Finding the balance: musicality vs technique
I've had my eyes opened a little bit. I was recently in Caraquet participating in a masterclass series with Susan Manoff. We were six singers and four pianists performing mostly French melodies and German lieder. Besides the brilliant masterclasses with Susan we also had voice lessons with the wonderful Natalie Paulin. We spent our spare time exploring Caraquet by land and sea, ate fresh lobster and oysters, and enjoyed some heart-warming comraderie.
While I was there I was told that I had beautiful technique. I have worked so hard on my technique in the last 5 years that I took this as the greatest compliment. I have always been very musical and dramatic but because I didn't have a big voice or particularly advanced technique, my talent was often overlooked at school. For the last five years I've been focusing my energy on developing my technique. Now my teacher actually has to remind me to be musical. Whoops.
I was singing Les Chansons de Bilitis by Claude Debussy for Susan with my super talented pianist Jonathan Wilson. We were playing the first one, La Flute de Pan, and when we finished, Susan said I was singing too loud (another comment I never get) and that what I should be doing is singing with 100% of my voice but that we only hear 10% of it--basically, that I should sing piano (healthily!). This is a concept that I am only starting to comprehend; that you can sing piano without compromising your technique. That's because I now have more control over my technique than I had 5 years ago.
On the surface, it appears extremely difficult to be musical when you're trying to be technically sound, when in reality, if you have worked hard enough on your technique, you will always sing healthily no matter whether you're being musical or not. And indeed, having a strong musical idea in your head means that your body will follow suit and produce the right technique to support that musical idea.
I am soon off on my next singing adventure in France for the Académie de Poulenc in Tours. This will be a good place to try and juggle these two ideas as there will be masterclasses aplenty. Until then I'm going to work on upgrading (hehe) my support so that I'm more connected even if I get nervous or something. Expect to hear of my European adventures starting next week!
While I was there I was told that I had beautiful technique. I have worked so hard on my technique in the last 5 years that I took this as the greatest compliment. I have always been very musical and dramatic but because I didn't have a big voice or particularly advanced technique, my talent was often overlooked at school. For the last five years I've been focusing my energy on developing my technique. Now my teacher actually has to remind me to be musical. Whoops.
I was singing Les Chansons de Bilitis by Claude Debussy for Susan with my super talented pianist Jonathan Wilson. We were playing the first one, La Flute de Pan, and when we finished, Susan said I was singing too loud (another comment I never get) and that what I should be doing is singing with 100% of my voice but that we only hear 10% of it--basically, that I should sing piano (healthily!). This is a concept that I am only starting to comprehend; that you can sing piano without compromising your technique. That's because I now have more control over my technique than I had 5 years ago.
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| That's Susan's victory face! Photo credit: Musique sur Mer |
On the surface, it appears extremely difficult to be musical when you're trying to be technically sound, when in reality, if you have worked hard enough on your technique, you will always sing healthily no matter whether you're being musical or not. And indeed, having a strong musical idea in your head means that your body will follow suit and produce the right technique to support that musical idea.
I am soon off on my next singing adventure in France for the Académie de Poulenc in Tours. This will be a good place to try and juggle these two ideas as there will be masterclasses aplenty. Until then I'm going to work on upgrading (hehe) my support so that I'm more connected even if I get nervous or something. Expect to hear of my European adventures starting next week!
Good post! Yes, the technique is there to support and give you the freedom to be musical. Now you've got that freedom! Go nuts! xo
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. You got it!
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