diferencias hombre y mujer breathing.PDF

8/10/2019 diferencias hombre y mujer breathing.PDF

1/7

Marvin Keenze Donald ell

Voice Pedagogy

S S OC I A T E E D I T OR Richard Mil ler

T e a c h ing Bre a th ing

Written questions that teachers and

performers have submitted for discus-

sion at sessions devoted to systematic

m some of them

ISSUE

Should there be a difference in

teaching breathing and breath man-

agement techniques for male and

female voices? How do you go about

teaching anyone breathing?

R S P O N S

ppoggio

No;

Sostenerc

Si Some Thoughts on the

Teaching of Breathing

Marvin Keenze

After a recent class in Florence,

Massimo Sardi, a distinguished

Journal of Singing, March/April 2005

Volume 61, No. 4,

pp.

371-377

Copyright 2 5

National Association of Teachers of Singing

teacher and good friend said to me,

W e

do not like the word

appoggio, t

is too rough. We prefer sostenere This

to give ourselves a breath, rather

than to take a breath. Body map-

ping authority Barbara Conable warns

us that using the term rib cage sug-

gests something with immovable bars

rather than the accurate description

of a flexible thorax. ' James McK inney

and others make a distinction between

breath management and breath

control. Alexander Technique teach-

ers strive to make postural correc-

tions through subtle directions rather

than direct manipulations or spoken

orders. Cornelius Reid tells us that

Lamperti believed that after techni-

cal skills are developed and the vocal

organs respond without having to be

acted upon, the breathing mechanism

will manage itself' These are thoughts

that may encourage us to re-examine

our teaching language and priorities.

We all have benefited from the age

of abundant information. We have

attended the same workshops, mas-

ter classes, and seminars, and we have

read many of the same books and arti-

cles. We share common resources and

a vast body of knowledge that de-

scribes and explains the human res-

piratory system and its relationship

to speech and singing. We are able to

explain respiration for singing to our

students using only anatomical and

physiological terms, and in addition

we have developed a rich language of

imagery. Why are there so many mys-

teries about respiration? Why are

there so many different opinions,

often controversial, about a subject

SO

thoroughly examined, experienced,

and documented?

Perhaps an answer may be found in

the necessity to develop different

approaches to meet the individual

needs of our students. There are those

who believe that the proper respira-

tory action is the result of other influ-

ences; therefore they do not isolate

voice technique are wide ranging, often

word has the meaning of something

penetr ting the ver

y heart

of

voice ped-

or someone that supports you. A

agogjj This column continues to exam. teacher of meditation encourages us

M IcH

RII

2005

7


2/7

M arv in Keenze and Dona ld e l l

breathing skills or even mention it at

all. Elizabeth Blades-Zeller's book

Spectrum

o

oices is

an interesting

resource for comparing a variety of

opinions and words that describe how

twenty American teachers teach

breathing for singing as well as other

aspects of voice pedagogy. The Master

Teachers and Singers Week at West-

minster and the NYSTA (New York

Singing Teachers Association) Com-

parative Pedagogy Seminars have

demonstrated that there may be as

many opinions and teaching styles as

there are teachers. Recently I have

received papers on breathing from

the French Association of Singing

Teachers and from a Nigerian voice

teacher. Indeed, the singer's breath

is a topic of great interest and there

seems to be a need to make definitive

statements on this subject.

I always begin a class with the state-

ment that good information is help-

ful only if it stirs our creativity. Our

pedagogical art comes from imagina-

tion and intuition as well as facts. We

take information and create our own

words and concepts that make us bet-

ter teachers. Martha Randall describes

it as putting thego in pedagogy. This

is what I have found to be true as I

travel throughout the world observ-

ing teachers, listening to colleagues,

and working with a wide variet

y

of

singers. Probably not much of the

information we teach is original with

us, but often it is our unique way of

saying things that we can call our own.

