Friday, January 05, 2007

Voice culture - myths busted

I have attended umpteen voice culture workshops and read up hundreds of documents on voice culture , voice hygiene ,trivia and non-trivia for carnatic musicians. In the last two years or three maybe, I have been on this eternal quest for the perfect voice guide, one which can transform my voice to the depths,breadths and what-not as required for singing Carnatic vocal. People who have heard the worst and best of my voice should know that it osciallates between that of Lata Mangeshkar's and Rani Mukherjee's...ah well.. am just kidding on the former and not kidding on the latter :)
Imagine my happiness when I discover the perfect solution for my voice problems. The coarseness went away, the tonsils dont inflame anymore,grogginess in the mornings has vanished, in short the voice is healthier and ready. Now coming to the solution, the magic mantra that worked is 'Practice'. Constant practice, regular, methodical, full-throated singing, preached and perfected by the old timers!!
Sounds so simple, it does away the guilt of eating an occasional chocolate ice-cream or a spicy paani puri, it keeps the voice toned, fit and ready to sing and sustain. Very few of these workshops really tell you this fact. The workshops and documents should put in a disclaimer kinda thing such as one you see for health drinks for growing children 'This is not a substitute for food'. This one should say, 'Voice workshops are not a substitute for regular singing'. How does this sound for a new ad concept in the field of carnatic music ?