+++It (the yawn-sigh)was
a big rage during the 50's and into the 60's but I seldom hear anyone
mention it much anymore. The same "popular" techniques idea can also be
applied to the rage to "place the voice in the masque", which is still
around. +++
I understand that a the idea of the "lowered larynx" was also more in
vogue after more Germanic teachers immigrated to the United States after
WWII than had previously been the case! At the risk of sounding
simplistic, may I simply state: "Balance, balance, balance!". These,
and other techniques, may be helpful in achieving certain goals with
certain students. The danger occurs when any technical idea is taken to
an extreme, resulting in a loss of balanced and natural sound and
resonance. (Of course one must trust the teacher's ear to determine
this - but that's another thread!) I would also mention that I have had
a number of students, most of whom were quite bright and motivated, who
would take a given technical concept and push it past the point of
usefulness, thereby creating a completely new and different technical
problem which needed to be addressed!
Sharon Szymanski
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