Seminar on Voice Culture & Management

A Report

The recent two-day seminar on Voice Culture, Therapy & Management organized by Carnatica at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai was a virtual tour-de-force on all aspects related to the human voice, its production, maintenance, problems & cure and the aesthetic aspects of using the voice for perfect music production. A plethora of experts from the medical, musical and spiritual fields gave their insightful inputs to make this a one-of-its-kind event.

The event was kicked off with a brief inaugural ceremony presided over by stalwart musician T. V. Gopalakrishnan who spoke about his work on voice techniques over the last three decades and the differences in training in the Hindustani & Carnatic streams. He stressed the importance of correct usage and maintenance of vocal cords and lamented the lack of awareness among musicians about voice management techniques. Dr. Sathish, an eminent Coimbatore-based surgeon and promoter of Rajalakshmi Fine Arts, in his brief but pointed inaugural speech registered his pleasure about voice culture being brought into prominence through such a pioneering venture.

31/01/04

Dr. Mohan Kameshwaran on Disorders of Voice

Dr. Mohan explained the importance of the care of the Voice box, voice production and the lack of awareness of the science behind these in singers. He elucidated the anatomy of the larynx in simple terms and also the functioning of the same. The fact that voice training can help in the production of voice from a bad larynx was a revelation. Voice training is predominantly aimed at compensatory mechanism, according to him. He said that December season is the worst period for Singer as this time of the year is most conducive for peak allergies, respiratory infections and maximum mucous secretion. He then went on to explain the conditions under which the voice fails to function, ENT problems like allergic pharyngitis, fungal pharyngitis, post nasal discharge, sinusitis, acid reflux, nodules and tonsillitis.

Dr.S.A.K.Durga: Vocal Acoustics

Dr. Durga beautifully described the production of voice by the body parts taking musical illustrations. She gave the Sanskrit and musical terminologies to the different types of voice. She also explained the pronunciation techniques and use of mouth and tongue while singing.

Dr. Sridevi Padmanabhan: Speech Therapy

The purpose of this topic was to understand the involvement of teeth and tongue in the pronunciation or enunciation of words while singing. Dr. Sridevi, being a dentist, could throw light on this aspect. The clarity, diction, intonation and enunciation of words depend on the teeth and tongue formation. She illustrated all these aspects with audio visual examples.

Sriram Parasuram: Versatility of Voice

Sriram was of the opinion that Indian classical music gives room for anybody to be a singer, only with respect to voice. He said that it is very difficult to define an ideal voice in classical music as classical music depended more on the head and mind rather than the voice. He, however, did mention that this was not true of western classical and Indian film music. However, he stressed on the importance of various factors influencing the voice production and demonstrated as to how one modifies or trains the voice to communicate what it wants to. The factors mentioned were timbre, nasality, usage of vowels, use of vibrato, voice distortion (as in carnatic music) and articulation. He sang several phrases and songs from both the Hindustani and Carnatic systems to elucidate his points.

This was followed by a panel discussion on the ‘Care and Cure of Voice’. The participants were Smt. Suguna Purushottaman, Sri. Vijay Siva, Sri. Sriram Parasuram, Dr. S. A. K. Durga and Sri. Ananth Vaidyanathan. The panelists exchanged views on the practice methodologies handed over to them by their Gurus and also their own experiences and answered the queries of the audience present.

Highlights of the discussion:

1. Practise more in the Mandra Sthayi and not strain much in the Tara Sthayi.

2. Open throated singing was advocated.

3. Too much care is bad.

4. Rest/silence, water and peace are important to have a good voice.

5. One should not use the head/jaw movement when trying to sing in the lower or octaves as this constricts the vocal chords.

