Notes From a Masterclass

Anything you do, you must MAKE yourself do—it is not manna from heaven! —Margaret Harshaw

Said during a masterclass at Westminster Choir College in 1993. When I sang for Harshaw in that same masterclass, she told me the high notes, when sung correctly, would elicit great pressure in the temples and give one the feeling that a cold was coming on. She also told me the voice would seem to be coming from behind my body.

Curious, no?

I was young, hardly knew my ass from my elbow, but was already singing at the New York City Opera using the tools she had given me.

Her descriptions were original, often bawdy, and memorable. I know of no-one who was able to describe a singer’s sensation—both auditory and physical—with such exactitude; and the more I sang, the more I’ve found her to be right.

Harshaw said the voice was like a hand: one side was feeling, while the other side was listening.

Same hand.

Tomatis would have agreed since her description perfectly describes how we process sound—via bone and air conduction.

You had to feel your voice—which is a matter of bone conduction. It comes first and is faster.

No. You couldn’t control the voice. Harshaw was emphatic about that. But you could give it want it wanted. This meant singing in the mask, which Harshaw described as the face guard of a football helmet.

This is where air and bone conduction merge if you know how to use your vowels.