Breathe to 'sing'......remember - "Less Is More".....

This week I met a new 'breather', anxious to know what "Less is More" refers to - and can I demonstrate it? Well - Yes, it's very simple, but as with all things simple, rather tricky to explain...and often elusive to the impatient explorer, especially if they've spent years with 'singing teachers' encouraging them to take a deep breath in through the mouth, and "PUSH Darling!"... and WHAAAT..?? Death to natural phonation...mmm, but it keeps many medical practitioners happily employed chopping bits and pieces - polyps, nodules - basically 'corns' on the vocal folds - etc...Very lucrative business...mmmm. I was horrified by a singer in Sweden who announced that it was usual for singers to experience the aforementioned conditions, being inevitable - and NORMAL - simply because she had suffered such self inflicted injuries 'several times' - what UTTER RUBBISH !!!...not sure is she is still 'in the business', a miracle if so.... The secret of 'singing' is not to 'sing'...! What the heck am I talking about...? As a student at the now defunct, London Opera Centre, I was blessed by the good fortune of meeting and becoming a friend of the most influential singer of my life, the adorable, generous, vivacious and genius talented New Zealander Kiri - te Kanawa. What an amazing stroke of fate.... We've had so much fun over the years, although our paths went their different ways, and the reason for bringing her into the picture is that her attitude to singing has influenced me more than I realised, until I started helping other singers 're - train' their voices when they'd 'lost their way' vocally. I've found myself advising them what Kiri told me all those memorably happy years ago...When I remarked that I could always understand her words when she sang, she replied "Anna, I never 'sing' , I just talk on musical notes " - simple as that !! I've never seen her use the 'hippopotamus mouth' method thankfully.. Sometimes, if the singer has a sense of humour, I vow to park my car in that vast apperture which is their mouth ....and I discovered with my limited lung capacity after a fire accident, that the less air pressure you create under the larynx, the more effective and easy is is to 'talk on a musical note'....I recently wrote to Kiri, treadin' the boards' entertainingly in the cameo role of 'The Duchess of Krackenthorp" - (Wooow - that hat !!) in 'La Fille du Regimant' at The Metropolitan Opera, New York, that HER advice has been the secret of MY - success with so many 'breathers' over the years...teasin', teasin' ....thanks a bunch Magical Maori Maiden...So, if you wanna know how to control your air flow minimally ..let me know and we'll have some fun...it's great for all, not just singers....k..p b.......g...and warm..

Breathing a la "Simsannabim" is at The Metropolitan Opera, New York ....WOW !!!

Hello Dear Readers - 'The proof of the voice is in the breathing' - vis a vis = 'The proof of the pudding is in the eating'.....for many years I've enlightened some hundreds of willing human beings, from all walks of life, ethnic backgrounds, faiths, professions, etc....the common link - simply - BREATHING ....yes, as simple as that ! Many cynics have declared that my interest and application to the subject is a joke "After all, everyone can breathe" they usually say..."Ah yes, but it's the 'quality' of your breathing that is paramount" I reply...Then usually ensues a debate as to how one can quantify 'the quality of natural respiration' ...and unless the sceptic has well connected inspiration, they are usually surprised - should they then try my little 'inspirational' excercises, at their benefit, almost immediately...It takes about two years for anyone who has not trained their breathing for some specific motive - dance, sport, singing...etc., to fully co-ordinate the respiratory system to maximum effeciency = "less is more". That is fairly general - the longer project, which can take years, is to re-train the natural respiratory function for those who constantly OVERBREATHE - most of my time is taken up with this particular malfunction...especially with singers and musicians...the good news is that several of my brilliant breathers without these problems have made it to The Met...all female ! When I manage to train and persuade the average male singer of the 'Less is More' attitude, they are not terribly happy to discover that they don't have to push and shove their voice, and feel pain in the throat - !! I'm chuckling at this - one sweet man, who sang fabulously after about three years of 'goat bleating' - suddenly let out his gorgeous 'natural' voice. When I complimented him he was so angry " You mean I've spent all this time for you to show me how I sang before I was trained by a singing teacher"...enough said...So, it's great to report that Erika Sunnegardh has sung 'Turandot' in the hallowed New York house of opera, Rosalind Plowright, O.B.E., who has been a regular at The Met over her entire career, amazingly sang 'The Mother' in 'Hansel and Gretel' in the 2009 Christmas season, breathing and singing immaculately !! Another very successful soprano, Nina Stemme with whom I worked in the 90's in Stockholm and uses the technique, is about to continue her association there as 'Ariadne auf Naxos'...and last Saturday Adrianne Pieczonka, the impressive Canadian soprano, sang 'Amelia' in the matinee premiere performance of 'Simon Boccanegra', with Placido Domingo - it was broadcast 'live' on BBC 3 - fabulous....later, in the evening performance - on the same stage, my 'voice idol', from whom I learned by association almost all I know about singing, the ikonic, brilliant, adorable Dame Kiri (te Kanawa), played the speaking role of 'The Duchess of Krackenthorp' in 'La Fille du Regiment' - what a coup !! We can hear it 'live' this Saturday 13th. Feb. 2010 at 18.00 on the same programme relay...not to be missed...yeah, yeah,yeah ! I know several other Annabreathers who are booked for some really exciting dates, but not released yet ..mmmm...and watch out for the gorgeous Natasha Sutton-Williams, cross-over contralto, MOST exciting potential, so delightfully young .WOOW... and k..p b.......g....