Singing with the fire element
This week we are exploring singing with the fire element. One of the things that I love most about the voice, is the way it is connected to every other aspect of ourselves.
In Chinese philosophy, the element of fire is related to the heart organ and to the emotion of joy. When emotions are balanced they flow and help us in life. But when they are unbalanced or we hold onto them, they can cause different problems, not only emotional but also physical.
But of course, I will focus on the effects on the voice.
When the fire is too low in us, our posture will tend to curve forwards (discouragement posture). Amongst other things, this will make our voice sound quite weak. With the spine not being quite upright, the air won’t be able to flow freely through your body.
Photo by Yuris Alhumaydy on Unsplash
Also, your neck muscles will be activated and stretching in the back, producing a lack of space in the front of the neck. This will result in a voice that is held back.
Try singing a long aahhh sound while tilting your head forwards and back to neutral position. You will notice that the sound is much stronger when the neck is in a neutral position (looking straight forwards rather than up or down).
On the other hand, if the fire is too excessive, this can cause stiffness in your chest (pride posture). In this posture, your breathing will be affected because your abdominal muscles will tend to contract so you can hold your chest high.
If this happens, your voice will be affected in different ways: your breathing will be shorter and higher in the lungs, making it harder for you to control your air support, and also making it harder for you to keep your throat relaxed for singing.
It is useful to have a bit of knowledge about how this affects your voice because with that knowledge we can understand ourselves better and make useful changes. If your voice is too weak, it might be time to add a little bit more fire to your life!
Photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash
How to do singing with the fire element
There are also other ways that this understanding can help our voice if we use it properly. Sometimes when we sing a song that we find hard, just by finding the right energy to it we can automatically find the “technique” that helps us resolve it.
For example, if we look at a song that explores the emotion of joy (for example “Happy” by Pharrel Williams), and you try to sing it from a sad posture, it will be very hard and probably not sound very good. But if you just open your chest as if you just received some really good news, the voice will more easily just flow.
On the other hand, if you try to sing a sad song (let’s say “She’s out of my life” by Michael Jackson) from a happy or pride posture, it won’t sound credible and your voice will just not match the emotion that you’re trying to express. If you just “reduce the fire” you might find it easier to sing more easily and naturally.
Give it a try! We’ll be exploring the rest of the elements in the next weeks 🙂
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My greatest passion has always been the voice, music and energy arts.
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