| home | biography | performance | teaching | articles |contact |

On
planning
a
practice
regime
|
On
singing
recitative
|
Voce
Finta
|
The
Myth
of
On Choosing a Singing Teacher | The Trill | Coup de la Glotte

What
The
Forward

is
technique?
Passagio
|
Placement
|

Good
The
What

postureStable
is
a

Why?

|
Larynx
Heldentenor?

<<Return to main articles page

Good Posture- Why?

The 19th. century treatises all set great store on a good posture for singers:-

Nava
Lamperti
Lablache
Viardot Garcia
Manuel Garcia

The noble attitude

The position of a soldier
Inflating and swelling the chest to the limit, making sure to compress the abdomen'
Holding (the body) erect, a little arched backwards, the head slightly elevated, the
eyes looking straight forward, the feet placed somewhat in the second position
the weight on the backward foot.
The head (should) be erect, the shoulders thrown backward without stiffness, and the
chest expanded first at its base.

All paint a vivid picture of an upright athletic figure poised for action. Why?.because it looks good? No!..because standing
thus starts the physical processes for singing well; and maintaining such a posture enables the voice to be supported and the
breath to be controlled.
If the upper chest is elevated this automatically frees the lower ribs, enabling maximum freedom and outward movement
when inhaling. The drawing in of the lower abdomen and loins creates a firm support for the floor of the lung cavity the
diaphragm, as well as a muscular column for the upper chest to rest on.
All the muscles concerned with the action of exhaling are now in an unimpeded position. If the erect high upper chest attitude
is maintained as long as possible during the action of singing an unexpected benefit occurs: The muscles of inhaling are not
allowed to cease to function during exhaling but act as natural antagonists to the muscles of breathing out. This creates the
vocal struggle (lotta vocale) of the 19th. century theorists the appoggio of the breath of the Italian school. The outgoing
compressed breath is resisted by the inbreathing musculature and a controlled stream of breath at the larynx is possible. In
the Italian tradition the breath is leant (appoggiato) against the front wall of the chest in an upward direction, but not vertically
upwards against the larynx.
The benefits that naturally flow from the noble posture make one wonder why other methods of breathing are ever
entertained. In any case, no other method engenders such an easy and natural control and has the added advantage of
making the performer look good!
2003, Neil Howlett

Site designed by Select Performers

Hosted on Vocal Web Sites - The site for Professional Solo Singers
2003 - 2006 Select Performers