Sick but Singing? "Tis the Season to be....."

Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la laaaah...oh boy, I'm sick. The holiday season is filled with singing, concerts, and shows.  What do you do if you find yourself sick?  Despite our best efforts to stay healthy, sometimes we do catch that cold.

First take a minute and assess if you have to do the performance or not.  If you are in the chorus, maybe you can back off a little bit on a song or two.  If you are the soloist or lead maybe not.  If it hurts when you are singing, really take a moment to re-evaluate your technique.  If the show must go on.....

Be Smart

Take care of yourself physically.  Get extra sleep, drink lots of water, wash your hands, take extra vitamin C, stay warm, avoid talking if you don't need to.  Do anything that will support your immune system and get you better.

Take care of yourself mentally.  Think about what you can and cannot do about the situation and get a little mental R & R.  Don't go overboard with the ramifications, just make a plan.

Take some time to take an unemotional and honest look at how the sickness is affecting your voice. Sore throats often lead to a raised larynx and reduce vocal power and resonance.  Swelling of the mucous membranes absorb some of your sound and affect your resonance.  If the cold has gone to your chest, it may impact your ability to rapidly fill your lungs for good breath support.  General aches can impair your endurance.  Figure out how this illness if affecting your singing.

After you do this, make rational adjustments.  Reduce your expectations a little bit.  You may not sound as you usually do.  Maybe that high C is not going to be as loud as you know it can be, maybe you need to add a few breaths into phrasing to help you, maybe you need to increase your support or warm up for more time than usual.  It is best to get through a performance by singing on cue and in tune than worry about subtle changes.  Showing up and showing professionalism is part of a singer's life and everyone will understand.  In the meantime do your best to relieve your symptoms and get better so you can do your best on that day!  Remind yourself that you will wake up again tomorrow and the next time you sing you will be well and astound everyone!

Many singing greats have had to make the show go on and admit they learned something from singing with a cold.  Opera singer, Renee Fleming, states in her autobiography that she truly learned to sing when she was sick.  She could no longer cheat on my technique and get away with it, she had to listen to her body and trust her technique to get her through.

This is not encouraging you to sing if you are very sick or if your throat hurts, but a means to help you get through it when you need to.  Of course, the ideal would be to take care of yourself to the point that you never get sick (but let's be realistic, we do), but be smart if the show must go on.

Dr. Jahn's Advice (Professor of Clinical Otolaryngology at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and author for Classical Singer):

-Make a realistic appraisal of whether you really need to sing or can cancel.
-Make an unemotional checklist of how your vocal production is impaired
-Develop a strategy for working around those impairments,
-Use medications and adjustments in technique
-Accept a philosophical attitude toward a temporary setback

Stay healthy and smart about your singing!

Does the Vocal Color of Your Voice Impact Being Cast in a Role? What Else?

Does the color of your voice impact being cast in a role?  A resounding yes!  Can the director hear your voice singing a particular part?  It not only comes down to what voice part you generally sing, but does your voice have the qualities or colors to sing a particular role.  There are many varieties of sopranos, mezzo-sopranos, and altos.  Can this mezzo alter her vocal color to do a British accent for Nancy in Oliver or become very nasal to sing Adelaide in Guys and Dolls?  Can this soprano sing a pure, clear tone as wanted for Sarah in Guys and Dolls or Maria in West Side Story?  The vocal color Mother Nature gave you can be played with a little bit within a box of coloration, but not taken totally out of the box.  To think about it visually, there are different shades of blue, none of which can become yellow.  A mezzo-soprano voice can do both Nancy and Adelaide with technique, training, and experimentation with a trained professional, but probably is not really capable of singing the role of Queen of the Night!

What else comes into play?  We must not only sound the part, but also sort of look the part.  Yes, stature and looks to take a role in casting. In Oliver, you cannot have a short Nancy and a tall Oliver. Some physical features can be changed and you may be asked to do so by wearing a wig or dying your hair color, but they cannot drastically change your vocal color.

