l’amour
Exploring different types of love as depicted by the Greeks, and how this relates to classical music
“Every heart sings a song incomplete until another heart whispers back.”
In this months blog I’m tackling the complex idea of love and its different forms as categorised by the Greeks.
Within the world of music, opera, and lieder, we are asked to understand and portray all these forms of love. Here is my summation to help you fast-track your research.
By being able to distinguish which type of love you are portraying, you will have a clearer idea of motivation, whether your character is experiencing a deep and powerful reason for the action in the aria, or perhaps a surface and poorly thought out reason.
Do you agree with my different suggestions of opera characters and which are experiencing which type of love? Let me know of any other suggestions in the comments below. Most operas include the tension between Eros and Philia, for instance, and I think sexual passion is probably the main one in most operas!
Eros (sexual passion) - Carmen, Semele, Romeo and Juliette, Turridu for Lola: Cavalleria Rusticana, Manon, La Traviata, La Boheme, probably most operas!
Eros (ἔρως érōs)
(from the Greek deity Eros) is passionate love, with sensual desire and longing. The Greek word erotameans in love. Plato refined his own definition. Although eros is initially felt for a person, with contemplation it becomes an appreciation of the beauty within that person, or even becomes appreciation of beauty itself. Eros helps the soul recall knowledge of beauty and contributes to an understanding of spiritual truth. Lovers and philosophers are all inspired to seek truth by eros. Some translations list it as "love of the body".
Philia (deep friendship) - Nadir and Zurga: Les Pêcheurs de perles, Cosi fan Tutti
Philia (φιλία philía)
dispassionate virtuous love, was a concept addressed and developed by Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics Book VIII. It includes loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality, and familiarity.
Philia is motivated by practical reasons; one or both of the parties benefit from the relationship. It can also mean "love of the mind."
Ludus (playful/flirtatious love) - Papagena/Papageno: Die Zauberflöte, Cherubino: Le nozze di Figaro
Agape (love for everyone, empathetic love) - Violetta: La Traviata
Agape (ἀγάπη agápē)
love in modern-day Greek. The term s'agapo means I love you in Greek.
Referring to a general "pure," ideal type of love, rather than physical attraction suggested by eros. However, there are some examples of agape used to mean the same as eros. Sometimes translated as "love of the soul."
Pragma (longstanding love, committed companionate love) -The Merry Widow,
Storge (unconditional, family love) - Ilia for her family: Idomeneo, Romeo and Tybalt, Nurse for Juliette, Aida
Storge (στοργή storgē)
natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring
Mania (obsessive love) - Lady Macbeth
reset
A guide to reviewing and resetting your work as a musician and teacher
“You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.”
January is a month of making changes, so why not take the time to assess your business as a musician or in the field you work in, and decide what you want to take forward, and what you can let go of.
Goals and Rewards
Make a list of your goals for the year
How brave do you feel? Maybe this list has some simple easy goals and also some amazing and difficult goals, aim big!
Performances, work on languages, new repertoire, new genre you have not yet explored, working with new people, new teaching jobs/pupils, changing your support/additional job that helps you fund your music goals.
Make a list of rewards for reaching those goals
We know we all work better when there is a reward - be that money, travel/holidays, listening to a favourite piece of music after a hard day, or maybe purchasing that expensive score you have wanted for a while (yeah, this is my weakness… they might be a particular shade of blue… and start with a B)
When you are self-employed, build in your work ‘bonus’ to your work plan.
Add detail of the stages you will go through to reach your goals
Don’t just make a list of big goals, plan how you will get there. Some goals will be easy to reach in one stage, some might be a long term project with many stages to tick off along the way.
Assess your Success
What went right last year?
What are you proud of?
It’s time, you have permission to pat yourself firmly on the back, and hold your own personal awards ceremony! Best of all, it’s all about you. List all your achievements and thoroughly asses what you have to be proud of - include financial, emotional, and mental achievements
What will you try to replicate?
Update Ways of Working
What takes more time than it should?
What could you use to improve your work-flow?
Are your accounts taking ages? are you slow on social media? Are you keeping track efficiently of pupils and payments? Are there any tools like apps or software that would save you time? Remember time is money and effort - often spending money is worth it if your life is easier or you are taking less time to do tasks you don’t enjoy.
What can be done more efficiently
Is your teaching scheduled neatly together or taking up random times in your week? Would your commute be easier/quicker if done at a different time if you worked different hours? Could you use fewer paid childcare hours if you moved your work schedule/teaching?
Tidy
Tidy and sort :
Concert/audition/teaching clothes
Sell/post/give away/donate what is no longer suitable or does not fit
Music
It’s easier to find if it is stored in a system you find easy to use.
