Gesangsunterricht Berlin

'Studio fuer Gesang Berlin'

History

The Swedish-Italian tradition

Belcanto

Belting

The legato line

Auditions

Coaching

History

In 1995 I founded the 'Studio fuer Gesang Berlin' to establish a suitable, safe space to learn in which singers can try out their voices and exchange experiences.

My field of work now includes singing lessons for professional singers, for semiprofessionals, students of singing, actors and performers in musicals, coaching for professionals, voice seminars in all of Germany and open classes at regular intervals in Berlin, which is a forum to train the situation of singing in front of an audience.

In the early years my main focus of work was both in private lessons and in the seminars on vocal performance and education, namely the exploration of the singers' own vocal means. In more recent times I have done more vocal coaching: singers and actors work in a highly competitive market and are constantly confronted with multi-disciplinary requirements that demand specific training.

During this period my work has become more and more centered upon training singers for auditions and the multifarious aspects to meet these requirements:

Is there a professional voice standard, and if so, what are its features and how do I reach them?

Which resources enable the listeners to recognize the skills of the singers in their uniqueness during the audition?

My experience through my teaching of singing at a drama school drew my focus more and more to finding and defining acting roles and their connections to the personality of the singer. What is the deepest inner impulse to face this competition?

My work has been strongly shaped by the encounter with David L. Jones: it was very important for my teaching to become a learner again, to feel this new mood and internalize what a practicing coach must never forget: the insight that a voice teacher's work includes life-long learning, a constant questioning and review of his own work and skills, a moving forward.

The revival of a grand old tradition which created wonderful singers, the Swedish-Italian technique, combined with modern holistic body work, an actor's role awareness, and teaching self-management (Learning how to learn) are now the cornerstones of my work that I want to share with interested lay people, students of singing, drama students, professionals, voice teacher and voice therapists.

The history of the Swedish-Italian school

In the spring of 2003 I was lucky to meet David L. Jones from New York. He is an internationally renowned master teacher of voice. I had read his articles on the internet and asked him if he would also be giving seminars in Germany, and it so happened that one was even scheduled in Berlin. It was fully booked of course and I prepared to just sit in on it, but as someone cancelled at short notice our collaboration began.

David Jones is the last student of Alan Lindquest who brought the Swedish-Italian school, as we call it today, to America and thus saved it from extinction. Via David Jones it was returned to Europe and can now revive a tradition that was interrupted by the Second World War.

The Swedish-Italian school dates back to Dr Gillis Bratt and is associated with singers like Jussi Bjoerling, Kirsten Flagstad, Set Svanholm and Karin Branzell today.

Gillis Bratt was a baritone at the Stockholm Opera House, an otolaryngologist, a singing teacher and had also studied psychology with Sigmund Freud. Bratt himself had been a student of Manuel Garcia II as well as Giovanni Battista Lamperti and was Kirsten Flagstad's teacher.

Alan Lindquest studied with two authorized teachers of this singing school in 1938/39, with Mrs Ingebjart-Isene, who taught Kirsten Flagstad after Bratt's death, and with Joseph Hislop, the last teacher of Jussi Bjoerling. Being taught by the same teacher, Bjoerling and Lindquest had a lively exchange about vocal problems and perceptions.

The foundations of the old Italian school were taught here:

The vowel 'u' as the basic vowel to open the throat.

'Inalare la voce' with the perfect connection to the back muscles (the singer sings with his back)

The passaggio and coperto to provide acess to and protect the upper range.

And all this in connection with a soft-spoken Scandinavian language.

David Jones's work made the heroic tenor fach acessible to me and changed my own work fundamentally. I find myself obliged to enter into this tradition with gratitude.

More information about David Jones and the Swedish-Italian school at: www.voiceteacher.com

Belcanto

"The rules of study that we apply to our vocal development are not imposed upon us; on the contrary, they are formed from centuries of observation of the natural behaviour of those parts

of the body that are used in singing."

Jussi Bjoerling 1940

I have been teaching singing since 1989 and have dealt with the tradition of belcanto in detail.

But my own experiences and approaches in my own voice training were more ambivalent. Belcanto was something that belonged to old days, something that was "no longer done" and indeed it often had a dubious reputation of damaging the voice because it would harm 'the material' too much.

However, no one could really explain exactly what the characteristics of the belcanto technique were, at most some fragmentary stories circulated of very one-sided exercises which were considered as outdated. The term was always associated with a particular singing tradition and musical era, but never with technical features.

Certain results were always referred to as being 'belcanto', but the way how to achieve it was never described.

I remember a situation at the beginning of my studies, when the students of one academic session sang for each other in their theory class, and an Asian colleague, who had been trained in Italy for several years, sang an aria in a powerful voice. Our teacher nodded knowingly and said this was the old Italian belcanto technique. The rest of us students was impressed by the vocal power and had the feeling that we did something different when singing, since we did not sound like that, but what exactly the colleague did differently remained unanswered.