Other factors come in as well of course- can you act the part?  How is your reading?  How is your monologue if required?  How do you interact with the other actors auditioning? If there is a dance audition, can you dance the part?  If it is a tap show, do you tap?

The best thing you can do is prepare yourself to be YOUR best!  Prepare your song vocally, delivery of the song, refresh your dance moves and your acting skills.  Take singing, acting, and dance lessons on an ongoing basis. If that is too tough to manage with your time, focus on your primary strength and then find a way to rotate the others in by doing a Musical Theater Audition Workshop or add lessons during the summer months.  Happy Auditioning!

Vocal Color- How it Makes YOU Unique

Each person has their own individual singing voice which is determined by many factors, most of which is the distinct composition of each person's body.  Vocal color is created in each individual.  One of the beauties of singing is the uniqueness of of each voice.  Since every person is built differently, resonators shaped individually, stature, background, ethnicity, native language, it makes your sound different from anyone else.  Sure commonalities exist- 2 sisters might sound similar just as they look similar, but you can still tell a slight difference in vocal color, a singer may be able to imitate another, but is that their true vocal color?

Vocal color is distinctive timbre of the voice, a voiceprint as unique as a fingerprint. 
-Charles Riley, Classical Singer Magazine

In most gifted singers, color is like a Hollywood star's face which, no matter what the role may be, has a signifying presence.  Brian Zeger of Julliard Opera and the Lincoln Center

The palette of color of one's voice comes from using the resonances in the mask and head to color the vowels.  This is where you find your true sound.  Of course we can imitate others, but our own sound still shines through.  A good voice teacher can see through the technical hurdles of a beginning singer to fine the vocal color that is hidden within and possesses the tools to unearth the true color by removing those obstacles.  Then they add the final step of maximizing resonance so the vocal color can be heard clearly and consistently.  In other words, a good teacher can help you find and maximize YOUR true vocal color.

We all have a starting palette and should explore with in Mother Nature's realm what singing voice was given to us!  Singers who have good technique find there is a range of shades within their natural vocal color to draw upon. They sing an art song with a slightly different color than an aria or a Broadway tune.

As every body is different, so is every voice, and the color is strongly affected by the shape of the resonators, the facial bones and hollows, and the body supporting the voice.  Technique and musical choices naturally affect it, but the initial color is always going to remain unique to the singer. Nicole Cabell, singer at the Metropolitan Opera

Every great artist has a rainbow of fundamental colors available to him or her, but must remain faithful to what Mother Nature gave him or her genetically.  Rutenberg

In this day and age of technical perfection and over correction in the recording studio, we must be aware that too much editing can take away the natural vocal color making a voice unique.  Uniqueness sets a voice apart from the rest and create a 'diamond in the ruff'.  Go find and develop YOUR vocal colors.  www.susanandersbrizick

.com

2 Plank Challenge: The Results are In!

So, after a few weeks of adding 2 planks to your daily practice, what happened?

I noticed I started supporting my singing from my abdominal muscles immediately upon doing my warm-ups.  A plank activates the abdominal muscles to do exactly what we want them to do when singing:  contract lightly but firmly.  It also activates the quadriceps or front muscles of the legs. Engaging these muscles when standing helps us activate the internal abdominal muscles and provide adequate breath support to our sound.

My brain also was truly focused on singing from the start.  1 or 2 minutes of concentration on a muscular task also calms the brain.  Instead of trying to calm it down to focus all on your own, physical motion helps you.

It also calms and slows down your breath from our quick paced world.

Comments from my studio:

"The planks help me develop a stronger core which I can feel."

"A tighter belly creates more breath support which is therefore easier on my throat when singing.  I always want to start my sound in the throat without using my breath first.  This is helping me to break this habit."

"My core is getting stronger to use it and guide my air better."

"I am connecting with my breath more now when I sing."

