Appendix IV – Singing Instrumentalists
Article written for the New York Singing Teachers Association publication VoicePrints
Vocal Techniques, or Voice Class for the Instrumentalist, is a required course for many instrumental music education majors seeking alllevel certification. Students take at least one Vocal Techniques course to learn proper singing technique, along with basic pedagogy and teaching techniques, as they apply to adolescent singers. For most courses, the primary focus is development of the individual singing voice. This includes breathing, tone production, articulation, musicality, and textual understanding and expression. Instrumental students develop confidence singing in front of a group, improve their general vocal quality, and learn that a healthy voice serves them well in the general and performance classroom.
The first step to being successful in Vocal Techniques is understanding that the vocal instrument is the body, rather than an external object. This is quite an adjustment, because working with a voice is very personal. Students initially feel helpless because they cannot directly control the voice. Over the course of two decades teaching Vocal Techniques, it has become apparent that certain instrumental playing techniques can affect the study of singing, both positively and negatively. I have the unique perspective of being an instrumentalist myself, as I began musical studies on the cello, and taught beginning and middle school band early in my career. Making students aware of how their external instrument affects singing has helped them progress faster during the semester, as well as to gain a deeper understanding of their own instrumental study, making them better educators. This article identifies a variety of challenges that arise when instrumentalists learn to sing, as well as factors that are beneficial to singing.
General Challenges
There are some generalizations that can be drawn in regard to those who play a physical instrument and how that specific instrument, or instrument family, relates to singing. One of the most positive aspects of being an instrumental music major is the musicianship skills they bring to vocal study from studying the core curriculum of music. Many instrumental music majors have also had previous experience singing in choir, giving them a basic understanding of breath and how to create vocal tone.
A significant challenge that arises with instrumentalists is lack of confidence in singing and being uncomfortable as the body becomes the focus of attention. They have become accustomed to an external instrument involved in creating music, and in singing there is nothing to play through or “hide” behind. This new attention to the body creates a sense of vulnerability that makes singing very personal and for some, quite frightening. If there are students with weak musicianship, they tend to retreat into themselves and struggle with being forced “out of their shell” by singing in front of others. With these students, I enlist the help of a vocal music major to work with the student outside of class. Once they gain confidence singing, it is amazing how quickly they can progress.
Figuring out how to create vocal sound can be difficult for instrumental singers. They are going from the process of blowing, striking, plucking, or bowing to create tone, to simply hearing and reproducing tone. They have to become aware of the subtle thinking process involved in creating tone instead of physically manipulating the body to make a sound. Some students try to “make” the sound happen through hard glottal attacks or using the back of the tongue to try and create sound. I always commend them when they find the “lack of control” that comes from using breath correctly for the vocal onset.
Vocal music incorporates a few differences from reading an instrumental melodic line. Singers read in treble or bass clef, which all music majors have learned, but solo songs are often written in treble clef only, with male voices singing down an octave. This does not seem to cause too much of a problem, but it can be an issue if students are not strong sight readers.
The most obvious difference between instrumental and vocal music is the addition of text to a melodic line. When word syllabification is laid out under a vocal line, it does not make sense to the novice singer. They have to figure out how to place the consonants into the consonant-vowel progression optimal for sung tone and intelligibility. Memorizing and communicating text is a new experience for students with no singing background. The melodic line is usually memorized quickly, but the addition of text takes more time and different strategies to solidify. There are also some notational differences that make reading vocal music different from instrumental. One of the first questions I get in class is “Why are all of the eighth notes individually flagged?” This opens a discussion about notational practices as applied to syllabification when setting text.
The communicative aspect of vocal performance is quite different from instrumental. While all performers must connect with the audience, singers have to communicate directly with the audience rather than through an external instrument. Many novice singers feel exposed and cannot figure out what to do with their bodies. While their body has previously been involved with playing the horn, drums, or bass, these external limbs now seem to have no purpose. They want to communicate but feel silly using their faces to show emotion, and their hands and arms to gesture. Looking directly at the audience is uncomfortable for instrumentalists. During class, we discuss textual meaning and how to be involved without looking silly. They may still feel awkward, but affirmations from classmates help alleviate this.
Along with these general observations, I have identified specific challenges associated with instrument families. How these challenges manifest in the student depends on where they are in their individual instrumental technical progress. Some of what I observe may be directly related to correct technique for playing their instrument, but sometimes I describe habits that are not indicative of the specific instrumental technique. When I observe what I think may be related to their instrumental playing, we talk about it in class. When there are several students who play the same instrument, it is helpful because they can check with each other to see if what I am observing is truly a commonality. I also confirm ideas with instrumental colleagues. Regardless of what I observe while teaching singing, the goal is to create correct habits for vocal production.
