Vox Talk July 2013

Jenn Cohen | July 1, 2013 | 0 Comments

by Carin Dawn

Several years ago, while watching The Oscars, I observed an actress walking the red carpet and became very curious about what I was seeing. In just a few moments, I noticed her demeanor of confidence and grace stood out beyond all the other celebrities that day. People were being drawn to her, and I realized it was due to her posture and the confidence she exuded.

I have always known that with singing, posture is key to the quality, tone, and projection of your voice. When we have good posture, our body is aligned and balanced, and we are able to perform at a higher level of endurance. This allows our performance to be one we will be pleased with and others will be drawn into time and time again.

As children, we’re often told to “sit up straight,” “stand tall,” and “don’t slouch.” As we grow up, that focus on our posture diminishes. As performers, we transfer that focus to sounding good or being louder, not giving consideration to how we appear physically to others. But here’s the thing we miss out on in this transfer: Our posture is KEY to the outcome we desire. The reality of it is that we live in a slouchy world. If you were to sit downtown at the 16th street mall and people watch, you might notice the majority of people that cross your path are slouchers, and every so often a person will stand out because of their posture. They also stand out because good posture tends to breed an air of confidence that most people don’t convey in everyday activities.

For this reason, I work with my students on their posture. With younger students, we discuss what it means to be a lady or a gentleman. For example, when we have a fancy party to attend or a wedding to get dressed up for, we find ourselves feeling pretty or handsome; and as a result, we subconsciously stand taller, roll our shoulders back and lift our chin to match our inward feeling to our outward appearance. As a result, we might feel more confident about who we are in that moment. The same is true for singing. When we stand taller, roll our shoulders back and lift our chin, we feel better about ourselves, and almost magically we sound better and project farther. My teaching mantra is: “90% of singing is what you think; 10% is talent and/or ability.” Over 20+ years of teaching, I have tested this statement time and time again, and found it to be 100% accurate. When I feel confident about who I am, I will sound confident in my performance. If I feel uneasy and let that get into my head, I will sound unsure of my voice, the material or my overall performance. It’s amazing with the mind can do!

Practicing confidence will result in a confident performance, and really, who doesn’t want that?

I have compiled a series of exercises that help develop confidence for singing, as well as other aspects of life.

Stand in front of a mirror while you practice – Always. The mirror itself will not help you if you aren’t willing to look at yourself. So go ahead and look. Become comfortable with staring at yourself, in the eyes. This is much more difficult to do than it sounds. Most people will look away after 3-4 seconds of eye contact with themselves; try it, see if that is true for you. Try singing through an entire song without averting your gaze, even once. If you are like the majority of people you will struggle with maintaining your eye contact. So it’s good to start small here. Try getting through the first line of the song… once you can do that; try the first verse, then chorus etc.

Look at your posture. Are your shoulders slumped? One quick and simple way to fix this is to simply roll your shoulders back a few times in an isolated manner. Once you’ve done this, grasp your hands together behind you and place them in the small of your back. This forces your shoulders to roll back and your spine to straighten. Maintain this position and sing through your first verse. Listen to your voice. Do you notice a change? If you’re unsure try it again and again.

Hold your arms straight out in front of you, place your hands palm to palm then bring your hands as close to your chest as possible. Point your fingers up (in a prayer like fashion) and hold this position. You should notice your shoulder blades pull together and your back will arch. Again, sing and listen.

Smile. This simple gesture will immediately change the tone of your voice. For example, try saying “Hello” without a smile, then again with a smile. Did you hear your voice change? Now, do the same with the first verse of a song. A LOT of students will say one of two things during this exercise 1) I don’t feel like smiling, or 2) but this is a sad song, so I shouldn’t smile. My response every time is “just try it and listen.” If you still are having a difficult time smiling, raise your eyebrows and watch your face in the mirror. Ask yourself, if you were your audience would you enjoy watching your performance?

These are just a few of the many techniques that will help you become a better singer and performer, but only if you are willing to practice them in front of the mirror! 5-10 minutes a day in front of a mirror, really looking at and into your self will be more beneficial than practicing for an hour a day without a mirror.

Don’t forget to smile!

Tags: carin dawn, dragon fly studios