Hello, I'm new to this list and I wanted to make some comments, although I
have not been exposed to all of the messages in this thread. I don't know
what SLS is but the descriptions I read in the previous post sound very
natural and in line with what nature intends. I think we need to remember
that an "operatic sound", or any other sound for that matter,(i.e. style of
singing) is not what should be important. The important thing is that we are
using our vocal equipment in the most logical way according to how it is
designed. The problem is our voices don't come with an owners manuel like a
car, or we did not design them, they were designed for us. So we have to
figure it out. Another important thing to remember is that technique is not
something we impose upon the vocal organs. Good technique is really
learning the proper mechanics of how the voice is designed to work most
efficiently and effectively, and then not doing anything more than that.
The idea that operatic singing diverges at some point is at the heart of the
problem in my opinion. Yes, I agree that there is something different. You
should't sing a musical theatre song in the same way you sing an operatic
aria. But the difference is not in the way you use your voice, it is in the
degree of how much voice you use. The full throated resonance that is
referred to is a result of releasing more breath energy to accomplish that.
But the basic functioning of the voice should be the same. I'm not saying
that it is in most singers, because it is not. But it can be, and I think
we, as artists, should be trying to develop that kind of flexibility.
Because even in one style of singing, say opera, you should't always be
singing full or loud, there still needs to be the flexibility to sing a
pianissimo high note for example. So even in the same style of singing you
should be able to use more than one level, or quality, of voice. I have a
lot more I could say, but I'll start with this.
Thank you, Michael Mayer
>From: Isabelle Bracamonte <ibracamonte@y...>
>Reply-To: vocalist-temporary@egroups.com
>To: vocalist-temporary@egroups.com
>Subject: Re: [vocalist-temporary] Re: Seth Riggs, Speech Level Singing,Fu
>ll Resume and Artists.
>Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2000 20:17:10 -0700 (PDT)
>
>
> > I think, anyway, that SLS is some kind of 'neutral
> > technique', just like
> > Switzerland :-) I mean, it's a way to sing that
> > doesn't put your voice under
> > any kind of stress, what reduces the risk of vocal
> > problems
>
>I totally agree with this assessment. No one thinks
>SLS is "bad," but I do think that it's not adequate
>for opera singers. The list of musical theater
>students of SLS was VERY impressive, and if I had a
>friend who wanted to end up very famous on Broadway, I
>would send him/her to Seth or one of his teachers.
>
>Indeed, there is a "basic" way to sing -- the good
>principles of breathing, tension management,
>phonation/adduction, can be applied to gospel and
>country and broadway and choral and operatic music.
>But beyond that, I really think that the techniques
>diverge.
>
>If I hear a singer who is equally versitile in
>broadway and opera singing, I usually find the opera
>selections bland and not "operatic" enough. I really
>believe that at some advanced point, you have to
>commit to delving into the specific technical tricks
>and issues of an operatic sound. I don't even think
>it's an issue of learning the technique and then being
>able to switch between styles -- I think you are
>training a certain sound into your instrument, and
>switching will compromise one or the other of your
>styles, and probably both. (Obviously, there are
>people who say, "But I myself can sing arias and hit
>tunes and sing in the glee club, and I have mastered
>them all," but how many of those people have you heard
>on the recent broadcast? Fleming used to sing both
>jazz and opera, and has said in interviews that she
>had to give one of them up in order to perfect the
>other -- she was accepted into Juilliard, so she gave
>up jazz.)
>
>True operatic voices sound ridiculous singing other
>types of music -- the rich, resonant, free-vibratoed
>voice of an Aida does not an acceptable "Wash that man
>right out of my hair" make. I suspect that SLS
>produces finished singers who are more successful with
>the musical theater sound than the operatic.
>
>I also suspect that SLS uses the musical theater
>concept of "mix," with fewer rich overtones in the
>lower voice, producing a more slender sound. But for
>a foundation of singing, and for basic concepts, I
>don't think there's anything wrong with it. The fact
>that the singers from the "opera" section of Seth's
>list of protegees is by FAR less well-known than the
>other, quite impressive, lists, speaks for itself.
>
>Isabelle B.
>
>=====
>Isabelle Bracamonte
>San Francisco, CA
>ibracamonte@y...
>
>
>
>
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