In his article, “The Call: Teaching Singers to Project Healthy Tone” (Georgia Sings! Vol.7, No.2), Franklin Green shares some thought on developing choral tone.
In the act of singing, they seemed to use not enough “air;” they would often hold their bodies in awkward positions and squeeze out rather unpleasant sounds. When did they make those beautiful sounds? When they were yelling across the parking lot to their friends to get a ride home! When calling out to their friends, they arched their backs, took a huge breath, lifted their heads, and out of their mouths came something like “Heeeeeey, man!” or “Saaaaaam, I need a riiiiiiide!”
When I discovered that students could produce this beautiful, healthy sound, I made it may goal to have them connect what it felt like to “call” across an open space with a ringing tone to the act of singing. I asked them to put both hands up to their mouths to create a megaphone. This motion raises the ribcage and puts a singer in a position to take in a large volume of air.
Next week we will examine another brief article on choral tone.
(To access the full article, simply click the highlighted title. For additional articles on a dazzling array of choral topics, visit ChorTeach.)
Edward Palmer says