From February 10, 2014
By E. Perryman
My acquired vocal freedoms have been a result of these ideas below. I have developed the concepts through my own singing and teaching of others at various levels. I started as a breathy singer without a middle voice and only the extreme high and low notes. My dad would transpose a piece for me in a few keys depending on which voice was making a cameo appearance that day. I spent a couple years cracking through pieces in college. I couldn’t sing F#5 during my sophomore year in college. I spent a year, after my masters degree in voice, rebuilding my high notes that I lost from singing repertoire that I wasn’t ready to sing. I had stage fright until my 30s that would dramatically affect the first few phrases of a piece. I stood at the Met Regional finals seriously considering if I would run off the stage or finish the unending “je dis.” In spite of all of this, I never seriously considered the thought that I would stop singing. Somehow I continue to grow as an artist and enjoy this glorious art form. I am fortunate, thus far, to have found a life where I am able to blend singing and teaching. I will always work on these principles below as long as I am lucky enough to share my voice with others.
NAVIGATION
Sing as your body leads. It is a good navigator. If you feel unnatural, so will your sound phonate.
FINGERPRINT
Vibrato is not made. It is your vocal fingerprint. It will find you under the right circumstances. Space and energy are great fuel injectors.
CYCLE
Work easeful exhalation as much as inhalation. Efforted inhalation is as counterproductive as not breathing.
CORE
Everyone should have an ng place to call home. It is a great detector of vocal health.
RECORDINGS
Listening to singers from Franco Correlli to Carrie Underwood is fun but may build frustration. Find your own sound. Not everyone shares the same registrations and tessitura. Trying to wedge your voice into an mismatched groove could eventually eclipse vocal facility.
VOLUME
If you think you are loud, you probably aren’t. Record yourself in a non reverberant space to get an accurate assessment. Loud doesn’t mean good. Core sound on the breath will give you the volume you need for your instrument. Volume comes from a focused sound that balanced and is free on the breath. You can’t accurately tell how you sound while you are singing.
ABSOLUTE
Taking everything literally is a difficult road. Even harder is when someone insists that you take their word literally. Semantics are crucial. Absolute truths in vocal pedagogy are delicate as you translate physically. Take what works and move on from what doesn’t. We all have unique filters. Don’t take it personally.
THE WORD
Find your voice through the text. What do you want to communicate? How can you minister? What matters to you?
RECEPTION
The audience may love you at times and disregard you at other times. This too shall pass. If you rely on only good feedback, disappointment will follow. Find ears that you trust who will be positive, yet constructive.
PROCESS
Singing well is a lifelong journey. Try to avoid the quick fix. It can be annoyingly inconsistent. Singing is a fine art. It will continue to refine and evolve over the years, consciously and unconsciously.
akintsucrooner 