Caitlin Craig SS Chapter 1 Summary

Chapter Summary: Our two most basic instincts are breathing and speaking.  Breathing being the first life-giving process, and speaking being the first creative process.  In making sound there are three components: the generator, vibrator, and resonator.  All musical instruments have these components in order to make sound.  In the voice, our breath acts as the generator, while our vocal folds vibrate, and our body acts as the resonator (more specifically our mouth, pharynx, and nasal cavatives).  Although it is important to understand the mechanics of the voice, an understanding of these facts does not make one a good singer.  "Scientific analysis can only tell us what happens when we sing.  It cannot tell us what we must do to sing well."  There are other factors that play into the big picture such as our: emotional, physical, psychological, and spiritual state of mind.
In medicine, as well as singing there are generally two approaches, the conventional and holistic approach.  In the conventional approach, the doctor, or professional focuses on the side effects, not the actual complication that is making the side effects occur.  Whereas the holistic approach focuses on prevention by establishing healthy habits and vocal production.  Speaking should be our healthy singing model, because it is our original creative activity.
We must treat singing as going on a trip; we plan carefully, but in the end we have to just go on our trip.  If things go badly we can still salvage the trip.  Evaluation should be used to the same effect.  We can evaluate after and before singing, but as like the trip, there comes a time when you have to stop evaluating and have fun.  Self-actualization can only occur when we stop evaluating ourselves during our singing.  This is the vulnerable and naked state of singing.
Key Terms: Wholism, basic instincts, generator, vibrator, resonator, phonation, air flow, Bernoulli effect, placement, a "trick, gestalt, technique, vulnerability, self-actualization, emotional honesty,
Key Concepts: Resonance is passive.  Scientific approaches to singing can only tell us what happens when we sing, not what we should do to sing well.  "There are differences between instruments, but the more important difference is in how people use their instruments."
Making Connections: While reading this chapter I had an epiphany.  Every thing that was said was a message for me.  I have been trying to evaluate the difference between my state of mind during bad performances and the good ones, and I now know that when my performances went well, I wasn't evaluating my singing, but rather embracing the vulnerable state of expressing myself in song.