Desk
Computer Files
Keep old files/photos in folders for their year, and make a new folder for the current files
CV
Website
Your Home
Training
What training did you undertake last year?
What training will you plan for this year?
Where are your weak points and how will you work towards making them your strong points?
Plan
Set out your diary and plan in holidays
It’s very easy to fail to take a break if you get offered work - but it is not good for us or our friends/family. Make sure it goes in the diary even if it can be moved. Schedule work like social media to automatically load while you are taking a break.
Find gaps and decide where new projects would fit in
Know when you are free to take on training
Hobbies
Can you schedule holiday days around work travel to include your hobbies?
Decide on new hobbies or when you are free to learn/do something, particularly if this is a seasonal thing
Buy/plan to buy that new book or piece of sports equipment
Wind up Old Projects
Make a to-do list of old unfinished goals.
Sweep up all the old half finished things into one list. Plan what you need to do to finish them all off, and how you will do that.
If you are choosing to stop something, plan your exit and work towards it
If you plan to change jobs, or finish certain teaching jobs, plan how you will step back and when, build in a change-over time if you are handing a job to someone else.
Learn to Sing
Learn to sing - what happens in singing lessons?
In my blog post today I’m going to take you through the benefits of taking singing lessons, and what happens in lessons with me. I’ve rarely met anyone who hasn’t dreamed of having singing lessons or working on their voice - but what do lessons entail? What happens in a lesson when you are a pupil, and what will you gain from lessons?
“The only thing better than singing, is more singing”
Why do people take singing lessons?
There are a number of reasons people take singing lessons, here is a list of some of the main ones I’ve encountered.
For enjoyment. Singing is enjoyable, and it makes us feel good. Many pupils take lessons simply because they enjoy the chance to sing and make music together. This is something I love sharing with my pupils.
To improve confidence. Many people feel vulnerable or self-conscious when performing, but lessons can help to give you confidence. Some people use lessons to help them learn and have more confidence to join or audition for choirs, musical theatre groups, sing with their guitar, or to join their local opera or Gilbert and Sullivan groups.
Sometimes pupils feel more confident presenting and public speaking in their jobs through their practise performing in singing lessons.
To gain qualifications through exams - school exams or College/University/ABRSM/Trinity/etc exams that progress through grades.
To learn more about technique. The human voice changes throughout our lives, so even the most experienced singer will continue to work on their technique. Lessons can help to ground your warm-up and practise with up-to-date information and ideas to help you with whatever stage you are at.
To explore different sounds. We all have the capability to make different sounds with our voices - and make different decisions about how certain phrases or songs should sound to communicate what we want to the audience. In lessons we can explore different sounds and choose which one you would like to use.
To problem solve. Some pupils have experienced difficulty doing something with their voice, or conquering a certain technique or repertoire. Lessons can help you work towards your goals.
To work on the performance or repertoire. Having a second person in the room can be useful to give you another perspective on your performance. Your teacher can guide you through portraying a character, showing journey, and making musical choices to ground that portrayal.
What happens in my singing lessons?
Firstly, I’ll invite a new pupil to sit and we will have a chat. I’ll introduce myself a little, and I ask about your previous experiences learning music (if any), your understanding of music, the body, and reading music, and your goals for lessons. I may make notes to remind myself - for instance if you can read music a little I know you can find your own note to start in your practice. If not, we will find other ways to help you.
I will ask how your voice feels today, check you have no illness, allergies, or feel tired. All these things may affect our lesson and what we sing together.
I will sit at the piano because I can play/accompany you for your lesson. Sometimes I use recordings for you to listen to/sing with, but for live performance practise and technical work I prefer using the piano as it gives us more freedom to stop and experiment.
Warm Up. We will sing a general/easy warm up of several exercises aimed to gently warm up your voice, and introduce the sung sound into our session. I know this can be a nerve-wracking thing for a new pupil (I’ve been there too!) so I will explain that these noises are for ‘play’ and experiment. They are not meant to be judged - in fact that isn't really my job at all!
I will choose exercises depending on your voice type, how comfortably you are singing in our lesson, and if you mentioned something in your goals you wish to work on.
We will sing a song. Either you will have brought music to sing together, or I will have music for you to learn. In regular lessons you may work on more than one piece for each lesson. The pieces you are working on will probably contrast - different emotions, different characters, different languages, different historical style etc. This avoids singing with the same style as it makes you sing out-with your comfort zone and make new muscle memory, helping you grow as a singer.
What will I gain from singing lessons?
This will depend entirely on you, and your goals!
