Lesson Two

Posted on Sat Nov 25th, 2023 @ 23:06 by Alastair Temple

Chapter: All Hallow's Eve
Location: Music Classroom
1063 words - 2.1 OF Standard Post Measure

"Goodmorning, class!" Al's cheerful baritone resonated as he strode into the classroom, looking actually happy to be here. He had a definite swagger to his steps, even going so far as to do a twirl as he reached the front of the classroom, slamming his hands down on his desk and looking over the assembled students.

"Goodmorning, mister Temple," came some replies. Al would never enforce a return greeting, and his students knew this, but he was glad for the ones that did grace him with one - it meant, to him at least, that they were here to learn something, rather than because they had to be.

"Today's lesson, singing. Boss lady has asked me to put together a choral performance for the festival, and I'm going to need some of you to sing. There's extra credit in it for you if you do participate. First though, I'm going to need to hear what everyone can do, so I can start volunteering you for some of the roles available," Al explained. Some of the students looked almost paniced, singing? At the festival? A choral performance? Some looked intruiged. Some disinterested - but then, he expected nothing less.

"Before that though, a question. What bodyparts do you use when singing?"

"Lungs!" called out one student, going for the obvious.

"Correct," was Al's easy reply.

".... Head?" ventured another.

"Correct," Al smiled.

"Toes," one of the disinterested students joked. Laughter from the class.

"Correct," replied Al when the chuckles had died down a bit. "It was a trick question. Singing, and singing well, requires the entire body to participate. From your head to your shoulders, arms, torso, legs and even feet - though your core - " he motioned to his own chest and stomach " - is somewhat more important than your toes, but that doesn't mean that they don't matter. Can I have a volunteer to help me illustrate this?"

Silence.

"Anyone? I'm sure some of you sing as a hobby, if only in the shower."

Finally, someone, a somewhat shy and silent young lady, raised her hand.

"Good. Alright. No, remain seated, for now. You know what? Slouch a bit. A bit more. Yeah, that's good. Now, I want you to sing me something. Anything you want. Just - put your heart into it. Alright? Go ahead," Al smiled, folding his arms over each other.

The young lady's voice rang out. A bit shaky at first, though Al's smile and encouraging nod gave her a bit more courage. It was a famous song, from years ago, raindrops keep falling on my head.

After a while, when a few lines had sounded, Al held up his hand to stop her. "Very good. I like your voice, you've got some skill. Now, I want you to stand up. There you go, stand like this," he demonstrated, feet spread about two feet apart, pointing somewhat outward. Body straight, shoulders relaxed, arms at the ready. "Right. Now, take a deep breath and let it out. Make sure your shoulders are relaxed, no tension. Your core should be at the ready, legs straight, feet planted. Wiggle your toes, make sure you're stable, steady. That's right. Now, the same song again, please. Put your heart into it.

And she sang again. Some of the notes she hit weren't quite in tune, but that was something he could work on, that was something that could be trained. He let her sing for a line or two more before again halting her, and giving her a round of applause. "Very good. I loved that, well done. Now, can you tell me how it felt, for you? Was there a difference between sitting down and standing up?"

"Uh - y-yeah," she replied. "Standing up it felt - ... easier. Like I had more power. I could hold notes longer. It was just - ... Easier. Nicer, more enjoyable."

"That it was. You can sit down again now, and I'll explain why it felt - and sounded - so much nicer," Al started explaining, slowly pacing to and fro at the front of the classroom, gesticulating as he spoke. "That's because singing well engages the entire body. From your core outwards. The sound originates with your breath, though your vocal cords, out your mouth. So, good breath support is very important. That starts with a relaxed diaphragm and relaxed shoulders. And those start with a steady, stable stance and a good posture. Down from your toes, all the way up to the crown of your head. If your body is tense or unstable, you won't have the breath for good projection. Good thing is, posture is something that can be trained." Al smiled as he noticed some students sitting more upright as he spoke about posture. One or two even took deep breaths and let them slowly out again.

"Now I have an exercise for you, that I want all of you to do, here and now. I want you to stand up like this," as he demonstrated the steady, stable stance again, "and try out the range of your voices. From the lowest comfortable note, to the highest. This isn't about who can sing the lowest or the highest, this is about finding where your own voice is comfortable. This will be lower for some, higher for others, and that's fine. Here, I'll go first."

Al stood in his stable stance, took a deep breath, then sang a note - a fairly low one, the lowest he was comfortable with as a baritone. His voice slid upwards, through his chest voice, the first passagio, into head voice, then the second passagio and finally falsetto - though, being a baritone, that wasn't where his voice was comfortable, and so he stopped quite soon after reaching it.

"Alright, now you. C'mon, let me hear you all, and mind your support, mind your core."

The cacophony of voices and upwards glissandos was something to behold, though Al smiled as he listened to it. "Good! Again," he said when they'd finished, and he started wandering through the classroom, listening to every student as he passed them. "Good! Again!" as he listened and made mental notes of which students seemed the most comfortable and which seemed to have the right voices for the main roles in his upcoming production of Do You Hear The People Sing....