- When most students step into my teaching studio,
they bring with them, what I would describe
as a co-dependent vocal system.
What is a co-dependent vocal system
and how can we work towards the higher ideal
of a fully coordinated singing voice?
- [Girl] Sound check
(microphone feedback)
check one, check two.
(microphone feedback)
(people cheering, upbeat music)
- Hello friends, welcome to Voice Essential,
my name is Dr. Dan, I'm so glad you chose
to click on my video.
So what is a co-dependent vocal system?
Well the answer lies in the word co-dependent.
In the world of psychology, codependency can be defined
as a type of dysfunctional helping relationship
where one person supports or enables another person's
drug addiction, alcoholism, gambling addiction,
poor mental health, immaturity, irresponsibility,
or under-achievement.
Now how might that apply to our vocal apparatus,
I hear you ask.
Good question, well the same definition
might be reworked for our purpose to read,
the co-dependent vocal system is a type
of dysfunctional helping relationship
where one part of the vocal mechanism, e.g. the tongue,
supports or enables another part of the vocal mechanism,
for example the larynx in the production of sound.
Now as Matthew Edwards points out in his excellent text,
So You Want To Sing Rock 'n Roll,
it is true that our voice is a nonlinear system.
Dr. Edwards illustration of the nonlinear voice
shows us that our breath affects our phonation which affects
the resonance which in turn affects articulation,
while each aspect interplays against
the other three points along the vocal pathway.
One of the challenges we face as developing singers
is the way these four aspects interrelate
as we produce our sound.
You see, they don't always play nicely together.
- [Girl] Sound check
(people cheering and band playing)
(microphone feedback)
- For example, the primary school report card
of the tongue might read Timmy Tongue
does not sing well with other.
The tongue for many developing singers
is an excellent example of a co-dependent component
of our vocal mechanism.
For example, have you ever noticed that when you yawn
your tongue
pulls back into the back of your throat.
Essentially as we yawn the larynx lowers,
the pharynx widens and the tongue pulls backwards.
Now that's all well and good for
a naturally-induced yawn but if you want to activate
an open throat with a raised soft palette
using a yawn posture, you must also train the tongue
to remain in behind the lower front teeth,
something that it doesn't typically want to naturally do.
Another example of a co-dependent response when we sing
is the natural tendency to create high levels
of air pressure when we sing,
especially when we want to sing higher or louder.
As we approach the upper registers of our range
or when we want to increase the volume,
the untrained instrument would
typically respond with more push.
It's counterintuitive, but the contemporary singer
needs to learn to manage the physical temptation
to drive the voice with more air pressure.
The independently coordinated voice will apply
the appropriate levels of sub glottal pressure
while simultaneously coordinating vocal tract shaping
that enhances certain frequencies for the vocal task,
in this case, higher notes or volume.
You see, for most of use mere mortals
our voices don't naturally sing well.
Our bodies often behave in a less than efficient manner
and it's our job, as developing singers
to exercise the voice so that each individual part
can perform as a well-positioned cog
within a bigger complete vocal system.
To get you started on developing
your independently coordinated vocal system,
I'm gonna give you an exercise.
But before I do, take a quick moment
to hit the thumbs up button
if you're getting something out of today's video.
(people cheering)
- [Girl] Sound check.
(band playing)
(microphone feedback)
- So we've talked about the tongue's predisposition
to retract and our tendency to push as we get higher,
well I've got a great exercise that's gonna workshop
both of these natural inclinations, helping us
to facilitate a forward placed tongue with less push.
I'm gonna be using exercise 11
from my singing exercise cd, Dr. Dan's Voice Essentials.
If you don't already have a copy, you can download it
using the links in the description sections below.
The activity is an octave leap followed by
a descending major scale.
Now this is a common singing exercise.
It's generally done on an open valve,
but we're going to alternate it, somewhat,
by singing the entire scale with an extended tongue.
As you do the activity, you'll have two aims.
Firstly, for many of you as you sing up to the octave note,
you'll notice that your tongue wants
to immediately retract back into the mouth.
Your aim is to keep the tongue extended.
I also want you to resist the temptation
to drop the jaw too much as you do so.
If you drop the jaw too far, you can start to build
too much muscular tension in the muscles
that operate the jaw bone.
So be careful, as always if it hurts, stop.
You're doing it incorrectly.
Our second aim is to resist the temptation to push harder
as you travel higher in the range.
For some of you, the voice might feel
like it's unstable and wobbly.
That's ok, when we remove all the structural tension
around the larynx, it can feel a little insecure at first
but after some practice, you should begin to notice
a more independent and agile mechanism.
So here's one I prepared earlier.
Pay attention to my tongue and the way
in which I manage my sound as I climb higher.
(upbeat music and singing octaves)
I hope today's video has been a helpful one.
Perhaps you think you can think of another example
of a co-dependent response of the voice
when it's left to its own natural devices.
Please take a moment to leave your comments below
so that we can all learn from your experience.
And if this is the first time you've watched
a Voice Essentials video,
G'day, I hope the instructions in today's video,
I was helpful as you seek to develop your voice
and improve your sound.
I upload a new video about singing performance and technique
every Thursday and I host live Q&As throughout the week,
so be sure to subscribe to the channel
and hit the bell icon next to the subscribe button
to receive notifications whenever I go live.
Once again, thanks for watching,
I'm Dr. Dan.
Sing well.