Question 2

Hello Mrs. Lang,
How are technique and interpretation distributed in your teaching? Are there different approaches? How can I sing more dramatic arias quickly?
Thank you very much!
Markus

Hello Markus,

this question is not so easy to answer. The proportion of "technique" and "interpretation" is individually adapted to the individual "constitution" and "need" of each singer in the given situation.

 There are different scenarios:

• In the past, singers came to a singing teacher to learn technique. Interpretation is a very personal matter, always connected with making one's own statement. Singing technique, in my opinion, should enable the singer to create this own statement with all its facets. That's why, for me, working on vocal technique and its constant improvement is the basis of every singer's work. A singer's life long! So my singing life  teachers Gertie Charlent, Ingrid Bjoner, Angelo Loforese and Adrian Baianu have always focused on technical work with me.

In my studio, this is what my lessons practically look like:

• Private lessons, which are mainly technical; here we work individually on the technique - in exercises and with transfer to the repertoire.
• Class hours A: breathing exercises, mental techniques, "singer gymnastics", sound relaxation, repertoire knowledge, singing-in strategies theory, marketing strategies, analyzing singers by listening and much more.
• Class lessons B: interpretation, audition training, singing-in strategies practice: which exercises when why for what? - and the practical application.

Fundamental to stable singing is learning individual vowel balance. With the associated "short paths", one saves a lot of additional effort in movement and makes a register balance possible. In this way, one can train a good vocal fit and, in the long run, individually expand and stabilize one's range. In this way, one's own timbre can (further) develop, which makes the singer unmistakable and allows him to find "his" voice, his "correct" vocal subject and his "adequate" repertoire. This has always been my goal in my own work on my voice: to have a healthy voice that optimally uses its resources and thus remains "young" into old age. I don't think much of "turning up" a voice, "making it dramatic", "making it sound darker, rounder, louder" than it naturally is. Such manipulations are usually susceptible and sooner or later give most singers problems, unsteady intonation up to a wobble or a loss of top notes.

 For me, it is always a matter of quality, of adapting one's will to one's physical conditions, and of making the most of one's possibilities.

• If a singer comes to work on a particular part, the focus is on grasping the problems of this very part and on the personal realization with the illumination of all possible facets, which creates an openness for future work with conductors and directors. The singer should learn to continue this analysis himself after instruction and to transfer it to other roles, songs, arias. Usually there are certain notes or passages where there are "difficulties". I can usually solve these with small, adapted technical exercises.
• When it comes to a "quick fix", e.g. before an audition, I work similarly. Here the focus is then on enabling an individual statement of the respective singer, with which he can "sell" himself well.
• In situations where apparently "nothing works anymore" because the voice can no longer be controlled, e.g. a too large vibrato has developed, clean intonation causes difficulties, high notes cannot be produced or can only be produced with great effort, clearly visible tensions such as a crooked mouth or a lower jaw developing a life of its own occur, it is first of all important to take a good anamnesis and then offer technical exercises that specifically work on the respective abnormality. However, it is always important to rule out symptoms that require medical treatment. In the case of air in the voice, for example, it is advisable to consult an ENT specialist, and in the case of problems in the throat area and massive jaw tension, it can be helpful to consult an orthopedist. For me, illness belongs in the hands of a trained specialist and therapist. Certainly there are smooth transitions here. However, in the course of his career, every singer should develop a feeling for his condition, and it is always better to ask the specialist right away. I have often experienced that singing teachers sometimes "doctored around" for years on a problem that could finally be easily fixed with two osteopathic sessions.

For me, however, the training and further development of the healthy voice and person is the goal. With the professional singer, I am concerned with providing approaches to solutions, quasi help for self-help. This is actually only possible by technique, because the goal is to achieve an improvement.

Best regards
Yours

Petra Lang