Song and Speech
(Part 1 of 3)
D.W.
(author of BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone)
Years ago, my friend Dave Flitton (now retired music teacher, composer, producer) and I were sitting at a church. Maybe it was for a friend’s wedding, I can’t remember, but we were singing along with everyone else. When the song ended, he turned to me and said (paraphrasing) “You sound like a foghorn, like Lurch out of the Addams family.”
Not so long ago, while fighting exhaustion from work and as the major caregiver to our elderly mother, I got an inner ear infection exasperated by an ongoing sinus infection. I went to my doctor at the time, Dr. Leung, who had helped me get through pneumonia and other maladies. I figured he would give me antibiotics and I would be cured in a couple of weeks. It wasn’t until two-and-a-half years later, including an unsuccessful nose job, that I finally started feeling normal. However, during the worst of it, my youngest niece told me I sounded like Snape from Harry Potter (and maybe an Ent from LOR).
During Covid I made some exercise videos. The information was sound and I knew I needed to work on the video quality but it was my voice that was all wrong. Slow, hesitant and unmotivating. I have personal trained individuals with concussions and brain damage. My way of speaking was similar to theirs. Clear one moment and not so much the next.
Once the worst of the ear and sinus infection were over, I realized I needed to work on my breathing and speech.
I have bought courses from The Great Courses for years, and when I saw they were offering one on singing, I decided I would get it. The goal was to use the exercises, not just to improve breathing and the speed of my speech but to also increase my octave range by reawakening the muscles of the jaws that I hadn’t been using.
There’s always setbacks and obstacles in the way, so I will be going back over the lectures in Professor’s Pierce’s course again and again.
The Great Courses: How to Sing by Professor Dawn Pierce, AD
* This course is thorough. Professor Pierce improves each student’s singing with gradual cues and exercises. She does so by motivating and encouraging her students. She also explains anatomy and proper posture for singing.
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