At the 1996 European Voice

Teachers Association conference in

Amsterdam the following bold state-

ments were given to us as points for

discussion. I want to share some of

these; they may stir your imagination.

1. The inner command for singing

automatica11y

initiates all muscles

for breath taking, lung pressure,

vocal fold adjustment, and artic-

ulation.

2. The efficiency of tone production

depends on the accuracy of the

inner command.

3.

Almost nothing is known about

the coordination of the neural com-

mands that are the beginning of

singing and that are vital to voice

pedagogy.

These statements seem to point to the

concept that the larynx is an organ of

reaction and that we should develop

a reliable

inner command

that begins

the process of respiration and singing

and continues through the song.

My graduate pedagogy students are

required to compare two articles from

the

Journal

o oi e

on the teaching of

breathing for singing. Published in

1988, the articles by Shirley Emmons

and Robert White, Jr. define the im-

portance of balancing the scientific

and anatomical facts with practical

applications. That is the challenge for

us as we teach our students to coor-

dinate alignment and breathing for

the musical and poetic realization of

the repertoire.

We have benefited from the influ-

ences of comm itted teachers who share

the Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais

Method, Yoga, Tomatis work, Daicroze

Eurythmics, and other disciplines that

elevate body alignment, body aware-

ness, and our brea th to its highest level.

There have been numerous articles

in our Journal ofSinginq on these sub-

jects. My association with the work

of Alfred Tomatis, Paul Madaule and

Roberta Prada

has taught me that

alignment can be a natural response to

an ear and brain that is stimulated by

high frequencies. Listening at its high-

est state does improve our kinesthetic

understanding of the entire body as

it becomes a better instrument for

receiving sound from within and with-

out. Our head will find its best position

when bone and air conduction are

balanced and our voice is experienced

at its most vibrant. I continue to search

for ways to encourage a response in

my students that comes from their

musicality a highly developed musical

ear, and the challenges of the reper-

toire. I also have found that when the

right ear becomes the dominant ear,

the body becomes more welcoming to

receive a complete breath as well as

the development of finer controls of

the mechanism. The ear is not pas-

sive but creative in the process of find-

ing our singing voice and breath.

I have attempted to simplify my

physiological instructions for the

teaching of respiration, and Ibelieve

that whatever we teach at the begin-

fling should be reinforced constantly

so that our students have a consistent

way of developing this coordination.

It takes time for a beginning student's

body to m int in the appoggio

sostenere position for an extended

period, and our expectations should

be realistic. I teach that the external

obliques are the main muscles of exha-

lation and that the elevated thorax

inhibits their natural action of depress-

ing the ribs. I encourage these oblique

muscles to engage only at the moment

of phonation; before that they are in

a position of readiness. Vocal prob-

lems arise when the abdominals are

engaged too early or too late, or when

there is not a release before the next

inhalation. It is all in the timing. I use

the vibrant speaking voice to demon-

strate the effect of this timing. I teach

inhalation as a process that leads to

an inevitable onset, and therefore I

usually teach inhalation with the goal

of phonation. Once we begin the in-

spiratory process we already know

when the moment of phonation will

happen. A student of mine, who was

a football quarterback, demonstrated

his passing technique in slow motion.

7

OURN L OF S INGING


3/7

Voice edagogy

It was a graceful series of moments

that led directly to the release of the

ball into the air. This is a visual anal-

ogy that I often use in my teaching.

The basic appoggio/sostenerr posi-

tion must be maintained so that the

more delicate inner controls are now

able to serve the voice with subtle

changes in pressure or dynamic con-

trol and pitch. I observe that students

change the outside position of the

body or the balanced muscular antag-

onism as a means of interpreting. This

is often the reason why experienced

singers develop vocal distress or lack

of control. As a way to demonstrate

the timing of the support system and

the engagement of the antagonistic

muscles of expiration I use a hand-

shake. First I grasp my student's hand

with my very tense hand, then I offer

a completely relaxed and limp hand

until midway into the handshake, and

then I use the best model where my

hand is not tensed but becomes firm

the moment that we shake hands.