01/02/04

Dr. Rangarajan: Emotional and stress factors affecting the voice - Medical perspective

Dr. Rangarajan clearly explained the psychological factors that could affect the voice and hence the singing. He mentioned that confidence and anxiety level of a performer are 2 main things that decide a performance. Another important factor is the willingness to keep trying when the voice fails to hit a note. The voice box is after all a set of muscles and proper control and training with the right attitude would definitely help. He also emphasized that a guilt feeling, paranoia, over drugging and most important, depression can be detrimental to the condition of the voice and hence hampers the singing.

Sri. N. P. Krishnan: Emotional and stress factors affecting the voice - Perspective from Art of Living

‘Spirituality improves or enhances the performance, observation, awareness and perception’, were the words of N. P. Krishnan. He elicited a favorable nod from most of the senior citizens present in the audience. He stressed on the importance of ‘Ujjayi’ breathing technique which is supposed to enhance the intake of Prana and hence, increase the lung capacity. The Kanishta Pranayama is done stage by stage and this regulates the flow of breath that is the link between the body and mind. Talking of mind, he said that meditation relaxes and that is a state of restful awareness. When the mind is calm, creativity blossoms. Ujjayi breathing, that forms the core of Art of Living, is supposed to strengthen the vocal chords. This type of breathing supposedly exercises the vocal chords. The audience was treated to Panchakosa meditation and this proved to be refreshing.

Mr. Sridharan: Yoga & Singing

Yoga improves the Agni and Vayu (Prana) of the body and this forms the core of ‘Nada’. This has been beautifully sung by Thyagaraja in the composition, ‘Mokshamu Galada’. Mr. Sridharan stressed on the importance of a straight spine or sitting straight for proper voice production. Some of the Asanas demonstrated were Virabhadrasana and Surya Namaskaram. He also stressed the importance of chanting ‘Om’ while doing the Asana and said that this would improve the voice and breath control. Asanas like ‘Janushirasasana’ are supposed to cure stammering. The practice of Pranayama exercises are said to be very good for musicians. Kapalapadhi helps in the breath control, Sheetali helps in preventing the dryness of throat and Bastrika clears the nose and throat passage. Sridharan, however, emphasized that all the Asanas and Pranayama exercises should be practiced only with the help of a trained teacher.

Dr. Rajkumar: Vocal Fitness

Dr. Rajkumar’s lecture on the vocal fitness was very interesting, enlightening and enlivening. It was a revelation when he said that ‘acid reflux’ or acidity (in layman’s terms) causes voice irritation and hence hampers the singing process. The symptoms of acid reflux are:

1. Laryngitis 2. Hoarseness 3. Lump in the throat 4. Post nasal drip 5. Chronic throat clearing 6. Excessive throat mucous 7. Sore throat 8. Dry cough 9. Spasm/pain in the throat 10. unable to maintain high pitch

He mentioned that the acid reflux could worsen because of hiatus hernia, obesity and poor eating habits. He stressed the importance of proper eating habits, the types of food that can be taken and avoided. On the whole, it was a new perspective to the origin of voice problems that one would never have thought of.

Dr. Natanasabhai: Use of Alternate medicine in Voice Cure

Dr. Natanasabhai explained the use of Homeopathy, Siddha and Ayurveda in the treatment of voice related issues. He drew comparisons from music itself and explained the concepts.

Dr. Dilip Raghavan, Dr. Sathya, Dr. Ramakrishnan & Dr. Jawahar: Physiology and Anatomy of Voice production

The team went on explain the scientific method of voice production, the problems that one faces, the cure of the same using technology and so on. Videos of operations were screened and many slides were shown to elucidate the points.

This was followed by an ‘Open House’ session on the ‘Voice – Its Care and Cure’, where participants Dr. S. A. K. Durga, Sriram Parasuram, Maharajapuram Srinivasan, Indira Menon and Ananth Vaidyanathan answered the queries raised by the enthusiastic audience. There were so many questions pertaining to the seminar and the time was not enough. Hence, the Voice Academy have assured the audience that such events would be frequently organized and that the people with any voice related issues can approach the Academy for help.

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