"Singing is a highly physical happening, a unique form of communication produced
by movements set in motion by a fundamentally emotive desire to express beauty."
Yvonne Rodd-Marling.
Open Voice is about expression through voice - both singing and speaking. Presentation and performance are the same in many ways; you in front of other people who are listening to your message. Your intention is for them to hear it positively. Life is full of singing teachers, but not so many speaking teachers. I work with both singers and speakers at all levels of demand; each of us has the right to feel good when we express vocally, whether in our local choir or on the operatic stage, or in our local committee meeting, a sales meeting, or in a vast conference hall. The secret is that a huge amount of success in connecting with your audience is not directly via your voice, and this is where you and I can make some exciting discoveries. In reading on, please replace 'speaking' where I write 'singing' if your interest is for speaking, for what I say here applies to both, but it's clunky to keep writing 'singing/speaking'!
Most teaching of singing focusses on the activity itself: practice and technique, and the performance aspects: interpretation and role, etc. This is perfect and is as it must be, but it leaves an area untouched, the area where problems sneak in, only showing themselves later when the performance/audition isn't going as hoped, or when pain, stiffness, or lack or freedom prevent you from singing in the way you intend.
In my teaching we get curious about what happens in this 'space between'... that is, the spaces between deciding to sing and actually beginning, and between being in the wings and the very first down-beat on stage in your performance. It is in this space that many of our problems lie, whether they be around nerves, flaky self-belief, tensions which get in the way, or old stories (maybe invisible to you and deeply entrenched) which can prevent you from being fully present to both the music and yourself.
In my classes and 1-1s, we find those hidden tensions or reactions and, through light touch and/or new thinking, allow them to release, unravel, and transform, so both the practice and performance of music can be carried out with the least amount of interference possible. This leads to you being more fully and uniquely you, more relaxed and with a resilient confidence within yourself, able to enjoy and share a more authentic and emotionally rewarding experience.
Your Communicative Self - Performance is communication; communication between the composer/poet and the performer, and between the performer and the audience… And on the best of days there seems a heart-to-heart occurrence between all involved; the 'magic' for which every performer and audience yearns. When you, the performer, are open, free, balanced, flexible, grounded, and standing in absolutely who you really are, the music can flow freely and this magic has every chance of happening. That's what we all want more of, and what my work seeks to offer you through sharing the ways in which you are able to make this magic happen more and more often.
Students' feedback:
"Annie came to the rescue at a time when prolonged illness and traumatic life events combined to create so much tension I could barely sing more than a fifth. She helped me release the built-up trauma and tension from my body and get my voice back on track so I was working again within the month." (Sarah - mezzo)
"Working with Annie has been the perfect compliment to both singing lessons and performing professionally. She's enhanced my technical, physical and emotional awareness, all within a safe environment."
(Rob Clark. Graduate GSMD, baritone.)
"Singing teaching is often so metaphorical because you can't see your instrument, but Annie helps you to physically feel what teachers mean, so it's not guesswork any more."
Open Voice is in London W1 and W4 - and in Dorset and Cornwall.
Open Voice one-to-one lessons are in The Rehearsal Studios, Marylebone Street, W1.
Bring your specific questions or challenges to explore and get curious about how to resolve them. (I will always respect your regular teacher's ideas and we find ways to work with them, not against them.)
Open Voice classes are in The Chiswick Rehearsal Room, London, W4.
- These are two hour classes for both singers and observers where you can bring your questions and problems, or just an open mind ready to discover new ideas which will enhance your singing and performance.
- I can work with up to six singers in each class who need to pre-book the class. You are welcome to bring your accompanist if you wish - there is a lovely 5' 7" Bösendorfer in the room.
- You can also come to observe - and be audience - in order make new discoveries.
We will explore:
Your body's innate support system.
Your body's innate wisdom around breath.
Embodiment.
Finding more space.
Becoming un-stuck.
Balance.
Integration.
Confidence.
Performance anxiety.
Authenticity.
Becoming captivating.
Connection.
Emotion.
Listening.
Costs: 1. As a singer: £75 per session, but costs do vary with different workshops.
2. As an observer/accompanist: £25
(Personal one-to-one sessions available @ £75 per hour.)
Venue:
The Chiswick Rehearsal Room
Ground Floor
Wellington Place
Dolman Road
London
W4 5PS
(Entry through glass door.)
Nearest stations:
In the powerful quotation below, please insert 'sing' or music' in the place of 'speak' or 'say'....
"Fundamentally, it is the relationships between people that form the underlying base of human interaction. In addition, all effective communication needs a sense of trust, and one of the ways in which this is indicated is through a sense of mutual respect. Here is it helpful to remember that communication is a factor that takes place as much inside the individual as outside. For, as counterpart to the link between what we wish to say and how we eventually express it, comes the important factor of balancing trust and respect for our own selves. This element of a basic self-confidence, which does not have to be flamboyant, is a pre-requisite of effective use of the spoken word. Otherwise, by setting up a virtual sound-barrier to his/her own belief, self-doubt can defeat a speaker from within.
