Ctrl+Alt+Del: A Singer Reboot
Blog by E. Perryman
#akintsucrooner
Ctrl+Alt+Del: An electronic reboot that interrupts or facilitates interrupting a computer function.
What is the Ctrl+Alt+Del for life? In particular, singing?
I find it interesting that control is the first word for this virtual eraser. Does the computer become overwhelmed by our human interference?
Where else do we need this magical reset aka “3 finger salute?”
I worked with my voice student today, my talented wife Elizabeth, on finding her control alt delete function. In other words, stop “singing” and find your fresh voice.
Alas, this is easier said than done. Especially since it is important to have a tool bag of technique that is tailor made for you but invisible as you make sound.
So, I was inspired to write down some of the Ctrl+Alt+Del functions (below) that are useful in vocal production based on discoveries students and I have made together. There are many sizes and one size most surely doesn’t fit all.
- FIND YOUR BLAH: Say what? Many of us try to control our sound by “setting” the sound and holding the tongue just so. So it worked freely once? Then we try to calcify that sensation so we always “have” it. The hard part about singing is you don’t always wake up with the same throat on a daily basis. When I was in college especially, on occasion, I would try to talk myself into not going to sleep out out of fear of waking up dysphonic. There’s nothing like waking up with an unhappy voice and paying gig performance ahead of you that night. I have worked over these past 30 years of instruction to find various tools to help me always find my free sound no matter the condition of a fickle throat. Truth is, you can’t really hear your sound accurately if you are singing freely. You need a physical reset button that doesn’t rely on listening to yourself. If you want to hear yourself, play an instrument, so the saying goes. Your blah can be a personal release and your best pal. It will help your tongue and neck become un-involved. It is scary to forego the “control” of the neck and tongue but essential.
- STOP DROP & ROLL: All the pithy things your voice teacher is imparting in their “great wisdom” can make you feel like you are swimming upstream through your brain matter. Your throat is tense, your mind is racing, and you feel like a fraud. Stop the exercise, drop down to a rag doll position, and roll your body around as your body releases. When you come back up try to do the exercise again and see what comes out of your mouth. Most of my students, myself included, are pleased with the results. I usually ask “How did it feel?” The typical response is “it just came out.” Even if your teacher looks at you like you have 3 heads when you employ various re-set strategies, don’t be intimidated. Use your resources and carry on.
- IF IT AIN’T BROKE: In short, find your most efficient vowel. Are you like me and you can find yourself in an Ah-less singing land? My wonderful Italian coach, Giovanni Longo, deserves a tip every time he needs to remind me to sing an internal ah vowel and match AHS to each other. It would be a very lucrative endeavor if he decided to implement this approach. 😉 So take what works organically and migrate the sensation into the other vowels.
- USE THE TRAP DOOR: What type of consonant or melodic approach leads you to the promised land? I LOVE the unvoiced F and imma a melodic leaper. If I am having difficulty with a phrase and need to reset, I add these magical door release hinges. It helps me re-anchor into my breath support and get out of my own head.
Singing is as much a mental as a physical exercise. There is theoretical work to be done, sheer physical routining, implementing of optimal singing conditions, and sometimes a needed therapeutic conversation with yourself and/or trusted colleague/teacher. Find your personalized Ctrl+Alt+Del and let it reset and invigorate. #kinstucrooner
May you find deep peace,
May you feel loved and be loving,
As you inhabit the sacred jewel of your own life.
Holding on is believing that there’s only a past; letting go is knowing that there’s a future.
Daphne Rose Kingma
akintsucrooner 