Vocalist.org archive


From:  "drama_diva_au" <drama_diva_au@y...>
Date:  Sat Apr 13, 2002  12:39 pm
Subject:  Re: 2 questions. Exercise and smoking

--- In vocalist-temporary@y..., "Robert Edgar" <redgar@b...> wrote:
> I'm wondering what any of you do as far as any physical exercise
routines to
> improve your singing. Do you do any and what sort? Do you think it
is
> necessary? I mean, can you imagine some of our best Opera singers
doing
> stomack crunchers to assist their breathing technique? Also, what
are your
> thoughts in relation to siners smoking, particularly classical
singers?
> Robyn Edgar
> Australia
> redgar@b...

First off, if you smoke, your not serious, simple. Whilst it's a
personal choice and I don't sit as judge and jury about smokers,
(even after losing a Grandmother to smoking related lung cancer and a
husband to non-smoking related lung cancer) I am old enough now to be
getting cynical and jaded. Knowing what we now do about smoking I
really do think you're just a bloody idiot if you expect to come
along to singing lessons and put in all the hard yards, not to
mention the money and then turn around and smoke. It is the
individuals choice. I KNOW there are singers who do it AND get away
with it, but, and I'm wildly guessing here, there are probably more
who have fallen by the wayside and not succeeded because they are
smokers, and/or ended up sounding like garbage because of it also,
than not.

As for special exercise, I don't advocate anything especial myself. I
would LOVE to know if anyone else does. I always teach my students to
look after their instrument in much the same fashion they would
foster a healthy immune system. That is to say, don't get all bent
out of shape and obsessive, but by the same token, maintain a healthy
lifestle with all things in moderation. Look out for your diet, get
enough exercise, enough rest, take measures to handle your stress
(like meditation or whatever floats your boat), just be sensible,
because if you don't you can't expect to rely on your instrument when
you most need to.

Having said all that though, I find unless you have an allergy/asthma
problem with chlorine, swimming is an all round excellent work out
for singers. It works breathing, builds stamina, works the
intercostals and rectus abdominus, and just makes you feel good if
it's your "cup of tea".

I have heard it said that a boxers gym training is excellent for
singers as it really strenghtens the abdominals.

I personally like many of the "Eastern" martial arts and/or exercise
regimes such as karate, jiu Jitsu, Tai Chi, Yoga, Kung Fu etc for a
multiple of reasons. First off because they all teach one or all of a
mental stamina/concentration/meditation discipline. Three things
vitally important to a singer. Being "Eastern" they also impart a
sense of "allowing the process to happen" rather than our western
approach of "making it happen" which I find very helpful from a
singers point of view. Essential actually. They all also impart
physcial health and stamina, also essential in a singer. This is not
to say the singer cannot have or learn all of these things through
the process of singing anyway. It is simply to say that these other
things can provide an excellent corollary.

I have had much less drama teaching dance students over many years,
than I would have anticipated. Maybe because I focus on breathing as
a natural process I/they have had no troubles at all in making the
shift to singing even after years of doing terrible things with their
breathing process for dance. So yes I would also reccomend, dance in
any form, for singers. In fact, if you are serious about being
professional you really do need some training in some form of dance
these days. When I attended the Conservatorium we ALL had to do a 2
hour ballet class every week as part of our assessment. The idea
being it would teach us to move gracefully, get us accustomed to
basic steps and give us another discipline to practise. We also did
fencing. As an employment prospect though, it really does pay to have
some training in something, anything from Highland to funk and
everything in between. It seems 'they' want to know you can follow a
coreographers direction and are not a total dance dyslexic before
they waste their precious time on audtioning you. So you stick
EVERYTHING that helps your cause on that resume.

Bodywork is the other thing I exhort to my students. I particularly
like Feldenkries (Hi John! *waves*) and Alexander technique. Pilates
is "flavour of the month" in Aus at the moment and taking off like
the concorde but I don't know the first thing about it. The better
you know your own body and how to fine tune it the better off you
are. The better you know what can ail/does ail your body and how to
fix it (preferably for yourself) the better off you are. Both as a
singer and as yourself. I tell my students that Self Knowledge is the
greatest tool a singer can have. How they achieve that knowledge is
entirely up to them, and they should endevour to discover what their
personal style and needs are.

Yoga, Feldenkries and Alexander have been my faithful personal
standbys.

So, having told you all what *I* think I am looking forward to *your*
input. I would love to know if there is anything else or perhaps
anything different I should or could be saying or doing both with my
students or myself that would get us better or even the same results.
I only keep teaching what I am teaching because the sucesses and
feedback has let me know I must be doing something right. I am always
on the lookout for new things to add to the personal
teaching "artillary" because just when you think you've got it all,
there is going to be some student who needs something different. And
I want to be ready for them.

~Michelle




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