Perhaps the most controversial area

of breath management and control is

how we teach the use of the breath

after the inhalation process. I have

observed teachers recommend at least

two ways to deal with the breath after

inhalation. One is to suspend the

breath for a moment before the phrase

and the other is for inhalation to flow

nonstop into exhalation and phona-

tion. I use both of these ideas. Weaker

voices can benefit from a moment of

suspension and an awareness of the

compressed breath. Tight, pressed

voices can benefit from the latter

method. If there is a high note within

a phrase the use of the suspended

breath can prepare for it before the

phrase begins. Barbara Conable

teaches that the spine should gather

on inhalation and lengthen on exha-

lation.' I have found this to be help-

ful information. It is difficult to

experience a complete inhalation with

a rigid posture that is unyielding.

Everything that we teach must be

done with a perceptive eye and ear to

be sure that it is indeed improving

the timbre, dynamic control, and free-

dom of the voice. When my specific

instructions make a change in tim-

bre and dynamic control, I ask the

students to trust their ear and the

inner command to reproduce what

they have done. The idea is that the

body will recreate its coordination in

a specific manner when the ear is the

commander and there are pitch, tonal,

and dynamic goals This, I think, is

the meaning behind the Amsterdam

statements. The body and the vocal

folds want specific messages from the

experienced ear and brain.

It is also helpful for our students

to know what we consider to be the

bottom line or the softest acceptable

sound. We are at that point when our

tone has vibrato, harmonics, and some

projection. This demonstrates the

minimum tracheal compression for

a piano sound that becomes the point

of reference for louder dynamic pos-

sibilities. I ask my students to start

with a very breathy production and

gradually increase compression and

vocal fold resistance until they find

this socially acceptable starting

place. Then they repeat the onset at

exactly this dynamic level guided by

their experienced ear. Young or inex-

perienced singers usually have only

two dynamic levels. Gradually they

develop the abilit

y

to use many of the

gradations of dynamics between the

two extremes as the vocal folds learn

to create more refined adjustments.

This leads to the development of a

rnessa di voce

technique that is a neces-

sity for musical singing.

I have also been asked to comment

on the teaching of breathing for male

and female singers. I polled my col-

leagues at Westminster and the

American Academy of Teachers of

Singing to get opinions about gender

differences Only two definitely believe

that physical differences demand dif-

ferent pedagogical styles. Others said

that they teach for the body type

rather than the gender, and still oth-

ers say that that they do not make a

distinction. I would be pleased to

receive readers' comments.

The teaching of breathing for bel

canto style is a gradual process. The

repertoire that we assign should grad-

ually demand more of our students

with the use of longer phrases and

increased technical demands. Neces-

sity is indeed the mother of inven-

tion. The vocalises that we use should

be directed towards specific tasks that

encourage the need for a more refined

breathing technique. These vocalises

should always be connected to a vari-

ety of tonal colors and emotional ex-

pressions. The student should sense

as quickly as possible that what we

teach produces an ability to sing with

greater freedom, musicality, and com-

munication.

I ask my students to always inhale

through a neutral vowel

/3/, as in the

British pronunciation of word

and

then exhale through the vowel posi-

tion that is in the text. This neutral

vowel produces the most perfect tube-

like shape for the vocal tract and a

tongue position that is low and for-

ward. It is easier for air to go through

this unobstructed passageway and it

provides a balanced acoustical for-

mant spectrum as a basis for our res-

onance. You will notice how much

richer the timbre is when all vowels

have a close relationship to the neu-

tral position. This guards against over-

pronouncing and helps in the tuning

of the vocal tract to the sound source.

I believe that we should use points of

reference as much as possible.

