Does Knowing How Singing Works Kill the Magic? – Voice Science

True confession: I love knowing how things work. I thrive on discovering the what, how, and why of things. This is my modus operandi. Yet, as a voice trainer, I’ve learned this: not everyone shares my zeal for knowledge. Some students just don’t want to know the way things work–particularly regarding the voice. But why? What’s behind the kind of wilful ignorance?

On today’s episode of The Voice Science Podcast, let’s ponder what might prompt such a choice. Off we go.

To begin, consider this: Have you ever been disappointed to learn how something works? When a moment of awe fades, and wonderment disappears?

Take a beautiful sunset, the sky ablaze with orange and red. Where did all the blue go? In Greek mythology, the western sky turns red due to the glow of the apples tended by Hesperidian nymphs. One Norse legend attributes the red sky to sprinkled blood, resulting from the wolf Managarm’s devouring of celestial bodies. Science tells us the effect is caused by the Rayleigh scattering. Sunlight contains a spectrum of colors, each of them with a different wavelength. As day draws to an end, the angle of the sun’s rays pass through a thicker layer of the atmosphere. Because the path is longer, it scatters the shorter blue wavelength and favors red and orange, which are longer. All of these are human inventions intended to explain a natural phenomenon. The first two capture the imagination, the latter involve meteorological calculations.

With 21st-century brains, we will classify the first two as fiction, and the other as fact. Does knowing both increase or diminish your enjoyment of the sunset? 

Here’s another example: massive crowd scenes in movies. When these are featured in films since the 1990s, you can’t help but assume you are watching such gargantuan cinematic moments as a result of the creation of CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) and MASSIVE (Multiple Automated Scale Simulation). The drama is still there but it relies on the viewer suspending disbelief, when watching, for example, the fight scenes in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In contrast, a staggering 25,000 extras were hired, costumed, and directed for the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille’s production of the epic Ten Commandments. It defies comprehension!

Here again, does knowing whether the sea of actors you see are real or computer-generated heighten or lessen your viewing enjoyment? 

I use these examples to rattle our thinking because humans can sometimes find it difficult to simultaneously hold two things that appear in opposition. Here I am speaking specifically about singing: the evidence-based, voice science, how-to side with the emotion-connected, artistic, and intuitive side.

In my experience as a voice trainer, most of my students enter into the process with only one goal: to sing better. They are benignly unaware about what getting better will entail and that’s fine. Haven’t we all undertaken something novel simply for the joy of discovery, or to scratch some itching fascination? Led by a patient and guiding hand of a qualified trainer, the newbie starts to see concepts congeal and skills develop. Small gains build confidence which deepens the roots of a long-term vision of themself as a singer. The student moves from the state of a hopeful want-to-be to a committed practitioner.

It has been my joy to see this exact sequence play out time and again. And yet, there have been those who didn’t have this experience. Let me offer some thoughts as to why I think this happens.

Firstly, I have encountered people who do not believe they need to learn anything about singing or music to be a better singer. I think this results from the anatomical and physiological interconnectedness between singing and speaking. Humans largely learn to talk through mimicry and the general public thinks the same should be true about singing.

What they are not considering are the critical differences that exist between the two: singing requires the sustaining of sound at various lengths or durations, and most songs make use of a much wider range of pitch frequencies than the average person accesses in daily speech. The two requisites need skills, namely breath management and body anchor, as well as ear training and vocal range building. 

Clearly, I am making a case for singing students acquiring skills, both vocal and musical. At the same time, I won’t be dishonest and say that there haven’t been singers who found their way to success through hours of pain-staking aural copying. The trial-and-error approach can produce results. My concern is this: learning via copying is an extremely narrow approach. It is the classic means-to-an-end approach. The means is listening and repeating. The end is singing a song like someone else. My hope for all my students is a much deeper and broader vocal and musical life.

Before moving on to another reason, riddle me this. I have had many a student whose goal for singing was only to sing a song like someone else and only wanted a recording to learn by. Imagine enrolling in piano or violin lessons. How would you respond if your teacher approached your training similarly? I think you might look for another teacher.

Secondly, I have had students avoid learning because they fear knowledge about singing will stifle their vocal artistry and self-expression. 

When I begin to work with a new student it is essential that I discover how they think singing works. More often than I wish to remember, I’ve had students pivot to phrases like, “I just want to sing from my heart. My emotions tell me how to sing. I prefer to feel it.”

As a voice trainer, one solidly committed to evidence-based voice science and practical musicianship as a baseline, my only response to these statements is a polite smile. I realize these students are, to some degree sincere, reciting some sort of cultural mantra to invoke the muse of a free, artistic spirit. It might sound funky and cool, but it is in no way a suitable substitute for real skills.

Thirdly, I have had students who think that understanding how the voice works–the laws of physical science that govern its function and behavior–will take the fun out of singing. As I admitted earlier, I am a huge fan of discovery. So, the idea of avoiding knowledge out of fear that it will spoil the prospect of fun is a mystery to me.

I would argue that understanding what, how, and why things work the way they do opens the mind to possibilities. Think of all the aspects of modern life where basic knowledge improves the potential for enjoyment. Playing a sport or a boardgame, for example, or using a smartphone or laptop, or a game pad or console. The fun factor increases with know-how.

Sometimes people avoid knowledge, preferring instead to engage in what is commonly called wilful ignorance. The reasons for doing so vary but some use it as a shield to avoid intellectual accountability. Often avoidance stems from an unwillingness to do the good work of learning. Maybe there is no effort to learn due to a lack of self-esteem. For others, knowing more is kept at a distance because it could potentially challenge previously-held certainties.

Regardless of the reason, the bottom line is this: increasing one’s knowledge–of how the voice and music work–should never be seen as an enemy of becoming a better singer.

In summary:

Growing in vocal and musical knowledge should not be seen as a threat to one’s vocal artistry or joy in singing.

Developing your singing and musicianship skills is the key to liberating your creativity. Technical proficiency unshackles the imagination.

VoSci is here to help you on your learning journey with our free tools and resources. And when you’re ready with VoSci Academy to dive deep with courses, live Q&A, and monthly practice paths.

Don’t fall prey to willful ignorance. If you are tempted to do so, find the courage to uncover the root of your avoidance.

From all of us on the VoSci team, we hope you have enjoyed today’s episode written by Timothy Wilds and presented by Drew Williams-Orozco. Until next time, keep singing, and singing smart.