So I will try to take this opportunity to describe some of the criteria of the art of belcanto.

A tradition of observation spanning several generations

The characteristics of belcanto, as I understand it, were not invented at some point, but developed in a long meticulous observation of the physical processes involved in singing that lasted many generations. These observations were first of all connected to the Italian language, the southern spirit and the climate. These basic requirements must be remembered: the Italian vowels, for example, are much more often close vowels than the German equivalents which always tend to be spoken more broadly, with the result that the vocal cords are pulled apart.(This is caused by the thickened middle range, which is typical of German voices.)

Also, it is a fact that Southerners generally handle their abdominals better.

The use of vowels will be important in the treatment of the passaggio and coperto, dealing with the very private muscles of the abdomen which are crucial for breath control and thus for phrasing.

Characteristics of vocal training

In my work with people who are representatives of the old Italian technique, I could always find that during training the vocal sound of a German voice would develop into something else - or rather, I learned to distinguish for the first time that there is indeed a typical German sound and a typical Italian one, which was related to technique, not only to national character.

If we want to describe some characteristics:

The 'ng'-tongue-position

The first technical feature is the position of the tongue: the old Italian teaching has always been the 'ng'-position of the tongue (as in 'sing' or in Italian 'che'), i.e the middle edges of the tongue touching the upper molars and the tongue therefore describing a slight curve with the tip of the tongue resting on the lower incisors. Through modern scientific research it becomes clear why this was taught all along:

a camera can now show that keeping the tongue flat causes a narrowing of the throat area by the back of the tongue which almost leads to closure since the back space is too narrow then.

Particularly German singers have to get used to this tongue position, because it gives the vowels a much closer, darker quality.

Unfortunately, we are still often taught the flat tongue position, probably because of the belief that in a big mouth area a big sound is produced. But we know now that a great sound is created behind the tongue in the open throat, and the camera studies have confirmed this.

The 'u' as the basic vowel

The 'u' is the basic vowel of voice training, because it opens the throat if it is made properly, with the tongue in the 'ng' position. Also, one must imagine the 'u' being behind all the other vowels, both as a sound, and in the general position of the mouth, which therefore always has to be an oval.

Again, for German voices with their penchant for broad tension while speaking attention is needed here, because the habit of vocal education of the mother language is so powerful.

Coperto

The Italian school does not know the term 'covering', however, the word derives from the term 'coperto': this word is obsolete in Italian and can be translated as 'covered'

The German singing techinque has made it a muscular influence of the pitch, but only an acoustic

alteration has ever been meant.

A Coperto exercise intends to bring the vocal cords together at a high range, and not to break them apart by the rise in breath pressure. One is then able to establish a thin edge function, which still retains a connection to the full voice, i.e., especially male voices must not go into falsetto, but start a very closed 'u' sound, which can be sent down in a musical scale to the lowest chest function.

This type of exercise supports the absolute high notes, because thus the vocal cords are embedded in air and not harassed by it.

Passaggio

This is a term that I have never been taught clearly in my own training, but which I think has the most important function today - particularly for the male voice - as it decides the control over the design of the true high range.

It is spoken of the 'break' around E'/F' in the German technique (for men, for women an octave higher).

When I hear this break in one voice I have only ignored the laws of the passaggio that start earlier (Bflat,B,C). In the passaggio (Bflat-E' approximately) the largest change takes place in the nature of the vibration of the vocal cords. In this area, the inner muscles of the cords switch from the heavy full wave oscillation to a lighter one - for higher notes faster oscillations are required, and so the mass is reduced.

Since men have a larger larynx than women, they have to move five times as much muscle mass, and the switching of the modes of vibration is a lot more serious for them.

A well-trained ear can hear this change, a streamlining of the core, very easily.

Inalare la voce

This means 'to breathe in the voice' literally, we also know the term 'drink the voice'. Both describe a concept which allows me to keep away air from the vocal cords by letting a tendency of inhaling enter the function of exhaling. The image of 'drinking' the voice rather than sending it out is very helpful and allows for a specific sound.

Among others, these aspects have become important linchpins in my studio work, because experience shows that with them the voice can be put on an absolutely secure technical base, which will remain reliable and available in all stress situations (audition, entrance examination, etc.).

Any candidate who is looking for a good singing teacher, and shows interest in the advert "teach belcanto technique", can ask to what extent the teacher in question uses these features:

'U' as the basic vowel to open the throat.

'Ng' position of the tongue which perfects this 'u', because the back throat area remains open.

Coperto - securing the true high range.

Passaggio as the most important switching point of the way to reach high range.

Inalare la voce - the basis for a balanced registration.

Belting

More and more singers who come to be taught in my studio are interested in belting, whether for personal or professional reasons.

Belting refers to a specific style of singing in musicals, jazz and pop music. Especially for an actor, whose work has become more musical in recent years, this issue is now indispensable.