MARCH/APRIL 2005


4/7

Marvin Keenze and Donald ell

In my ideal pedagogical world, all

of my students would have prerequi-

sites of at least two of the complemen-

tary disciplines and others that I have

mentioned. I suggest Daicroze Eur-

ythmics and the Tomatis Listening

Program. They then would begin their

lessons with an enhanced awareness

of a creative and responsive body, an

inner rhythmic security, and an im-

proved ear and voice coordination. It

would make my work very much eas-

ier, because I often find myself teach-

ing theory and musicianship as well

as singing.

The purposeful and energizing

inspiratory breath connects the head

with the body and ignites our emo-

tions. In return, the efficient expira-

tory breath connects the body to our

sound that then becomes our music

and our language. It is a cycle that is

the source and power of the singing

art. It is worthy of our continuing

study as we seek to develop a more

comprehensive pedagogy that incor-

porates the variet

y

of skills necessary

for a lifetime of beautiful singing.

NOT S

I.

Barbara Conable

The Structures and

M oi eme ntforBreathing

(Chicago: GIA

Publications, Inc ., 2001).

2.

James McKinney,

The Diagnosis and

Correction

o f

V ocal Faults

(Nashville:

Genevox

Music

Group,

1994).

3.

Cornelius Reid

Essays on the Nature

ofSingi,j

(Huntsville, TX: Recital Pub-

lications,

1992).

4.

Elizabeth B lades-Zeller, A Spectrum of

Voices

(L a nh a m, MD : Th e Sc a r ec ro w

Press, Inc., 2002).

5.

Robert C . White , On the Teaching of

Breathing for the Singing Voice, Jour-

nal of

Voice 2, no.

1 1988): 26-29.

Shirlee Emmons. Breathing for

Singing,

Journal

of Voice 2,

no.

1988): 30-35.

6.

Paul M adaul e ,

W hen Listening Comes

Alive

(Toronto : Th e Listening Center ,

1993).

7.

A lfred T oinatis , tr . Rober ta Prada ,

h e

arand the

Voice (L a nh a m, MD : Th e

Scarec row Press, Inc., 2004).

8. Barbara Conable,

What

Every Musi-

cian

Needs to Know A bout the

Body

(Portland, OR: Andover Press. 2000).

R S P O N S

reathing for Singing

Donald ell

The Q ue s t ion

Should there be differences in

teaching the genders to breathe for

singing?

Yes, according to Dr. I . A. Kapa ndji .

Respiratory mechanics also vary wi th a ge

and sex. In wom en, respirat ion is upper

thoracic with the maximum range of move-

ment seen in the upper thorax, which

shows an increase in i ts anteroposter ior

diameter. In the child it is abdominal and

in man i t is mixed, i .e. upper and low er

thorac ic. . . In the aged it

is

greatly altered

by accentuation of thoracic curvature and

loss

of tone of the abdominal muscles. As

the curvature of the upper thorax increases

the upper ribs are approximated and their

movements curtailed. Thus the upper lobe

is

poorly aera ted and brea th ing becomes

lower thoracic o r even abdom inal .'

These approach parameters appear

quite well defined. I will return to this

useful information later in the arti-

cle to show how this relates to teach-

ing female and male singers.

T h e A i m

Supplying a dependable, respon-

sive, and easily managed supply of

breath is the aim of a breath manage-

ment system. Should stiffening of the

abdominal wall or poor alignment of

the body enter the action of breath

management, a dysfunction arises,

bringing with it subtle losses of con-

trol to the singer. The importance

o

breath management lies in its role to

supply power (dynamics), nuances

(stresses), crescendi and decrescendi,

and to provide a source of energy that

will automatically adapt to pitch and

power. Breath management is an inte-

gral part of the singing instrument.

The F unct ion

Breath management arises from

three anatomical areas: the upper

chest (the thorax), which contains

the lungs and the ribs; the diaphragm

forms the floor of the pleural cavity,

thereby separating the lungs (air) from

the viscera, which are mostly water;

the lower abdominal muscles, found

below, around, over, and above the

diaphragm. Each one of these areas

s

important for the role that it plays

in gathering and using the breath.

