MONTSERRAT CABALLÉ TEACHING (MOMENTS FROM SEVERAL MASTERCLASSES)

Caballé says that many singers with beautiful, promising voices are having very short careers nowadays (5,6,7 year careers) all over the world because of the lack of knowledge and practice of the correct intake of breath and sustaining the sound on the breath. Her teacher, at the beginning, asked her: “When you go to the bathroom, where do you feel the pressure? High in the chest? or lower?” Caballé said: “Lower”(meaning the area between the waist and the pelvis, all the way to the back). Her teacher told her to put some heavy books on top of that area (between her pelvis and waist) and breathe. If the books went up, it meant she was breathing correctly and low. Caballé proceeds to do the same with the students, making them place objects (since there were no books around) on that part of their bodies and having them breathe through their mouths (never through their nose, which she insists tenses the muscles on either side of the neck) bringing the books up quickly, then holding them up for a moment and then bringing them down by exhaling. That is the constant mechanism of the intake/outtake of air. She insists on the following: 1-Intake of breath must be low. No raising of the shoulders when breathing in. 2-Big, low breath through the mouth only, but not gasping either. Gently. 3-Soft onset of the sound, no violent attacks 4-As the note or phrase progresses, the diaphragm goes up with the higher notes and down with the lower notes 5-In other videos where she teaches other students, she insists on sending the breath up, by pushing IN, BEFORE making the sound, NOT AT THE SAME TIME. BREATH MANAGEMENT: THE BREATHING (INHALATION) HAS TO OCCUR THROUGH THE MOUTH, DEEPLY, NOT GASPING, AND NEVER THROUGH THE NOSE. ACCORDING TO CABALLÉ, BREATHING THROUGH THE NOSE CREATES A CONSTRICTION OF THE MUSCLES ON EACH SIDE OF THE NECK, WHICH WILL ADVERSELY AFFECT YOUR SINGING. AS YOU BREATHE DEEPLY THROUGH THE MOUTH, FORCE THE DIAPHRAGM DOWN, LIKE WHEN GOING TO THE BATHROOM. THE AREA TO BE EXPANDED LIES BETWEEN THE WAIST AND THE PELVIS. THIS WILL ENSURE A FILLING OF THE LUNGS ALL THE WAY FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE TOP. THIS KIND OF BREATHING IS TO BE PRACTICED DAILY BY DOING A ROUTINE OF BREATHING EXERCISES, AS SHOWN IN THE VIDEO CLIPS. NO LIFTING OF THE SHOULDERS OR CHEST SHOULD OCCUR. PRODUCTION OF THE SOUND: THEN, BEFORE (NOT at the SAME time, nor AFTER, but BEFORE) PRODUCING THE SOUND, YOU MUST SEND THE BREATH “UP“ BY QUICKLY CONTRACTING THE LOWER ABDOMINALS AND BACK MUSCLES. THIS PROPELS THE BREATH UPWARDS, JUST AS IF SOMEONE WERE BOUNCING UP FROM A TRAMPOLINE. THIS ACTION ESTABLISHES THE AIR (BREATH) COLUMN B E F O R E ANY SOUND IS PRODUCED. CABALLÉ IS ADAMANT ABOUT THIS. SENDING THE AIR (BREATH) UP AT THE SAME TIME AS YOU SING IS WRONG. THE BREATH MUST REACH THE HEAD FOCUS POINT BEFORE ANY SOUND COMES OUT OF YOU. THIS IS RATHER DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND AND EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO PUT INTO PRACTICE. IT REQUIRES A LOT OF FAITH, PATIENCE, PERSISTENCE AND COURAGE BECAUSE IT MAY SEEM LIKE SUCH A FOREIGN AND BIZARRE CONCEPT AT FIRST, HARDLY TAUGHT ANYWHERE. WE ARE USED TO SENDING THE AIR UP “AS“ WE SING OR SPEAK, NOT “BEFORE.“ BUT CABALLE’S WHOLE MASTERY OF BREATH MANAGEMENT IS BASED ON THIS TECHNIQUE, AS SHE HAS EXPRESSED ON MANY INTERVIEWS AND MASTERCLASSES. AFTER THE COLUMN IS ESTABLISHED BY SENDING THE AIR “UP BEFORE THE SOUND,“ THEN YOU SING BY GENTLY PLACING THE SOUND ON TOP OF THAT COLUMN, MAKING IT FLOAT ON THE TOP OF THAT BREATH, RATHER THAN: 1) EITHER ATTACKING IT HEAD ON WITH BRUTE STRENGHT AND MUSCLE BY SENDING THE SOUND AT THE SAME TIME AS THE BREATH; OR 2) BY PRODUCING THE FIRST NOTE AND THEN SENDING AIR UP TO KEEP IT UP, WHICH IS WHAT MOST OF US TEND TO DO (THE CLICHÉ OF THE RUBBER BALL DANCING ON TOP OF THE WATER STREAM ON A FOUNTAIN). AFTER THAT FIRST NOTE IS CORRECTLY PLACED, AND AS YOU SING THE REST OF THE PHRASE, YOU MUST CONTINUE TO PULL IN YOUR LOWER ABDOMINALS TOWARDS YOUR BACK IN ORDER TO FEED THE AIR ON WHICH YOU WILL CONTINUE TO “FLOAT“ THE VOICE. CABALLÉ SEEMS TO SUGGEST TO FEED THE AIR IN AN ARCHED WAY, LIKE A WAVE CRESTING AT THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD, RATHER THAN ON A STRAIGHT LINE SHOOTING UPWARDS FROM YOUR DIAPHRAGM. THE VOICE IS CONTINUALLY PLACED ON TOP OF THAT WAVE, LIKE A SURFER RIDING IT. YOU MUST CONTINUE TO CREATE THAT WAVE BEFORE PLACING THE SOUND, NOT ONLY AT THE ONSET OF EACH PHRASE, BUT THROUGHOUT THE PHRASE ITSELF. THIS IS CERTAINLY NOT EASY TO ACHIEVE, EVEN IF YOU UNDERSTAND IT IN YOUR MIND. IT IS A COORDINATION THAT TAKES A LOT OF PRACTICE, INNER VISUALIZATION, AND PERSEVERANCE. JUST REMEMBER: ACCORDING TO CABALLÉ, THE BREATH COLUMN AND THE VOICE SHOULD NOT BE PRODUCED AT THE SAME TIME IF YOU WANT YOUR VOICE TO “FLOAT.”. THE BREATH COMES FIRST, A FEW FRACTIONS OF A SECOND BEFORE THE VOICE, ON EVERY NOTE, NOT JUST ON THE FIRST NOTE AFTER EACH BREATH. IT IS LIKE PLACING A CUSHION OF AIR BEFORE EACH NOTE, SO EACH NOTE CAN SIT ON IT AND THUS, “FLOAT.”