Unfortunately, here in Germany there is still uncertainty about the approach to and technical description of belting and what it really is. Voice teachers are divided by disagreement about whether it is work in a different register, a completely different technique or just a special vocal talent.

My experience at work in my studio is that in recent times more and more professional singers have contacted me with the request: "I'm on stage with my stuff, but actually I do not know what exactly healthy belting means."

Can an intuitive approach be described, and what are its characteristics?

What is it not?

My long teaching practice makes it easier to say what it is definitely not:

Contrary to popular German opinion belting is never a raising of the chest voice.

Each shift and the disregard for the laws of the limits of the voice registers have a damaging effect and pose a threat to the resilience of the artistic instrument.

First and foremost belting is relevant for the female voice, since the male voices are still classically oriented in musicals, whereas a very different sound is required from women.

This is evident already in the tessitura of the singing parts in a musical: women's roles which require belting are significantly lower than corresponding parts written for classical music: so they need to sing in a range where the normal female voice does not have its highest impact. The domain of the female voice, however, is the middle register, and to achieve this specific sound it has become necessary to include much chest resonance in this vocal function. Hence, it is vital to make a clear distinction between register and resonance.

Belting as a musical style

Thus belting is a musical style that is primarily demanded of the female voice, it is a voice function in the middle range with a clear dominance of the chest voice and therefore without a shift in register. A true chest voice function should never be raised further than D', while a middle register with a distinct chest resonance up to D'' can be done without any problems. Being in command of the vocal instrument, the singer can rainse to E'' or F'' and even higher.

A healthy, robust technique is essential and in my experience, this can only be done with a classical foundation. Everything else is a stylistic issue: just like a trumpet player can rehearse in the symphony orchestra in the morning, he may play at the jazz club in the evening - the trumpet itself remains the same with its own laws.

The vocal apparatus is also subject to the laws of anatomy, acoustics, and of the muscles. A voice can only dare to do belting, when it has learned to keep the throat open unconditionally. Any manipulation of the tongue or throat muscles in order to produce a particular sound is counterproductive and will end in a merciless forcing of the voice.

Since one quickly subjects to these risks, because one only wants to see the result, this form of vocalization is more dangerous than the classical one. However, it is not unnatural in the sense of an art form drawn from the vocal function: belting is normal in healthy children's voices since it is placed in the middle range and not in the head voice.

Voice formation in the Italian tradition can thus regard as definitive because it is the healthiest way to prepare a voice for the demanding performances of a singer's profession. Also, the ideal sound of the belcanto - the dominance of the middle register - is the starting point from which the sound needed for musicals can be derived in healthy ways.

The classical training as a secure foundation

I urge my students not to avoid the classical sound while keeping p precise technique, because the changing of the registers and their blending (and exactly in this order) is the healthiest way to gain a reliable voice. One should not pretend a desired target at all costs, which the body cannot fulfill at all at this moment.

At this very point of the middle range's dominance the path between the style separate, because the sound typical of musicals cannot then lead to the pure head voice, as it is the case in the ideal classical music style. Of course, we also do well to listen to what our voice is saying, i.e. which anatomical laws it follows. A voice which very early on reaches the head register with ease is not as well suited for belting as the one that naturally uses a clear chest resonance in all ranges.

Next to this anatomical apitude belting thus is the mixing of registers and therefore primarily stylistic work.

Some functional things

The basis of the technique is the maxim: the changing of registers precedes the blending of registers. The changing of the register per se (i.e. jumping between two registers) is already a characteristic trait of the non-classical sound.

If we define register as a particular muscle vibration, which remains the same in a particular tonal range, it is obvious that these different types of vocal cord function must be trained in isolation and be strenghtened in their activities.

I do this by isolating the middle range and directing it down without any help from the chest voice. It does this whenever the female singer feels that the deep middle range approaches the 'break' of the women's voice (around C'-E') where the sound production is not adequately guaranteed.

This is because the first notes of a register are always weak, while the upper limit of the register always has the greatest tonal strength.

Since the musical lierature demand an intense sound exactly in this lower range, many singers use the chest voice, which is at its upper limit precisely at this point, and thus has the desired powerful

appeal.

However, this always means a shifting of the registers' limits with the effect of a breach in the upper chest voice into the weaker middle range becoming increasingly evident as it moves more and more upwards. In extrem cases, the chest voice is pulled up to B', but this means that it then helplessly falls apart and the voice switches into the head voice. The vocal cords avoid the high air pressure - i.e. the middle register is left out completely.

But the muscular function of the lower middle register can be easily strengthend, which then allows the singer to keep the register boundaries and produce a change of function without quality loss.

Another help to strengthen the muscular function is the combination of speech and calling voice because it is a fact that our calling voice represents the upper limit of the middle range. Clearly perceivable, however, is the difference between calling and screaming: the latter is characterized by a collapse of the connection between body and voice.

Generally, one can decribe the difference to classical vocalization with a different perception of the direction of sound development, which is physically very visible.

