Born Free - Vocally Yours Within the Structure

Diana Yampolsky

In previous columns, I have talked about the importance of correct vocal technique with regards to both performance and the health of your voice. In this article I would like to talk about a problem that I think is a danger to anyone who is taking part in any of the creative arts: an over-emphasis on the technical aspects. Before I continue, I must stress that I am not downplaying the importance of proper technique; it is the basis of any good vocal performance and is absolutely mandatory for anyone who wants to maintain a healthy and fully functioning voice. The world is full of singers who lack the technique to give even a moderately good performance, much less a truly great one. That said, I have also heard (too) many performers that were technically perfect but also sounded stiff, uninspired and boring. As any of my students can attest to, balance is a word that comes up again and again over the course of my instruction. To be a great singer you must find the perfect balance between the technical aspects and the creative aspects of singing.

In addition to my love of music, I am also a huge fan of figure skating and would like to use a personal observation I made while watching that graceful sport to illustrate what I am trying to say here. One evening, I was watching a figure skating competition when the commentator announced that the next skater would be Tara Lipinski. I am an admirer of her skating and was immediately excited at the prospect of seeing her perform. As I watched her performance I was impressed with her skill, yet at the same time puzzled by what I was seeing. At first I could not understand why I was somewhat disappointed with her performance. After all, she had performed some extremely difficult jumps flawlessly and had definitely not fallen or faltered in any way. As I analyzed more deeply what I had just seen it occurred to me that Tara was now skating differently than when she had first burst on to the International stage. Her performances had become stiff and over-studied. She was technically perfect, but it appeared that the original spark and energy that her earlier performances had was gone. Where she once “flew”, she now appeared to be shackled by all of the technique that her coaches had taught her. I still enjoy watching her skate but her performances now seem to lack the “magical” quality they used to have. I could almost see the shadows of her coach and choreographer in her every movement.

I believe the same problem often exists in vocal instruction: technique is stressed to the point that all creativity and improvisation is wiped out from the vocalist. (This is something that I always make sure doesn’t happen with my own students.)  This results in stilted performances that are pitch perfect yet flat sounding, and students that no longer derive any joy or a sense of self-expression from singing. The methodology I employ when teaching my students is a two-stage process that includes what I call structure/structure followed by structure/freedom. When I start teaching a student, I emphasize technique completely. This is essentially an introduction to, and constant reinforcement, of the mechanics of vocal production and is called the structure/structure stage. Once a student has mastered this stage, they are ready to graduate to the next stage, which I call structure/freedom. At this stage I encourage the student to fully explore their voice and their creativity. The fact that they have mastered the technical side of singing at the structure/structure stage allows them to explore their voice without the risks of damaging it or singing off key, etc. At its most basic, the movement from the structure/structure stage to the structure/freedom stage is the process of moving from being a technically sound singer to a complete performer.

When you were young you were taught your ABC’s and learned how to write a grammatically correct sentence, but this most likely did not make you a William Shakespeare or a Margaret Atwood. The same is true when it comes to singing. Proper technique will ensure that you are in tune and that your projection is good, but it will not automatically make you a SINGER in the class of Luciano Pavarotti or Celine Dion. Instead, a basic grounding in good technique will provide you with a launch pad to explore your own individual voice and creative impulses.

When I listen to a singer I want to hear beautiful singing not perfect technique. I want the singer to have correct technique but I do not want to consciously be aware of it. A singer must have the proper technical elements in place – support, placement, projection, etc. - but they should be invisible to the audience. Students need to master technique to the point that they can run the technical aspects of singing on automatic pilot, i.e. not have to consciously think about them. Then they can devote their complete mental capacity to more creative elements such as improvisation, nuance and putting real emotion into what they are singing.

A term that I like to use with my students is one that should be familiar to those of you that read music: Rubato. This is a term from Tempo terminology that composers use when they want to denote that a piece of music should be sung in a creative style. It literally means to “rob” the time values by holding back or speeding up at will to colour a phrase; to sing in a flexible, expressive style. I like to tell my students to sing with more “rubato” when I sense that their performances are beginning to sound overtly technical.

Needless to say, the need to find a balance in your singing between the technical side and the creative elements. Both are equally important and are essential to becoming a truly great singer. I go into more detail on this subject and others in my book, Vocal Science: Flight to the Universe. Until then, make sure to add some rubato to your performances and remember that singing is a creative art form.