by Geórgia Dias
Quem canta os males espanta’
(‘those who sing send their worries away’ – Brazilian popular saying)
For me the whole of the Alexander technique is voice work, after all it was the
starting point of F.M. Alexander for his discoveries and the development of the
technique.
‘The voice is indeed an unique instrument, it comes to life when having the urge
to communicate and express ideas’(1)
.
Every time one speaks or sings a very complex mechanism is brought into
action, the vocal apparatus. When having the idea of speaking, the body
mechanisms will be prepared for action, they won’t be activated unless the idea
of speaking or singing becomes concrete, but never the less the body patterns will
be awakened.
We also have something that not so many people take into consideration, an
internal voice. The internal voice is silent and yet verbal. It exists only in one’s
head. It comes when talking to yourself, it can be a writing voice for instance,
when writing or thinking about what to write next, the internal voice is
activated. Even when one’s intention is not the actual speaking of the written
text, the internal voice is bound to bring about one’s habitual patterns.
F.M. Alexander found out that just the idea of speaking would be enough to bring
his old patterns back, therefore he had no control over what he did with his body
once the idea of speaking had come into his head. He decided that he had to
inhibit the idea of speaking and yet speak! That seems to be almost an impossible
task, but by staying with the principles of the Alexander technique one is able to
have a better use, therefore a better functioning of the vocal apparatus and the
whole system. Once that is there one can start the training of the voice for
singing. The Alexander technique is a preparation for singing (or for anything
else one can think of doing) and not a singing technique.
One should be aware of the strong identification one has with the sound of the
voice. When it changes there is the risk of not recognising yourself and feeling
lost. The temptation to go back to what the debauched sensorial mechanism
considers as right will be very much present.
One has to be able to inhibit ones old patterns. In that way one will be able to stop
interfering with the system, so being able to freely use his voice.
1
When talking about voice production it is very helpful to understand the
functioning of its different elements. Never the less one should never lose sight of
the whole.
All people are born with the ability of producing sounds with the voice, providing
there is no damage in the hearing or vocal apparatus. According to F. Husler we
are all natural born singers: “Man was gifted primevally and throughout an
endless span of time with a singing voice (it had as yet no connection with even
the simplest form of music) which he possessed long before he was able to
speak”(*)
.
Since we are all born with a singing instrument, what keeps us from singing
then? “Most of us develop a ‘good’ or ‘bad voice’ according to whether we were
encouraged in childhood to sing or not. If a child is told she can not sing, the child
will tend to believe it” (2)
. The child will grow up and not make use of the singing
apparatus and the musculature concerned will become weak or even atrophied.
It is possible though to reawaken the singing voice by restoring the organ to the
condition intended by nature. You need to allow yourself to make mistakes
though, otherwise you’ll never be able to refine your vocal musculature. You
have to be careful in not going for the end, which in this case is the beautiful
sound you want. We have to stay with the means whereby, observe ourselves
and stay in the process.
Our emotional state plays as much a part in voice production as our physical
mechanisms. Most of us can openly sing under the shower even if we believe we
can not sing. Maybe because that’s a place where the acoustics help the sound to
come out more ‘beautifully’ and there will be no outside judgement in there.
How can people judge what makes a ‘good’ or a ‘bad voice’? Can anybody say that
Louis Armstrong had a bad voice? How can one not feel happy when listening to
his recording of ‘What a wonderful world’? And what about those who have a so
called ‘good technique’ and are able to sing beautifully and so perfectly boringly?
No matter how perfect the vocal technique is, if the emotions are not involved it
will be terribly boring.
Another requirement for singing or good speech is a strong desire to
communicate, that desire should be accompanied by impulse. “In human life the
first manifestation of impulse is the cry of a new born baby as he takes his first
breath. If you watch the baby’s body you will see the abdominal muscles
contracting. This is the sign that the diaphragm is working, pushing the air
from the lungs toward the vocal cords and making the first natural, rooted
sound.”(3)
Impulse or vital energy, is omnipresent, therefore we tend to take it for granted.
If one is aware of this flow of energy it is possible to channel it by giving it
direction.
2
By applying the principles of the Alexander technique one becomes aware of
one’s own use, habits, preconceived ideas, old patterns… One becomes aware of
being a psychophysical unity.
It is a long process, after years of mal-use and bad habits the muscle memory
forgets how wonderfully it has been able to co-ordinate itself and leaves one with
a debauched sensorial awareness.
