I have had 7 formative voice teachers since I was a very young singer. I have acquired diverse and important technical knowledge from each of them. Not one person, imo, holds the holy grail of singing. And not all teachers can teach all students. Singers, by nature of the instrument especially, respond differently to instruction. At the end of day, I find that language, energy, temperament, timing, care, and necessity connects a student to an instructor.
I worked with gifted tenor and voice teacher Mark Thomsen for a short period of time at UNLV. I will never forget the work we did on consonants.
Say what?
No that is not a typo, my bel canto-ists.
If vowels are the good proteins of singing, consonants are the complex carbohydrates.
Consonants have helped me significantly with the following;
1. Higher position
2. Register balance.
3. Forward singing
As with anything, finding my most efficient consonant and metabolizing them on the free breath is a continuing work in progress. But I will say, a well used F can turn a 60% throat day into a solid 75%.
So today, I was able to take a moment with a 5th grade boy who was struggling with the V on the passage below. His voice is less high anymore with a solid alto range these days.
The student was engaging lower registration because of V and singing under the pitch. 10 year old students are great cuz they aren’t afraid to try different things.
Usually singing a more piano dynamic helps to access the upper register. When that wasn’t successful, I had the boy sing “trail” instead of “vale.” His sound went to right spot with less work because of the unvoiced T.
He said “why is that easier?” Without overwhelming him with singer speak, I said “because you are moving air and working less.” He said “cool” and went to lunch.
So Mark Thomsen, thank you for your help. I never know when I’ll need various tuneful trinkets from my singing suitcase. Consonants are a great tool indeed.
#akintsucrooner
akintsucrooner 