birds

Birds are a continual fascination and inspiration to us - hardly surprising in music when their birdsong is so admired!

In particular, I’ve found that some people wish to emulate the soaring feeling of a bird in flight in their own singing. They enjoy the feel of ‘soaring’ or floating through the music they are singing, like a bird does. So what is that, and how can we create that in our voices?

The birds are the opposite of Time...They are our desire for light, for stars, for rainbows and for jubilant outpourings of song!”
— Oliver Messiaen

When you see a bird soaring above, floating almost effortlessly above the earth, what are you really seeing?

The bird has flown from a perch on/near the ground, risen to a height where it feels the support of the wind that allows it to stay in the air. The view we have is of no effort, when actually some rather complicated physics and effort has helped the bird get there.

Here are the things I suggest pupils think about and use to achieve this with their voice:

  • Mind

  • Support

  • Breath

  • Reduce the feeling of weight or pushing

  • Repeat and experiment

  • Know where your strong beats/words are, and therefor the lighter beats and words

An inflexible voice that is pushed or feels heavy will not float or feel light. How much ‘play’ and ‘give’ do you have at your disposal? Could you find more?

As ever, if you have questions get in touch below, book in for a lesson, or work with your teacher to discuss some of these and how they work in your voice.

Birds have always had the ability to bring me out of a dark space and provide relief in bad times.
— Jason Ward
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