The Alexander technique helps one to gain a conscious control of the self , one
learns how to stop doing all the unnecessary patterns that body and mind believe
it is necessary to accomplish a task.
In the ‘business’ of non-doing there is a thin line between the doing, which can be
an interference and the constructive doing. Walking, dancing, playing an
instrument, singing, etc. is all doing. We should never lose the vitality, the
impulse, when ‘doing the constructive doing’. By inhibiting and directing, using
the primary control and staying with the means-whereby ‘the right thing will
do itself’ and so we’ll stop interfering with our system and yet be able to freely DO
whatever we intend to do.
When we stop interfering with our system our natural rate of breathing will be
restored.
The ‘professional breathers’(mostly singers and wind instrumentalists) are
proven to have unstable breathing patterns due to interference and habit, most
of them have no idea that by being ‘professional breathers’ they are a great
danger to themselves and to others. An unstable breathing rhythm can cause
anxiety, fear, a feeling of being ‘unreal’ or ‘outside yourself’ and can even cause
hallucination. The basic requirements for breathing are simply having clear
passage ways and let the moving parts move. The breathing itself is a ‘demand
led system’, if the demand is there, the mechanism will respond.
Breathing changes all the time. It becomes an issue in singing, speaking, playing
an instrument, because breathing is the mother of all rhythm. The effects of poor
breathing affects everybody’s movement, poise, balance. If legs or knees, ankles
or any other part of the body is blocked, the breathing will be restrained.
Thinking of the primary control, giving directions, using inhibition, the body
musculature will naturally be more and more free of interference. By staying in
the process the natural rate of breathing will be allowed to happen. There is still
a risk of one trying to impose the old way of breathing though.
One should be aware of the strong human tendency of unconsciously trying to
control everything. That is deep rooted in us all.
Some things are perfect in themselves, they don’t need our help at all. One only
3
needs to learn how to keep out of the way.
The whispered ah
The whispered “ah” is one of the subjects that should not be forgotten when
talking about voice work in the Alexander technique.
‘The whispered “ah” makes the room to give attention to the directions without
the stimulus of listening to the sound. It is possible to establish new patterns
every time and teach oneself to give attention to what one’s doing without
having the complication of listening to the sound. The whispered “ah” is the most
neutral stimulus for singing that you can get, it is a great vocal exercise when
done properly’(5)
.
The whispered “ah” is very good inhibitory work and the more you do it the
more accessible it gets. It helps release the jaw and tongue, it ensures a good
opening of the mouth and pharynx.
If when doing the whispered “ah” one forgets to include the smile, which I would
call impulse or vital flow, it simply won’t come through as floating and as freely
as it should. Without the smile it can even come out as a different vowel, more
like a ‘whispered oh’, which is a different opening of the mouth.
Another important reminder is not to take a breath in order to do it, but let it
begin at the culmination of the natural resting in-breath.
“The practice of the whispered “ah” serves to improve the ability to apply the
Alexander technique to any activity. Alexander supposedly claimed that if you
could do the whispered “ah” properly you understood the application of the
technique”(4)
The whispered “ah” gives one the opportunity to observe the body patterns,
making it possible to keep the mind away from the desired end, of course one
should have a clear picture of what the wish is, and help one stay in the process
of whatever the activity is, whether it is sitting on a chair, standing up,
walking, picking up an instrument… or vocal work.
There is so much that plays an important role in voice work, the perceptivity of
the ear, the eye, the thoughts and imagination…
Like the Alexander technique, voice work is a vast subject and impossible to put
it into words alone.
By re-education the whole of the singing instrument, which goes from the crown
4
of your head to the sole of your feet, one is brought back to its balance, poise and
co-ordination. Then the voice can come out freely and with it’s full potential and
finest nuances.
My conclusion is that the voice is no more than all the parts of our
psychophysical unity working together.
Amsterdam, March 11th 2003
Geórgia Dias
www.bodyandmind-at.nl
georgia@bodyandmind-at.nl
*credits*
1. ‘SINGING – The physical nature of the vocal organ’ by Frederick Husler & Yvonne Rodd-Marling
2. ‘Born to sing’ by Ron Murdock
3. ‘Principles and art of singing’ by Olga Averino
4. ‘Directing and ordering: a discussion of working on yourself’ by Joe Armstrong
5. Ron Murdock