Thinking of the breath in three parts

helps to define the area when a mal-

function takes place.

Posture is all-important because it

balances the body, thereby allowing

the head, neck, and torso to interact

without tension. The first question

is how to align the body. This is done

when the singer raises the arms above

the head, then lowers them without

dropping the chest, which remains

raised. It is an important first step,

resulting in the chest or rib cage being

maximized in a comfortable manner;

a posture that can and must now be

maintained throughout the act of

s inging.

With the act of enlarging the rib

cage through raising of the sternum,

an intake of breath results that low-

ers the diaphragm. Along with this

act several additional actions within

the rib cage occur: ribs 8, 9, and 10

are moved outward enlarging the

lower area of the chest cavity, the ster-

num is also raised and moved forward

74

OURNAL OF SINGING


5/7

Voice edagogy

through the pulling down of the

diaphragm, and the whole rib cage is

elevated. These actions are critical in

that they increase the amount of air

available for exhalation. In methods

that pay little attention to chest posi-

tioning, the whole chest is moved with

each breath renewal, whereas for

those applying the principles of the

Italianate school, the chest remains

elevated throughout the inhalation

and exhalation phases, the only move-

ment occurring in the lower abdomen

as the muscles release to allow the

diaphragm to drop. As this happens,

the lungs fill due to elastic reco il action

prompted by differences in atmos-

pheric pressure. Due to the elevated

sternum and resulting rib cage shape

as air is used for phonation, a negative

pressure is created in the chest cav-

ity. When the work of the vocal folds

is finished at the end of the phrase,

utterance, etc., the glottis opens, and

atmospheric pressure now being

greater, air rushes into the lungs. The

singer's main concern here is to allow

this to happen naturally and to resist

the impulse to breathe in (i.e., to

take a breath).

After the raising of the rib cage, the

diaphragm is set in motion. Lowering

it allows air to be pulled into the lungs.

Simultaneously, the lower abdominal

muscles release, allowing the dia-

phragm the freedom to reach its low-

est position. This pulling down action

also assists the rib cage to remain

extended outward, upward, and

expanded from front to back. If dur-

ing this quick action the abdominal

wall had remained tense, then the

sucking in of air and the reaffirming

of the rib cage would not have been

fulfilled, resulting in shortness of

breath. Actions such as pulling in the

stomach or pushing it out inhibit this

reciprocal balance between diaphragm

and lower abdominal muscles and

hence do not belong to the Italianate

school of appoggio

Clearly there is a balance, an equi-

librium of actions between the dia-

phragm and the lower abdominal

musculature. Diaphragm and lower

abdominal muscles cannot both be

activated at the same time. Their

actions, while complementing each

other, are too distinct to occur simul-

taneously. Their aims are also oppo-

site: the diaphragm is solely engaged

in breath renewal, whereas the lower

abdominals are responsible for exha-

lation actions. Understanding this

balance between two opposing func-

tions is the basis for establishing a

smoothly running breath machine,

or the appoggio

of breath manage-

ment.

What abdominal muscles do these

wondrous things? From the outer sur-

face of the body to the viscera they

are the rectus abdominus, the exter-

nal obliques, the internal obliques,

and the transversus abdominus.

Considering them in this order will

give a clearer understanding of their

layering within the body and the

importance of that layering.

The rectus abdominus muscle is

important for its ability to hold in the

stomach and its contents and its role

in allowing us to sit, bend, and the

like. However, when used in singing,

it causes flexion of the body posture

and hence would not fit into the

Italianate school, where posture is an

absolute requirement for balanced

function among the parts.

The internal and external obliques

also pull down, but without the result-

ing flexion. Thus they are a ble to func-

tion in accord with the deepest of all

the lower abdominal muscles, the

transversus abdominus.

