Newsletters

The choice for the voice - July 4th, 2006

Training the voice, the internal dialog - May 31rst, 2006

Training the voice, coaching the person - May 17th, 2006

 The Choice for the Voice

Have you found your way to balance? Do you live in inner harmony? Is your life an expression of your vision? Do you follow your call? Do you feel connected to your great spirit?

It may well be that you feel that you are on the right track but that small pieces of the puzzle seem to be missing, things that you can not fill in yourself just because of the simple fact that you are yourself and that you can only use the same means which are here at present, the same ingredients which define you to be your good old self right now.

So you collect pieces, starting by the simple ones, the obvious. Little by little you get to the really difficult ones, the unique ones. It is not at the end of the puzzle that it is difficult. At the end the open spaces and the pieces start attracting each other with impatience and the puzzle is finished in no time. No it is just after you put in place the first structure and before ending that the puzzle puzzles you most.

In these most difficult stages of life, when you develop the plot of the story, you develop your methods of searching and dividing. It is not that you need somebody who will put your pieces on the right place; you need someone who helps you looking for new ones by shifting attention, see things differently, someone who helps you to open your senses.

Using the voice, getting to know your voice, developing and connecting to your voice may add a new tool to your puzzling technique. Awareness changes when you observe the obvious, suddenly your voice is there, you get to know old habits and create new ones.

Using the voice would at the beginning focus your attention upon sound and feeling. Next to eye-openers (look at stereograms on the internet!) you will get ear-openers. Can you imagine that one of your missing links could be found through your own sound?

A choice for the voice will be a good temporary choice. You will need more. Work on the senses, work on the intellect, work on your emotions. There is a lot of work to be done to get the complete picture. Maybe now it is time for the Choice for the Voice.

Tralalalera!!!?, Tralalala!!!!!! (Rossini, Il Barbiere di Siviglia)

Nicolai Cok - July 4th 2006

Training the voice, the internal dialogue

When you think of getting vocal coaching you could have the idea of a teacher telling you how to breathe, how to make the vocal cords stronger, how to pronounce and how to connect the vocal instrument to the wishes of interpretation.

This is a good idea. A vocal coach will help you do all this, and more, like preparing vocal tasks and planning a vocal career. In all this the attention is drawn to the external sound; the sound as perceived by our ears.

How do we cope with our internal sound? How do we cope with our inner comment (words we utter in silence against ourselves) and images (ideas about the realities of the sound we produce) both before and after we sing or speak? And how are these comments connected; to the perception of others or are they connected to the perception we have while we produce sound? Just think about hearing yourself on a recording and you know what I mean.

Voice teaching and voice coaching are intimately connected. Do you realize that your inner voice often speaks just when you shut up? And do you realize that it sometimes starts talking out loud while you are speaking to others? Whose voice is this actually; who are you using as your internal sparring partner? And what voice is it, high, low, slow, fast, regular, well-tuned or ill-registered? Is it stable, does it change?

There we are, entering a world of sound and impact which is very important to your daily functioning, a world which is not often being considered a topic of possible change and gain. The steps I use in a vocal coaching are:

a.     becoming aware of the voice and its nature

b.     getting to know the nature and its benefits for you

c.     using the benefits in more variations

No fairy tales; getting to know the voice inside-and not seldom more voices inside is mental work. Where you are, what you do, your doubts about if you can do it, the connections between what you do and who you think you are, and to whom or what you belong is going to be of great influence on our work.

So what are you saying to yourself now, while you read this letter aloud in your head? Could it be a tool for you, mastering the voice inside and outside? Would it be a decisive instrument to become balanced at the moment of performing? Could you even come to the point that you let the inner voice speak out loudly when you want it to?

Is vocal coaching a good idea for you?

Talk about it with yourself, and listen!  

Nicolai Cok - May 31rst 2006

Training the voice, coaching the person

Training the voice thrills me. I am working with voice professionals and amateurs for 20 years and every single day offers me new discoveries.

Whether with a CEO, an opera singer, salesman, trainers or teachers; working the voice opens up a range of possibilities in working on real quality; being more connected, being more sincere to oneself and to others.

There is no hiding in vocal expression. The essence of this is explained in the functioning of the human brain. Our rational brain (let’s call it that for the moment) formulates and composes while our other brain (artistic, holistic) comments the contents at the very moment that we pronounce the words. The truth is in the ear of the “be hearer”, next to the very well composed rational message the emotional comment of the other brain is being sent out as well!

We start inventing tricks to cover the comments; rational methods of camouflage. We over shout, over whisper, over laugh or over cry the shortcomings of our inner balance. The result is dead speech or dead singing. Using one colour is an expression too and both public (or students) and you know that this system of hiding the truth in the end is going to be extremely boring: you only communicate that you are nót expressing something. Your song or speech is not connected. The best you’ll get is your inner doubt and an absent minded public (will they buy it? how long is this going to last?). The worst is resistance and rebellion, the message which is not expressed results in coughing, hoarseness, a catch in the voice, limited range, strange squeaks…….

Other solutions. Get connected to the soul of your very speech or singing. “Can I do this with simple exercises?” No, you will release a severely frustrated friend that will jump at you once you’ll let her out. And that is the moment where my work starts, helping you to build a relationship between you (him) and you (her). Here Training the Voice becomes Coaching the Person.

Belief it or not, for me the work starts by hearing you say “hello”  And then, shortly afterwards, you’ll find yourself in a systemic vocal coaching which will bring you to the very core of your choice to ignore, or put aside, a voice. You will start to accept her comments and act upon them. You will react upon the real situation and become an interactive and flexible performer. You’ll become one and because of this you will become one with your public. You’ll communicate, instead of throwing sounds and words. You will love instead of fear.

You can communicate differently; with anyone. Aligned voices, aligned brains. There is no way in which I will make a distinction between you talking to your dog or you addressing your audience. Your ethics will be redefined (are you ethical with yourself?), you will become aware of the wealth of your inner discussion. Along the way we will train excellent posture and breathing, resonance, diction, presentation and interpretation.

When it is time to start listening to yourself I will happily receive you, or one of your friends, to start working.

Nicolai Cok - May 17th, 2006