Think of the complexity of most human endeavors. Think of what the brain has to do to coordinate swimming, or skiing or translating freely from one language to another in a running conversation or speech.
We are beginning to understand the cosmos and what we are finding is that it is far more complicated than we thought. We could say the same about singing, too.
When we thought that singing was “either you can or you can’t”, either you “have a good voice” or “you can’t sing”, either you sang “classically” or you were “making awful noises”, either you could “carry a tune” or you were “tone deaf”, and when we had only “nasal resonance” and “diaphragmatic breath support”, it was perhaps easier. The talented found a teacher who was at least sane and learned music. Away we go winning competitions and getting jobs!!!!!!!!!!
Now, however, we are beginning to see through the Hubble telescope of singing. I have recently seen ads for “holistic singing” and for “bodywork” directed at singers in national publications. Hmmmmmm. Not seeing so much for “nasal resonance” development any more. Awwwwww.
Since scientists are actually looking at styles of music that include all kinds of vocal production, including belting, they are discovering that singing is actually far more complicated than had previously been thought. The various parameters of not only vocal production but style are at least as complex as swimming or maybe even a galaxy. It’s great to know that we are living in a time when all the parameters are opening up to investigation and that we might even find quite a few valid, scientifically acceptable methods of vocal training that were different but compatible. Wow!!! We might be able to stop fighting over “belly in” or “belly out” breathing and work on solving what students need what exercise at what moment for what reason.
[Small silence here.]
I know there are still people who say the world was built in 6 actual 24 hour days and that dinosaurs walked the earth with humans, so there will also always be people teaching “bel canto” with “diaphragmatic breath support” that uses “nasal resonance” because to do anything else would to them be heresy. I know. But they are getting to be outnumbered by the rest of the singing world and it will very soon be these folks who are in vocal museums. If you look through the Hubble telescope of singing you might just see a whole new world.