So it is best to prepare the spoken word with a positive concentration on what is to be said and to keep in the back of the mind the age-old advice, 'to thine own self be true' because (a) you haven't got time for anything else, and (b) your own integrity is the longest-running thread of your communicating life."
Esme Crampton - 'Good Words, Well Spoken'
Most teaching of singing focusses on the activity itself: practice and technique, and the performance aspects: interpretation and role, etc. This is perfect and is as it must be, but it leaves an area untouched, the area where problems sneak in, only showing themselves later when the performance/audition isn't going as hoped, or when pain, stiffness, or lack or freedom prevent you from singing in the way you intend.
In my teaching we get curious about what happens in this 'space between'... that is, the spaces between deciding to sing and actually beginning, and between being in the wings and the very first down-beat on stage in your performance. It is in this space that many of our problems lie, whether they be around nerves, flaky self-belief, tensions which get in the way, or old stories (maybe invisible to you and deeply entrenched) which can prevent you from being fully present to both the music and yourself.
In my classes and 1-1s, we find those hidden tensions or reactions and, through light touch and/or new thinking, allow them to release, unravel, and transform, so both the practice and performance of music can be carried out with the least amount of interference possible. This leads to you being more fully and uniquely you, more relaxed and with a resilient confidence within yourself, able to enjoy and share a more authentic and emotionally rewarding experience.
Your Communicative Self - Performance is communication; communication between the composer/poet and the performer, and between the performer and the audience… And on the best of days there seems a heart-to-heart occurrence between all involved; the 'magic' for which every performer and audience yearns. When you, the performer, are open, free, balanced, flexible, grounded, and standing in absolutely who you really are, the music can flow freely and this magic has every chance of happening. That's what we all want more of, and what my work seeks to offer you through sharing the ways in which you are able to make this magic happen more and more often.
Students' feedback:
"Annie came to the rescue at a time when prolonged illness and traumatic life events combined to create so much tension I could barely sing more than a fifth. She helped me release the built-up trauma and tension from my body and get my voice back on track so I was working again within the month." (Sarah - mezzo)
"Working with Annie has been the perfect compliment to both singing lessons and performing professionally. She's enhanced my technical, physical and emotional awareness, all within a safe environment."
(Rob Clark. Graduate GSMD, baritone.)
"Singing teaching is often so metaphorical because you can't see your instrument, but Annie helps you to physically feel what teachers mean, so it's not guesswork any more."
Open Voice is in London W1 and W4 - and in Dorset and Cornwall.
Open Voice one-to-one lessons are in The Rehearsal Studios, Marylebone Street, W1.
Bring your specific questions or challenges to explore and get curious about how to resolve them. (I will always respect your regular teacher's ideas and we find ways to work with them, not against them.)
Open Voice classes are in The Chiswick Rehearsal Room, London, W4.
- These are two hour classes for both singers and observers where you can bring your questions and problems, or just an open mind ready to discover new ideas which will enhance your singing and performance.
- I can work with up to six singers in each class who need to pre-book the class. You are welcome to bring your accompanist if you wish - there is a lovely 5' 7" Bösendorfer in the room.
- You can also come to observe - and be audience - in order make new discoveries.
We will explore:
Your body's innate support system.
Your body's innate wisdom around breath.
Embodiment.
Finding more space.
Becoming un-stuck.
Balance.
Integration.
Confidence.
Performance anxiety.
Authenticity.
Becoming captivating.
Connection.
Emotion.
Listening.
Costs: 1. As a singer: £75 per session, but costs do vary with different workshops.
2. As an observer/accompanist: £25
(Personal one-to-one sessions available @ £75 per hour.)
Venue:
The Chiswick Rehearsal Room
Ground Floor
Wellington Place
Dolman Road
London
W4 5PS
(Entry through glass door.)
Nearest stations:
- Chiswick Park – District line (5 min)
- Turnham Green – District line (10 min)
- Gunnersbury – Overground (10 min)
In the powerful quotation below, please insert 'sing' or music' in the place of 'speak' or 'say'....
"Fundamentally, it is the relationships between people that form the underlying base of human interaction. In addition, all effective communication needs a sense of trust, and one of the ways in which this is indicated is through a sense of mutual respect. Here is it helpful to remember that communication is a factor that takes place as much inside the individual as outside. For, as counterpart to the link between what we wish to say and how we eventually express it, comes the important factor of balancing trust and respect for our own selves. This element of a basic self-confidence, which does not have to be flamboyant, is a pre-requisite of effective use of the spoken word. Otherwise, by setting up a virtual sound-barrier to his/her own belief, self-doubt can defeat a speaker from within.
So it is best to prepare the spoken word with a positive concentration on what is to be said and to keep in the back of the mind the age-old advice, 'to thine own self be true' because (a) you haven't got time for anything else, and (b) your own integrity is the longest-running thread of your communicating life."
Esme Crampton - 'Good Words, Well Spoken'
