As professional singers, this is a question that I get asked quite often, and I believe we ask ourselves every time we use our voice to tell stories. We often crave the idea of technique, as a noun, because it is associated with better sounds, easier facility, higher notes, and more longevity. Yes, as this is all true, what is ‘technique?’
What if, as a singer, we started to think of technique more as an action, a verb, instead of a noun? What are we DOING with our voice, cognitively that makes a better sound, higher notes, and more longevity. When I was a young singer, myself, I remember getting high praise for being a good singer with technique. However, in reality I wasn’t taking an action (conscientiously) in my singing. Now, there is definitely something to be said about a natural talent of technique, as we are meant to sing as human beings. Yet, I find that the lack of a more full understanding of one’s instrument can limit the artistry to limited style, agility, and vocal painting.
Many times the technique, the doing, comes in the set-up of a phrase. Knowing the action to take before execution is the sophisticated level of singing. Many times, I find with singers that if they are set-up actively, knowingly and run on that idea many of the ‘hiccups’ have been smoothed out and not a hindrance anymore for all their artistic vocal choices. What actions are you taking for the best possible sound?
So, I encourage you not to get bogged down in ‘technique,’ but think about action, choices, and cognitive singing set-up.