stated: “I felt more connected to the music or the exercise I was singing and wasn’t caught up in thinking about the technical side as much as I would normally be.” In summary, these results show a majority response that this essence can vastly help to improve mental focus. However, it is important to note that no one reported any improvements in memory recall skills.
Breathing The area which showed the highest results of positive change in relation to voice production and specific improvement in technique, was breathing. It would be fair to say that breathing is one of the core principles of a good and healthy singing, which is why this outcome may be of paramount interest to vocalists. Breathing can be a stressful element for a singer because it is so crucial to pitch, emotional and expressive delivery, which is why it was particularly interesting that the sample study group reported deeper and easier breath support. One participant stated: “I was able to hold notes for longer periods of time than usual and my breathing was much better all round.” Other reports clearly indicated improvements in breath control support, producing a more relaxed state of breathing. One participant explained she experienced her breathing as being deeper and she was less ‘conscious’ of it. Similarly, another stated: “Breathing was more free and easy, I think this was because I was more relaxed and not thinking about my breathing.”
Range This particular area of technical improvement also showed some very interesting specific qualities of improvement within range production. The results showed that 40% of the people who found the essence improved their range, claimed it was because they felt
their head voice extended, allowing them to reach higher notes with greater ease than usual. A further 20% of the sample group members who found benefits in this area claimed the essence strengthened their entire vocal range by enhancing control and promoting “effortless” transition. The final participant found that whilst recovering from a cold, the essence helped to strengthen her lower range and chest voice quality. In addition, this area is particularly important, as range is often the first to be affected after a cold or physical illness, and is also easily impaired due to nerves, anxiety or stress.
Resonance This result brought up an interesting discussion topic between Marion and myself. It became apparent that Marion was referring more to the coherent expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings, whereas a vocalist’s understanding of articulation is more commonly linked to correct pronunciation, and the formation of vowel and consonant sounds. The reason why this related to the resonance results is because there seems to be an important connection between articulation and resonance for vocalists in particular. The medical (vocal) definition of resonance is ‘intensification of vocal tones during articulation.’ For all this, it would be fair to say that there is a clear link between the two areas, and results showed that for vocalists the improvement of articulation was related to resonance rather than diction. In summary, 60% of the sample group reported improved vocal resonance.
Power These results showed a significant majority result, with 80% claiming they found that the essence gave them more power, as one participant simply claimed: “Yes, I had much more power!” Others reported more stability
9
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40