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NEVER Make Them Cry

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Do any of the following items belong on a list of the physiological factors involved in healthy singing?
 
     [1] Inflammation of one or more parts of the throat (globus pharynges)
     [2] Significant expulsion of mucus through the nostrils (rhinorrhea)
     [3] Restricted respiration
     [4] Increased heart rate (tachycardia)
     [5] Sudden increase in perspiration (diaphoresis)
 
No . . . of course they don’t.  The list above enumerates some of the more pronounced physical effects of crying.  No responsible vocal music educator could possibly look at that list as something they want singers to experience while performing.
 
Yet astonishingly, one has learned that there are a few among our ranks who believe that in order to help the choir “connect emotionally with the music,” it is necessary to bring the singers to tears both before and during performance.
 
Naturally, we all encourage our singers to understand the meaning of the poetry they are singing. We rightly aspire to make an impactful connection with the listener and to be edified ourselves as artists.  But at no point should that involve any sort of preconcert ritual or in-concert behavior that results in blubbering choir members. To do so is a complete contradiction of healthy vocal practice.
 

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  1. I think this is an interesting post.  It makes me think.  I don’t feel it necessary to “make someone cry” as a performer.  However, I find it a great honor to “make someone cry” as an audience member.  It means my audience felt something from the piece of music I was performing, or from how I was performing it, that moved them to tears.  There are moments when a choir reacts to a situation and can’t help it.  Why stop that?  I also find that to be a humbling experience.  I find that when a fabulous group who is dedicated and hard working finds themselves in a situation that makes the text all to real for them and causes tears in some is very powerful.
     
    An example:  My junior high madrigals were singing for a nursing home at Christmastime.  They had sung around the community many times the text “if we must say goodbye, let the spirit go with you” in the song ‘Til the Season comes round again.  The reality that some of these dear grandmothers would not be with them next year struck suddenly and a few had tears during those words.  It was a magical moment and one I will always treasure.  It showed these dear children (14-15 years old) had hearts that cared.  Did we practice it? No.  Did I hope they would fall apart? No.  Did a small moment in time touch their hearts? Yes.  Did they sing beautifully? Yes.
     
    My thought is that we live in a very uncaring and unfeeling world.  We should bring beauty to it.  If that beauty causes emotions to run to the surface, hallelujah!
     
    Lori Hayward

  2. As a choral director for 40 years, there have been several moments in concerts where I fought back my tears, as the musical moment grabbed me.
    I do emphasize emotional content and we discuss mental imagery, mood, point of text, immersion in the harmonic language, etc to make each song meaningful.
    Sometimes, when I realize the achievement of our 24 voluteer singers, where they start in September and blossom thru the concerts for 9 months, it is a poignant moment.
    I never encourage tears, but sometimes, they just come from either me, or my singers or accompanist.
    Keep on singing, directing, teaching and FEELING!
    Carolyn Eynon
    Founder of Carolyn Eynon Singers

  3. Well…examples…? This sounds like a little like a straw man argument. Can’t argue that snot is an impediment during performance, but there are phsyiological and psychological effects of less extreme emotional responses that can be helpful. The lifting of the cheeks, the depth of breathing, the tilt of the larynx that you get when you can feel where a weeping response would lie can add beauty as well as meaning to the tone. And listeners can hear the difference between genuinely felt emotion and mere good training.
     
    It’s interesting to think through this dialectic (emotion vs technique) through examples where the challenge is not to cry – because of course that’s where you really find emotion getting in the way of the voice. My choir had some difficulty performing The Coventry Carol the day after the Newtown shootings last month. The only choral performance that has reduced me (as a listener) to helpless tears was one which (I later learned) the singers had framed for themselves as a tribute to a member recently lost very young to cancer. The thing that was remarkable there was actually the way that they were able to use their very good vocal technique as the means to stay in control of the music and the tone when their impulse was to wail. I have heard them perform the same piece subsequently with great technique but nothing like the emotional impact.
     
    Bringing people ‘to tears’ is an ambiguous turn of phrase, though – is it going up to the gate, or through it? Going in that direction – can be good. Going all the way – not a good idea for all the reasons you give.

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