Did I really mean to say that?
Jenevora Williams 2016
‘The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.’ George Bernard Shaw
I thought I’d had a breakthrough recently with Amelia; she is thirteen, she’s got a rich, vibrant voice but with one main colour. Most of the time in her lessons I’m not working on technique, I’m trying to stimulate her imagination to find some other expressive, emotive sounds. “Yes – that’s it, it’s much more connected now”. She looked at me blankly. “Does that mean anything to you?” She shook her head. “Embodied?” No. “It sounds like you’re actually feeling something” No, the lights remained switched off; she had no idea what I was talking about. She’s a very literal thinker; she’s also delightfully honest with me when I say something she doesn’t understand. Most students just nod politely and assume that the fault lies with them and their own lack of knowledge.
Choosing the right word or phrase is essential and yet so problematic. We aim to be direct and unambiguous, and yet playing with inventive and colourful language is our means of expression. With our choice of language we can be individual and imaginative; we aim to shun the cliché and yet we litter our speech with figurative references. Metaphor is an integral part of our language, it is not just cognitive cheesecake. If we are to understand anything we need to grasp it or fathom it out. I may run the idea by you that words often arise from the closest descriptor such as the legs of a table or the teeth of a comb; the desktop or mouse for your computer. We cannot avoid metaphor, but we can exercise choice over what to say and how we say it.
“When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.' 'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things.' 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master — that's all.” Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll.
We can influence our teaching and learning outcomes by understanding the subconscious responses in the brains of our students. The brain, about which we still know very little, is adaptable and flexible. We know that habitual actions are learnt through repetition; 10% of bodymind processes happen in conscious awareness, 90% are habitual and automatic. When I reach to pick up a cup of coffee, I am using a complex sequence of actions in a habitual way. Even if I focus on the task and take the coffee cup ‘mindfully’, I am still not consciously aware of the exact sequence of muscular movements taking place. From Piaget’s studies we know that there are templates or schema that link with particular patterns of use: a run of notes, a rhythm or a sequence of actions. These can be accessed and altered if we can find the easiest way in. In order to find as many ways into existing schema as we can, we make small changes or create links with other cognitive areas. The small change may be altering just one aspect of the schema at a time. So when we are learning exercises or melodies with repeating patterns, we will vary the vowel, the speed, the pitch or the rhythm. This helps us to embed the action into our subconscious more effectively than just straight repetition. Another way into the schema could be cognitive, facilitated by metaphor or imagery. For example, with the repeated pattern of notes we could give the student the idea of running water or turning wheels. The use of imagery in this instance is a direct choice by the teacher; it is considered and appropriate. If any of the variations don’t work (different rhythm, the idea of water etc) then another one has to be ready to leap into place. The teacher is trying to find a way into the student’s existing cognitive models, if the student doesn’t get it, the responsibility lies with the teacher to find an alternative.
Both ways into the habitual training are valid; variety is the key. Variable conditions will maximise the generalisation of trained behaviour in the longer term. Then, once we have found the way in, we have to repeat and train the bodymind in skill acquisition and familiarity without conscious remembering. The repetitive drilling is essential, it will require attention from the student and is probably rather less interesting for the teacher. We need to allow these processes to materialise; if we leave it up to the student then they need explicit instructions on how to practice effectively. We are developing implicit memory, memory without awareness, that is not analytical or judgemental – it is ‘in the moment’ attention.
I’m handed a piece of toast by Sam, aged two - “Daddy’s on the phone”. The toast is then held to my ear as I have an imaginary chat with Daddy, who is apparently telling Sam to finish eating his toast. The representation is implicit; the toast is a phone, the conversation is with Daddy; the message is understood. Children learn to associate objects and feelings with other similar ones alongside the development of speech. Some children find it easier than others; those on the Autistic Spectrum Disorder will find it more difficult. Some of the most imaginative methods for accessing and describing feelings come from games played by actors or creative writers. Try thinking about an everyday object – a box perhaps. You may give it character with the adjectives you choose – size, colour, texture, purpose. You could also imbue it with thoughts, emotions, feelings and reactions, just from the words you may use to describe it. Semi-unconscious associations are used in advertising and marketing in order to influence your preferences and actions. Image is more powerful than information. So in teaching, imagination is more important than information. But it has to be evidence-led. The underlying message has to be factually real, the imaginative link has to be believable. Sam’s phone could not have been a grape or a jumper, it had to be able to represent the real item. And Sam and I both knew that it wasn’t really a phone, as he demonstrated by eating it.
