You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink! You can walk a student to the ladder but you can’t make them climb. There are countless analogies for this age-old issue. Pick one…they’re all true, and all lead us straight down the path of frustration. One quick left and we’re in the looney bin!
Rory Vaden, in his book Take the Stairs, points out that there are three ways to get people to take action on a task; ask them, force them, or get them to recognize for themselves why it’s in their best interest. Well, when you put it that way…Duh! Start your year off by making body alignment the main focus. Help your singers recognize for themselves why it’s in their best interest to follow your instruction.
As your students start to wrap their brains around the fact that respiration is the motor that makes the machine run, they will have a better understanding of why correct body alignment is essential. Why is body alignment so important? Simply put, it’s the prerequisite to all good breath support.
Assessing body alignment is fairly easy. We can visually assess whether or not the student’s body alignment is correct. Scientifically and anatomically speaking we can test them over the benefits of correct body alignment. We can make it a line item on our rubric for standards and assessment.
There are other ways to explore healthy body alignment that are also beneficial: Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais, Aikido (one of the original martial arts), Yoga, and Tai Chi to name a few. Most of the vocal technique/pedagogy books on our shelves have a solid chapter on body alignment. Get those books of the shelf and give yourself a quick refresher course! One of my favorite resources for body alignment is What Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body, by Barbara Conable.
(original post date: August 19, 2013)
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