Up & Down

“Be nice to people on your way up because you will see them on your way down.”

You’ve heard this, have you not?

A famous (and now retired) singer said this to me with vocalism in mind. There was a change in how she perceived her voice, and she wasn’t going to stay on the scene long enough for anyone else to notice.

What did she say exactly?

“You don't want the same people who watch you go up to watch you go down.”

There are a lot of "up and down" in the world of singing: false starts, flame-outs, and has-beens. There is also success as determined by others and self-determined success. They aren’t the same thing.

There is the up and down of the mind which influences the voice. What is technique? The ability to sing at a high level regardless of the movement of the mind. The singer knows how to use body and mind to make it happen on demand.

There is the up and down—lengthening in two directions—of the spine which signals to the brain that singing is happening or about to happen. It is a readiness that comes from the ability to anticipate and involves a feeling of pleasure. It is found through the act of inhalation.

There is going up the scale while going down into the sternum which mature classical singers nurture and protect.

There is an exercise that uses gravity (down) to perceive resonance in the head (up). I am teaching it to participants of the Awakened Ear Workshop today.

Miss the workshop? Look for it in the Spring.