Before the holidays, I attended the Mozart opera, “Entfürung aus dem Serail” here in Basel. Aside from the wonderful music and singing, what really interested me was that the performers had to sing their arias in all kinds of strange positions. The lead tenor sang his opening aria in a sleeping bag, rolling around the stage. Some arias were sung while slouching on a couch, holding a beer can in one hand. At one point, the 2nd tenor was singing on his back and while holding a long note, he rose up to sit by lifting his head and legs from the floor like a Pilates or Yoga move. All the while, his tone was steady and full.
Some singers have told me that this is a trend in the opera world that is not good because the singers have to do more and more. This may be true and I don’t want to argue for or against this idea but I was fascinated that the singers could fill the concert hall with their voices while singing in these strange and difficult positions. Or to be more concise, I wondered what makes this possible? How many of us as music teachers see and hear that when our students don’t have the proper posture, their breath support suffers? So if a soprano can sing a Mozart aria while slumping on the couch, why can’t our students play/sing well while slumping in a chair?
My answer to this is that good posture, which I call “Dynamic Stability,” is not necessarily dependent on body position, but rather on the ability to adapt to and work within a given position. The same holds true for good breath support, which I call “Dynamic Breath.” What enabled these singers to sing well in these different positions was their ability to find “Dynamic Stability and Breath” in whatever position they were singing. From my book, “Dynamic Stability and Breath, Volume 1,” I take a quote from the introduction:
How do you define “good posture?”
A tricky question: “Good posture” is often associated with admonishments like “sit up straight” or “don’t slouch while you’re playing.” This kind of well meant advice is rarely helpful over the long term; because such advice does not help the person to whom it’s addressed find a way to be more comfortably upright. For others, “good posture” may mean holding one’s self up or being rigid and stiff, which is certainly not beneficial in learning to breathe more easily and effectively.
I would like to propose an alternative to the term “good posture.” When sitting or standing feels comfortable and breathing feels free and easy, we can say we have “Dynamic Stability.”
Dynamic Stability means being stable and comfortable in an upright (change this to “any”) position and having the freedom to move in all directions as well.
There is more to be said on this topic, which I’ll do in a future blog. For now I’ll leave you with the idea that if we and/or our students are not comfortable sitting or standing, then we and/or they can not have “Dynamic Stability,” no matter how good the posture seems to be.
Be sure to check out the DMS podcasts, Feldenkrais mini lessons for musicians and speakers.
If you have any specific questions or comments on breathing and posture, send me e-mail and I’ll try to respond in a future blog. Until then, breathe well!
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