Sunday musings...
got your attention?
What are these "vocal tricks"?
Here is the secret....
There are none.
There is nothing that is a trick, or a tip to solid technique and healthy singing. NOTHING. NADA.
Good technique is something that can be summoned AT WILL.
A trick is a fluke and cannot be replicated nor integrated into an ongoing development of technical behavior.
So what does this mean?
It means, vocal reality is about study, tenacity, understanding, recognizing, figuring it out, and dedication to find the full capacity of your own personal vocal instrument.
We have all been in that moment (or longer than a moment) of "god I hope it works", or using an unhealthy way of getting through something vocally. Many of us have faked our technique from time to time. I am guilty too. However, the prayer, the scream, the push, the "trick" may or may not work in the moment. It is not reliable. It is not behavior. It is fickle. It will let you down if you decide to put your faith in it.
True technique takes time. It takes an honesty about where you are, not where you think you are. It takes a focus, takes a work ethic, takes a certain mentality to find what you need, what you have to work with, and the clarity to create a behavior that allows your voice, YOUR voice to emerge.
My philosophy is simple: I believe the voice itself is always fine. Where she/he chooses to reside isn't always ideal. It is the physicality of technical behavior that needs to be balanced and fully realized.
True realization is not a trick. It creates MAGIC yes, and this is where we often get lost. We want the magic; we want what seems to be spontaneous response to the emotional element of the music we sing.
Magic is created when the craft is nurtured. Magic is real, but only through realization, not tricks.
Realization is rooted in knowledge. Tricks are not rooted and stem from panic.
So, the next time you hear someone say they have the "vocal trick" you need - as bright and shiny as it seems - RUN!
Often, I have heard singers standing in front of me say "thanks for that trick". I sigh and know simply from that language that they don't get it. They are still expecting immediate and now. They have the opportunity to figure it out, but often times, they simply disappear because they refuse to recognize there is no trick. Technique is built one step at a time, one breath at a time.
If you walked up to a world class dancer and said "can you give me a trick to do the splits?", they would look at you like you had lost your mind!
If you walked up to world class actor and said "can you show me a trick to do Shakespeare?", they would walk away from you!
There is a secret...
There are no tricks. There is just hard work, the desire to learn, the decision to see clearly, and recognize what you have, what you need, and how you can work with YOUR physicality to allow YOUR voice to move in and reside as fully and as balanced as it can.
Being you isn't a trick. Your voice isn't a trick.
Being you takes time. Your voice takes time. No wishing, no hoping. Work, and time.
And then, magic!
Do you dare discover THAT?!
got your attention?
What are these "vocal tricks"?
Here is the secret....
There are none.
There is nothing that is a trick, or a tip to solid technique and healthy singing. NOTHING. NADA.
Good technique is something that can be summoned AT WILL.
A trick is a fluke and cannot be replicated nor integrated into an ongoing development of technical behavior.
So what does this mean?
It means, vocal reality is about study, tenacity, understanding, recognizing, figuring it out, and dedication to find the full capacity of your own personal vocal instrument.
We have all been in that moment (or longer than a moment) of "god I hope it works", or using an unhealthy way of getting through something vocally. Many of us have faked our technique from time to time. I am guilty too. However, the prayer, the scream, the push, the "trick" may or may not work in the moment. It is not reliable. It is not behavior. It is fickle. It will let you down if you decide to put your faith in it.
True technique takes time. It takes an honesty about where you are, not where you think you are. It takes a focus, takes a work ethic, takes a certain mentality to find what you need, what you have to work with, and the clarity to create a behavior that allows your voice, YOUR voice to emerge.
My philosophy is simple: I believe the voice itself is always fine. Where she/he chooses to reside isn't always ideal. It is the physicality of technical behavior that needs to be balanced and fully realized.
True realization is not a trick. It creates MAGIC yes, and this is where we often get lost. We want the magic; we want what seems to be spontaneous response to the emotional element of the music we sing.
Magic is created when the craft is nurtured. Magic is real, but only through realization, not tricks.
Realization is rooted in knowledge. Tricks are not rooted and stem from panic.
So, the next time you hear someone say they have the "vocal trick" you need - as bright and shiny as it seems - RUN!
Often, I have heard singers standing in front of me say "thanks for that trick". I sigh and know simply from that language that they don't get it. They are still expecting immediate and now. They have the opportunity to figure it out, but often times, they simply disappear because they refuse to recognize there is no trick. Technique is built one step at a time, one breath at a time.
If you walked up to a world class dancer and said "can you give me a trick to do the splits?", they would look at you like you had lost your mind!
If you walked up to world class actor and said "can you show me a trick to do Shakespeare?", they would walk away from you!
There is a secret...
There are no tricks. There is just hard work, the desire to learn, the decision to see clearly, and recognize what you have, what you need, and how you can work with YOUR physicality to allow YOUR voice to move in and reside as fully and as balanced as it can.
Being you isn't a trick. Your voice isn't a trick.
Being you takes time. Your voice takes time. No wishing, no hoping. Work, and time.
And then, magic!
Do you dare discover THAT?!
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