In a message dated 2/2/2002 2:17:45 PM Pacific Standard Time,
Greypins@a... writes:
> even when learning a new action, i think imagery is even more
> confusing as, an image that works for one might just be a bunch of garble
> to
> another. for example:...well, your image of hollowness. if you were my
> teacher and you said "think of your entire instrument, your body, as
> hollow",
> i'd probably just think "well, here on the good ole green and blue, we're,
> pretty much, not hollow". but, if you said "put your hand on your head",
> i'd be all over that (though, i might not be too good at it, at first).
>
> (darn, tina, before you came up with this 'hollow' stuff, you seemed
> so sensible.)
>
I agree with you completely about the power of imagery to be garble. On the
other hand, imagery can also have more power than specific phrasology when it
is fine tuned to the individual. This imagery of "hollow" was actually your
suggestion, not mine, so I went with it. I personally would never present
"hollow" to a student, as it isn't my own imagery either. If they presented
it to me as an their way of an explanation, then I would explore that with
them. (My studies of Neuro Linguistic Programming have taught me that the
number one thing to pay attention to is what language creates the most
rapport in the other person you are dealing with, and carries meaning for
them. My own personal language has no bearing on what is meaningful to
someone else.)
I would say, however, that the difference between classical singing and
non-classical singing is that in classical singing, your instrument is
maximally open and expanded. I would also say that the voice is like a wind
instrument, with a crook, and we are learning how to keep that wind
instrument as stable and open as possible, without interference (eg:
tensions) in order to allow the voice to resonate freely. That works for me,
personally. And so when I am warming up my instrument, I need to open it,
and, in my case, speaking in my own terms of imagery, I especially need to
pay attention to getting the feeling of the entire back of the column to
open. If I don't do this, I can't get the good mix, and my chest and head are
separated. Once I open up the back spaces, the mix is present, and the voice
is focused and extremely comfortable, powerful, and stable. And I can do
messa di voce on all pitches, and the tone is balanced. A good test for
having proper balance is the ability to do the messa di voice, and that is
how I judge the success of my warm up. It is the process of being my own
diagnostician, (which is also something else I would definitely tell my
students.)
TinaO
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