It helps with breathing, OK?
I have my Wolf Trap audition today, and considering how awful I sang several years ago for them, I'm confident that I'll sound better this time around. I'm almost totally over this cold that has lasted three weeks, and I'm ready to show 'em what I got. Let's just hope it's not coated in peanut butter, since I just ate it by the spoonful. TMI? Sorry.
At any rate, I've had a few lessons with a new teacher- which is always a bit nervewracking- and we made some breakthrough changes last night. I know that none of you actually care about my vocal issues, so I won't bore you with the details, but I will say that I feel as though an issue with which I have been dealing since I first started singing might ACTUALLY be working itself out. I've still got a lot of work to do, but with a few minor adjustments and a few major breathing exercises (including an incentive spirometer), I just may have the tools to lick this.
Although the breathing for brass players and singers is a bit different, there are many similarties as well. I found this little gem of wisdom on tubanews.com (what?):
As I mentioned before, it seems ironic that we have to learn, or even re-learn anything about respiration, but part of that might be due to the fact that we are performers. With most performance-oriented activities comes a degree of anxiety. It is hard to fight the primal instinct to fight or flight when confronted with stress. This is a primitive yet powerful instinct that causes us to tense up, which is counterintuitive to most performing. No matter how many times you tell yourself to relax, tension still creeps in and paralysis takes hold. This might explain why we overlook the simplicity of breathing when we are learning to master the tuba, even though we know that good breathing is essential to good playing. Sometimes we learn surprisingly slow, and it often takes multiple repetitions for anything to become a habit. Don’t be discouraged, learn to stick with it and don’t forget the basics. When in doubt, don’t think too much - and don’t forget to breathe!
At any rate, I've had a few lessons with a new teacher- which is always a bit nervewracking- and we made some breakthrough changes last night. I know that none of you actually care about my vocal issues, so I won't bore you with the details, but I will say that I feel as though an issue with which I have been dealing since I first started singing might ACTUALLY be working itself out. I've still got a lot of work to do, but with a few minor adjustments and a few major breathing exercises (including an incentive spirometer), I just may have the tools to lick this.
Although the breathing for brass players and singers is a bit different, there are many similarties as well. I found this little gem of wisdom on tubanews.com (what?):
As I mentioned before, it seems ironic that we have to learn, or even re-learn anything about respiration, but part of that might be due to the fact that we are performers. With most performance-oriented activities comes a degree of anxiety. It is hard to fight the primal instinct to fight or flight when confronted with stress. This is a primitive yet powerful instinct that causes us to tense up, which is counterintuitive to most performing. No matter how many times you tell yourself to relax, tension still creeps in and paralysis takes hold. This might explain why we overlook the simplicity of breathing when we are learning to master the tuba, even though we know that good breathing is essential to good playing. Sometimes we learn surprisingly slow, and it often takes multiple repetitions for anything to become a habit. Don’t be discouraged, learn to stick with it and don’t forget the basics. When in doubt, don’t think too much - and don’t forget to breathe!
posted by Hilary at
10:27 AM
2 Comments:
WAY TO GO!! good luck with the audition!
By
Jessica, at 8:15 PM
breathing is one thing i'm ok with. after marking in every single spot where i need to inhale and exhale, i'm okay in every performance. now if there were some machine that could teach me how to not be like a 3rd grader at tonguing, that'd be awesome.
By
Ratface, at 11:03 AM
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