The Neccessity of Using Functional Training in the Independent Studio

THE INDEPENDENT TEACHER Karen Hall, Associate Editor !e Necessity of Using Functional Training in the Independent Studio Jeannette LoVetri ! "# $%&# '()*+#) ,-*% the twenty-.rst century, teachers of singing who maintain an independent studio need to stay abreast of ingredients that will attract students to their studio and entice them to stay there long enough to accomplish something good. A/ese students attract others through word of mouth, and help establish a studio’s reputation as being a place where they can learn what they need in a timely way. Functional training is a very important ingredient that will soon become a necessity in the independent studio. /e more you understand functional Jeannette LoVetri training for the voice, and the more you are able to o0er this as part of your approach to teaching singing, the more your studio will grow and your suc- cess expand. WHAT IS FUNCTIONAL TRAINING? Because there is no uniformly accepted de.nition of the term functional training, what follows is my understanding of these words, used together, and applied to singing. We must recognize that not all training for the voice is or has been, traditionally speaking, functional. /e training many of us had was musically based, and while such training can be valuable, it is not always functional. We were told to “extend the notes,” or “connect up the notes so they 1ow together more smoothly,” or we were asked to “crescendo the note,” or “approach the note without sliding into the pitch.” Van Christy seems to support this view when he states, “/e importance of musicianship is o2en underestimated by the student of singing.”1 Others were taught to produce a tone in a particular con.guration but without much explanation about how or why it was necessary. “Float the tone” or “release more into the face” is not unheard of as a voice teacher’s direction, but it is o2en le2 to the student to .gure out a successful way to do what has been requested. A good number of singers were trained to monitor bone conduction of sound, a kind of “bone ampli.es tone” approach.2 Another author says, “using a ‘vibrating out breath,’ we can obtain more resonance throughout the skull.”3 A vocal coach wrote, “the foundation of the vocal instrument is learning to control air with the diaphragm.”4 Conversely, some Journal of Singing, September/October 2013 people feel that breathing should take care of itself.5 A few people have been Volume 70, No. 1, pp. 79–86 Copyright © 2013 taught to do very precise maneuvers with articulation in order to address National Association of Teachers of Singing singing issues, and others have been asked to place great emphasis on emo- S!"#!$%!&/O'#(%!& )*+, 79 Jeannette LoVetri tional communication and interpretation or stylization to do with any one style exclusively), classical training of a phrase or song. It could be argued that none of these can be useful or a waste of time. Further, the overall are strictly functional approaches. sound found in styles other than classical that would be In times past, it was understood that direct manipula- considered professionally viable, particularly in women, tion of the throat would interfere with free vocal pro- has to do with the use of vocal quality, and not all clas- duction, and from this assumption an entire philosophy sical singing teachers address that issue. In those that developed that avoided talking about the larynx, or even do, there is o%en disagreement about what vocal quality the throat itself, in any direct way, lest it become a form is best and why. of self-consciousness and struggle. Teachers aligned with this approach may have observed, “you are squeezing A DESCRIPTION OF FUNCTIONAL the sound,” or “do not swallow the tone.” Recently, TRAINING FOR THE TWENTY- however, the reverse has become popular, with many FIRST CENTURY students being told to put or keep the larynx somewhere directly (down, up, or a speci!c place designated by a Functional training is any technique that allows a vocal- number, letter, or anatomic location) and keep it there. ist to gradually develop mechanical control over any Once we were told that singing was all about “placement sung sound without sacri!cing freedom or authenticity. of the tone.” Now many are instructed to coordinate It conditions the muscles of the vocal mechanism, over “resonance strategies” and control the sound through time, indirectly, through exercises, to respond automati- that behavior, sometimes with help from breathing, but cally. It provides a basis to strengthen and stabilize the sometimes without it. Some of this instruction is related overall sound; maintain $exibility; extend pitch range; to function, but not all of it makes sense or can easily be increase breathing capacity, endurance, and manage- comprehended as a freely made, indirect vocal response. ment; control