The transversus abdominus is a

most interesting muscle as it has many

positive benefits for those interested

in what science calls forced breath-

ing, which is in effect singing or loud

oration.

The deepest layer of abdominal m uscles

is the tr nsversus abdorninus

Its horizon-

tal fibers sweep from the vertebrae in the

back of the abdomen around to its inser-

tion into the abdominal aponeurosis. It

attaches above to the lower border of the

ribs (the cartilages of the lower six ribs)

and below to the upper border of the pelvis

coxal bone). Like a corset, it can com-

press the viscera with more power than

any other m uscle. This corset action, to

which the fibers of the internal and exter-

nal oblique muscles contribute,

is

made

possible by their attachment to the abdom-

inal aponeurosis. Because all of these

abdominal muscles are paired, when con-

tracted they pull in a tug-of-war fashion

on opposite sides of the abdominal apo-

neurosis.2

[The abdom inals I ma jor contribution in

breathing is to compress the viscera that

then push up on the diaphragm to dis-

place 60 to 80 percent of the volume of

air exhaled.

The transversus is also sensitive to

postural alignment. In another study

on its characteristics, researchers

found that certain physical actions

such as lifting the head could stop the

transversus from fulfilling its role of

compressing and stabilizing the lower

body.

This kind of movement would

also adversely affect vocal sound.

Further to these responses of the

lower abdominal musculature, the

transversus has the ability to act inde-

pendently, a fact that is most benefi-

cial to those using the

appoggio

technique.' The action in the lower

abdominal area is well described by

the following:

After the breath has entered the lungs

and the glottis is closed in phonation, this

activates the lower abdominal muscles in

concert. When the breath is finished or

it is time to re-breathe, these muscles

so

MARcH/AI'Rml.

2005

7


6/7

Marvin Keenze and Donald ell

active in compressing the abdoinitial con-

tents and causing airflow m ust now relax

to allow breath renewal. This contrac-

tion of the transversus abdom inus results

in increased inspiratory efficiency by

increasing the length of the diaphragm,

and perm its elastic recoil of the thoracic

cavity to contribute to the initiation of

inspiration.

The concerted action of these mus-

cles allows breath to flow, the raised

rib cage to remain elevated, and the

body to remain in alignment as there

is no flexion.

Singing must he able to incorpo-

rate inflections of speech, but it is

important to recognize that in singing

the vowels are extended and factors of

pitch and power must be taken into

consideration. The speech aspects are

well defined by the following:

Three aspects of speec h require control

of pressure. First, the loudness level of the

phrase

is

controlled by the interjection of

all passive and active expiratory forces.

Second, more or less superimposed on

this overall level are variations in stress

from syllable to syllable. These result from

small expiratory con tractions or relations

of expiratory muscles which produce

mom entary changes in alveolar and sub-

glottal pressure. Third, variations in inten-

sity from sound to sound occur within

the syllable. These result mainly from

instant-to-instant changes in airway resist-

ance that cause m omentary f luctuations

in intraoral pressure.

Demands such as these are found in

all the vocal literature, and the Italians

met those demands when they coined

the adage si canta conesi parla

(one

sings as one speaks). Both functions

are related, as they are created by the

same instrument; however, there are

differences. Singing requires greater

overall breath pressure than speech;

the pitch for singing goes above nor-

mal speech demands. Finally, length

of utterances is longer; sung phrases

can be extended upward to twenty-

two seconds as opposed to four to five

seconds in speech.

o n c l u s i o n

As mentioned earlier, there are dif-

ferences in teaching women and men

the

appoggio

breath technique. For

both sexes, flexibilit

ydoes not come

easily. Differences are found in sev-

eral important areas with respect to

posture; and as a result, women tend

to use the upper chest or clavicular

breathing more than men do. When

female students' attention is diverted

to the lower abdominal wall and lower

rib cage expansion, then the first

results appear as tension and a stiffen-

ing of these areas mentioned. Men,

like their female counterparts, tend

to slouch their way through the day.