In the classical sound a north-south direction with a low position of the larynx is always aimed at, while the sound of musicals is rather the east-west direction achieved by a broader tension with a larynx that cannot fall so low. The result is a brighter voicing that is close to elevated speech but which has a stronger connection to the body.

All my female students trained in belting have thus passed auditions successfully and were trained on the basis of the classical Swedish-Italian singing technique. They have learned to include their back muscles unconditionally and are thus kept in a position to keep their throats open so that the whole body can confidently keep the middle range with a chest resonance.

When the requests for a voice in musicals must be met, this is a prerequisite for a singer who wants to keep her voice sound, reliable and constant.

The legato line

All singers agree that the mastery of legato is a prerequisite for successful creative work. The ability to sing long legato lines is therefore maybe on of the things that are characteristic of an international sound standard - because you can hear it from all renowned singers.

In spite of that, it is always difficult to describe the typical quality of this ability and therefore there is a danger of falling back on nebulous definitions, which hampers the teaching of such skills, especially its reliability.

There are many good singers who are just able to sing a legato line and do not have to think about it, and therefore they find it difficult to pass their knowledge on to students who do not possess 'it', because the teachers were never in the situation of having to explain it.

Here we enter the realm of conscious and unconscious competence.

Two levels: psychology and physicality

If we want to describe the process, we must take two different levels into consideration: first, pure physicality, which is responsible for the technical process, and second, the phsychological level, where the ability of the technical realization is situated: the power of imagination which can produce or 'weave' a sound, the ability of imagining a sound that is retroactive to the singer himself, but also to his audience.

A singer can only sing as well as he is able to imagine his tone beforehand: this is a force of imagination you could also call the 'singer's will', the will to sound.

Thomas Hampson has described the following beautiful picture which is very striking:

"The art of legato is the ability to resound the sound."

For me, this means that the singer's will needs to be able to continue producing sound from note to note and to let it grow with every note, i.e. to sing a legato line.

Whereas the sound describes something different than just the tone: the first word sung always resonates with the personal, distinctive peculiarity of a voice.

For the singer it is important that he does not think from note to note (the score suggests just that), but he must realize that this note has a note value reaching to the next new note in which this sound must develop. Thus the sound also takes place 'between' the notes. Otherwise holes in the sound emerge which want to be picked up with an emphasis on each single note - and this leads to the death of legato.

Overtones

There is a phenomenon that allows this sound line to continue which happens in the overtones of the voice. The Swedish-Italian school of singing speaks of the 'ring' in this context, which is an audible musical occurence in the harmonic spectrum coinciding with the tone that is really sung and physically felt for the singer, and which is responsible for the focus and the sustainability of the voice.

Again and again David Jones calls this "traveling on the ring" a quality of guiding the voice which leads to a legato line.

This particular sound unfolds between the notes and the singer must maintain the ring and not interfere with the sound itself. If I listen too closely to the sound, I risk trying to improve it at the same moment which inevitably results in 'dents' in the sound and carrying the voice unevenly. If my attention is on the ring, which can always be felt physically, this "resounding the sound" can take place.

Technique

To achieve a legato line technically, I need to work on three basic aspects: the tongue, the jaw, and the continuing flow of breath.

To establish the ring, I must take sure the tongue is in the 'ng' position, i.e. the tongue tip is on the lower incisors while the upper molars are touching the edges of the tongue.

I understand that the principle of the flat tongue is still often taught in Germany, but experience shows if the above mentioned place of the tongue is its home position, an open throat will be guaranteed. The old schools of singing have always thaught it this way.

The jaw is relaxed and in an back and down position - we now know that the vocal cords can approach each other best in this position. If the chin pushes forward, the vocal folds are pressed apart, the consequence of which is the interruption of the sound up to the breaking of the register.

Especially in the high range this pushing forward of the jaw happens all the time because the sound will turn inside the body and we can hear it better. Thus we sacrifice the legato line or even the blending of the registers to protect our hearing.

After these two rather 'mechanical' factors we need to adress the continuous air flow as the main feature of the sound stream.

A few images have proven useful to let the breath flow without pushing it:

exercises with the consonant 'w', which produces a feeling that the air swirls in the nose and is not pushed out of the mouth - this makes a sound like blowing on a comb with parchment paper. This sound can be led up to the highest range.

Scales are done downwards, beginning with a 'sigh through the nose'.

Handling the text

I always let my students use the melody in these exercises, so that they bring a sense of sound movement to the melody and integrate the text into this feeling.

The singer needs to know that in contrast to the Italian or Anglo-Saxon languages the German language requires the separation of a word ending and the beginning of a new word to understand the sense of what is said. There is a clear difference in the quality of the legato sound if the singer sings in German or English.

I often recommend singers to sing text passages in syllables without meaning or not to sing in their native language to try to transfer this guiding of the voice into German.

