-----Original Message-----
From: omtara <omtara@h...>
All muscles have a memory of their own. That is how we learn to
drive a car or ride a bike - the body remembers what it has to do
and it does them without us having to consciously tell it to do so.
Muscle memory is why each of us holds the habitual posture we do.
(I'm sure there is some more scientific term than "muscle memory"
that describes this phenomenon, but I don't know what it is). I
think a large part of singing IS training the muscles to do what
they need to do. It's not the entirety of it, of course, but a lot
of it is training the body to take the proper forms and actions in
order to produce the desired sound.
I find it hard to believe that there is no one on this list who has
struggled with singing a piece that they learned before they had a
working technique, and has had to rework that piece into their
voice.
Karena
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I agree with you, Karena, regarding muscle memory. I'm a mezzo who, with
a better understanding of head voice/registration earlier in life, would
probably have been a full lyric soprano. During the time when I was
trying to isolate head voice, figure out how to play with the light
mechanism/head I found there were some pieces from my repertoire I simply
could not sing. I found the old balance of registration interfering with my
use of the newer approach to the top. This went on for about a year with
certain pieces.
I have spoken of muscle memory with 2 physical/physio therapists and 2
Alexander teachers. They embrace the idea of muscle memory. They regularly
work with clients who have healed physically post trauma, but still move as
though injured. Their experience is that there is often a huge emotional
component to the muscle action and an emotional release when the muscles
relearn appropriate function. I experienced some of this, both when I
learned to wean out heavy mechanism and permit the appropriate muscle
balance required to sing high C's, and when I relearned walking after hip
replacement surgery and several years using a cane.
Cindy Donnell
lyric mezzo and ex-gimp
|
