On Wed, 09 Aug 2000, Jocelyn Gooch wroteL
> I recently began teaching two students, young teens, who are incredible dancers. This brother and sister have a very hard time letting go of the tension/strength they have developed through doing ONE THOUSAND SIT-UPS A DAY! Can anyone shed some light on what I might teach them?
Dear Jocelyn and Vocalist:
I have taught some dancers over the years and have also noticed this phenomenon--"abs of steel," and a rib cage that is truly a rigid, immobilized structure. Years of conditioning of the abdominals and intercostals has auto-instructed many dancers to "wrap" their bodies in towards the mid-line.
Some techniques you might try:
1. Have the student bend slightly over at the waist, knees also slightly bent to avoid straining the back. Have the student put his/her hands on the waist, just above the hips. This usually works well if the thumbs are at the sides of the body and the other four fingers are in back, in the lumbar region. When the student is comfortable in this position, ask him/her to breathe in through the nose. This seems to encourage lower breathing. When breathing through the nose in this position, can the student feel anything moving or stretching in the lower back or at the sides (maybe the lower ribs)? If so, you're on to something.
This has worked well for me in the past, with dancers or "abs of steel" devotees (of which there are many on college campuses today). If they can feel something moving in the lower back, in this slightly-bent-over position, then perhaps they can then transfer that feeling to the abdominals in front, and eventually achieve low breathing while standing upright.
2. Good old-fashioned floor work. I have an exercise mat in my studio for this purpose. Have the student lie on the floor, with a medium-heavy book on his/her abdominal region. (For maximum comfort, the student might want a pillow under his/her head, or not. I always ask. Also, the student might want to have his/her legs flat on the floor, or have the knees slightly bent. I always ask the student which would be the most comfortable.)
Again, inhaling through the nose might encourage abdominal breathing and help the student avoid clavicular breathing. The book should rise easily (not in a forced manner) on inhalation and fall steadily and easily on exhalation. The sternum should not be rising and falling. When the student feels comfortable with this range of motion, ask him/her to put a hissing sound with the exhalation. Then that motion can be used while the student hums; eventually the student is encouraged to sing short exercises or phrases of songs, and so on.
I am excited to try a new wrinkle on this--I've ordered a "breathing pillow" from one of my book clubs (One Spirit Books), which is meant to be used in yoga and meditation the way that the traditional dictionary-in-the-abs (in my studio, it's the Harvard Dictionary of Musical Terms, or my old, battered German dictionary) is used in the voice studio. This pillow is slightly weighted, and just the right shape and size to be placed on the stomach during floor work. I'll let you know how this works when I receive it.
3. Lemonade can/coffee can. Since I don't drink coffee, I use a lemonade drink mix can instead. The student holds this can on his/her abdominal region, usually (for most students) at about the level of the navel. When standing upright, the student uses this can as a helpful reminder of where the motion of the breath should be occurring (as opposed to clavicular breathing).
I would caution that some students will want to push in on their abdominal muscles like crazy with this can. I think that is incorrect--the can is just there as a reminder. If they're letting go of their abdominals upon inhalation, the can will move outward. If they have a steady breath stream, the can will allow the student "track" that movement inward. I'm not a big advocate of "pushing" in and/or up with the abs, or the "diaphragmatic thrust" maneuver, as I've heard it called in the past. Some students have asked me "am I supposed to be pushing in on my abs with this thing?" My answer is, "no, just let it remind you where the action of respiration is focused."
This lemonade can is in constant use in my studio. I've become a drink-mix can supplier (good way of recycling my soy-drink cans) to my students, so they can take one to the practice room. It was also a big hit with my pedagogy class last spring.
4. "Move back from the piano." Very lean or muscular students might not find this useful, but what the heck. Go to the front side of the grand piano (if you have one), just to the right of the "crook." Lean against the piano, with the abdominal region contacting the side of the piano. Let the piano (please make sure the wheels are locked!) take most of your weight, really lean into it. Let go of any tension in the shoulders and neck; the piano is holding you upright.
Have the student breathe in through the nose. If he/she is breathing low, with flexible (not rigid) abdominal muscles he/she will move away from the piano, even slightly, during inhalation and come back towards the piano on exhalation. If he/she is breathing high, that should be fairly obvious to the student because the sternum and possibly even the shoulders will be moving up and down like crazy, leaving the student leaning against the piano and frozen in that spot.
Those are my suggestions. I also liked the suggestion of Alexander work, because it's about not holding oneself in one spot or position. But ultimately, as Dean says, your students' habits may be extremely frustrating or even impossible to change.
Here's an "equation" from the world of exercise training: The Rule of 21 and 100. Studies of athletic training have shown that on the average, it takes 21 times to make a new physical habit. That's not even considering what it takes to change an old habit, just a rough average of 21 times to make a new habit (throwing a fastball efficiently and effectively, jumping over a hurdle efficiently, whatever). Beyond that, it may take 100 repetitions (on the average) or even more (depending on the individual) to make that habit automatic.
So what have all those 1000+ sit-ups a day been teaching your students? Working the abdominal muscles until they're strong, tight and defined, yet extremely rigid and inflexible, is a deeply ingrained and automatic response to them at this point; they're way beyond both 21 and 100. On your end, you know they must change their breathing if the singing is to become more healthy and efficient, and that's going to take maximum repetition of some very different movement patterns. This could take some time, and if it were me, I would resist the temptation to go on and work on other, more interesting (or possibly less frustrating:-) aspects of technique until this has been changed to my satisfaction.
On the other hand, all that dance training and ab work may have made your students, at the very least, more tuned in to their own bodies. Maybe you can use that to your advantage. I've liked working with dancers in the past. They can instead use that invaluable kinesthetic awareness to work in a different way, and if they've been well-trained, they're not opposed to the many repetitions it may take to get the new habits started.
Good luck--I'll be interested to hear what develops with your students, so keep us posted!
Cheers!
Jana -- Jana Holzmeier Dept. of Music Nebraska Wesleyan University 5000 Saint Paul Ave. Lincoln, NE 68504 jjh@n... 402-465-2284 Visit the Music Department website at http://music.nebrwesleyan.edu/
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