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Vocal Process Reports...
Consultations
with Gillyanne
Recording artist CalendarGirl writes
about her experience of one-to-one lessons with Gillyanne.
I first came to Gillyanne in 1999 nursing a pipe dream to sing. She
took me seriously from the outset, and as I had had no training
previously, started with the basics, showing me how my voice worked,
and what needs to happen physiologically to make sound.
When I think about
those early lessons I can see that one of the most valuable things
about Gillyanne's approach was that there was no 'right' or 'wrong'
way to sing. Instead, the focus was on physically accessing sound,
understanding the vocal mechanism. This was liberating for me
because it immediately showed me that anything is possible with
practice and good understanding.
We began by working
together on different voice qualities. This was a great approach,
because we could talk about other singers and how they achieved
their sound - breathy, powerful or subtle. Each voice quality had a
unique physical 'feel'. Finding those qualities with my whole body
and not just my voice was a great device. It made singing accessible
to me in a way that studying notes on a page couldn't have done at
that stage, giving my voice a 'muscle memory'.
This approach was an
incredible support to me in the recording studio. Learning songs
that were not written specifically for my voice, and recording them
under time pressure, I needed good knowledge of how my voice worked
and how I could affect change in my vocal style. Studying with
Gillyanne had alerted me to points in my range that needed extra
awareness, but it also gave me specific technical support. I often
experienced problems integrating my upper and lower registers, and
Gillyanne worked with me firstly to achieve integration comfortably
and then to give it style. This might have been a change in how I
physically sang the problem note, or the use of a different voice
quality. My issues with difficult vocal hooks, or problematic,
sustained notes were treated with careful physical fine-tuning,
incorporating the vocal mechanism, the breath and the stance.
Now, when I sing
live, I can change between vocal qualities without thinking because
I learnt them physically, in my body, as much as in my mind. Pop
singing is much harder than it looks, and of course, it should
always look effortless! Gillyanne has helped me achieve that sense
of physical control which supports me when I perform, live or in the
studio.
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