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As a student of Gloria Lane (who studied with Sally Westmoreland from the
Cleveland Institute of Music--who played for and studied with Elisabeth
Schumann), I focus my attention on diction for singing.
Correct diction facilitates placement, muscular efficiency, breath
management and musicality. I strive to help you understand that when you
"really HAVE the thought you are going to sing" it tells your brain just
how much air your body will need to "birth" that thought into the world.
Most singers waste air by taking too much in. Mechanized breathing,
manufactured placement and mouth position all work together to making
obstacles to singing.
Legato diction, TRUE understanding of what/why/how you are saying what you
are saying in song bring about an ease of musical line.
Singers love to think about multiple things at once...this is inefficient.
Truly it is important to understand how to release your jaw and achieve
tongue and jaw independence, however, each person is different and there
is no "absolute" when it comes to things like "placement." The reason that
singing is thought of as difficult is because it is so simple. Human
beings are, by nature, creatures of variation and repetition.
Focusing on the natural phrase of a thought and elongating the initial
consonant sounds to help spring the vowels into action is the basic
premise of my teaching. Anchoring the words "in the gut" means that you
are speaking the truth and are connected to what you are saying. This also
means that you are able to support your thoughts.
Don't worry about breathing; learn how to have real thoughts.
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