THE VOICE IN QUARANTINE
Advice from SA International Faculty Members Kim Vaughn and Bec Hewitt
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s the world around us rapidly changes and we find ourselves working from, schooling from and, for most of us, shopping from home, how can we make sure that we maintain our singing at the highest level? When we return to chorus, will we have maintained our vocal skills? Many of our choruses are now rehearsing online via platforms such as Zoom, and these gatherings are providing a wonderful social connection for our members to their choruses and keeping them in touch with music and vocal education resources. However, while we lack regular connection to our musical leaders, the responsibility for keeping our voices in their best shape is more than ever focused on us as individuals. So let’s spend a moment addressing some of the key aspects of this vocal quarantine: why we need to be aware of our own vocal skills and tone, the impact of motivation on practice, and some suggestions for how to stay motivated and engaged in vocal skill work at this most unusual time.
Get moving, and sing every day. Remember that old slogan “use it or lose it”? Well, unfortunately that concept applies to singing, too. Our voice is a series of muscles, cartilage and membrane that, like any muscle in our body, needs to be stretched and engaged to help it maintain tone and flexibility. Renowned vocal coach Audrey Hunt notes that vocal stamina and, as a result tone and flexibility, is affected when we stop singing for a length of time. Operatic soprano and vocal coach Claudia Friedlander is one of a group of teachers advocating for physical fitness classes to be part of college vocal pedagogy degrees. They argue that physical fitness and flexibility help support a singer's mobility and stamina for the rigors of performance. What this means for us is that the more that we can remain physically active, the better we maintain our overall instrument.
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| October 2020
It is also worth noting that our lifestyle and health can affect our voice, too. So for the sake of our body and our voice: • Eat well. • Get plenty of sleep. • Do things that make you feel good and keep you mentally healthy, like singing! • Take time away from social media and the news if they cause stress • Try to get some exercise every day.
Remember that our entire body is our instrument, so we need to keep our instrument in good shape! Not only should we keep our bodies moving, we also need to keep our voice moving. One of the best things we can do is to make sure we sing and use our voices every day. Doing some kind of vocal exercises like bubbling and humming are always a good place to start and a safe way to begin. Rather than just singing along to the radio, we need to experience the full body engagement that is reflective of the singing we would do at chorus rehearsal. For example, performing at least one song every day in front of a mirror would do a lot toward maintaining muscle memory of not only choreography but also keep us aware of how good singing and good sound “look.” Talking every day is important to keep the vocal muscles and ligaments in use. Talk to your pets, call a friend, talk through your daily schedule out loud but make sure that you do talk every day.
