Background
As a classical singer, singing teacher and DMB fasciatherapist, the aim of this Master degree has been to conduct an investigation on the effects of perceptual psychoeducation’s manual and body-centred therapy on a population of three singers. The purpose was to identify the impacts of the experience of the Sensible[1] on the development of the lyrical singer’s potential.
Method
The research method consisted of the use of an epistemological stance of a practitioner researcher. We adopted a heuristic approach to qualitative analysis, methodologically basing it on two interviews as well as personal research diaries. Results were analysed using a categorical approach that led to three case-by-case descriptive accounts.
Results
Results show the immediate effects of perceptual psychoeducation on coping with stress and solving physical tensions due to effort, posture or emotional situations that affect and limit vocal apparatus’ functioning. Moreover, we found in the participants’ testimony a perceptive awakening in terms of listening and proprioception, as well as an increase in attention processes followed by an introspective recognition of bodily sensations. The data indicate that those evolutions seem to facilitate the understanding and mastery of the vocal instrument in action. In addition, the optimisation of effort management and the decrease of stress vulnerability led to a more balanced training. Results also suggest that a self-oriented reflexion based on a bodily experience stimulates and enhances the perceptive and expressive processes of the singer.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the development of newfound presence to the self and an enhanced relationship towards the body seem to optimise voice exploration and construction, as well as maintaining the health of the vocal chords. The new presence towards the self and the body also seem to lead to a more confident stage presence and a more unified expression of voice, body and artistic intention.
[1] Term used by Bois (2009) as a form of body-mind sensibility manifested through a particular quality of resonance that emerges from the embodied conscious experience.