Effect on the listeners

If the singer is capable of guiding his sound in this way, this has a significant impact on the listeners: the audience is captured by a basically non-ending flow of 'sound' and can be emotionally affected by this force to a very great degree.

This is one of the secrets of the human voice which can move the hearer, even if I do not understand the text, or if actually none is used.

Auditions

"Can you remember an inspired moment in your life? Can you remember your feeling at that point and can you draw from that experience?"

(James Levine)

"You have to look so long at the impossible until it becomes an easy matter. A miracle is a matter of training."

(Albert Einstein)

Every singer nows the moment when we step out of the private rehearsal situation and must face the new public situation of an audition. Often there is a painful discrepancy between these two moments. Why is that?

I would like to describe some modes of practice that have emerged in my studio, because it has become increasingly clear that we must use many different disciplines to deal with this situation.

In order to optain positive results in an audition, an effective strategy is necessary. A strategy is a sucessful recipe. This is needed because the situation of presenting ourselves confronts us with our inner, hidden weakness and liabilities, which for a start have nothing to do with singing. If these factors have not been taken in consideration, they can gain an importance at this moment which might compromise the result.

Hence a strategy prepared in advance is effective,i.e., I have to be aware of my inner motivation which attends this audition.

I have to prove to nobody that I am a singer.

I do not need legitimacy from others.

Of course, exactly these factors are present in the subconscious, or rather, at that very moment I feel that they are factors superimposing on my motivation to sing.

How can I face this situation?

We are not talking about musical and technical preparation - which is a prerequisite, since there is no regard for the correct learning of an aria.

But how do I get myself into a state where I can use my rich resources, how do I get the energy level in this situation, at which the audience can see and hear the pleasure and the joy of singing?

More simply asked, what prevents me from gaining and making use of this state?

We all have a certain 'self-image' of ourselves which was shaped by our upbringing and environment factors. Strangly enough, throughout our coming of age we have accepted the idea that this 'image' of us matches our identity, and is therefore immutable.

This image the shapes our beliefs permanently.

We are no longer able to realize that this image corresponds to a mask given to us to wear, so that we function according to the rules of this society.

Since there is no other model - or we know none at this moment - we identify with this image, and whenever we feel there is a disagreement, we try to justify it and defend it, because it is our (apparent?) self-representation.

This means that our attention is divided.

If we are able to realize that this self-image is not our real identity, we can turn our attention and energy solely to our actions, and do not need this mental power to defend ourselves or hide embarressment.

High performance as a flow experience

High performance, as it is described by athletes and musicians, is a flow experience and referred to as a moment in which a person is completely preoccupied with the instant and not with himself. I reach this state focusing my full attention on my action taking place at this very moment in which there is no second issue or inner voice that checks and evaluates me.

However, I can find out what voice this is that passes judgement on me and distracts me from my attention to the creative act in this way.

Is it an inner voice, or does it come from the outside? (Teacher,father,mother, etc.)

Can I understand that, and can I also learn to show this voice its place?

Fear = Tightness

The situation of an audition confronts us all with an experience that we know from our school days and have therefore internalized as negative: we are judged for our actions.

The action is not important in itself, but the image that people have of us is considered judgmental. So we try to correspond to the image people have of us (or which we think they have!) instead of just doing what we want to do.

This difference in perception establishes a sense of fear in us that is destructive especially for the singer in an audition setup.

The term 'fear' comes from the Latin 'angus' and means 'narrowness'. We revert from the creative brain to the defense mechanisms of our reptilian brain, which is always accompanied by a muscle contraction and spells doom for the vocal flow. Fear is an emotional state too - and we want to act in those as well. I must just not allow it to take on greater significance.

Stella Adler said in her acting classes:

"You have to speak with your fear - tell it: I need you to survive in my life. I need to know what fear is, but you're not my spirit, you're not my heart. You're not my creativity, you are not my soul. You're just fear. Take your rightful place in my life, but do not take the helm. You're just fear."

Avoidance of emotions

This is about the classifying of emotions that we may not want to have, but which are there all the same. And if we want to avoid them, they occupy a place they do not deserve, because we focus a lot of energy on their rejection.

The old Zen masters already knew that problem:

"If you put the spirit in your right hand, your right hand will take it, and the body will lack its function...if you do not put it anywhere, it will spread throughout the body and penetrate it completely."

(Takuan Soho, 16th century, Letter of the Zen master to the master of sword fighting)

Practical examples

In advance, I imagine a situation in which I felt strong and successful.

The central question is: what was the very first thing I did or thought in this situation of acting successfully?

Was it something I saw, heard or felt?

With this question in mind I think the whole situation through: what was the next thing that happened?

In this way I will get the destinct impression that there are different motivational strategies, and I can find out which one I can work with most successfully:

- Visual (I construct a mental image)

- Kinesthetic (I establish a feeling)

- Auditory (I lead an internal dialogue)

Usually all three factors are present, but with my questions I will find out which element is predominant, and which direction my - mostly unconscious - strategy has.

