3. 1 Preparation for Musicality of Movement for Singers
For my research on the integration of MoM exercises in voice education, I decided to explore different settings—varying from weekly lessons during a whole school year to six bi-weekly workshops and one- or three-day long workshops—and groups of exercises that target certain physical aspects I thought suitable for integration into vocal practice. The general build-up of the sessions corresponds with building blocks of Musicality of Movement classes designed for all musicians and described in chapter 2.
In this artistic research exposition, I will specifically focus on three groups of exercises that I explored during the workshops and lessons I gave to multiple groups of voice students, working on the following aspects:
The choice of these specific groups of exercises was determined by the elements I already was using in my main-subject lesson at Codarts and even, over the years, activating my own body when practicing myself. Spinal flexibility, long-line in the body and hands-and-feet (extremities), are easily accessible and put into action. The exercises I used are from the Musicality of Movement approach; many of those are inspired by mime corporel. The twist I add to them is that I specifically asked students to use these three groups of exercises while warming up the voice. The attention to phonation is mine and adds another layer to the exercises. The intended effect is a freer and more natural onset of the voice. The preparation for phonation/singing often gets hindered or even obstructed by the separation between inbreath and onset. Stopping at the end of the preparational inbreath before starting to sing can create unnecessary tension in and on the larynx. The exercises I chose can make the transition from inbreath to phonation smoother by keeping the body flexible and gently toned.
The inbreath as preparation of a physical movement sequence, which can be compared to the preparation of a musical phrase, includes the energy and direction needed for the whole phrase, and is like the preparation of musical lines. Inhalation or inspiration carries the impulse and desire to act. The impulse comes from the will to express, through movement, speech, singing or instrumental playing. Jacques-Dalcroze, an innovator of music education in the early twentieth century, states that this way of preparing a phrase is an essential part of vocal technique and therefore needs to be integrated into vocal, and all other music education. (Caldwell 1995)
The MoM approach explores the effect of different intensities of breath and the emotional effect this can have on abstract gestures and movements. This means that movements may be different for different performers, even if the breathing has similar impulse of intensity and tonicity. When working with singers, it has shown be worthwhile to invite them, after some introductory exercises, to replace the simple exhalation with vowel shaped (colored) exhalations, humming or glissandi. This will make the step to ‘real singing’ smaller as phonation is already part of the movement, and it can trigger vocal imagination thus opening new worlds of possible voice use. MoM allows for individual variations and exploration of the breath in each individual body. These individual experiences can be the result of rhythmic group exercises, thus creating a musical experience through rhythm of breath, timing, and effort of movement, and direction in space.
Exercises of the spine help the students to become aware of any obstructions in the spinal colon. The exercises consist of different series of rounding and stretching the spine from the pelvis up. The spinal flexibility can be initiated by the head (progressive movement, from the periphery inward) or by the pelvis (degressive movement). Cat and dog (compare cat/cow in yoga), double zéro, the zipper, the fisherman's net, and contraction exercises, all use conscious tilting or rounding of the pelvis and stacking of the vertebrae. The combined movement and breathing cause a clearer sense of flow in the in- and exhalation. Especially the frog, an exercise in which in the initial position the spine is in a contraction (pelvis tucked under, tailbone towards the front), the legs are bent, the arms bent, the wrists up, fingers relaxed and pointing down, and the position of head and neck is drooping and forward, proved itself effective during singing lessons; the student finds the described position on the outbreath, then pushes herself up, starting with an impulse from the wrists, lengthening the spine, stretching up, and allows the air to flow in along the spine and starts to sing immediately. This frees the inbreath and avoids over-breathing.
The Eiffel tower and Bascule series (De Haas 2022) create a sense of balance and direction in the body. The line from the legs up through the body must always be straight, keeping the corps composé, (De Haas 2022) thus the performer becomes aware of the muscle tone needed to move as one from the feet to the crown of the head and beyond, sensing the direction of the line. Like in most other exercises, breathing guides the phrasing of the movement. In general, we can state that movements that stretch or lengthen the body are executed on the inbreath. So, we prepare the series with closed legs, feet in first position, moving the whole body—with the feet ‘glued’ to the floor—as diagonally as we can without losing the corps composé, swaying gently from side to side. This creates a sense of strength and direction which sets the (muscle) tone for the following Tour Eiffel exercises.
Because many singers unconsciously tend to do things with their hands and arms while singing, I thought it would be useful to explore how to deal with these habitual movements. MoM also provides exercises for hands and feet, arms, and legs. Already during the general warming up we often use the bird’s nest, shaping a nest with our hands and letting the little bird escape on a short, surprised breath impulse. On this impulse we open our hands, changing the shape from the round nest shape to a flower-like shape, spreading the fingers wide, opening the hands without changing the distance between them and following the imaginary bird with our head as it flies up. Other exercises to work with when aiming towards increased awareness of the hands are the dough and the jellyfish. In the dough we hold an imaginary dough between our hands and knead it. We can vary the effort needed (changing energy and muscle tone in the hands), the size, the speed. There can also be a build-up in ‘theatricality.’ Starting with a naturalistic way of kneading and moving gradually to an exaggerated extremely large and elastic piece of dough. For the kneading of the huge dough the whole body will engage in the effort. The more power is needed, the more engagement in the entire body. As in all exercises, conscious breathing accompanies the movements.
3. 1. 4. Integration MoM exercises in vocal warm-up
As stated earlier in this exposition, I would like to offer my students ways to embody their vocal production as much as possible. When embarking on this journey I assumed that working with the above-mentioned groups of exercises would enhance their physical awareness and would allow them to reduce their habitual tensions. I only needed to find an entrance to make them actively use the exercises on their own.
In the lessons and workshops, after having warmed up, I started introducing one of the groups of exercises as part of the whole workshop. First working on them without using the voice, simply exploring the movement series until it becomes easy. Then I would continue the lesson working on other aspects (partner exercises, echo games) and towards the end of the session I came back to the exercise group and asked the students to sing while moving through the exercise. As ‘homework’ I asked them to use these movements in their vocal warm-up and reflect on the outcome in the next lesson.
As attendance was less regular than hoped for, the results of this cycle of exploration, feedback, and refinement were positive though undefined. To get clearer answers I made a questionnaire for the participants to fill in after the last of six sessions. The results of the questionnaire can be found in chapter 5.
3. 2 Challenges/self-reflection
During this research, I noticed my tendency to go too fast, assuming young singers are physically fit and flexible. They might be well trained and strong, but that does not necessarily mean that they are aware of what is going on inside their bodies, be it while singing or any other movement. I need to consider that my body is well trained and physically aware after many years-long explorations of the connection between movement, breath, voice, and body. It generally takes time for the thinking-brain to stop controlling the movements, to let go, and allow the body to freely react according to its impulses. The more workshops and lessons with the MoM approach I attended and gave, the clearer I saw that it worked better to give participants plenty of time to get into the flow of the exercise and not to be in a hurry, trying to cover as much of the prepared lesson as possible. The teacher needs to be flexible and not just proceed with the plan she made; adapting along the way and improvising with what the group offers makes it more enjoyable for both students and teacher. For the teacher this requires experience, self-confidence, and trust.