Discover Your Voice: Chapter 1
Emily Cottam
Chapter Summary: Primal sounds are involuntary, and you’re born with them. This includes crying, yelling in surprise, laughing, etc. Talking is a man-made invention that alters the primal sound. “Primal sound is the reflexive sound which produces emotional expression.” Every person has their own “voice print.” Healthy singing is centered around finding your primal voice; our environment often taints what is natural for us and can be unhealthy. Great singing is exposed singing. If you think the note, your vocal cords automatically come together. The best way to find your primal sound is through experimentation--try making natural sounds (laughter, sounds of agreement/disagreement, surprise, etc.) and then prolong the sound and let it slide up and down. Keep things simple. Learning to sing takes one step at a time; it’s a slow process (Amen to that). Let your voice happen. Primal sound helps communicate, reach your audience, and maintain vocal health.
Key Concepts: When singing, we need to focus on trusting our primal sound and the effortlessness and “lack of control” that comes with it. Singing is best when it is simple; just think the note and let the sounds happen. Trusting the primal sound helps you to sing healthier and touch your audience on a more emotional level because it’s so raw and exposed. “Think! Let! Pray! Trust!”
Key Terms: Primal Sound, larynx, let your voice happen, reflexive sound.
Making Connections: Whenever I hear someone say, “Sing like you speak,” I always think about primal sound (I’m a little familiar with the concept because my previous voice teacher was familiar with Brown’s writing). I sometimes have difficulty identifying whether or not I’m using primal sound during these exercises, but I think the ones where we make an actual relatable sound (i.e. laughter) rather than an undefined “uh” were most helpful to me.
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