(a spin-off from Angela's thread on vocal exercises for men)

“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread” (Alexander Pope). Having completed my master's studies in vocal pedagogy, I find that in choral rehearsals I talk about vocal technique with much less frequency than my colleagues with little or no training in vocal instruction. In the vocal studio, however, I find I spend a great deal of time with my students undoing the problems that have been caused by misinformation acquired while they were singing in vocal ensembles. I have on several occasions presented a workshop called “Vocal Myths Demythdified (or Anyone Can Hum, You Just Put Your Lips Together And Phonate)” dealing with some of the more egregious examples.

As choral directors, our motto should be “First do no harm.” Beyond that, when addressing issues of vocal technique, I avoid whenever possible (and it's usually possible) telling anyone that they “should do” or “should feel” anything. There are other ways to encourage good vocal technique without talking about its specific mechanics. I would be very cautious using any technical advice I got online, or from a book, since matters of mechanics are so open to interpretation.

My suggestions below are not for technique, but for rehearsal methods that encourage good technique. As an analogy, consider the heart (an involuntary muscle). We cannot tell the heart “beat faster.” If we want it to beat faster, we can do ten jumping jacks. If we want it to beat slower, we can take long, slow breaths. Much of vocal technique can be encouraged in the same way. If nothing else, the distinction between method and technique is what I hope some directors can take from this.

On the subject of so-called vocal warm-ups, you may find that after a day of speaking, some light humming, or doing yawn-sighs from the highest to lowest notes and back, that there is no need to “warm-up” the voice in the way that an athlete must warm-up the muscles before engaging in stretches. The purpose of every vocal exercise beyond that should be mastery of some aspect of vocal technique. There is no pattern of notes or vowels that will magically teach you how to singer better. If you do not know why you are doing a certain exercise (and “expanding the range” is not a real answer, as one could ask "how does this exercise expand the range?") then you are wasting valuable rehearsal time, and perhaps doing more harm than good (see number 4 below).

A few examples, in response to questions in the "Vocal exercises for men" thread:

1. No singer ever “ran out of breath” in the middle of a phrase, at least not while maintaining consciousness. There is always air in the lungs. When a singer feels like they have run out of steam, what has happened is that their vocal coordination (which is not unlike a spinning gyroscope) has somehow gone off-kilter. When we stand with proper posture and feel relaxed, it is not complete relaxation of the muscles but the coordination of opposing muscle groups that keep us upright, and not a flaccid heap on the floor. Likewise, ease of vocal technique (breathing being one aspect) is the result of coordination of the necessary muscles.

To demonstrate this, I will ask singers to hiss inaudibly on “ss” or “ff” while I sing (or play) the troublesome vocal line. When I've finished the phrase, singers will find they still have plenty of breath, showing that when they were singing the same line they were perhaps not using efficient (I like this word better than “supported”) breath management (I like this better than “control”). You may then repeat the exercise by having them sustain (I like this word better than "hold") a “zz” or “vv” sound on one pitch while you sing or play the phrase. Finally, have them sing the troublesome phrase, being just as efficient.

2. Avoid playing vocal lines on the piano. This is a sure way to get a percussive, disconnected sound and does little to assist in learning notes. It is far more useful to demonstrate with the voice (or a recorder, or even a string instrument). If absolutely necessary, use an organ (an electronic one will do) to play along with singers. Restrict the use of the piano to simple chordal accompaniments only when needed. As a last resort, play along with singers an octave above and an octave below their vocal line.

3. For vocal exercises, begin with patterns that move downward (eg., s-f-m-r-d) beginning in the upper part of the comfortable middle range. If desired, move the exercise down by half-steps. (For singers with limited aural skills, transposing exercises might not be as helpful as working within one hexachord or mode for several different exercises). Use a downward pattern (eg., l-f-r) when you begin moving back into the upper range, again a half-step at a time. Only then would I suggest attempting exercises that use a pattern that moves up. This will help bring the pleasant vocal quality of the upper midrange downward, and avoid carrying unnecessary heft from the low range into the upper.

4. Create your own exercises that mimic the desired vocal technique. For instance, imagine a trouble spot where the vocal line leaps up several steps on a single vowel, and you want singers to create more space for the upper note. Instead of saying “you should make more space for the upper note,” try having singers sing [u] (“ooh”) on the lower note and [a] (“ah”) or [o] (“oh”) on the upper. This will require them to make the necessary adjustment without telling them what they “should” do. You can start this pattern at a lower pitch than required in the piece of music and gradually raise it until you are slightly higher than required in the piece. After the first few times through the exercise you've just created (to make sure they've learned the pattern), and when they are making the sound you desire, ask singers to pay attention to what it feels like to them (it might be different for each person). Repeat the exercise using the vowel in question, asking singers if they can have the same feeling. Then carry this over into the actual example in the music.

These are just a few examples of methods that can be used to encourage good technique without telling singers that they "should do" or "should feel" anything specific when singing properly.