"Has anyone attended the compulsory figures for voice with Estill?
Having
had thoughts toward such figures myself, I am curious what form this
takes."
Dear David and List:
I did a one-week course with Jo Estill at Mars Hill College in NC
(where I believe it is conducted yearly). It was attended by a smallish
group singers, teachers and speech therapists. Here are my thoughts
about it:
-It included an in-depth grounding in the anatomy of the vocal
apparatus, and the functions that each part served in producing the
voice.
For those who struggle to understand the science of this aspect of
singing, like me, it was an excellent experience. Even for someone who
may have had this training, but needs a refresher course, this might be
helpful.
-We were introduced to the "figures", i.e., the learned ability
to control the movement of various anatomical parts into two or three
different positions (up/down, open/half-open/closed, relaxed/active,
etc). These were demonstrated and then we practiced applying them to
the 11 areas, (examples are false fold retraction, laryngeal tilting,
vocal tract width, tongue control, etc.)The theory is that one can
control changes in vocal quality and sound with mastery of these
figures. We then practiced these in smaller groups.
-There were other special sessions which probably vary from time
to time. We had one on addressing common problems in singing with the
figures, another on the use of words in singing (especially musical
theater) to achieve maximum expressivity, and we had several
opportunities to "practice" various figures by singing our own songs in
a master class sort of setting.
We also heard a recital in which three or more different styles of
singing were offered (belting, classical and jazz) with use of the
figures.
Assessment of the course's value, two years later:
-Am I glad I took the course? Yes. The people are nice, the
price was good, and I gained a great deal of knowledge.
-Was I convinced that the ideas had credit? Yes. There was a
great deal of scientific evidence presented, coupled with experiential
common sense, which led me to believe that these ideas could be helpful
to the singer and teacher.
-Did I leave the course having achieved mastery of the figures?
Not by a long shot! The biggest weakness of the course, for me, was
that it would have taken far longer than we had to really understand in
our own bodies how to master the sorts of control she advocated. I
can't teach something if I can't consistently do it myself, and, since I
am sometimes a slow kinesthetic learner, I didn't have enough time.
Some of my friends went back the next summer to build on what they had
learned at the first course, and they felt the value increased greatly.
-Were there some elements of the figures that I was able to take
back with me and apply with students? Yes. I was able to take certain
ideas home and work with them until I could apply them nicely to my
students' singing. Another friend who is a speech therapist immediately
began applying things with her patients with good success.
-Do I now teach only the Estill method? Of course not, but it
added to my basic repertoire of knowledge and provided insights that I
would not otherwise have had. I checked back with my notes in answering
this email, and see that I should review the material as there is
probably a lot more to be gained from the experience now that I am two
years away from it.
Hope this helps!
Sharon Szymanski
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