I have long operated on not only the obvious assumption that singing relies on the breath, but also upon the not-so-obvious assumption that the type of breath taken in is critical to the type of sound the singer produces. Our singers are, in fact, dependent upon our gestures in order to be better singers than they know how to be. And as such, we need to deserve to be looked at.
The voice runs on breath and our singers depend almost entirely on us to show them when to breathe, but if you practice, you can also show them the type of breath they should take in order to the produce the sound you have in mind. This is all done by body language. The gesture implies the breath type. Today I’ll deal with three main concerns in this realm:
First, let’s look at the size of gesture. Gestures can be in front of the face or in front of the belly. Large or small. Delicate or powerful. The best “text” I know about this subject is not a text at all, but is Rod Eichenberger’s video “What They See Is What You Get.” In it Rod talks about how many things we take from everyday life and body language and apply to our conducting gestures.
Another issue is the speed with which the air was drawn in. For example, if you give a quick, jagged gesture, the breath will have a tendency to be taken in too high. And we have a tendency to impel the breath from the same place that it was taken into. We all know that the breath works better when it is impelled by the muscles of the lower abdomen. Why do we give so many gestures that are so high?
The third thing we must show relates to the point I was just making. That is, different tones and colors ring in different parts of the body. Ideally, the best cueing gesture to our choir is one that shows them what color and dynamic you have in mind. Thus, our job in terms of gesture includes everything I have been talking about. Which is to say, we need to show them:
All this information is implied to the choir through a variety of things, including the shape of your forehead, the shape of your mouth and lips, the look in your eyes, the way your hands are formed, whether or not you use a baton, the size, shape and age of your own body, the sweep of your arms, the look of your shoulders, the speed with which your hands and arms move, the use of each arm to show a different thing.
I’ve just listed at least ten things that imply what we want to our choir. If one is a choir director then that is one’s instrument. Obviously we would expect that anyone who plays an instrument to rehearse quite a bit, and if they do it for a living, they should rehearse accordingly. How many of us who conduct choirs for a living rehearse in anticipation of the choir’s presence? If all of them do something you didn’t like, perhaps the fault lay with your gesture. That is, what they see is what you get.
In a perfect scenario, we imply everything I just listed. But we know this is not a perfect world. And none of us, and I put myself at the top of this list, are perfect conductors. However, there are several suggestions I could make for self-improvement, and will do so now. These are all equal in my eyes and are not listed in any particular order:
Remember, THEY have something (their voices) that YOU need. Work to deserve it.