LaeKin Burgess- Austin M. Lesson Report #2 for 3/31 Lesson with Cindy

This lesson was really helpful because I was having a hard time pinpointing what Austin was really struggling with. During the lesson I didn't feel like anything I was doing was getting the result I wanted and that was really frustrating. Finally about half way through the lesson I realized his body alignment was way off so I mentioned that to him but probably should've dwelt on that longer because Cindy told me later that if I didn't fix his alignment his jaw would never release and I would never get him to do what I wanted him to. Good to know. I had noticed considerable collapse upon immediate release of the breath. I tried talking to him about suspension but that didn't seem to help. Cindy said it would be helpful to put S, SH, or Z at the beginning of exercise to encourage suspension rather than a sudden burst of air. Because I didn't know exactly what was causing Austin's tension I kept telling him to relax completely but Cindy said this is a bad approach because Austin is under-energized in his body and complete relaxation isn't what we need for singing. I felt like a grateful moron after this lesson. I finally know how to approach Austin's singing.