Jean Marie: In learning to sing, we are dealing with the nervous system. That deals with sensation. How it feels is one of the best roadmaps we have, and it conveys an enormous amount of information! If that was not the case, why would so many singers find Feldenkreis and Alexander techniques so useful? *********************************** While I think I agree with what you're trying to say, I believe also that Alexander and Feldenkreis try to open our awareness to the possibility that we can be deluded by our sensations and that the possibility of delusion increases, the fewer sensations we use to verify the others.
We cannot control what we cannot perceive. Every lesson I've taken and given seems to reinforce the truth of that idea. For example, I have noticed that lots of people "scoop" up to the correct pitch when they start to sing. When I point it out to them, many are surprised, not having a clue that they're doing it. When they hear it played back on a tape, you can actually see the lightbulb come on! Once they "get it", they will often get very excited and tell me about other singers they notice doing it (some of them very well known too).
Note: I insist on a good clean onset to the right pitch during lessons and caution that consistent scooping can lead to flat singing but if the performer's stylistic choice is to scoop, that's their business and they're going to do it anyway as soon as they walk out the door. I've given them my best expert advice in good faith and it's not my business to impose my tastes on them unless they request that I do.
The point is, a single kind of perception, without verification from others can fool us. There are three kinds of sensation we can use (visual, audial and tactile) and we should use as many as possible as often as we can. Alexander's mirror was a wonderful thing. *********************************** Jean Marie: The problem is in the describing of these sensations. Everyone will describe them in different ways. One of the challeges for teachers is "cracking the code" - figuring out how the students describes things, and what ideas would help them. *********************************** Absolutely! It's about communications isn't it? And communicatons can only take place when the message is clearly delivered AND received. Accuracy and agreement on meaning are paramount. It just makes sense to me that the less nebulous the terms are, the more likely they will be understood.
And what do we do when there simply are no words? Some things teach the body without the need of words; lip trills - unvoiced and voiced, sirens, sighs, onsets etc. There are lots of very specific exercises that teach people what to do that don't require a whole lot of explanation. Sometimes too much talking creates too much of the kind of self-consciousness that inhibits performance anyway. Regards, Les
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