I’m not technical when it comes to singing and use lots of visual imagery in my teaching.
But does it help or can it be confusing?
I came across a great satirical article the other day: Singing Teacher Uses Another, Even Better Analogy. It was pointing out that some of the analogies used by singing teachers can, on the face of it, seem ridiculous.
“The sound doesn’t come out of your mouth, you send it there. As you climb the beanstalk you must be planting more seeds, otherwise you won’t escape. Pull on the thread and let the knitwear reveal itself.”
Analogies and visual imagery can help singers understand technical concepts in a more direct and embodied way. Singers can get bogged down in technical descriptions of the vocal apparatus, and many amateur singers simply don’t have the self-awareness to understand some of the explanations.
However, a simple visual analogy can be easily understood and acted upon.
If I ask you to bend your little finger, you can do it easily.
If I ask you to close your false vocal folds, and leave your true folds open, what will you do?
Metaphors are often used to describe the vocal tract because it's not designed in a way where you can control like any other part of your body.
The bottom line is:
- some people like metaphors and find them helpful
- some people prefer demonstration
- some people need encouragement more than technical rundowns
- some people like simple descriptions of muscular activity
and most people benefit from a little bit of everything.
How about you?
Chris Rowbury
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