Many vocal professionals describe the roots of healthy singing as breath management and resonance. Before these pedagogical aspects can even take place, however, achieving good posture and correct body alignment is essential. It not only helps the singer achieve efficient sound production, it also helps convey confidence and positive energy. In this installment of Pedagogy 101, three experts in voice, yoga, Body Mapping, and the Alexander Technique talk about the importance of good posture and correct body alignment and how to achieve them.
How do you define the term “posture”?
MaryJean Allen: One root of the word “posture” is positura, meaning “a position,” and another is ponere or “to place.” However, singing is movement, from tiny micromovements to large, dramatic gestures. Instead of using the word posture, I use words implying movement, such as buoyant, springy, or balanced.
Judith E. Carman: The Oxford Universal Dictionary defines posture as “the disposition and carriage of the limbs and body as a whole.” In other words, posture is the way the body is aligned in any position.
Donna S. Reid: I like to use the word “alignment.” To me, correct alignment is easeful, with no tightness in the shoulders or back. Some singers often associate the word posture with a kind of stiffness, which acts as a hindrance.
Why is posture an important aspect for the singer?
MJA: When your body is balanced and free, movement becomes more fluid and healthy, creating beautiful and expressive singing.
JEC: Since the whole body is the singer’s instrument, it is important to have control over the entire mechanism and its alignment during the act of singing.
DSR: Correct alignment assists the muscles involved in singing so that the breath and the vocal mechanism can respond more efficiently. A slump in posture can interrupt this and cause your body to work much more ineffectually.
How does posture contribute to the vocal sound and to other aspects of vocal pedagogy, such as breath management, resonance, etc.?
MJA: When your body is balanced, movement is enhanced, improving breathing, tone, diction, and musicality. Also, using the appropriate amount of effort for each task lets you move easily and efficiently. However, many singers overwork or underwork.
One of my Alexander Technique teachers, Michael Frederick, drew a horizontal line to illustrate this spectrum. The left side of the line represents underwork, or heaviness. The right side of the line represents overwork, or excess activity. The middle area of the line is the field of balance, the appropriate amount of effort necessary for each task. To find this area, first use excess effort, then slowly subtract until you discover the middle field.
JEC: Posture in which the chest is up and the head and neck are aligned with the spinal column contributes to the vocal sound both by bringing all the resonators into the best position to create a full sound and by allowing the fullest use of the breathing mechanism to produce and sustain the sound. Optimal breath management is not really possible unless the body is in good alignment.
If the chest slumps and the shoulders roll forward, the singer cannot inhale fully or control the sound-producing exhalation. If the chest is up, supported by the upper back muscles, and the shoulders are relaxed downward, and the head is in vertical alignment with the spine, then the singer can inhale fully and have control over the exhalation that produces consistent tone quality throughout a long phrase.
If the chest is collapsed, the shoulders rolled forward, and the chin jutted forward, the primary resonators are out of line and the sound produced will not have its full quality. Vocal agility is also enhanced if the line of energy runs upward through a well-aligned instrument rather than being pressed downward in a slumping instrument.
DSR: Proper alignment is only the beginning, but it can at least give the body the means whereby the voice can learn to be produced in a more easeful manner.
What are some important things to keep in mind when it comes to posture and the singer?
MJA: Singers will benefit enormously by training kinesthesia—the perception of their bodies in motion—so they become fully aware of and highly responsive to the quality, size, and location of their movement. Body Mapping is also very beneficial. A body map is your mental representation of your body’s size, structure, and function. Since your body map governs your movement, you move according to what you believe about your body. When your body map is correct and refined, your movement will be efficient, healthy, and expressive.
Alexander Technique lessons are also extremely helpful. Alexander Technique Teacher Barbara Conable writes: “The Alexander Technique is a simple and practical method for improving ease and freedom of movement, balance, support, flexibility, and coordination.”
JEC: Your whole body is your singing instrument. It must be kept stable, strong, flexible, functioning smoothly, balanced, and well aligned for its best use. It is important to have a daily physical practice that conditions your body in the ways listed above so that you are at ease when your body is in perfect alignment for singing. The same elements of physical posture that contribute to good singing are also necessary for good overall health. The better your posture, the better your singing and the more convincing your performance, as good posture communicates confidence.
DSR: Part of knowing good alignment for the singer is the sensation of expansion versus compression and understanding efficiency in head and body alignment. For example, getting the head in a better position is an excellent starting point. If the head is too far back and down, or too far forward and down, it can constrict the airflow and the sound. However, if the head is balanced correctly and aligned with the spine, it does not cause undue compression.
