The 2006 M. Night Shyamalan film, Lady in the Water, tells the story of a group of eclectic people that live in the same apartment complex. The movie was hardly a blockbuster and was even rated “the worst film of the year” by some. Even still, I enjoyed the quirky film and eccentric characters.
One such character, Reggie (played by Freddy Rodríguez), is conducting a rather unusual “science experiment,” as he calls it. He boasts to the other residents that he works out the muscles in only one half of his body. He proudly shows off one arm and leg that are bulging with muscles, while the other half of his body remains flabby and undefined.
While we may laugh at Reggie’s illogical, extreme actions, we ourselves are sometimes guilty of focusing so intensely on one facet of our trade that we neglect other equally important aspects to our detriment. Consider several examples in this issue.
Voice teacher and exercise trainer Claudia Friedlander is often asked by singers if exercising to strengthen and tighten abdominal muscles will negatively impact their singing (p. 8). She explains that a toned, muscular stomach is rarely the problem. Rather, difficulties arise when a singer focuses too much on strengthening certain abdominal muscles while neglecting others. This pattern, along with failing to stretch and lengthen the abdominal muscles after a workout, can lead to chronic tension that can interfere with breathing for singing. Friedlander lays out exercises that can help you strengthen and stretch your whole core for tight abs and great singing.
Sometimes too much vocal exercise or use can call for vocal rest, as Dr. Jahn expertly explains in his column this month (p. 52). Singers know when the folds are swollen due to excess singing or illness, and a few days of rest may be just what the doctor orders. But is there such a thing as underusing the voice to the point of harm? Dr. Jahn welcomes fellow otolaryngologist Dr. Robert Bastian back to the pages of CS this month as Bastian discusses cases where vocal underuse led to significant problems for three singers (p. 42).
While doing some choral singing recently, Theresa Rodriguez and her fellow choir members were asked by the conductor to sing with purely straight tone for the entire concert of Baroque music that they were preparing. This led Rodriguez to analyze the use of vibrato and vibrato-less singing. She makes the case that focusing entirely on one or the other doesn’t serve the music or the singer (p. 38).
Finally, singer Ian Bostridge, featured in this issue’s cover story (p. 22), began his career not as a tenor but rather as a historian, teacher, and scholar. He didn’t turn to singing full time until age 30―but in the two decades since, Bostridge has enjoyed an illustrious career. Even still, he has never left his scholarship behind, now writing on classical singing, with his most recent book on Schubert’s Winterreise. Knowing where to put his focus at any given moment—on singing or writing—continues to challenge Bostridge, as he admits. But not giving up one for the other has served him, and others, well.
Don’t be like Reggie, carrying around one dumbbell and always working out just your left bicep, hyper-focusing on certain ideas to the neglect of others. But, rather, stay alert to the bigger picture to ensure you’re not overlooking something critical to your well-being and success.
