RELAXATION

March 12, 2014

I was working with a young man the other day, a singer who has only had about 5-6 lessons.  He was typically very aggressive and tense in his neck and shoulders. Trying to get him to relax was obviously going to be a bit of work, and will be an ongoing process. 

A teacher can tell a student something (and again and again, sometimes) and yet how do you truly get a point across? 

One way for relaxation is physical manipulation, where a teacher can move shoulders, head, jaw, push and pull, and keep muscles moving while the student is singing, so that they can understand how much they need to relax. 

However, working in Asia especially, many people do not like the physical touch or manipulation. What I have learned is to make good use of mirrors in the studio where I teach.  I tell the student that when they look in the mirror, they are greeting their ‘best friend’, and that this friend can teach them a great deal. 

It is amazing how students react in the beginning to facing themselves.  A mirror won’t lie, and trying to get them to keep their eyes focused on themselves is itself a learning experience!