Starting out we did some stretching. The first 3 minutes or so were us groaning and complaining about how sore we were. I showed her the yoga-esque back exercises that Dr. Cook showed me. As I showed her what we were doing I noticed that instead of keeping up with me, Emma took her time and listened to her body. I commented that that was my favorite thing about her as a student because she didn't rush to do what I said, she always waits until she's ready, and it's such a great quality.
Since she was feeling so sore and gross, I let her stay lying on the floor while I discussed breathing with her. I grabbed her some books to put under head. I grabbed her arm (after asking permission) and helped her get her shoulder blades to release the way Cindy showed me. So she's laying on the floor with her legs bent and her arms are out to her sides, but up away from her feet...
Once I she felt released and comfortable, we talked about breathing while she stayed where she was.
S: So. Can you tell me what's going on in the body when we breath?
E: ...sure I guess?
S: Ya just give it a shot!
E: Inhaling equals lungs expand?
S: Ya! That's right.
E: When we relax that's usually the diaphragm? It expands more than anything else. And... that's all I know.
S: Ya ok good that's a good place to start. So the breathing mechanism. We have our rib cage, we have our lungs, we have the diaphragm which is shaped kind of like a dome, it's just a muscle that's kind of - if you had a pancake and flopped it over a dome that's kind of what it looks like. And then you have all your guts, through here (I gesture). Those are the main parts. So when we inhale our diaphragms contracts and flattens out. The lungs are attached to it through the plueral sack, so when the diaphragm goes down the lungs expand to fill the space, right?
E: Mmhmm.
S: And then I don't know if you'll remember from science classes but when a space expands it's going to create a vacuum unless something fills it, so the air just comes in to fill that space. So we have the diaphragm going down, the lungs expanding to fill the space, and the air just coming in. Right? What also happens is the ribs move outward to make more space for the lungs. Can you feel your ribs moving a little bit?
E: Ya.
S: Ya. So what they do is the muscles between the ribs contract and it raises the rib cage and because of the way the ribs are curved, it causes them to move up and out a little bit so that we have more space for the lungs! Which is really cool, but the whole point of all that and what WE need to take out of it is that breathing is not sucking in air, really. It's not really about air, it's about space, right? The space that we create.
E: That's true.
S: So air just happens, breath just happens, we manipulate the space, k? Cool cool! That is why if I just inhale and stay in this position (I inhale and then maintain the upright position I arrive at when I have inhaled a deep breath) I'm not exhaling, I'm not inhaling, no air is moving, I can suspend with the same amount of air - just right there. (I model that you can leave the glottis open and not exhale or inhale as long as you maintain the same shape in the breathing mechanism.) Can you do that with me? Just inhale and then just let it rest? Ya? No air is moving in and out? You're not tightening or closing the tubes right? But it's just staying. And then when you let the space collapse the air goes out (Emma exhales). And then there again at the bottom of the exhale we have the ability to just stop. No air is moving, the space is open, we're just suspending. Wo when we talk about breath control in singing, what we're controlling is the space. We don't have to like (I gasp dramatically) throw air in or (I hiss) constrict the amount of air that comes out, it's just a spacial thing.
E: Ya! That makes a lot of sense!
S: Ya! So firstly I want to start with a little breathing exercise, what we're going to do is we're going to inhale for 4, suspend for 4 - which is maintaining the space and keeping static here - and then exhale for 4, and then sustain for 4 again.
E: So, inhale, sustain, exhale, sustain.
S: Yes! And I'll kind of talk you through it so you know what's going on. Inhale...2....3...4...Suspend... 2...3...4... exhale...2....3...4 suspend...2...3...4. (We go through this a few times while Emma lies on the floor and I count for her. After going through this three times I ask her what she noticed or felt.)
E: I don't know... it's weird... usually like I've done timed breathing before, like in meditation. So you know you count and breathe and count a breathe, but I've never done it with the suspension before so that's interesting.
S: Ya it is interesting. Was it uncomfortable?
E: Ya kind of just because I'm like - I should be breathing right now!
S: Ya it's a new thing. And I think I should count a little faster so it's not quite as freaky! Ok so lets do it again a little faster... (we go through the exercise 8 times and then a tell her to relax). Good! So what did you feel that time?
E: I don't know it felt really relaxed.
S: Good!
E: Like... Not unnatural.
S: Great! And I notice that when you're in the suspension phase I notice that you're closing your mouth, but are you leaving the airway open?
E: I think so.
S: So inhale with me and (I pant a little) and feel the air moving (we do it together) and then suspend. In the suspension you shouldn't feel anything move. (Emma tries it a few times.)
E: Ya.
S: Ya? So that tells us we aren't tightening anywhere which is what we want! So ya! If you want to work on those breathing exercises on your own, it's so good and then in singing, now we know we can control the air without any tension, without feeling weird! This is what it's all about! Ok I wanted to try another breathing exercise. We're gunna not spend time on the suspensions. They happen naturally, but we won't spend time on them. So we inhale for 5, exhale for 5. (We go through this three times.) Ok I just remembered something! So you know how you feel movement down here (I put my hand on my abdomen) when you inhale. What that is, is NOT air going in to your stomach, we know that. A lot of people talk about belly breathing, not a real thing, there are no lungs down here. But what happens is the diaphragm contracts and pushes on all the guts down in there, and they move outwards to make space for the diaphragm, so that's just your diaphragm moving down and your guts displacing to make room for it.
