Lesson 7: Level 2 Phonation

In today's lesson, Marcus learned more about producing a good tone. When he came in for his lesson, I noticed that he was trying to speak in a lower-pitched voice than was natural for him. This is the case for many children who are caught up in trying to be macho or sultry. I could tell that his voice was contrived because it lacked the natural resonance of a good speaking voice. This resonance can also be described as "voice placement in the mask," or the area from around the lips to up around the bridge of the nose. To help him feel the placement of the voice, first I had him clench his teeth together and make a loud hmmmm noise. He noticed a feeling of vibration mostly in his nose. Then I had him try again, this time holding his teeth as far apart as possible without parting the lips. He said that the vibrations moved more towards the back of his throat. I told him that neither of these placements result in a good singing voice. Instead, I had him try saying hmmmm with his lips together but his teeth slightly parted. The correct balance for the voice is two-thirds in the front, or the oral-nasal area, and one-third in the back of the throat. Finally, I had him repeat the sound but open to a spoken ahh, trying to maintain the same feeling of resonance in both.
In order to find his natural speaking pitch, I had him say mmm-hmmm (as in "OK") a few times. I pointed out that the rising inflection of the voice was the correct pitch to speak at. I had him put his finger in his ear to help him hear better, and told him not to imitate my voice, because everyone's voice is unique. Then I had him add different vowels to the end of mmm-hmmm, such as ah and oh. I listened to make sure that the vowels were spoken at the same pitch as the high inflection of hmmm, and that he was still using the natural resonance of speaking "in the mask."
Finally, I had him do the abdominal pulse exercise from a few weeks ago while speaking hmmm and various vowels, placing his fingers just below the sternum and pressing and releasing on the abdomen to create a pulsing sound. The extra support helped him free up his voice to find the natural speaking pitch.

To work on his upper-adjustment voice, I had him imitate a high hooo sound after me. The sound began with lots of h and descended with a natural glide. I listened to make sure that he used his upper adjustment and not his falsetto voice, and watched to see that he was using abdominal support. Next, I had him use the foul shot exercise from the previous lesson, this time using the high hooo sound instead of an audible exhalation. I had him note whether or not he was using abdominal support, and he said that he was. Finally, just to make sure, I had him use the abdominal pulse exercise while sustaining a high hooo sound.

To finish up, Marcus practiced switching between low-, middle-, and upper-voice adjustments. I had him imitate a little dog, making a light yip sound, and then a big dog, making a deep woof sound. He echoed me as I switched back and forth between the two, as in a dog fight. Finally, I had him imitate me as I made different bird sounds, from a high cuckoo, to a middle caw, to a low Polly want a cracker! At the end of his lesson, we reviewed tone placement in the mask and voice adjustments with a brief quiz.

Lesson 6 - Level 2 Respiration

When Marcus arrived for his lesson, we focused on posture first. I demonstrated the proper posture for singing and had Marcus mirror each of the seven guidelines for good posture: feet positioning, relaxed knees, lifting and straightening the spine from the hips, shoulders slightly back and down, sternum slightly raised, head high and level, and hands down and back at the sides. We talked a little bit about how posture matters in life such as health, self-confidence, and in jobs such as the business world and a professional model. Once his posture was set, I drew his attention to the energy that balance creates while singing. I had him feel the energy that was created when he put his hand out in the "diving position" and raised up on his tip toes. Next, I had him feel the energy in balancing as if on a gymnast beam with hand out to the side, taking four small steps forward and then four steps backward without looking down. (For choirs, the author suggests using four gestures to communicate posture. First, a gesture can be used to remind the choir to sit tall, or to signal a time to sit back and relax. A second gesture can be used to remind students to stand tall. A third and fourth gesture can be used to have the students go from sitting to standing or from standing to sitting.)

For the second part of the lesson, I showed Marcus some ways to deepen his breathing. First, I had him put his hands on the back of his head, fingers interlocked, and elbows back. I asked him to exhale by making a long "shh" sound as he bent over from the waist, keeping the elbows back, which helped move the air from the body. Then, I had him stand slowly while inhaling through pursed lips. We then repeated the exercise without the bending at the waist, remembering to keep the sternum and head elevated. Next, I modified the exercise by having him bend over while exhaling, but then stand without inhaling for a few moments. With a release of the abdominal muscles, air flowed in freely and quickly. Finally, I asked him to take a deep yawn while standing tall. After repeating this a few times, I asked him if he could feel what a good, deep breath really was. He answered, "Yep!"

To help Marcus learn how to control his airstream, or breath support, first I used a "foul shot" exercise. He pretended to be shooting a basketball from the foul line, bouncing it several times and then bending his knees, ready to shoot. Then he exhaled audibly while straightening his legs and making a shooting motion, encouraging proper use of the diaphragm. After this, I handed him a ball-and-pipe toy. His goal was to blow into the pipe so that the ball remained floating just above the pipe for as long as possible. At first, he overblew and the ball fell off. Then, he didn't blow enough and the ball didn't float. But at last, he was able to balance the ball with his air just above the pipe. Finally, I handed him a pinwheel toy and had him blow on it to make the points spin. I challenged him to keep it spinning for as long as possible in one breath, which helped him develop his breath control. At the end of the lesson, I let him choose which one to take home