Strategies produce results.

"Success can be summarized as applying oneself, faith and flexibility."

(O'Connor/Seymour,NLP, Successful communication and personal development)

For the next audition this means in concrete terms:

I remember a successful public speaking situation.

What is the first thing that comes to my mind?

Do I visualize the concert hall, a stage, what were the lightning conditions like?

Do I remember the smell of the air on stage or in the rehearsal room? (The olfactory sense has direct access to our emotional memories.)

Or can I remember the feeling on my skin made by the fabric of the clothes I wore for the concert?

Could I walk well in my shoes? What was the texture of the floor?

What was my communication with the pianist like, with the orchestra and the audience?

How did I experience my own singing?

How did I experience my own body during the performance and while singing?

Was I in a dialogue with myself, was I supported by the music, or did I stand next to myself as an observer and watch how things happen to me?

Positive experiences may be stored and recalled in the here and now

These elements are stored in a holistic form an can be retrieved again as a positive experience, and thus contribute to a state of possessing rich resources which can be called upon by me, and are not a response to anything from outside.

The more carefully we consider these points, the clearer we see that many strategies are involved in a successful action. Our goal is to move on a high energy level in a state of ease and naturalness and exude a comfortable feeling.

This can be the basis for the creation of a space in which the singer moves, free to convey emotional impulses and thus come in contact with the audience.

The need for clear messages

Contact is ensured if the message is clear, i.e. if there is no discrepancy between the statement of the onstage character and the physical statement of the singer.

These meta-levels can fully coexist unconsciously, but are clearly of consequence.

An often experienced situation is for example that the singer gives the correct signals in his appearance and his verbal comments. He would like to show his commitment, but his body sends the message that he feels uncomfortable and wants to be far away from this place at the same time.

Any established emotion or gesture must be 'holistic' on the stage.

The image of inner amazement which opens the sound must not be isolated in a wrinkling of the forehead (the singer's gaze), but must include the whole body:

the soft palate rises, the nasal sound space become more aware to the singer, the chin drops, the cheek bones lift, the spin streches, the chest widens, the breath deepens and the heart expands.

If I keep thinking of my technical knowledge as a security anchor, I will always remain in an isolatet physicality, as has been described by the ancient Zen masters.

Another helpful strategy is to confront the private self in advance with a character createt externally, which has a greater impact than the habitual self.

With this newly created self I do the textual-musical work in order to ultimately integrate it then internally.

"The character must step in front of the eye's ear."

(Richard Wagner)

If I can associate a particular animal in movement and gesture for my aria for example (the basis of any acting training), and can internalize this body awareness during the audition, this will preserve me from the dreaded 'singer's gestures' that appear whenever the physical flow is not in the singer's consciousness.

A clear message reesults in successful communication, because an exchange of energy between the stage actor and the viewer (or agent) is formed since the stage character noticeably acts as an intermediary.

Coaching

"We now that each particle in the physical universe experiences its quality by the frequency, patterns and overtones of its special vibrations, i.e.by its 'singing'. The same applies to all forms of radiation, to all strong and weak forces of nature and any information. Before we make music, the music makes us...the way how music is created is the way of the creation of the world...the deep structure of the music is identical to the deep structure of all things."

(G.Leonard)

In voice training and in vocal practice a lot is said about voice and technique, performance standards and essential skills - on these pages as well - so the focus is always directed towards an aim, and there is a risk that you forget about the prerequisite for successfully reaching that aim. This prerequisite is my own self, my being and my state of mind.

Coaching means working with these elements, and in my exchange with different trainers who train people in industry, I was amazed to learn that they often use exercises which are borrowed from artistic work (i.e. 'stage walking').

I have already described the discrepancy between the singers' own practice sessions and an audition elsewhere (see article: 'Audition').

This disrepancy can arise if the area of 'self-management' is not taken into consideration, if an awareness of one's own state does not exist.

In coaching, a description of a person's inner layers has been established that the singers can internalize and make their own:

Spiritual level

Mission

Vision

Beliefs

Behaviour

Methods

Capabilities (skills)

Equipment ( work environment)

In the above list the levels range from the inside to the outside, while we want to choose the other way around in the following description, because it is more comprehensible and easier to begin with the exterior. Experiences in my studio work have shown that a failed audition - where the singer was well prepared for the technical and musical level - is always due to an inadequate treatment of these inner layers.

Equipment (the working environment of the singer)

The most important condition in the working environment is an acoustically adequate room to practice singing in that I can use as often as possible. As long as we are in training at an university etc., we give this little thought. But it is difficult when I notice in my own house that the neighbour will regulary knock on the wall. Unlike an instrumentalist, this can interfere with a singer's practice and tie up his throat, and 'reduce' his voice out of consideration for the neighbours, which is indefensible and counterproductive. Therefore it is crucial to look for rentable - and affordable - premises in time (possibly at a community center for which you can prepare a church music recital in exchange).