E: My guts are displaced!
S: Aaaa! Your guts are displaced!!! Haha so I just remembered and wanted to tell you about that. So let's do another exercises, in for 7 out for 7. (We do the exercise 4 times, and then get distracted by the pianist in the practice room next to us. Then we do the exercise in for 10 seconds our for 10 seconds. I stopped her after one rep.) How'd you do?
E: ...I think if we keep going I'll get it.
S: Ya let's keep doing it (we do it a few more times). That is hard! It's hard on the inhale I think.
E: It's hard on the inhale because you get full! I noticed that... ya I'm making more space and I noticed more displacement in my guts than I've ever had before and I could like feel this expanding to make room for that, and I think in the past I've gotten to that point and then (she gasps and demonstrated clavicular breathing). So that was interesting.
S: Ya that is interesting! And uh for a bunch of reasons that I don't... anyways... we don't like clavicular breathing. One because it's really shallow in the lungs and there's actually a lot more dendrites lower in the lungs than higher, so you get a lot more benefit if you're breathing deeper and then also there's no opposing force from shoulder breathing. It's harder to control. So if you want to make more space, a lot of it can come from the ribs, and a lot of it can come from gut displacement. This is crazy! Your diaphragm has the ability to move up to 6 inches! Isn't that insane?
E: Six inches??
S: Ya! For regular breathing it's like 3-4 inches but with singing or physical activity that requires more breath it can move up to 6 inches isn't that the coolest thing!
E: Wow!
(NOTE!!! I have since realized that the diaphragm moves 6 centimeters, not 6 inches, and I have told Emma the truth!)
S: Anyway. This time I want to try kind of a funky one, so let's do in for 7 and then out for 10. (I do this one twice.)
E: That was cool!
S: Want to try in for 5 out for 10?
E: Sure!
(We do this three times.)
E: That is easier!
S: No way!
E: Ya because with the 7 you have to control how much you take in and with the 5 you can just kind of take more in and regulate the out.
S: Wow that is so cool! I didn't expect that, but that's cool. Let's see what time it is... Wow! We are almost out of time do you mind if we have a longer lesson today?
E: No that's fine!
S: Ok great. Let's humm! (We did humms on 5 note descending scales. After six of those I asked if her breath felt as easy as before.)
E: It is. Um. I feel like I'm being more conscious and taking more time to inhale.
S: We can take more time between if you want! Also I wanted to bring up... when I humm, my tendency, which is bad, is to keep my jaw tight and keep my tongue tense, which is bad. So if we keep our jaw loose and our tongue loose (I model). Can you have your jaw loose but your lips still together? (She does it.) Good. And then make sure your tongue is just laying down in your mouth... ok let's do some more. (We do more. Descending chromatically then jumping up.) Let's do our nice [u]! (We do the descending sigh like [u] that ends in a modal [a].) That was nice! You started way higher than I did on that one, let's do another. (We do another.) Wow you are getting good at that!
E: I'm visualizing higher notes than I can hit!
S: You're so good at this! I love you! Ok let's do two more. (We do.) That's so nice! Let's do sime [bi]s ya? (We do [bidibidibi) 54321. I did several of those and then hopped up to a higher pitch and then descended for a while. She was finding nice focus before I jumped up higher, but then her tone became spread and didn't regain focus even though we descended to speaking range again.) I just realized I told you I'd give you more time to breath and I'm not giving you time.
E: No it was good because I was thinking about the... at first I wasn't thinking about it at all and it seamed to be going quite well. And then I started thinking about it and I'm thinking about the... you know surprise? Ya, it's good.
S: That's good! You're just so stinking smart. And one thing Cindy told me that works better sometimes than the surprise breath is the slow motion surprise like you're running from a bomb! (I model. She tries it.) Do you feel more openness with that? For me it's like my throat is open, my mouth is open, I'm just my lungs are just (I model some more.) You feel that?
E: Ya!
S: Ya ok so this time we'll do (slow motion surprise) [bidibidibi] 54321. (We do these for a while. Her tone was much more focused with the full air.) Good job! What are you noticing?
E: It kind of feels like that sustain that we were doing.
S: Ya? Good.
E: In some odd ways.. it's like your just there and then the air is just fwoosh instead of like (gasp).
S: Yes! Yes that is a great thing!
E: It's just there.
S: Ya it's just there! Which is awesome! You are so smart! I didn't learn this until last week! My teacher was saying that air should be like light or sound, you don't think about it traveling to you, it's just there. It's suddenly there. And she's saying if you feel it slowly come in, you are constricting something. So you are doing good things! Yayyyy! Yayyy Emma! And I also feel like you have some more clarity in your sound too. So that's good that's good stuff! Alright. Will you rise my dear? (Emma stands up and then gets a head rush. We sit and breathe for a moment.) Let's do [ninenanonu] 54321.
