Sam Meredith SS Ch. 4 Summary

Sam
Chapter 4 Summary-Our natural speaking voice holds the key to finding our naked voice. When we speak we generally do so in a way that feels natural and doesn't encourage unnecessary tension in our body or in our voice. In order to sing beautifully, therefore, we must first speak. The first step is to have the student enunciate the vowels [ni, ne, na, no, nu] in their ordinary vernacular speech. This provides a good foundation upon which we can then make a few refinements. The next thing we do to work our way towards actual singing is we have the student speak with projection. Even when we speak louder we don't put extra tension on the voice, so doing this exercise translates very well to singing. In order for the student to project in a natural way that doesn't cause damage to the voice we can simply ask them to say these vowels as if they were addressing someone in the next room. The next step is to achieve consistency in inflection and intensity throughout the duration of each vowel. This is something that doesn't occur in normal speech as we generally allow the inflection of our voice to change throughout a sentence. Our next step in this exercise is to include pitch. Each person has an approximate pitch where they naturally speak. Once we find this pitch and have the student sing the vowel sequence on that pitch we can change pitches. When we change pitches the new pitch should be at least a minor third away from the previous pitch to maintain the spontaneity of the exercise. Our final step is to refine the vowels that we are singing. The most difficult vowel to refine will be different depending on the natural vernacular of the student, but all vowels should be sung with the same openness as an 'ah' vowel. Most people have a tendency to bring the lips closer together when singing closed vowels, but really all of the vowels can be sung with a more open mouth position.
Key Concept- We can create good singing by starting first with our vernacular speech. Our vernacular speech is effortless and doesn't damage the voice and good singing should hold these same characteristics. We can harness the good characteristics of our speaking voice for our singing voice by speaking in our normal dialect and then adding projection, consistency in intensity, pitch, and refinement in the vowels.
Key Terms-Vernacular Speaking, Projection, Speaking with Line
Making Connections-I need to do more to incorporate my speaking voice into my practice. Also, I need to do something to eliminate the tension in my tongue.