Move, Vocalize and Sing!!

The Human Voice is an incredible gift, capable of calming, soothing, comforting, healing, energizing, encouraging, motivating etc. Through our Voice, we touch others in so many ways -- probably in many ways that we are not even aware of.

The Throat Chakra is called "Vishuddha" in Sanskrit which means Purification. Vocal catharsis or vocal release can cleanse, heal and purify.

The Voice is also an amazing instrument capable of creating beautiful, powerful sounds and songs.

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In light of my upcoming Sing a Long on Fri. June 3, at 7:15 pm (for more info, e-mail me @ barbarassong@gmail.com ) I am inspired to share a little more of my vocal adventure and to explore the focus of this upcoming Sing a Long.  My hope is to create a Sing a Long that is easy and comfortable and enjoyable for all and that also helps us care for and appreciate our voices. I'm happy to hear if you have any comments or suggestions or insights for future Sing a Longs.

Also see the previous blog for My Journey into Speech Level Singing.
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If you have read my previous blog then you already know some of my reasons for loving this technique called Speech Level Singing. Now I'll share some more! And just know that I share my experiences and current knowledge as an avid student of Speech Level Singing. For more "expert information", check with one of the many very qualified teachers of this method. See link to the left of this blog.

Developing My Chest Voice

I really love that SLS (Speech Level Singing) focuses on developing and expanding the entire range of the Voice. When I first started singing lessons, before I found SLS, the teacher immediately classified my voice as Soprano because I could only sing in my head voice. I couldn't dip down into any low notes  or into my Chest Voice at all. The teacher's suggestion was that I should sing soprano in a Church Choir. However I wanted to sing Pop and Country Songs -- many of which are, at least partially, in Chest Voice. In most Pop and Country songs, and in Rhythm and Blues (my current passion!) one has to be able to move smoothly between Chest Voice and Head Voice. That was a problem since, at that point, I had no Chest Voice or at least no connection to that Voice.

The exciting news is that since I have been working with a Speech Level Singing Teacher,  I now have a very developed low range, or Chest Voice. Now I can sing an entire song in this deep low range and this (Chest Voice) is a Voice I didn't even have before I started Speech Level Singing! Personally I think that is pretty remarkable. And now that I am connected with my Chest Voice, or the Root of my Voice, my over all Voice is much stronger. My Voice doesn't crack in the way that it used to. I used to frequently get that "frog in my throat" feeling and often had to constantly clear my throat just to carry on a conversation. That is at least 90% better now that my Voice is coming from a deeper place inside of me. And I feel generally more grounded. Oh yes-- and I can now do lectures and facilitate workshops that involve a lot of speaking, usually without the aid of a microphone, without any vocal strain at all. Couldn't do that prior to SLS training!
My challenge now is in learning how to transition smoothly between my Chest Voice and Head Voice and that is one of the main focuses of my current SLS training.

So with all that in mind, it feels really important to me to offer a Sing a Long which begins with a warm up to connect us more deeply to our Chest Voice. And I like the idea of "exploring" our lower range with various sounds and sounding exercises, as opposed to trying to push the voice into something it may not be ready for.  So the warm up is really just an opportunity for the Voice to play and explore. And it is a chance for us to  learn how to pay more attention to our Voices and to explore what might feel good and supportive to them.

To continue with that theme of connecting more deeply with the Root of the Voice, many of the Songs that I choose for this Sing a Long are centered a lot in the Chest Voice.

Movement and Singing

Chakra Dancer Meets Speech Level Singer!

I love Free form or Improve Dance, Yoga, Pilates, Feldenkrais -- or any physical movement that takes me into a deeper place in my body. I've been practicing Yoga most of my life; I spent many years developing and teaching The Dance of the Chakras. To me, sounding or vocalizing are also very internal, physical experiences. I love to explore how sound can lead to movement and how movement can lead to sound and how they can blend together. I love that feeling of sound travelling through the body. It is very exciting and powerful to me when I can actually feel the vibration of my voice in my Root Chakra or in my Sacral Chakra or in my Solar Plexus. I can feel the vocal vibration pretty readily in the higher Chakras -- it is fairly easy to feel in the Heart, Throat, and Head (Third Eye and Crown). To feel that vocal vibration consistently in those lower Earthy Chakras is definitely something I aspire to!!

I love to watch singers who seem to be as fluid and at ease in their bodies as they are in their voices. I am still pretty awed by Michael Jackson's videos -- how he combined very complex songs with very complex dance moves and how the movement and the voice just flowed together as one, or moved one into the other.

At the very least, I believe that it is easier and healthier for the Voice to move through a fluid, energized body.  For this reason my Sing a Long warm up does start with some gentle flowing movement to free and energize the body first. 

Do feel free to leave any thoughts, comments or vocal insights or stories that you may want to share. I love hearing other people's vocal stories!

In the meantime -- Sing, Dance, Love Your Voice, Love Your Body!!

Barbara