Effortless diction in singing- just like when we are speaking…
Singing and speaking are essentially the same physiological process- if you have learned how!
I love scientific principles and modern physics. They really work for me in my life. And for my singing voice as well. We are Westerners and cannot proceed without science because science is the proven basis of our reality. Without science, we still believe that the earth is flat, or that the Sound Center (back of mouth) and the Speech Center (front of mouth) are one continuous motor cavity. And yet, now we know that they are two separate motor cavities that must function independently or you will cause yourself vocal problems. When they function independently, your voice will be freer, more resonant, and more authentic.
When I found Dr. Marifioti’s Scientific Principles of Voice Production at NYC’s Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts Library, it changed my confidence level in what I had already embodied from studying with a Bel Canto physiological singing tradition teacher. I already had years of training in Bel Canto physiological tradition of singing voice, on top of years of voice and speech for the theater when actor’s were not mic’ed but had to have maximum intelligibility to the back row of the theater with minimum effort. Expressing what you are experiencing as the character moment to moment but working to be spontaneous each time, while honoring the authors words. If the audience does not capture easily each glorious nuances, we are not doing our job well.
I was eventually singing in the same exact voice I spoke in. There was not a difference between them but one spectrum that was my own unique vocal signature. I was inhabiting my body and fully engaged in dosing the minimum air necessary per note with no tension in my throat (your ear manages your larynx neurologically, not ‘you’ consciously). What was amazing, once you got past all the sub-conscious, self-protective mechanisms that prevent you from singing in your God given, natural voice, is that singing feels like I am literally speaking in tune. I am finallyputting the pitch on the word, not just the tone (note). Just like when we speak.
Singing should at its best, simple, from the heart and like you are sharing with trusted friends.
We take voice lessons or do some sort of vocal training because we feel that we could do it better, easier, with less obstructions, better resonance and color and timbre and freer and more authentically…
And admit it. A good singer is a good story teller as well as a good actor. Telling the story or expressing your story innocently, open heartedly, and also being open to inspiration coming through you moment to moment is the heart of singing. It should be dynamically relaxed with natural gut engagement (just like when you speak). But don’t just believe me; begin observing what happens when you are speaking. Self-observatioj is the beginning of making the transition from pseudo-singing to authentic singing, or what I call my my book “intrinsic singing“!