How can we tread carefully through the minefield of singer-jargon? We must surely have to rethink every accepted term, just as I did when Amelia challenged me with the use of ‘connected’ and ‘embodied’. As we know from the evolution of language, words can change to mean something else. For example, naughty originally meant poor or needy (having naught), nice used to mean silly, foolish or ignorant. In our lifetimes the meaning of the word awesome has shifted completely. I would suggest that we periodically re-examine (find the weight of) many of the terms that we use in the teaching studio (room for study).
Support (carry, underpin, brace): When I was in my late 20s, after all my conservatoire training, I still believed that to support more, I should tighten my abdominal muscles. Support does imply some sort of bracing action. When I was a young choral singer, the word was often linked with a jabbing action in the midriff. I find the word Support really problematic now and have reverted to calling it Breath Management; the student is feeling what moves and what stays still and experiencing the outcomes.
Posture (position, stance): This implies something fixed. It also has connotations of good and bad. Words like alignment or balance are better, but make no sense to the younger student. The way we stand, what our body does when we sing, how to be tall, poised and soft – again this needs to be experienced not explained.
Freedom (to act, speak or think as one wants): Well that sounds lovely, we all like the idea of freeing something. Unfortunately for a vocal sound it doesn’t mean much; it’s getting into the realm of ‘natural’ as a positive descriptor. Perhaps we mean ‘free of unnecessary tension’; however, all too often it’s used as a way to mean ‘pleasing’.
On/off the voice: I’m not sure of this one. Off the voice can be used to suggest breathy, or falsetto/head voice (M2), under-energised or just light singing. It’s all by, with or from the voice.
On the Breath or Spinning: All voiced sound uses breath, it can’t be on or off the breath, in the same way that it can’t be on or off the voice. This is an example that what one feels isn’t necessarily what’s actually happening. The singer may feel that economical airflow is actively moving a lot of air. We know however that too much airflow will result in either constriction (an attempt to control the flow) or a leaky glottis (breathy sound), not enough breath will result in poor vocal fold adduction (below the minimum phonation threshold pressure). Generally speaking, less air is more efficient for singing, so ‘keeping the air moving’ is a misguided direction; ‘keeping a sense of movement’ would be better. Spinning is a useful imaginative concept implying fast, circular movement – it’s not actually what’s happening.
Floaty: This is normally used for high, quiet singing. Sometimes floaty just means quiet singing; it could be ‘on’ or ‘off’ the voice. It’s an imaginative descriptive term, but not a technical one.
Throaty: All sound uses the throat as a resonator. Does ‘throaty’ mean tight/constricted? Is it a backed tongue? Is it to do with larynx height? Again, it’s not a technical term or a particularly useful descriptor. It would be more helpful to be specific.
Is this what Vennard meant when he wrote in 1967 that language is ‘used so loosely and with so little consistency or reference to objective facts that it becomes meaningless’? I know that I am as guilty as the next teacher – hence my misunderstood use of ‘connected’ as a descriptive term. What on earth did I mean by that? I knew what I thought I meant; I had heard the sound as more excited, more emotional, sounding more like it could only have come from Amelia. Perhaps she would have found it more helpful if I’d just told her that her singing was much better, and left it at that.
