|
 DID YOU KNOW: Weaving around when singing can be part of ‘selling the song’. However it can also interfere with breathing and blocks a free, vocal sound. Working on balance, freeing the hip joints and ankles will often result in a freer, easier, richer vocal sound. Do the lesson in the TRY THIS SECTION of VOICE FOCUS to explore this further. Frank is a Church Choir Director who was experiencing vocal fatigue. By the end of rehearsals he felt as though he didn’t want to talk anymore. His throat was tight and slightly hoarse. There was nothing ‘wrong’ with his voice according to the Ear-Nose-Throat doctor. As Marina began to work with him, she noticed that Frank did not use his breath very efficiently. Frank conducted and sang from the keyboard (organ and piano). As he sat in a compressed manner, he could not breathe properly. She also noticed excessive shoulder and neck tension that interfered with his singing. Marina worked with Frank on posture at the keyboard and showed him exercises to reduce shoulder and neck tension. As his posture improved, Frank was ready to work on not pushing his voice. He found the right vocal placement for the sound. Without the excess tension resulting from poor posture, his voice improved quickly. After a few sessions of INTEGRATED VOICE Frank found was able to get through his rehearsals without vocal fatigue or hoarseness. DID YOU KNOW: Playing and singing at the same time splits the concentration. You can either put your main focus on the playing or the singing. It is important to reduce tension that can affect both. Choir directors often sing all parts, especially when teaching the choir new music. This tires the voice because they are then straining to sing in the extreme ranges. Harry, a 65 year-old retired teacher came for Feldenkrais lessons following a bad fall. He had taken up painting in his retirement, something he enjoyed quite a bit. However, since the fall, he was not able to hold a pen or brush for very long without pain radiating up his arm. Marina recognized that following his fall he had begun to ‘hold’ himself upright to prevent another fall. In the process, he was tightening the muscles of the chest limiting the movement of the ribs and shoulder blade. As a result his arm and hand had also become stiff. Harry had 3 or 4 Feldenkrais lessons that addressed the mobility of his rib cage and pelvis. Although he kept wondering how work with his ribs would help his hand, after the 3rd lesson he came back excited. He was able to paint all afternoon without pain or stiffness! DID YOU KNOW: Shoulder, wrist and hand problems are often caused by stiffness in the hips or ribcage. Once the ribcage becomes more mobile, the range of motion in the shoulder and hand increases. The tension that often results in problems such as Carpel Tunnel Syndrome can be relieved. What’s possible for YOU? Let’s find out! Call or email to schedule a lesson or get information on our current classes and workshops. “After one year of coaching from Marina, I now know how to treat my voice properly for the rest of my life. I wouldn't be able to talk or sing healthily without her. She literally changed my life. -Bette "I have taken Marina's Feldenkrais classes for the past several years and have benefited amazingly. I have structural problems and Feldenkrais has improved my balance and helped me maintain a pain-free existence." |