(We do a few of those. Her tone is really airy.) Let's see if we can have that jaw released! Tip the head back, and let the jaw go... good. (We do some more.) You know when you do the n sound, your jaw comes a little bit more together, and that's fine. But make sure it comes back to that released place after you make the n. You want to watch in the mirror and see what's going on?
E: Ya.
(We do a handful more.)
S: So what did you think?
E: Arg. It was fine for a while and then bleh.
S: It's hard! With the [u], what we do to make that sound is we bring the lips around so we have [ni] and the lips are here and then we bring the lips around so you'll have the corners of your lips in but your jaw can stay open. Let's do [ni nu ni nu] all on same pitch. (We do a few. I have her put her hands against her jaw and throat so she can monitor what's happening.) Does it feel like you're not moving? Feel good?
E: Ya.
S: Let's do some more. (We do some more. I have her watch me do some so she can see the lip shapes and how they start to come in on [o]. We busted up laughing at a face she made trying to do the lip shape. She started getting it after a while.) Ok now I need to be looking inside your mouth, so this is going to be awkward.
E: That's hard! Keeping your mouth open wide enough! I'm watching what you're doing and I'm like, I am not doing that.
S: Ya I've been working on it all semester.
E: Is it like for resonation purposes?
S: Yes! Yes it is!
E: Aaaaah!
S: There is this really scientifically complex thing called a formant.
E: Mmmhmm.
S: Which we don't need to go into unless you're curious, are you curious?
E: You can tell me a little bit, or a lot...
S: I'll tell you a little bit, so vowels are actually just resonance, they're just different kinds of resonance. It's a timbre thing, right?
E: Right.
S: So what we perceive as a vowel is actually just resonance and what we do to get different resonances is we manipulate the vocal tract-
E: Right! We talked about this in linguistics! Consonants are all like, well there's labial consonants and like dental and all this stuff. And palate something or other, it's cool! He made us in class we had to do vowels. He made us do vowels with our mouth open, without moving our lips (She models) So I get it!
S: That is so cool! that's a cool teacher! So you get it. So all we do is manipulate the tongue and the lips to make different vowels. Um. So the thing is certain pitches are amplified with different resonances. That's why we close our mouths a lot when we go lower, to manipulate the formant area. But we have to figure out how not to close our mouths. If we close our mouths than not as much sound is coming out anyway. So it's hard, but it's worth it. You know so many things! This is great! This is awesome! K so tongue tension is a problem for singers, because it is attached to the larynx. So when it is tense it elevates the larynx, and we don't want that, because that's when we get that tight, pinched feeling.
E: Oh my gosh I can feel it!
S: Ya? You can feel the larynx move when you tense your tongue?
E: Ya!
S: Ya and the tongue is huge, have you seen pictures of the tongue?
E: Yes!
S: It is a monster.
E: I try not to think about that. I feel like I'll choke myself on it!
S: Seriously! Anyways so the goal is to have our tongues as released as possible while we sing, which is hard because for some vowels we want to have our tongues back. But the goal is to have our tongue touching the lower teeth. (We try making all the vowels with the tongue staying near the lower teeth. She did well on [i e a] but then [o] was funny) You've got to use your lips! See this is the opposite of what your teacher was doing. (We do [o] and [u]) So what's your tongue doing?
E: I think it's pretty good.
S: Ya? Ok good now for me, [i] is pretty good. Which vowel do you think is the most comfortable?
E: [e]. Because [i] makes my tongue want to go back a little bit.
S: So let's do. [bebibe]121. See if your tongue moves. (She feels good. so I do [bebabe], then [bebobe] which she said was still pretty good. [bebube] was hard.) It's hard because when you're tongue can't move as far your lips have got to make up for it. Let's do another [bebube] 121. And another one. That sounds a little better?
E: Ya it feels better.
S: Good let's do [bibebabobu] 54321. (we do a few.) I also find that doing [ing] helps me find a good place for my tongue. Do you feel how your tongue is positioned?
E: It feels pretty released. The back is up and the front is down.
S: Good so this week, do some exercises with [ing], like [inginginginging] 54321 or [singsingsingsingsingsing] 54321. (We do a bunch of these.)
E: My tongue didn't pull at all!
S: Hey girl! Nice.
E: Ok so before we stop the recording, I need to work on [ing], [ninenanonu], tongue release, breathing exercises...
S: And if you do the downward [u]-
E: I have been doing that!
S: I can tell! You're getting so good at it! And the best way to practice will be doing those small things for like 15 minutes and then take a break, and then another 15 minutes.
Reactions:
PHEW! That took forever to write all that. Man. I felt really really good about this lesson. I still do. Emma is very smart and focused. She is thirsty for information! A great student. I really enjoy working with her. I am noticing that I talk way to much and don't listen enough. I think that I have given her a lot of really great information, but I haven't let her learn how to apply it as much as I could. So for the future, I need to let her do her thing more and talk less. No matter how badly I want to explain to her what's going on. I feel like we have accomplished a lot mentally in lessons, but not a lot physically. So. I have to work on that. I also want to try the "sob" sound in her voice. I'll do that next time.
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