You will enjoy singing with a live accompaniment, learning a song from an unknown piece of music up to performance standard
You will learn new ways to use technique and your voice to alter the sound you make
You will learn how to negotiate different phrases to make them sound the way you want them to
You will learn a variety of repertoire, including songs you may never have heard of before, broadening your knowledge and understanding of your voice
You will learn to think about the interpretation and performance of your music, and develop your skills as a communicator
You will become more confident in the sound you make from gaining better understanding of your voice
You will learn a skill, with many different aspects that shows development and skill attainment. This will give you a sense of achievement and pride, regardless of whether you sit exams or learn for your own enjoyment
You will learn a skill that you can share with others whether at home, with your friends or family, or taking part in performances
You will learn the skills of how to use your voice so that you can problem solve technique and work on music yourself
I have a broad experience of teaching and have taught people with different learning styles and approaches, so please let me know if there is anything you would like to share with me about you before your lesson.
I always aim to teach in a way that helps each pupil achieve and succeed in their own goals, and I am open to altering our lessons to help you do this.
breathe
Breath control in singing
“Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I
but when the trees bow down their heads,
the wind is passing by.”
Christina Rossetti
We breathe and take breath every second, minute, and hour of hour lives. Yet when it comes to singing, we must breathe and use our bodies to regulate air in a slightly different way. Breathing should feel easy, use our whole body, feel relaxed, and aid our music making and communicating. But how often have we truly felt that?
As always, my blog today is not here to teach you the one and only amazing technique to fix your problems or follow for perfect singing. For that you need to work with a trained and trusted teacher who can work with you, your body, your health, and your voice. Every singer will need a different balance of the individual elements.
Instead, I will describe what breathing well does, give some guidance for better breathing, ways to balance the different things that might be going against your goals, and talk about techniques to calm anxiety. I hope I might guide you to improve your knowledge and ability to assess your own breathing needs. If you have health concerns, consult your Doctor before trying any new exercises.
The Body
Breathing is part of what is known as the autonomic nervous system, or ANS. These automatic body functions are mostly involuntary, and include things like:
Digestion
Speed of breathing
Body Temperature
Regulating blood pressure
By regulating your breathing through exercise or for instance singing, you can regulate your your ANS, which in turn has the following benefits:
Lowers heart rate
Relaxes the body and mind
Regulates blood pressure
Lowers the release of the hormone cortisol, known as the stress hormone
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Pupils and fans of tv singing shows all know that diaphragmatic breathing is needed in singing. But what does that actually mean? And why is it good for singing?
The diaphragm is just one of the many muscles that we need to use to breathe.
Our bodies need to feel loose and relaxed when we sing both for good breathing and resonance, so try to include some stretches that feel like they relax and lengthen your body so you start in a neutral state without tension.
Your intercostal muscles between your ribs help expand your rib cage to allow your lungs to fill with air. The diaphragm is below the lungs and contracts on inhalation to make extra space for the lungs to fill and move into.
In order to breathe well, we need to breathe deeply with movement and expansion around the 360 degrees of the trunk of our body.
Deep breaths should be slower, without tension, and more relaxed. Shallow breaths are often made higher the body, and tend to be more tense, sometimes faster. You can experiment with this and feel the difference for yourself. We know we want as little tension as possible when we sing, so deep, slow, low breaths using the diaphragm and filling our lungs more fully is preferable.
For some people, focussed breathing or breathing exercises might increase their anxiety or be bad for their health- so take care to pay attention to your own body and mind, and only continue if you feel happy to do so.
Breath Control
Once that breathe has been taken, it is important not to let it out without control. Good imagery to explain this is the bellow taking in air and expelling it with focus through the small opening. Or a balloon being filled with air, and being let go to produce a long sound as it expels the air slowly through the small neck of the balloon.
We’ve noted how to expand our ‘bellows’ or ‘balloon’ by expanding around the trunk of our body, and we must now think of the air when expelled . It travels up the trachea (wind pipe) and out through the mouth, first meeting resistance in the larynx through the vocal folds. The vocal folds meet together in a waving/pulsing motion at great speed to make sound as the air passes through. We use our bodies to gently support the voice, and regulate the expulsion of air so that it is is gentle, not tense or forced, and the correct speed. Each singer will will find their body works slightly differently and needs different elements tweaked through their lives to support the sound they wish to make.
These are the basic concepts of breathing and breath control in singing that are needed to make sound that is healthy and sustainable. Not all types of singing, emotions, repertoire or voice production will need the same levels of breath support or the same breath, so at all times ask yourself questions about your voice:
Does is feel comfortable?
Is it sustainable?
Do I like the sound I am making?
Can I make the sound more sustainable/comfortable by changing something?
As ever, let me know in the comments if you have any thoughts or feelings about this months blog, and if you would like to read about some more exercises for anxiety or better breathing click on the link below.
Back to School- Tips for a new term of Music Lessons
Back to School- Tips to start a new term of music lessons fully prepared
Preparing for a New Term - are you ready?
