Covering the singing basics of breath, support, and resonance was how I started with each new student before moving on to non-physical issues like phrasing or playing. But that was many years ago (in the Jurassic Age, actually).
Although I still believe this is generally the ideal approach, a large portion of my clientele are established artists that I see only sporadically. Singers at this level have touring and recording schedules that don’t allow them the luxury of dropping everything else to handle vocal problems when they sneak up on them. Often time passes and problems become serious before they seek help.
It is logical to assume that the source of the voice damage is physical, perhaps due to bad breath or lack of basic support. But in fact, many of these professionals do not need to start a basic singing course. Many have already discovered which techniques work best for them. They’re looking for a Band-Aid, not open-heart surgery.
When I work with these singers or with a young student in trouble, I first try to identify the most critical problems and work to correct them. I consider whether there are other factors that may be contributing to the problem, factors that may have nothing to do with the physical application of basic singing techniques.
I listen to excessive singing first, the most convenient and likely culprit. We seem to be suffering from a detrimental “loud noise epidemic,” possibly due to the widespread influence that national competitions have on the music-loving population. Maybe it’s time artists went back to the basics of singing to communicate the words and emotions of a song, without the loud singing, long high notes, and endless vocal inflections.
Then I hear the beat on the track. Does the singer tend to lag behind the rhythmic impulses that drive instrumental tracks? Does the tempo drag and energy drop at the end of phrases, stomping on fill-ins? (Fills are those instrumental knots that take the singer from the end of one line to the beginning of the next.) Or does it seem like the singer is in sync or out of sync with the pulses and pulses in the rhythm track?
Is the performer really singing what the words mean, or just throwing in a lot of voice? Do they make clever use of the relief that a liberal use of silence and consonants can bring? Or do they get stuck by overextending the vowels?
These are some of the problems I often deal with when time is limited. It amazes me that simply reinforcing phrasing or pronunciation, or thinking about words, has such a therapeutic effect on what seem to be purely physical problems like poor tone and voice strain.
So while it may not be my ideal purist approach, I’ve found that it’s not always necessary to start with the basics of singing breath, support, and resonance. You can get a lot out of other non-physical techniques that will give a busy, probably overextended singer quick results and more bang for his buck.