Singers with great voices must remember that the full quality oh their voice can be generated only in a large room. We have had the experience that a dramatic voice can sound less beautiful in a smaller room, because the individual resonances are truly mixed only in the air of a large room. The singer should therefore always use a bigger room as well and record his voice there to hear the sound objectively.

You can ask your piano accompanist to record your music or to tape your lesson - for later self-control and for better memorization of the respective exercises. Each vocal student knows the experience that one forget the individual exercises of a good singing lesson quickly, because the singer works on severas levels at the same time. With a recording you can teach yourself the particular lesson again by 'practicing along' what is recorded.

The room which I use for regular practice must meet certain criteria which match my personal sensitivities.

What do I need to make someone else's room my room so I can move freely within it, can develop myself?

How do I create a space to be creative, or one in which creativity is possible?

Only my inner feelings can guide me here.

Capabilities (skills)

Much is said about the goals: passing an entrance examination, winning auditions, getting a contract etc. Everybody generally agrees on that subject.

If I have created a space where I can express myself creatively, I must ask myself which skills I use to pursue this goal, which skills I have. Which skills from other areas support my work?

Have I mastered techniques to support my ablitiy to concentrate?

Since a vocally 'high performance' is involved, do I also have the ability to really relax?

Exercises in the Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais and yoga are very helpful here.

It becomes increasingly clear: to successfully achieve my goal, I must know my own mental and physical state well protect it. According to Charlotte Seher, 1953:

"We must learn to feel, to sense, smell, speak, without any authority censoring our exchanges with the world...we must learn to communicate with our own living self, with the others, with life. Physically, we will feel our best when our body is ready to respond to our experience. We noticed in our work that nothing is repeated if we only go deep enough."

Methods

Which method do I use to develop being a singer successfully?

Here is the moment to think about one's own vocal work:

Do I use a specific technique, a particular tradition, or have I developed my own system, harmonious for me?

Which of the two is better for me?

Have I adopted a 'method' from my teacher, and does he or the method follow a tradition?

Can I identify with it and trust it?

Has a particular method produced specific singers?

If so, can you hear characteristics they have in common?

Can I identify with these characteristics, and do I want to do that?

Behaviour

To my mind, the English word is more comprehensive than the German 'Verhalten', because it works on outer and inner levels:

Since singing is a communicative act, I should now look at my own communication: how would I like to perform - and how do I perform?

Is there a discrepancy?

My stage appearance reflects my everyday life: how I deal with myself and with others, how I use my body language as an expression of my inner being.

In a master class David Jones gave all the psychological aspects of our behaviour in terms of our being singers in a nutshell:

- Be professional -

Each individual must decide in his singing whether he is satisfied with the 'student sound', or aims for the 'professional sound'.

One has to do with quickly reached sufficiency, the other with permanent will to work and grow.

This aspect is valid in the way we deal with our phone calls with agents, promoters, theatres, important and less important people.

It touches the vexatious subject of fee arrangements from the smallest musical performance to the biggest contracts.

The stipulation of fee has something to do with the appreciation of our own work, and this brings to the next point:

Beliefs

Here is the place to highlight the quality of our work and our singer's existence:

Why do I want to sing at all?

Was this my own decision, or did someone advise me to do this?

Ho do I assess my skills?

What do I believe about my singing skills?

What does my vocal work mean to me?

What would I do if success comes to nothing in the long run?

What else can I do if my voice fails?

Is my own esteem subject to a restriction?

If so, does this restriction come from within me, or from someone else, i.e. from the outside?

Vision

If I can accept myself and my actions unreservedly and not be limited, I will enter the level of my own vision.

I allow myself to imagine my real goal with all my strenght and all my heart.

What is the music I want to sing like?

What is the stage like where I want to stand?

In which place on it do I want to be?

At which houses do I want to sing, an with whom?

All this has nothing to do with arrogance, but with the spreading of one's own wings - to be in the right setting in the service of music.

With this we enter the space of

Mission

Again the question on a broader scale: why do I sing?

What does theatre work mean to me, and how do I see my part in it?

What is the point oh theatre work for the community?

What is my purpose in life in general and how does that influence my work?

Why I am standing at the spot where I stand, and what do I have to do there?

Spiritual level

Does this level exist for me - and what could it look like?

Is there an area which extends beyond my being - beyond my artistic activity?

"...Before we make music, music makes us..."

This brings us back to the starting point of this article.

Is there a higher level where we meet?

In her book "The artist's way" Julia Cameron said "the artist of the 21st century must be spiritual or he won't exist."

Here a bridge is forged between the suffering, penniless artist oh the 19th century whose art erupts from him - which was a invention of the genius cult of the 19th century - and today's holistic and creative artist.

Singing is communication and we are now encouraged to forge that bridge.

Beside all the technical and interpretive work, the integration of these levels makes the whole person: an artist who has the authorization to be on stage, not just because he can sing well, but because he has something to say.