Their chests also must be consciously

raised. In lessons men do use the lower

abdomen, but more by pulling in or

just stiffening the whole lower abdom-

inal area. Over time men adapt more

quickly to maintaining a raised chest

than do women. My supposition is

that women are generally weaker in

the upper body and time is needed in

order to build the necessary strength

to maintain a balanced posture that

contains a raised sternum.

Another characteristic I find is that

women almost always initially stand

with their knees locked. Naturally,

the result is a poorly aligned body, as

the hips and the rest of the upper body

move out of alignment. Various sug-

gestions, such as think you are ski-

ing downhill, cause them to bend

their knees and balance their body as

it should be.

My personal findings show me that

in relearning a breath management

discipline,

appog

gio

my voice gained

in flexibility, in a higher dyn am ic level,

and in the ability to sustain the voice

in the upper registers. Overall fewer

problems were encountered than in

my earlier singing da

y

s when I fol-

lowed a different discipline. My grat-

itude for being redirected to this

pedagoic school is never ending. At

age seventy, it is great to be among

those able to perform rather than sit-

ting back reflecting on past singing

events.

NOT S

I. I. A.

Kapandji,

The Physiology oft/u

Joints

(Edinburgh and London: C hurchill

and Livingstone

1974) .

2.

William 11. Perkins and Raymond D.

Kent,

Functional Anatomy o Speech,

Language, and Hearing

(Boston: Allyn

and Bacon,

1986) , 32 .

3.

Arolyn Richardson, Gwendolyn

Juli

M urphy , et a l ., T herapeut ic Exercises

for S pinal S egmen tal S tabi lization in

Low Back Pain

(Edinburgh: Churchil l

and Livingstone, 1999) .

4. Ibid.

5.

Ibid.

6.

Ibid.

7. Perkins and Kent

5 2

M arvin K cenz e, bari tone, i s Professor o

V oice and Pedagogy at the W estminster

Choir College of R ider Univ ersity where he

has taught s ince 1 97 6.

He

has also served

on the faculty of the University

o Delaware

and taught voic e at S w arthmore Co llege

and Boston University s Tanglewood Insti-

tute He is the founder and codirector

o

t h e

W estminster Voice R esource Center and

Coordinator

o

the annual Master Teach-

ers and S inging W eek. He is C oordinator

of International A ctivities fOr N A TS and an

advisor to the International Congress

o

V oice Teachers. He has presented classes

for numerous N A TS convent ions and w ork-

shops and was a facul ty m ember Jbr the

19 99 N A TS Intern Proqrarn. He w as chair-

man o

the sec ond international conf erence

(JCV T) in 199 1 and of the NA TS Phi ladel-

phia national convention in 2000. As a

teacher; singer, conductor, pianist, and a4ju-

7

OURNAL OFSINGING


7/7

Voice edagogy

the Bayreuth Festival, the Lucerne Festi- most challenging was his tour ofA ustralia

val, Berlin Festwoche, Glyndebourne Opera and New Zealand with the Fires

of

Lon-

dica tor. he has visited forty-seven countries

around the world. He has adjudicated Met-

ropolitan Opera auditions for the district

and regional auditions. Australian Opera

competitions, Nova Scotia Kiwanis Festi-

val, Dunedin, N.Z. Voice Competitions,

National Opera Association competition,

and NATS state, regional, and national

artist awards (NATSAA). In 1998 he was

the recipient of the V oice Foundation/NA TS

V an Lawrence A wa rdfbr his work in voice

pedagogy and teaching, and in 1995 he

received the Westminster Choir College

Alumni Merit Award, Heisa member

of the

A merican A cademy of T eachers of Singing,

the European Voice Teachers Association,

the New Y ork Singing Teachers Associa-

tion, the National Opera Association, the

Australia National Association of

Teach-

ers of Singing. the Association Francaise

des Professeurs de Chant, and the Sloven-

ian Association

of Singing Teachers. He

can he heard on the recently released CD,

The Art Songs of Stefan Hayden

ayden Young.

