I believe that understanding the benefits of proper body alignment is important for everybody - it can be applied to virtually every aspect of career and life. This is especially true in choral singing where proper alignment lends itself to proper breathing, which is the essential energy of vocal sound. Even more importantly, a balanced alignment can protect singers from fatigue, pain and injury. I always apply alignment positions learned from my personal Yoga practice when designing choral warm-ups, and I plan to delve much further into the Alexander Technique alignment method later in my career. Else mentions some examples of martial arts which focus on alignment such as Aikido and Tai Chi which interest me as well. Although I agree with much of Else's argument, I question the simplicity of her alignment-grading rubric. She states, "Assessing body alignment is fairly easy. We can visually assess whether or not the student’s body alignment is correct." Proper spinal alignment is different for every body - with our guidance, each student needs to learn how their own balance feels.
I completely agree with your perceptions and concerns, Heather! I really like the assertion that by making body alignment a priority and by convincing our singers it is in their best interest, they will be more actively involved in the process and will improve their technique overall. However, I share your same concerns regarding how easily diagnosable alignment problems are for assessment. Certainly, there are some examples that would be very easy to spot, but other students may seem properly aligned to an outside perspective while in reality, they are not. There is a lot going on in the body that we cannot see and is not always obvious visually. After years of being praised for my good flute posture, my University professor realized one day that my head was not ideally balanced on my A-O joint. This was the root of some undesirable issues in my sound that we were trying to work out. A prime example that what is initially perceived is not always correct.
I really love how you connected your own personal yoga practices, and view on proper posture to the article! I would also agree that Assessing alignment isn't as easy as they make it out to be! You make a good point that if we teach our singers proper alignment right from the beginning, we can protect them from fatigue, pain, and injury!
Heather - I agree that it is important to incorporate body alignment into the choral lesson. I was talking to someone the other day who currently has issues from years of playing an instrument using the incorrect alignment. Without someone else help, how does one know they are improperly aligned?
Along with alignment breathing comes hand and hand with it. If we can connect the breath wit the alignment, singing will be a breeze! As the article mentions "people to take action on a task; ask them, force them, or get them to recognize for themselves why it’s in their best interest. " We can show the students proper alignment, and be a mirror for them by showing good posture skills as well... but they are to realize its importance for themselves!
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ReplyDeleteI believe that understanding the benefits of proper body alignment is important for everybody - it can be applied to virtually every aspect of career and life. This is especially true in choral singing where proper alignment lends itself to proper breathing, which is the essential energy of vocal sound. Even more importantly, a balanced alignment can protect singers from fatigue, pain and injury. I always apply alignment positions learned from my personal Yoga practice when designing choral warm-ups, and I plan to delve much further into the Alexander Technique alignment method later in my career. Else mentions some examples of martial arts which focus on alignment such as Aikido and Tai Chi which interest me as well.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree with much of Else's argument, I question the simplicity of her alignment-grading rubric. She states, "Assessing body alignment is fairly easy. We can visually assess whether or not the student’s body alignment is correct." Proper spinal alignment is different for every body - with our guidance, each student needs to learn how their own balance feels.
I completely agree with your perceptions and concerns, Heather! I really like the assertion that by making body alignment a priority and by convincing our singers it is in their best interest, they will be more actively involved in the process and will improve their technique overall. However, I share your same concerns regarding how easily diagnosable alignment problems are for assessment. Certainly, there are some examples that would be very easy to spot, but other students may seem properly aligned to an outside perspective while in reality, they are not. There is a lot going on in the body that we cannot see and is not always obvious visually. After years of being praised for my good flute posture, my University professor realized one day that my head was not ideally balanced on my A-O joint. This was the root of some undesirable issues in my sound that we were trying to work out. A prime example that what is initially perceived is not always correct.
ReplyDeleteI really love how you connected your own personal yoga practices, and view on proper posture to the article! I would also agree that Assessing alignment isn't as easy as they make it out to be! You make a good point that if we teach our singers proper alignment right from the beginning, we can protect them from fatigue, pain, and injury!
ReplyDeleteHeather - I agree that it is important to incorporate body alignment into the choral lesson. I was talking to someone the other day who currently has issues from years of playing an instrument using the incorrect alignment. Without someone else help, how does one know they are improperly aligned?
ReplyDeleteAlong with alignment breathing comes hand and hand with it. If we can connect the breath wit the alignment, singing will be a breeze! As the article mentions "people to take action on a task; ask them, force them, or get them to recognize for themselves why it’s in their best interest. " We can show the students proper alignment, and be a mirror for them by showing good posture skills as well... but they are to realize its importance for themselves!