The Voice: Dan Palmere's Blog

The Right to Speak: Working With The Voice

I read Patsy Rodenburg's book this summer after coming across it one night while working in the library. I've always held a deep curiosity about the functions of the human voice and what techniques we can use to preserve and/or free it. For singers, like myself, I feel it's important to look into your instrument. Instrumentalists have both a disadvantage and advantage; singers always have their instrument with them and are "warming up" and utilizing it all day. Instrumentalists have to designate time to practice in a quiet area. The common factor is being comfortable with the limits of your technicality and being sure you'll be able to use it the next day. Repetitive stress applies across the board.

The Right To Speak offers practical knowledge for students of voice, public speakers, or any person who wishes to develop healthy speaking habits in everyday life. I highly recommend this book for singers who use their voice professionally and wish to keep it that way. Of course, Anne Peckham has great materials for vocalists to fine tune practices in terms of singing/performance. 

A few interesting points I gathered from The Right To Speak:

1. Good note to any public speaker: if it matters to you, it will matter to us.
2. Laughter is one of society's most acceptable forms of emotional response.  
3. A free voice simply means a completely effortless and efficient one. The basic guideline here is you should never feel pain or resistance in the throat. If any is there, the voice is not free.  
4. The average Western speaker tends to use only 3-5 different notes for everyday communication.  
5. Sincerity gives any voice compelling beauty.    

 

Challenge

Read one book a week on a non-fictional topic. 

This could be philosophy, biography, a how-to guide type book, and countless others. 

I give credit to the study of literature in our society and world, but we have to continually expand our mind's boundaries. Learning about ideas and history help us to gain insight to the world around us. 

It's a feasible challenge. Start weaning off your television time. Extend the challenge to one book every two weeks if necessary.  

The Brain That Changes Itself

This was an extremely insightful read; one that shared a positive message: the brain has the ability to change itself. Through repetition our mind forms new "maps" on how we mentally function to compensate how strong or weak we perform on different tasks. 

I found it really fascinating to read about stroke patients or those with brain injury were able to recover back to their normal lifestyle by persistently training their brains with exercises  that helped form new connections. Each story offered this glimmer of hope for patients who once thought they were forced to remain a certain way, even after they completed traditional therapy. 

Through diligent research, author Norman Doidge, MD, sets up the history of how the idea of neuroplasticity came about and how more and more medical professionals are beginning to see the fruits of labor from years of tests and trials. 

To an extent, our brain is the most easily adaptable at a younger age. This explains why, for instance, a child who begins piano lessons and continues through to adolescence will find it easier to play that instrument versus someone who started 10 years later. However, the common theme of the book, restates that with a strict routine of practice, our brain will form new maps making it easier to connect ideas to action. 

If you're interested in this topic, or what's actually continually changing upstairs, I highly recommend spending time looking through the pages. 

This Is Your Brain On Music

Working at the library has allowed me to catch up on books that had been sitting on my shelf. This Is Your Brain On Music by Daniel Levitin is the first of a few I had purchased a while back in regards to psychoacoustics and cognition as it applies to hearing music. 

I really enjoyed how each chapter explained things in a very elementary manner for those who may have not been as familiar with "musical lingo". As the pages progressed the ideas would branch off with historical accounts and scientific based evidence. Levitin supported his explanations with useful, but sometimes confusing analogies. I found it particularly interesting how the entire brain functions seamlessly in any acoustic experience---and how complex and harmonious the process really is. It all starts with a simple sound wave bouncing off our ear drum. Then, years of developing an "audio vocabulary" and memory kick in allowing us to distinguish various sounds, notes, and tones. For instance, being able to recognize someone's voice over the phone without checking caller ID. 

As a musician, it was important to learn how some of us develop the skills of musical learning from an early age. Still, with much practice (Levitin mentions the "10,000 hour" theory) we are able to shape the structure of our brain's wiring to adapt to higher learning. At the same time, it was interesting to learn which parts of the brain are responsible for foot-tapping and remembering the pitches of a song with no aid of a recording. 

All in all, a fantastic read. You'll definitely learn some great things about your brain in the process, and understand why you have an affinity for certain genres of music. 

The Collected Plays of Neil Simon, Volume 1

Working in the school library allows me a lot of time to get homework done and catch up on reading. Right now, I've been focusing on reading 3 books I bought last year sometime and never got around to reading them. I guess you could call this the first in a set of three book review series. 

My first choice was The Collected Plays of Neil Simon, Volume 1. Spanning a total of 7 plays, this fantastic read gave me a glimpse into the genius craft the Neil Simon uses when writing a script. Since 1961, he has produced 33 Broadway plays and numerous screenplays for film. I first learned about Neil Simon when I caught the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor award ceremony in 2006. Just seeing the performances and clips of film of his work was purely inspirational. I went through a phase of wanting to become a writer, and to an extent would like to give it a shot. I think directing Simon's material would be a great experience. 

I was familiar with The Odd Couple and caught myself laughing at loud while reading. The film version felt much different to me than the script --- but I suppose the pacing for film needs to be more drawn out. 

The other plays in the book include: Plaza Suite, Barefoot in the Park, Come Blow Your Horn, The Star-Spangled Girl, Last of the Red Hot Lovers and Promises, Promises. I really enjoyed seeing how Simon created these characters so well and appreciating the wit and realness of dialogue. While I loved reading it to myself, I'd love to see a live showing of one of his works. Being part of an audience's laughter really adds to the experience of it all. It's something I'm sure Neil Simon enjoyed after each one of his new plays premiered. Highly recommended book -- or check out some of the plays produced for film.  

The Jazz Ear

Title: The Jazz Ear: Conversations Over Music
Author: Ben Ratliff
Year: 2008
Best place/time to read: laundromat, bus, waiting room, "on the run"
When will I finish: 2-3 days OR 1 long sitting

Review

1. Ideal for lovers of jazz, musicians of jazz, and music educators. Also, those who are deeply interested in music history.
2. Structured chapter format with each musician, giving a brief biographical background, musical contributions, and discussions of a list of their favorite tunes.
3. Advice for both listener and musician from jazz legends.
4. Recommended listening guide from all interviewed artists.
5. A gained stronger appreciation for the craft of music, especially jazz.
6. Many lines merit underlining or highlighting.
7. Motivation for composers and improvisers.
8. Captures a detailed portrait of the style, personality, and wisdom of artist from Dianne Reeves to Pat Metheny.

 

When God Winks At You

Just wrapped up this fantastic book. 

It was a Christmas gift from my Dad, and it had a lot of amazing fables of ordinary people going through real-life cross-roads and hardship, and some not. They explain how blessed timing was on certain events and how when seemingly all odds against them, came through from the grace of God. 

The book was a great reminder that I am where I am today for a reason. My perception of what I'm supposed to be doing may change daily, but knowing I've made an impact on just one person's life in a positive way feels somewhat refreshing. 

As I fly out tomorrow to begin a new semester at Berklee in Boston, I'll definitely be more aware of little incidents that help me in the long-run---and stop and humbly acknowledge God.