We know that some terms are just so overused and potentially ambiguous that we should do our best to either avoid them, or make sure that our student understands exactly what is meant by the term. But we can’t avoid imagery and metaphor altogether, just because of the potential for confusion. It is part of our job to stimulate the imagination of our students, to help them with the link between voice and emotion. This may take us into the realm of sensory metaphor: sound that is clear or dark (visual), smooth or rough (tactile) or sweet (taste). Effective metaphors tend to use the immediate senses of touch, taste and smell ahead of the less immediate senses sight and hearing. Sweet silence is a more effective descriptor than silent sweetness. The reason for this is partly due to the order in which the senses develop, and partly due to their proximity in the areas of the brain. Taken further in neurological terms, when these links become stronger they result in synaesthesia. Many of these metaphors are powerful stimulators of the imagination. This stimulation is such a valuable part of our teaching, as long as we don’t actually believe it’s real.
‘Oftentimes in life, simple or inaccurate answers to questions are repeated authoritatively until they are accepted as truth,’ John Nix.
When considering the language we use, we are not just limiting ourselves to the polarity of literal and figurative speech. We have ways of shaping a phrase that can produce subtly different outcomes. In terms of the way in which we perceive and describe our students, we could be helping to contribute to their success or failure in ways that we hadn’t considered. It is encouraging to be told that you are a good singer, or even that you are talented or gifted. But telling someone this could be the most unhelpful thing that you could do. Carol Dweck has published seminal work on fixed and growth mindset; she researched the way in which children are addressed and described. If the action is praised or criticised, the child can know that there is an alternative. If the child is praised or criticised, there’s no way to change future outcomes. Students who are told that they have done well in a test but could have done better will be more likely to strive and improve than those who are just told that they are clever. It is most unhelpful to say to a student “you’re a very good singer”; a subtle change to “you sang that very well” can make all the difference.
‘If I think that my failure is due to lack of effort, I am crediting myself with the capability or the resources to do better. If I think that it is due to lack of ability, then I have no control, and trying to understand will be a waste of time. And if I put it down to luck, then I might as well carry on in the same old way, waiting for my luck to change.’ (Teaching to Learn, Claxton)
The idea of intellect, innate or latent, brings us to Howard Gardner and his theories of intelligence. He demonstrated that there are nine distinct areas of intelligence that can be measured: musical, linguistic, logico-mathematical, spacial, bodily/kinaesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, spiritual/existential, naturalist. A one-size-fits-all way of measuring IQ is known to have catastrophic limitations. Some schools and colleges focus on learning styles: visual, aural or kinaesthetic. These, again, are useful imaginative stimuli but there is no neurological evidence for any differential in the brain. The fact is that most people are a mix of all types of intelligence and of all three learning styles. Some areas will predominate and some will be a struggle; one person may have wonderful 3-dimensional visualisation and another may have a knack for mental arithmetic. In terms of imagery, one person may respond to thinking of the sound like dark chocolate flavoured with orange, another may relate to sinking into a large down-filled cushion. We find a way to communicate via the route the student finds easy and then try to develop that which the student finds a struggle. We don’t ask: “How intelligent are you?” we ask “How are you intelligent?”
As performers we have to get under the skin of another person. We have to imagine feelings that we haven’t directly experienced. The mirror neurons in the brain will help us to make the transition from primary representations to second-order ones: from literal to figurative. Imagination is what defines us as human; it is essential in order to spark creativity and emotional response. Imagery applied as a blanket to cover ignorance is not acceptable, but used with bespoke precision and thought it is a sign of an inventive teacher. Image is more powerful than information, but the information provides the best image.
“For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.”
T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets
References:
Dweck, C. S. (2012). Mindset: How You Can Fulfill Your Potential. Constable & Robinson Limited
Geary, J. (2011) I is an other: The secret life of metaphor and how it shapes the world. New York, HarperCollins
Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence Reframed. New York, Basic Books.
Piaget, J. (1928). The Child’s Conception of the World. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Verdolini-Marston, K. (2000). Principles of skill acquisition applied to voice training. The vocal vision: views on voice by 24 leading teachers, coaches and directors, Applause books.