Thank you to all of you who commented on my blog The 2 Plank Challenge-What-does-doing-2 planks before singing do for you?  Most singing teachers agree that adding planks and other physical activities help singers be more in tune with their bodies and improve singing. Here are a few comments which stood out to me:

"I've been advising my clients for years to do the Plank Challenge in order to build up their core strength - very effective :-) http://30dayfitnesschallenges.com/30-day-plank-challenge/" Kim Chandler

"After I took up triathlon, I noticed a huge difference in my singing. More power in the voice, better breath control. In my studio, through the years, I have often had my students to planks and other core building exercises. For inactive students I highly recommend they take up an activity the will build their aerobic capacity, as well. Our bodies are our instrument and we can shape them to be better for singing."  Elizabeth Rotoff

"I have been having my students planking for a year, I have been doing it for a long time. The results are immediate: even on days when they are a bit under the weather, after planking for 30-40 seconds, the breath connects with the body and the vocal results never cease to amaze! HIGHLY recommended..."  Angela Ahiskal 

Each individual is unique so various approaches work for different people.  Singers who are also athletes may need less direction on support and dancers often already have tight core muscles which may need to be relaxed when singing.  Those who are not as physically active outside of singing may need to take more time to get in tune with their bodies.  Physical fitness is an important part of being a singer today.  Find the activities that work for you to keep improving your singing and truly get your voice and body coordinated to make YOUR best sound.  Keep up the plank challenge and let me know other things which help you!

www.susanandersbrizick.com 

Mind Control and Singing - "It's All in the Mind". A Look at the Science of Singing.

Singing is a complex act which so many of us enjoy.  So much of it takes place in the mind and then the body responds.  In singing, we learn many things involving the complexities of our brains and muscular movement.   There are two main ways the mind can control the body: neural (actions of nerves) and hormonal (chemincal pathway).

1. Neural Mechanisms (nerves and direct communication between the brain and nerves and muscles)

The craft of singing involves making reflexive muscular movements conscious or voluntary.  A reflexive movement is something that the body does without us thinking about it such as the heart beating.  A conscious movement is something our mind tells our body to do such as reach for the water bottle and pick it up.

One of the main reflexive movements we learn to make voluntary is the lowering of the position of the larynx to sing. Singing teachers discuss the idea of yawning, but stopping the yawn before it happens or relax the larynx and 'open the throat' on the inhalation and keep it that way during singing.  This is a learned response that we make voluntary by retraining the brain to send the message and training our muscles to do so.

Another main reflexive response that singers learn to control with their mind to make it a voluntary movement involves breath control.  We innately breathe (unconscious or reflexive muscular activity).  In singing, we learn to control the breath and the length of inhale, rate of exhaling to sustain a phrase, and keeping the breath relaxed and low.  This mindful control of our breath also affects our posture and relaxation of muscles in our neck, shoulders, etc.

There are of course also other muscle actions which we are consciously aware of that we learn to coordinate with the reflexive responses above including contracting the abdominal muscles to initiate breath support, and keeping an open rib cage.  Our mind controls so much!

By consciously having our brain send these new signals, we reset the norm for our body when we sing- "a low larynx for singing" and "low, relaxed breath with tall, open posture".

2. Hormonal Mind Control

The brain also releases chemicals to our body in response to things it experiences.  This occurs in the mindful brain (the cortex) of the hypothalamus.  It converts electrical impulses from the higher brain centers into chemical substances.  It is how performance anxiety, excitement, or depression affects vocal performance.  The chemicals emitted by the hypothalamus affect how our bodies respond to these situations.  Here we must work on training the brain to consciously send signals to parts of the vocal tract that were previously affected, and become consciously aware of the signals these body parts send back to the brain. '

 The emotional brain influences the momentary artistry of performance' (A. Jahn, Classical Singer, 2009).  In other words, the chemistry that happens in our body at the moment affects our singing at that time.  Through time and experience, each individual learns their bodies response to performance situations.  Some are nervous and therefore adrenaline kicks in.  When adrenaline is channeled into nervous energy and excitement rather than the fear that the voice will crack, it can be a positive influence on the actual sound that is created.  If a singer knows that this is happening, they can learn how to use that energy (or chemical response) to their advantage.  Nervousness can be channeled into excitement and energy to benefit the performance (just like a 5 year olds excitement about something can be consciously channeled into productive time) with repeated experiences.  The more one performs. the better they learn to control their individual bodies response to stress or nerves.  The better prepared a singer is with the musical material, the easier it is to channel it into positive energy.