“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary”
Prepare
Whether returning to a teacher or beginning a whole new course somewhere new, you will have some idea what is expected. Check up on the syllabus, read up about your new teacher to understand their training and experience.
Begin practice in advance to make sure you have stamina and some strength ahead of the demands of rehearsals, lessons and performances - the term can get busy fast!
2. Make a schedule
Make a practice diary - work out your schedule. Mark out your weekly lessons, lectures and classes so they are all in your diary. Add alarm reminders if this is helpful!
If you know you practice better in the morning or in the afternoon, try work this in to your schedule.
Leave space for everyday life tasks too - gym, running, if you work or do a teaching job or another job to fund your studies.
I know I study better if my workspace is clean and tidy, with no distractions! So I often schedule this into my day.
And of course… leave lots of space for socialising or to switch things around if new things are scheduled.
3. Keep track of Deadlines
If you don’t already have an electronic system/diary, investigate ways of linking your email and calendar so you can keep track of performances, and essay due dates. Use whatever version that best suits you whether digital or pen and paper, or a combination.
4. Tailor your Study Habits and Prepare Study Resources
I know I am a visual learner - but what about you? What will help you learn?
If you know memorising is easier if you write things out or use different coloured pens/paper, make sure you have these things ready to go. This is your chance to indulge your stationery dreams and buy things like a new highlighter for your notes and scores!
If you work digitally with music, make sure your equipment is ready to go, you have a good case for your tablet, a nice feeling pen holder for your electronic pen, and your computer/laptop have plenty of memory for new music, and back up options to charge everything.
Has your teacher been asking you to look at a particular score or to practice a particular technique?… Do this now. Don’t put it off!
5. Find a Healthy Balance
Lastly, your new course/term is likely to take up a lot of your time, but don’t forget to plan and enjoy life outside of this.
I’ve already mentioned planning your fitness regime in to your timetable, or maybe plan to begin one! There is nothing more stress relieving than exercise, a walk is a simple way to start.
Remember to carry on with any hobbies you have and maybe even consider starting something new. Your life is enriched by your diverse experiences, and this includes experiences outside of your study.
Best of luck to everyone starting a new term, I hope these few tips help you feel organised and ready for success in your music making.
How do you like to prepare? Have I missed anything out? Comment below with your favourite tip.
As we head into the autumn, I’m starting to prepare for a new school and University Year. No one likes those ‘Sunday Night’ feelings, so make yourself a hydrating cup of something, sit down with a notebook, and let’s work through some top tips to start your new year of music lessons off with lots of energy and focus.
Singing and Golf: what can we learn from other hobbies?
What singing tips can we learn from other hobbies and sports?
Recently we had a little spare time and decided to head to the Driving Range for the afternoon. I’m a terrible golfer and have not hit a ball for years, but it was fun to do something different, and we hope to go back more often.
I’ve picked up a few tips over the years listening to others who play, and watching golf on the tv. It got me thinking; are there any transferable pieces of advice that might also be helpful in singing?
I often have pupils who begin learning to sing with me tell me they know nothing at all about singing or how to use their body - but the truth is there are actually lots of similarities with other sports and hobbies that you could put into your singing practice.
Golf is a search for perfection, for balance. It’s about meditation and concentration. You have to use hand and brain.
Celine Dion
#1 Swing with less than 100% effort
Yes, this gets said a lot in singing. Sing comfortably within the limits of your voice. Singing at 100% is not only very effortful, it is likely to cause your voice to tire and and a handful of technical problems with your voice to occur.
#2 Play More Break
So, this is a little more convoluted. In golf, it means
the amount the ball moves left to right of a straight line in response to contours
NCG’s Golf glossary
In singing, we want the smooth legato line (latitudinal) to be mixed with feel of the voice being connected into the body (a longitudinal feel) in what is sometimes likened to a string player playing into the string, pressing through the bow.
#3 Work Hard on the Details
Singing is a wonderful, beautiful thing, that makes us feel great! But remember that mixing a little study, some exercises, and singing some repertoire outside the usual pieces you might pick can add a huge number of positives to your favourite songs.
#4 Use a Conservative Strategy
Just starting out on your vocal journey?… Put down ‘Queen of the Night’. Put down ‘Largo al factotum’… because you’ll never sing these arias?… no. It’s just not helpful to run before you can walk! It’s also likely to be less rewarding if you feel the piece you are singing is very hard work and full of technical things you aren’t yet doing.
#5 Practice Your Short Game More that your Full Swing
You know those high notes?…. yeah, they sound great! They feel great?… good! But they are rarely the most important notes in your voice, or the song. Don’t forget that you spend that majority of your time singing the other notes in your voice, and they need to be just as well sung.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these top 5, the full list I took them from is linked below, and there are definitely more comparisons!
Your singing teacher will enjoy guiding you through your lessons, happy golfing and happy singing!