vowel sound con!gurations and allow for "e idea that classical singing and classical repertoire a variety of tones to be produced at will without struggle in foreign languages magically sets up a solid basis for or fatigue. It allows the singer to make sounds she or he singing any style of music is faulty. So much depends wants to make, whatever they may be. It allows the singer upon what the “classical” approach to technique is for to connect to the body in a conscious manner, learning each teacher—how much experience she or he has sing- to control the behavior of the torso and to adjust the use ing at high professional levels in one or more styles. It of the breath according to the demands of the sound also rests on understanding basic physical and vocal produced or the music being sung. Functional training responses (particularly at the level of the larynx, but varies according to the needs of the student, and has also in the muscles of the mouth, jaw, face, tongue, and nothing whatsoever to do with talent, ability, or the for breathing, in the torso). So, it is truly impossible to beauty of anyone’s voice, nor with his or her singing know whether or not classical training is helpful with- history. Since it is based on what the voice is doing and out knowing which particular tenets a teacher uses. not on what it is (soprano, alto, tenor, bass, lyric, dra- Understanding how to sing “Caro mio ben” or “An die matic, belter, etc.), functional training applies equally Musik” does not prepare a singer to do “Out Tonight” to every singer, and allows an individual to apply skills from Rent or “Defying Gravity” from Wicked. It may not and knowledge at any point in time. It is similar to train- automatically teach you to sing in an appropriate sound ing given to athletes to strengthen them for a particular if you are performing “Misty” or “Stardust” in a jazz sport (separately from being familiar with the rules, the combo. It may or may not help you sing “Girl On Fire,” competition, or the strategies needed in play), or danc- a current Alicia Keys hit. Unless the teacher can make ers who are strong and !t but still need to understand the distinction between the coordinative responses the the di#erences between the broad categories of dance singer needs to cultivate and the e#ect those responses or the variations of individual choreographers within have on breath management, vocal strength and $ex- one style. Functional training aims at the parameters of ibility, range extension, vowel clarity, articulation, and a style and the personal capacities of one singer within pitch accuracy (and certainly none of those things have a style, brings out the individuality of each voice, and 80 J!"#$%& !' S($)($) !e Independent Teacher enhances the uniqueness of vocal expression in any and a Mozart song. Clearly, the sounds are di$erent, the all styles of music, as determined by the singer’s interests. vocal and physical behaviors need to be di$erent, and It enhances awareness of both sound and kinesthetic the stylistic demands are di$erent. Teachers who address feeling, grounding it in bodily perception and auditory style need to know what those di$erences are and how to acuity, and brings the singer into the process of making deal with them in the studio. #ey do not just “emerge.” voiced sound in a “present moment” and conscious (not Further, the old idea that people are born with a “cer- self-conscious) manner. tain kind of voice” has been dispelled by voice science Functional training puts all students on a level play- research that indicates that many vocalists are capable of ing !eld, as it regards the process of training for singing crossing e$ectively from one kind of sound in one style as a muscular one that involves learning sophisticated to another kind of sound in another style, regardless vocal and physical behavior over time. As that behavior of the anatomic, physiologic, or psychological aspects becomes habit, the artist within is free to create vocal of their bodies and minds. Exposure to diverse styles, music that suits the person, her choice of music, and experimentation with them, training for them, and inter- her unique way of expressing it. She is free to learn the est about them are logical prerequisites to using them. conventions of any given style, era, composer, or form. #e voices of most people are quite adaptable, especially As functional training becomes more predominant if this is something they desire. in the profession, and as it has a greater impact on what Therefore, understanding vocal function from an singing students will come to expect in lessons, it is also objective place, without judgment of the student’s talent, imperative that those who teach singing understand a ability, motivation, willingness to learn, or desire to do number of other very important things.

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