In addition to his teaching at Westminster/

Rider University, he maintains a private

voice studio in Philadelphia where he lives

with his w ife, Kaij.

Donald Bell s debut at the Wigmore flail

received acclaim fro?n the London Times,

the

Telegraph, the Observer, and the Man-

chester Guardian, thereby securing an

international singing career. His operatic

debut followed this event under the patron-

age of W ieland Wagner at Bayreuth where

he sang the Night Watchman in

Die Meis-

tersinger von Nurnberg.

Bell s career took him through twenty-three

countries, appearing in many major cities

with their leading orchestras: London, Paris,

New Y ork, M ilan, Rome, etc. He petformed

with Thomas Beecham. Malcolm Sargent,

Otto Klemperer, Benjamin Britten, Peter

Maxwell Davies, Michael Tippet, Bernard

Haitink Leonard Bernstein Loren Maazel

Bernard Hermann, and George SzeIl. He

also appeared in major frstivals such as

Festival, Tanglewood, and Saratoga

Bell s tours included North America, the

Soviet Union, Australia. and Italy, where

he premiered Britten s

War Requiem

under

the direction oJ the composer. He has also

broadcast for RIAS Berlin, the BBC, the

CBC, and appeared on American national

television in a broadcast of the opening of

Lincoln Center. In addition, herecordedfbr

Columbia, now Sony, a liederalbum; also

under the Sony label, Bach s St.

Matthew

Passion under Leonard Bernstein, and

Beethoven s 9th Symphony under Geoige

Szell;for HMV Brahms

Liebeslieder

Waltzes,

and for Dccca (London) Walton

Beishazzar s Feast

under the baton

of Si,

William himself.

Bell devoted the latter years

of

his career

to contemporary music Among one

of the

don, performing Peter Maxwell Davies s

Eight

Songs

for a Mad King

He now

teaches voice at the University of Calgary,

performsona regular basis, and directs the

school s C elebrity S eries.

ARTSONG

INNOVATIONS

make your

Recital

eview

abaret

unique with

New Horizons in Original Song

www artsongiflflOvatiOflS COm

Voice and the A lexander Technique

Act ive explorat ions for speaking and s inging

b y J a n e

uby

H e i r i c h ;

i l l u s t ra t i o n s b y J a y e S c h l e s i n g e r

In this book, designed for teachers

o r s i n g e r s ac t o r s s p e a k e r s .

and students of the speaking and

lex ander students and

singing voice, the connection between

h e i r t e a c h e r s t h i s i s a

the quality of one's voice and one 's

o o k f o r w h i c h w e h a v e

overall coordination is made clear. This

een waiting-written by a

book is the culmination of decades of

eacher with long and deep

work integrating the bel canto singing

x p e r i e n c e h e l p i n g o t h e r s

tradition and the Alexander T echnique.

he comf ort and

Filled with extensive exercises and

illustrations, and accompanied by an

u a l i t y o f t h e i r v o i c e s .

P e a r l S h i n n W o r m h o u d t

instructional CL) to help you, this is a book

o n o r a ry L if e M e m b e r N A T S

that addresses some common problem

areas of the voice-teaching world: breath

management, voice projection, resonance buikling. breaks in the vocal

range, and the relevance of overall poise to vocal output.

Voice and the lexander Technique (ISBN 09644352-5-x) is available

directly from the publisher for $40 plus $2.00 shipping

in the U.S. and can be ordered through our website

(www.mtpress.com ) or by calling 510-4 86-13 17. It can

also be ordered through Amazon or your local bookstore

for $49.95.

M A R C H / A P R . 2 0 0 5

77

Documents

diferencias hombre y mujer breathing.PDF