This ebook, An Alexander Technique Approach to Singing (Singers’) Technique, is published on this website in a PDF format. It is very detailed and practical, and it will give you the physical tools you need to take the limits off of your ability to create the accurate singing technique you want without sacrificing your body.
This ebook is also for sale on all AMAZON websites in a KINDLE format.
Located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. (MOVEMENT THERAPY)
IT IS AMAZING HOW EASY IT IS TO JUST HUNKER DOWN AS YOU SING WITH PASSION, AND DRIVE YOURSELF WITH GREAT LOVE AND CRUELTY TO THE GOAL OF SINGING A GREAT WORK BEAUTIFULLY, NO MATTER THE PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL COST.
I really love to write about singers who demonstrate their love for singing by practicing consistently many hours a day, singing the greatest vocal music, because of this love for singing.
From my perspective as an Alexander Technique teacher, is it truly loving to sing hours a day, if you’re learning music that opens your heart, if you’re HARMING your body? Let me state it a different way: Do you have to pay a physical price to sing the most amazing vocal music well?
I believe many, if not most singers believe so. As far as I can see, highly motivated singers are the same in approach and expectations as highly competitive athletes. They both drive themselves to excel, no matter the physical price. They both figure they’ll get injured at some point, go through rehab, and eventually get back to their sport or singing.
Let me give an Alexander Technique definition of singing lovingly.
YOU CAN SING WITH GREAT PASSION, AND MOTIVATE YOURSELF WITH GREAT LOVE IN YOUR GOAL OF SINGING A GREAT PIECE BEAUTIFULLY, WITHOUT PAYING A PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL COST, IF YOU STEP BACK AND ACQUIRE AND OBSERVE A SINGING TECHNIQUE THAT WORKS.
What is a singing technique that works? IT IS A SINGING TECHNIQUE THAT BRINGS GREAT EASE AND FACILITY TO SINGING THE GREATEST VOCAL MUSIC WITHOUT CAUSING WEAR AND TEAR TO THE BODY, NO MATTER HOW EXPRESSIVELY YOU SING.
Here is where I wanted to get to in this article. A singer is more likely to hunker down and get into physical trouble, the greater his or her love is for singing and its finest literature.
Why? Because it is at this point of wanting to sing the finest vocal literature at the performance level, that the singer hunkers down, to MAKE the body do what he or she wants.
So, can you sing amazingly expressively with great facility, and not get injured eventually? YES!
How? You realize you can be 100% present when you sing, fully in the moment as you sing. What does being “fully in the moment” when you sing mean? THIS MEANS AS YOU PRACTICE, YOU ARE FOCUSING ON CREATING/USING A SINGING TECHNIQUE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO BE EFFORTLESSLY STANDING OR SITTING FULLY UPRIGHT BALANCED, AND YOU ARE NOT MAKING A HEROIC EFFORT TO SING WELL. YOU TRUST YOUR BODY TO SING WELL AND TO EXPRESS WHAT IS IN YOUR BRAIN WITHOUT STRAINING FOR THE GOAL OF MUSICAL PERFECTION.
In other words, you are simultaneously in the present, consciously doing the least amount of physical work as you sing, as you listen to what is coming out of the throat. This means you don’t listen to the inner critic, who wants to FORCE you to just go for it at the expense of your mind, heart, and body.
Here’s why going for the performance at any cost is not loving. IF YOU DRIVE YOURSELF MERCILESSLY TO SING A GREAT VOCAL WORK BEAUTIFULLY, THEN YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE IN A LOVING PLACE MOST OF THE TIME. Why?
Because, if you are always striving nonstop for the perfect performance, you definitely will NOT create the best possible singing technique, you will NOT reach this goal most of the time, and you will attack yourself when you fail to sing the way you want.
So, I’m asking as you learn to sing the greatest vocal music at the highest level, you use the most user-friendly singing technique. Stand or sit expansively balanced with released legs and a released neck, using the least amount of physical work, with great self-awareness throughout this whole learning/mastering the music process.
