Sam Meredith OB Ch. 1 Summary

Sam
Chapter 1 Summary- All humans are born with abilities that allow them to phonate healthily. Although each person's voice is different all people not only have the ability to phonate healthily, but also do so from the day they are born. Singing is most successful when we utilize our primal sound, or the free, natural sound that we create involuntarily. Unfortunately, as we grown older we develop habits that prevent us from harnessing the power and the ease that comes from singing with our natural, naked voice. So, as singers we must strive to remove these habits that complicate things. We can do this by simply thinking, or being aware of how healthy should feel and then just letting it happen as it naturally should. To condition ourselves to familiarity with this feeling of naturally healthy singing we can do a number of vocal exercises. First, we can do a long sigh on the syllable 'huh'. Next, we can do the same exercise moving the sigh up and down in pitch. Then, we can try a higher-pitched, whiny sound. After that, we can try a downward sigh. Finally we can laugh lightly and hold out the final pitch of that laugh. All of these sounds are very natural, but doing these exercises also includes the part of the brain that controls willed action, meaning that we can be more aware of how each of these natural sounds really feels.
Key Concept- We sing best when we harness the power of our natural voice. We already have the ability to sing well, we just need to remove all of the bad habits that prevent us from doing so. This requires a great deal of practicing natural singing and awareness of how it feels to sing naturally.
Key Terms- Primal sound, Reflexive Sound, Voice Print
Making Connections- I think my practice needs more awareness. I think I have improved a lot in that regard this semester, but I still think I need to be more aware when I practice. I need to remember that I already have the ability to sing all of my pieces well, so anything extra that I add is unnecessary and possibly counterproductive.