Connect your memories with motor imagery

or: remember the lilac bushes
--Katherine Werbiansky

I'd like to share the poetry from one of my favorite art songs:
"Meine liebe its grün" (my love is green) by Johannes Brahms.

My love is as green as the lilac bush,
And my love is as fair as the sun, 
which gleams down on the lilac bush
and fills it with fragrance and bliss.
My soul has the wings of a nightingale
and rocks itself in blooming lilac,
and, intoxicated by the fragrance, cheers and sings
a good many love-drunk songs. 

I grew up with three beautiful lilac bushes in my backyard. They were bushes that I played hide-and-go-seek in with my sisters, cut off purple buds and gave them to my teachers as presents, and woke up to their smell wafting into the window of my childhood home. How could I not visualize this deeply rooted (no pun intended) image from my childhood while singing this song? A huge part of learning how to sing involves play, experimentation, and tapping into your imagination.

When we sing we can use the motor imagery of our senses to conjure up the technical component that is lacking. If I need a student to do a technical task such as lower their larynx, I'll often ask them what their favorite flower is and to imagine slowly inhaling that fragrance through their nose. The act of breathing slowly and deeply through your nose automatically helps open the throat and relax the larynx, but now the action is linked to a strong memory and mental image. Once we've correlated a motor image with the technical task it becomes a part of the singer's vocal lexicon. Over time we can let go of the flower image and I can just say, "you need a more open throat", but at first we want to build a reliable image that produces repeatable results.

An image that works for one singer may not work at all for another. I'm constantly thinking of new mental concepts and seeing which ones consistently create the "aha!" moments for my students. For example, one of my students did not relate to the motor image of smelling a flower. Instead, they had fantastic motor imagery responses to character types. We connected the character type of a royal British person (think of Maggie Smith on Downton Abbey) to the feeling of a relaxed throat, lifted soft pallet, and gently raised zygomatic facial muscles. Now anytime I need more of that element in their voice I can simply say, "Downton Abbey". 

Motor imagery is a wonderful technical tool, but it also applies to the artistic interpretation of song. Once the practice of technical work is fine tuned, the mind has more free space to think of other things while performing. In order for the music to transport an audience the singer must be transported themselves. One way to tap into your most expressive voice is by projecting that mental image in front of you: I smell the lilacs and my larynx lowers, I remember fond memories in the lilacs and my jaw tension relaxes, I see the blooms of purple and white and I'm truly inspired to sing. You have a plethora of memories, sounds, sights, and smells to draw from while singing.

I encourage everyone to listen to a song you're working on and see what your mind projects in front of you. Pay attention to all five senses of the memory and let it inform your artistic choices.