This article will hopefully help you find your perfect balance when singing.
I’ve mentioned the Zen aspects of singing throughout the program, so now is as good a time as any to try and clarify this concept. In essence, “the Zen of singing” relates directly to the concept of singing “from the center”.
Everything needs to be balanced, mentally, physically and emotionally, working as one, for the voice to be at its best. And because everything can be heard in the voice and there’s no safety net, many find singing very challenging. Any imbalance, and you can hear it right away.
For example, you have stage fright, so the body is tense and this affects the vocal cords. Or you’re just not feeling the song, and so, even if technique might be in place, you’re not in the “right place” to give an inspiring performance. Or the feeling and confidence might be there, but technique isn’t developed, so you make a mistake and concentration and focus is lost, and thus the thread of the song. So getting to know your instrument and its challenges is key (for every voice is different). Then it’s a case of developing and strengthening the voice step-by-step, day-by-day.
One of the roots of singing is the paradox that occurs. You have to take it incredibly seriously and yet not care about the outcome of the note. This translates as focusing with clarity, so that no energy is wasted when creating the note. Then, once the note is made, “letting it go”. Our inclination is to try and hold on to the note, to make it perfect (“parenting” the note) until the last breath is uttered. Yet again, the result of this is tension and constricted vocal cords.
This is especially true if we’ve got a loud note to sing. We tense the body and try to force the note out. Because everything can be heard in the voice, we get a tense, strangled note. Understanding the instrument, and what we’re trying to achieve can go a long way to alleviate this.
Which brings us to another paradox. The core, i.e. the back of the mouth and throat, the chest and the diaphragm (including the stomach), need to work together as one to achieve the best results. The rest of the body needs to work together to facilitate this action.
So it results in one simple action: we take a relaxed breath in, focus our energy, and produce a clear vibrant note. As soon as we’ve created that note we let it go so we can keep centered to create the next note etc. The computer of the mind staying one step ahead at all times. Lose concentration and obsess the sound we’re making and it’s all over before we’ve even taken a breath. The more we practice, the more the path to the note is in place before we’ve even taken a breath. Over time the body “goes to the right place” automatically. It then feels like “the song is singing us”, and it takes no effort.
Staying centered
Because, yet again, singing is about being centered. For example, the note itself. When practicing we need to focus on the center of the note, not it’s vibrato or the breath around the note, but the clarity and purity of the note itself. We then gain power and strength in the voice without strain.
I mention elsewhere in the program how the power points that relate to singing also relate to power points in yoga. Once again, everything interconnected. The perineum, stomach, solar plexus, chest, back of the throat, and the “mask” all relate directly to the chakras of the body (this having been pointed out to me by students who’re yoga teachers and students of yoga). For example, when singing high notes, it can help to think of the note going out the back of the neck, where the head meets the spine. Yet again a point of power in yoga.
But we can’t be thinking of technique when we sing a song, we need to be focused on the story of the song, the thread of emotion that runs through it. Singing is a feeling, not a thinking thing. Yet that computer of the mind needs to be one step ahead, working for us automatically.
Which is where the subconscious comes in, the “Zen machine”. We have, on average, about 10,000 thoughts a day. The subconscious is capable of many times that. And we often bring learnt responses, especially bad habits, to singing that need to be undone: Shallow breathing, bad vowel placement, tense jaw, stage fright, bad posture et al. Which is why learning to sing takes time. Changing the path from how we used to do it, to a new way that works better. Show the subconscious a new way that works better and it will, over time, change the path for us. It makes its life easier. We get out of our heads and into our bodies, and then trust the body to do the work for us. So the new subconscious path may be: ‘OK, I know this is a long passage, so take a big breath in, and as I do so tap in to the emotion of the song. I relax the back as I do this, relaxing the singing instrument. Because I’m using the diaphragm the high note is so much easier because I’m not singing from my head like I used to…here’s the high note don’t raise your head, or tense the jaw…”
So, once again, it’s practice, practice practice. Sing whenever you can, and try to enjoy it. And try not to judge what you’re doing, but trust that learning to sing is a process and your subconscious is working just as hard as you are. Be observant, and gradually iron out the bad habits, replacing them with ones that work better.
For example, look in the mirror, especially at first, to see what happens when you take in a breath. Are you tensing your jaw, or just breathing from the chest, or raising your head? When you get it right, try to remember the feeling, how it feels when you get it right, and get used to going to the right place every time. With singing, there’re a few key things that need to happen all at the same time for everything to work properly, the whole body working together. And it’s getting it all to happen all at the same time that takes the work, initially.
However, when it starts to feel right, and sound right, then odds on it is right. In my experience with students, at that time you’ll start to get feed back from others. “Wow, that was great” etc.
And over time, it’ll feel like the song is singing you, and it’ll be a joy:)