"Teachers open the door - you have to enter yourself!"

(Chinese proverb)

What is the function of a stage performer in the 21st century?

In Greek theatre, they were regarded as guardians of truth.

The singers who I prepare for entrance exams or auditions have to face the issue at some point: what entering a stage means for us today in a society that sees its value in the individual, who, however, loses his presence more and more and is distracted from himself again and again by media omnipresence.

Where is the truth of the performer?

When there is a spiritual level, we must clearly distinguish between religious and spiritual: the spirit of spirituality is concerned with the present moment - but our thinking today is always directed at the nostalgic past and anxiously looks into the future while losing awareness of the presence in the now - the crucial point of any action on stage.

Action in the now (and an actor is an agent of what can take place on the stage) is a form of communication all people long for. The performer on stage has the task of creating this presence and communicating it to the audience: then a moment of connectedness occurs which one can remember for life because it connects us to our deepest aliveness.

Therefore the stage performer must be ready to give up his personal protection, which prevents him from opening up to his true emotion, to his connection to the whole experience, even allowing failure.

If an entire society is liable to lose that presence - and in the virtual world exactly this is happening today - it is a real job for the performer to become the keeper of the truth again, as the theatre has understood it as its duty since primeval times.

Especially in professional theatre the look into the future is not paticulary rosy, and many wonder whether they have the courage, and where they should take the strenght and the confidence to go that way nonetheless.

Universities

Again and again in long conversations I spoke to the students preparing in my studio for an entrance examination about the 'right' college that gives a thorough training and thus ensures a successful start in this profession.

My answer is always that there is no school, where I can be certain to learn everything I need adequately, neither in Germany, nor in neighbouring countries and not in the U.S., either.

The only security lies in my own person. It lies less in contents taught than in my own attitude and approach to them.

It is about an energetic circle that I must be able to create. What character does this energy have?

"We are the ones we have been waiting for"

For the New Year 2000, the Hopi elders have written a word of welcome which states among other things:

"Banish the word 'struggle' from your attitude and vocabulary.

All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we have been waiting for."

There is no ideal school, not even the ideal teacher we all yearn for.

We teachers are only human beings with our quirks and errors.

The desire for safety is always created out of fear, of which the object is always replaceable. But we must realize that this is a particulary German problem. Our foreign colleagues understand the concept of 'German angst' and it seems that this quest for security is collective.

In our fear we then only squint at the result, and this must be a profit which gives us this security.

There is no external gain. There is just findig one's very own gain this seeking provides. And this way also includes the experience of failure, of a comedown.

Almost every artistic biography reveals this, and tells about the force that is mobilized when you have gone through such an experience.

If we only move in our secure areas, the fear of failure will dominate us forever. If we now the feeling of a comedown, we also learn to banish it to its place.

We ourselves are the ones we have been waiting for.

Why the stage?

Why do I want to be on stage? Is it because of a sense of shortcoming, because as a child I did not get the love that I needed at that time?

If this is the primary reason, my motivation will disappear quickly: at some point I must understand that I cannot make anyone love me. This feeling of love is a give and take between two equal sides, and it transforms both, it cannot be demanded, only given.

There are many young people who are aspiring and ambitious because they want to be successful on stage. But they hardly ask what they are doing right now, and why they do it - because they only have their future and a successful outcome in mind.

But here again the energy is focused on one side only, there is no exchange between two sides.

Have I asked myself if I have something to say or give something away?

Is my talent worth seeing and nurturing?

Is my concern so important to me that I am mindful of it at every moment, with every word I speak, with every note I sing?

Kevin Spacey once put it thus: "It's not enough to be ambitious. Am I willing to devote every thought and every breath to my project?"

This is what a spiritual teacher might say to his students, too.

Energy space

What is this energetic space I must create, and for which I am responsible?

Patsy Rodenburg, voice coach at the Guildhall School, London, and coach of many great actors, has described that there are three energy states, circles of energy, in which we move alternately. All three are necessary, but one of them is the basis for a successful stage actor's work.

There is the 'first circle', where the energy is directly inward, for example if we sit in the subway and read, because we have a need for retreat.

There is the 'third circle' where the energy is only directed at the outside - these are the people who brag and are always a bit too loud, always a bit too close and we often fell that they rob us the air to breath.

And there is the 'second circle', a state in which there is an even exchange of energetic give and take. In this field, I move in my very own presence and am connected to everything: to my breath, my body, the space, the audience, the music, the partner on stage and the role.

Patsy Rodenburg has discovered in her coaching work that all the great stage actors live in this 'second circle', or at least move into it when they enter a stage.

This 'second circle' is a natural gift, and children are born in it, so our job is to find it again and maintain it.

Technical skill is important for the profession, but it should not have an end in itself. Behind it is the way to stage presence, which one can tell, and for me that is the real job of the stage actor in the 21st century.

Translation by Martina Baasner