Wind Players
Wind players struggle with the absence of a mouthpiece as a reference for where tone is created. Woodwind and high brass players often have difficulty feeling tall space in the mouth when singing. The act of forming the embouchure can create tension in the jaw and lips, which affects jaw release and mouth space for vocal inhalation. This is completely habitual because they have worked hard in their instrumental studies! Letting the jaw hang freely, creating space between the molars, and lifting the soft palate feels very foreign. Clarinet, saxophone, and trumpet players tend to jut the lower jaw forward when they inhale. Some also raise the back of their tongue during inhalation. There is often tongue movement during pitch changes, which inhibits easy vocal production and legato singing. Double reeds have to focus on keeping the tongue behind the bottom teeth. Their instrumental technique causes the tongue to hang more retroflex in the mouth (like pronouncing the American r). Asking students to change these habits and retrain the muscles for singing takes time and focused effort.
In comparing singing to the various instruments, the trombone seems to the be the wind instrument closest to singing. From discussion with respected instrumental colleagues, this can be debated. Some believe that the flute is closest to singing because of the lack of resistance at the mouthpiece and the tongue resting behind the bottom teeth during tone production. However, the inhalation space created by trombonists, and the speed of air needed to play does not need much adjustment when singing in my experience. Also, the trombone slide can mimic a vocal slide, so that action translates well.
A challenge I have often encountered with low brass players is pitch matching. The trombone range lies within the tenor/baritone singing range, but not a treble voice range, so female trombone players hear pitches an octave lower. It is even more challenging for euphonium and tuba players because they are hearing two octaves lower! Pitch matching exercises are often necessary for these singers. Aural training to hear pitches in the correct singing octave may take individual attention. This is another way vocal education majors can be utilized. I also spend class time addressing these challenges and use the voice students to supplement what we do in class. Tuba players often struggle with breath control as it relates to singing. All wind players have to adjust to where they feel sound created and how they approach breath control for singing.
String Players
String players generally have great ears for tuning, and if they are able to grasp the process of creating sustained vocal tone, then progress follows rapidly. Posture is often the first thing I address with these students. Finding length in the spine and neck and opening the chest are often new feelings. These students spend most of their time leaning over the cello, or tilting the head to hold an instrument in the crook of neck. These students often deal with shoulder tension. Of course, all instrumentalists focus on posture, just like singers, but they have to adjust to the singing posture rather than that of their instrument. Once posture is addressed, we move to breath and phonation. If students have never used their breath to initiate and sustain tone, expanding the body for inhalation and singing is a new sensation. Once they are comfortable with singing a melodic line, their musicality is quite good. This applies to any student who is adept musically; it will translate to other instruments. My first instrument was the cello, so I often use bowing movements to indicate legato singing. The feeling of connecting the bow correctly to the string also helps with understanding vocal onset. String players must not “grab” the string with extra pressure on the bow, just as singers do not want to use a hard glottal attack.
Pianists
Posture and releasing tension in the shoulders are the main comments I have for piano players. They need to remember to stand tall and thank of having a long spine and neck. Pianists can learn a vocal piece quickly and musically because they have the skills to play the melody and
accompaniment. This becomes another obstacle for those who do not have strong piano skills. How do they learn a piece of vocal music? Singers need to become more proficient on piano because of its connection to learning their songs. Instrumentalists also develop piano skills, but the importance of piano in the learning process it not as necessary.
Percussionists
I enjoy working with all instrumental singers, but percussionists offer a unique challenge that I love. The percussionists who have not had singing experience are often timid and tend to sit toward the back of the room or cluster together for “support.” I engage them in class discussions and often ask the percussionists for their rhythmic expertise. I have used a percussive vocal piece as one component of the class to engage the percussionists. It engages the voice energetically and is beneficial for everyone. It is easy to focus on wind players and their breath experiences, so I mindfully include percussionists by having them explain how phrasing is achieved on their instruments and if they use breath during performances (yes, they do). The biggest challenge is usually pitch matching. They are not used to hearing a pitch in their head and then reproducing that pitch. Unless they are proficient on mallet instruments, they have little experience creating and sustaining pitched tone. Despite the melodic challenges, percussionists bring excellent skills in counting, and the ability to memorize music quickly.
Strategies
A variety of strategies can be used with singing instrumentalists. Here are a few I use that address specific instruments.
BRASS AND WOODWINDS
● Work on releasing the jaw so it will hang slack; avoid forcing the jaw down.
● Keep the jaw released during pitch movement.
● Keep the tongue behind the bottom teeth and uninvolved during inhalation and pitch changes.
● Inhale with the palate lifted and keep a continuous lift while singing sustained notes or phrases.
● Use articulation exercises with consonants to release tension in the tongue and lips.
PERCUSSION AND LOW BRASS
● Work on pitch matching in various ranges.
● Use sustained pitch exercises for control of tone.
● Make use of inhalation and breath control exercises, especially slow inhalation free of tension.
STRINGS
● Work on pitch matching in various ranges.
● Use sustained pitch exercises for control of tone.
● Make use of inhalation and breath control exercises, especially slow inhalation free of tension.
ALL INSTRUMENTS
● Start building confidence immediately and begin singing the first day of class.
● Focus on long spine/neck and open chest; ease of inhalation and breath flow for singing.
● Vocalize using lip buzzes or initial [s] or [z] to help students “feel” the tone buzz and airflow.
● Discuss text and character. Acting exercises for beginners are helpful and fun.
