Technical and Artistic Adjustments: A Double-Swinging Doorway

Voice teachers must have at their command a myriad technical tools to help students discover sustainable approaches to singing. There will be times, however, when the path toward vocal freedom may not come from a technical adjustment—in fact, such adjustments could further exacerbate a technical issue when utilized at the improper time. How can voice teachers expand their repertoire of tools to ensure the student continues to advance?

David Sisco has been teaching voice for over 20 years and is currently adjunct voice faculty at NYU Steinhardt. In this workshop, he will collaborate with singers to demonstrate how voice teachers can vary technical and artistic adjustments, thereby accessing multiple points of entry to vocal freedom and expressivity. The following examples (and others) will be explored:

Breath Management: Technical Adjustment – SOVT exercises. Artistic Adjustment – Using action verb cards to change intention, which impacts breath flow.

Posture: Technical Adjustment – Balance board and small adjustments. Artistic Adjustment – Encouraging full body engagement through movement and then bringing that freedom into relative stillness.

Resonance Strategy: Technical Adjustment – “Nasal plug,” [ng], and chanting. Artistic Adjustment – Directing the singer to change focus, which encourages more consistent breath flow and vocal presence.

Final Performance Artistry: Technical Adjustment – Diction, phrasing, and dynamics. Artistic Adjustment – Asking the singer to translate the text in their own words—while singing—to excavate a personal connection to the song’s meaning.

Science-informed technical adjustments should always be the centerpiece of a voice teacher’s approach to singing. When these tools are used in partnership with artistic adjustments, however, the student will learn different ways to approach their repertoire while better understanding how their vocal technique operates within a performance context. They will also be reminded of why singers invest in a healthy technique in the first place: to more fully connect to their humanity as artists.