It is also tremendously beneficial for singers to begin Alexander Technique work from the beginning of their training. . . . To be able to feel and understand both correct alignment and good vocal technique at the onset can only assist singers. As a singer, you want to allow the sound to happen, not make it—and most definitely without stiffness. Stiffness has a negative effect both visually and vocally.
How does poor posture impact a singer?
MJA: Our musculoskeletal system is designed to support and distribute our weight and allow movement. But many singers interfere with this design. Further, bodies that are out of balance do not always exhibit slumping movement; they may exhibit rigid movement. Both movement patterns indicate interference. When we learn how to subtract this interference, our bodies become balanced and movement becomes easier. Our life and singing improves when we move with greater ease and efficiency.
JEC: Poor posture prevents most singers from reaching full potential. Some effects of poor posture include various tensions throughout the body that impede good singing, reduced breath capacity and inefficient breath management, reduced resonance, a misaligned and often uncoordinated body, and an unattractive stance and unconvincing physical appeal. There is also the possibility of health problems that accompany poor posture. Some possible causes of poor posture are weak postural muscles, lack of body awareness, low self-esteem, dislike of the body, and actual structural conditions such as kyphosis of the thoracic spine, scoliosis, and uneven leg length.
DSR: Poor posture results in inefficiency in producing sound. Singers who suffer from this might feel compressed and, as a result, feel the need to push the sound. What the singer wants to do instead is think of balancing the head on the tip of the spine, allowing a length to the spine and a widening of the torso, rather than compressing.
You should also keep in mind that good posture and how you hold yourself exude confidence and a certain dynamism about you. I have heard directors say that they know the minute a singer walks into the audition room whether or not they want to hire them. Posture says a lot about you not only as a performer but also as a person.
What are some exercises the vocalist can use to help gain better posture?
MJA: Singers need to exercise their kinesthetic sense (perception of movement). Kinesthesia is further enhanced with inclusive awareness, simultaneous awareness of self and environment. Also, singers who exercise their bodies become more aware of movement, learning how to improve and refine it. Because each singer’s body is different, exercise needs are different. Some benefit from aerobics, while others benefit from yoga, t’ai chi, or a combination of exercises.
JEC: Any exercises that strengthen the postural muscles (i.e., muscles of the upper and mid back, shoulders, neck, abdomen, and legs) will be helpful. Numerous yoga postures are excellent for developing good posture for singing. Standing stretches with arm and heel raises coordinated with rhythmic breathing stretch the spine, loosen the shoulders, open the chest, deepen the breath, strengthen the feet and legs, and improve balance.
Chair posture strengthens the quadriceps and the muscles of the back. Warrior posture (facing forward) strengthens the muscles of the upper and mid back that are crucial to keeping the chest up and open. Half- and full-forward bends over one leg greatly strengthen the lower back and the legs. Kneeling forward bends loosen the shoulders and strengthen the quadriceps. Cobra and Locust postures greatly strengthen the muscles of the upper back, abdomen, and legs. Bridge posture stretches the chest, abdomen, and neck and strengthens the legs and back. Corpse posture (lying flat on the back on the floor) allows the singer to experience appropriate alignment.
DSR: I highly recommend that singers take lessons in the Alexander Technique. Many conservatories and schools offer this; however, there are some that do not, and singers have to seek out private lessons. It can be costly, but it is truly beneficial.
If a singer is portraying a certain role that calls for specialized movement in opera, how can a singer overcome posture challenges?
MJA: My co-author, Kurt-Alexander Zeller, advises singers to preserve the integrity of their body map and movement so they do not injure themselves, yet still portray the character accurately. If a singer portrays a character that holds her chin high, the singer can imply that mannerism, using smaller amounts. Zeller encourages singers to continuously experiment in order to find physical freedom, especially to allow micromovement, and to plan recovery time afterward.
JEC: The best way for a singer to prepare for specialized movement in certain roles (such as Rigoletto, or any role calling for timid posture, uncoordinated movement, or singing long passages in positions other than standing) is to condition the body daily to move freely and strongly in any direction, from any position, and for any length of time—and, moreover, to keep the chest up and open and to breathe freely while doing so.
The most complete practice for conditioning body, breath, and mind to function at a high level of performance is the practice of classical yoga, which includes physical postures, breathing practices, concentration/meditation practices, and relaxation techniques. Daily yoga practice, according to the needs of the moment, will support not only good singing but also good health for a long career.
DSR: When a singer is faced with a very challenging body role, such as being hunched over for a character like Rigoletto, or seductive and fluid like Carmen, it should never look artificial. The whole basis of the Alexander Technique and good alignment is to be able to move naturally, easily, freely, and flexibly, without constriction or tension.
