques to make an improved sound. When they succeed, ask them to identify what they are feeling to "set" it in their mind, using its own language.
Warmest regards, Les >>
Dear Les:
I agree up to a point. Not everything (especially language) is relative. If we did not have some universal agreement on what words represent, we couldn't communicate. In fact, if an individual's language on a conceptual level is disturbed, he/she has a language disorder usually associated with dementia. For example, a chair is a chair. Now, granted that chair may mean something else to you than me, in that you may think it's ugly and I find it an attractive chair. That is the essence of subjective truth, but the truth is we still agree it is a chair.
Words/labels help clarify and communicate concepts. While the sensations associated with head voice (for example) will vary from person to person (and you are correct in saying you can't specifically describe another's sensations) most people will feel sensations in the skull if they correctly connect into that production. The term head voice (if clearly explained by the teacher and understood by the student) then gives them a much more efficient way to communicate the concept of that production. The word is a way of communicating the technique. Without it would always be stumbling to define the concept. It would be like having to describe the concept of a donut every time you ordered one, instead of just saying I want a donut. Imagine, having to describe hungry every time you felt it (a sensation) instead of just saying it; "I'm hungry." With that I'll leave, I have a vague sense of emptiness in my stomach which leads me to believe I may need to put something in my mouth, chew, swallow and digest.
Randy Buescher
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