Sarah Brenay - NV - Ch. 1

Sarah Brenay - NV - Ch. 1
Chapter Summary: Sound is one of the most instinctive, organic forms of expression. To create sound there must be a generator (air), a vibrator (vocal folds), and a resonator (pharynx, mouth, and nasal cavity). This is true for every instrument. Although we speak of creating resonance, it is a passive reaction to the action of the sound. We cannot will resonance to change, but we can control phonation and airflow. This is where our focus must lie. Because our instrument is a part of our living bodies, it cannot be viewed as a mechanical process. Everything about us, whether physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional, affects our singing. Therefore, as we seek to improve our voice, we need to study the our selves as a whole. Smith compares the voice to Stradivarius violins, saying that, although there are differences between people's voices, the thing that really makes a difference in sound is technique. Singers should never evaluate while singing.
Key Concepts: We cannot control resonance, but we can control sound production. Every voice is different, and all have potential. When teachers treat symptoms of unhealthy singing instead of causes, they are using "tricks" that mask, but do not fix, errors. We need to focus on the positive, not the negative. Focus on the experience of singing, do not evaluate yourself in the middle of a song. EVER AGAIN.
Key Terms:
Wholism - a philosophy that considers all aspects of the human experience (physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, etc)
Generator - something that moves
Vibrator - the thing that is caused to vibrate by the thing that moves
Resonator - amplifies the sound
Phonation - buzzing of the vocal folds
Bernoulli effect - two objects pulled together by air passing between them
self-actualizing - understanding more clearly and deeply how we think and feel and function
Making Connections: We are all in such a bad habit of evaluating while singing! This chapter had an overwhelming amount of information in it which will take me time and a class discussion to process. But for now I want to try singing without my bra! Or rather, I want to try singing in an improvisatory way without analyzing what's happening while it's happening.