The more in sync our bodies are with our minds, the better our singing can be!  Take the time to get to know YOUR body and mind and how they interact to make your best music every!

Visit my website www.susanandersbrizick.com for more singing information.

2 Plank Challenge: What does doing 2 planks for 30-60 Seconds Before Practicing Do for You (or your students)?

I have a challenge to all singers out there, add 2 planks of 30-60 seconds a piece before practicing.  It is ideal to to this on your toes, but on knees is a good start.  Try adding this to the beginning of practicing for a week or two.  Take note if anything and what changes about your singing.  Write it down and then process, what does this do for your singing?

Try it and then respond.  Then check back in.  I will post more thoughts in 2 weeks.

As always, more tips on becoming more 'in tune' with your singing!  Check out my website for more information www.susanandersbrizick.com Happy singing!

Social and Intellectual Growth is Positively Influenced by Musical Study

"Social growth comes from discovering how to express oneself, understanding others and learning from mistakes.  All of the arts- performance and visual- help with social growth and paying attention to detail, time on task, and perseverance, while also providing intellectual growth."  The Arts Key in Kids, Teens' Development, Kids Chester County by L. Tobin

This quote really hit home for me. Music feeds our souls to grow emotionally, socially, intellectually, and physically.  October is National Arts and Humanities Month.  As parents and teachers, we are always looking for ways to help our students (and kids) grow academically, socially, and physically in our ever changing world.  This statement addresses many areas in which people need to excel in to be successful in life.  Here is how music, specifically singing, helps achieve them:

For Social Growth

Being able to express oneself. 

It is so important for people to be able to share what they are feeling with their words and to express what they are truly thinking.  This is paramount for social development.  Musical study can enhance this as, especially with singing, we teach students to express the meaning of the words in a song. Whether it be a Shakespeare poem set to music or a Broadway tune, the performance of a song is enhanced and not complete until the singer can express the emotion of the character or text.  It is the 'icing on the cake'.

This transfers over into a student being able to connect with their emotions (how do THEY also feel about the text) and interpret the meaning of the words written by another (see below).  Not only can they connect with their own emotions better, but understand others better.

Understand others.

Interpreting the meaning of the text of a song is essential to voice lessons.  It helps students relate to the words of others and be in touch with their emotions.  Individual musical study involves understanding the music, the composer, and the teacher.

This translates over into better understanding other peoples feelings and reactions in their everyday life.

Learn from mistakes.

Music lessons teach a student to constantly improve upon their musical skills.  Of course we first focus on learning the notes and rhythm of a song.  We then move on to make sure these skills are completely accurate and learn from any mistakes we may have made.  We learn phrasing and are constantly improving our skills.  It is an art in and of itself to process constructive criticism in musical study which in turn helps our students accept and process critiques in the working world.

For Intellectual Growth

Pay attention to detail.

In any music lesson, paying attention to detail is essential.  What is the time signature, key signature, or dynamic marking?  How fast should the piece go?  What does the composer mean by these markings?

Fast forward to a business situation and putting together a Power Point Presentation or practicing medicine where you are trying to diagnose what is wrong with a patient.  You must pay attention to detail to do each and not let anything fall through the cracks.

Time on task.

Practicing for music lessons at home demonstrates the ability to stay focused and on task (as does time in the lesson).  This develops our ability to focus and follow through to the end of a project (both musically and professionally).

Perseverance.

Polishing a song to the point in which it can be performed flawlessly and communicated to the audience is perseverance.  Preparing a song for an audition shows follow through and dedication.   Follow through to the end of a project or presentation in the work world is another intellectual skill we need in the adult world.

So, parents, keep seeking out music and arts lessons for your kids and teachers, please use this information to promote musical lessons or participation in your arts programs.  The arts teach so many things in addition to the beauty of the masterpiece we create!