Pliability & Presence in the Studio
Are you pliable in the studio?
Are you present in the studio?
I truly believe the experience that happens in the studio has to involve both of these from both sides of the piano!
I always ask a singer what they would like to accomplish or focus on in a session. It gives me an opportunity to see where their focus and thought process is. However, it doesn’t mean it’s exactly what’s going to happen! What a singer might want to happen, may simply not occur due to what they bring in. And when I say “bring in” - I’m not talking repertoire. I am talking about headspace, mindset, intention, and physicality.
I, as teacher, as guide, must be present enough to find non-verbal clues and listen to the singing voice as we warm up; watch the physicality as we wake up the athleticism of the instrument, in order to create the space for a singer to become pliable in that learning space to access what actually HAS to happen.
What I may think I want to create space for in that session, may not be what the singer needs that particular session. I, too, need to be pliable and think on my feet, and stay present in a session so I can direct that session in a way that will still achieve a tangibility and a focus of intention.
If we have to step ball change, we must do it together!
So, how’s your presence in the studio? How present are you when you are there? Also take a look at your practice: are you present while developing skill sets, or are you multi-tasking, even unconsciously?
Developing your skill sets as a singer/actor/athlete takes time, focus, staying present and being flexible (literally and otherwise!).
Your pliability, your flexibility of mindset, is CRUCIAL to discover the authenticity of a skill set and how you claim it.
A teacher cannot do that for you. A teacher must also have that pliability with you. It is the space between you the singer and the teacher or the coach that allows for the nuance and specificity to occur. Yes, it may lead you both into another direction for that session, but perhaps that’s precisely where you are supposed to go!
As a teacher, asking a singer for the direction they believe they want to go gives me a sense of where their mind is focused. Sometimes it’s more finite (I need to get through these sides for a callback) so that pliability needs to be from my end. However, the voice may need a little extra TLC that day BEFORE we jump into those sides and a singer must be pliable to allow for what they need, not just what they feel they have to achieve.
Sometimes the answer of pliability is “let’s just stretch and keep building” - which leaves it wide open to keep discovering the technical behavior of that singer’s athleticism and instrument and keep building on what we are developing and what they bring into the present situation in the studio.
It’s not all or nothing. It’s not my way or the highway. It’s not vacant lather rinse repeat. It’s not one size fits all.
As a teacher, my pliability and staying present in the studio means greeting each singer and finding out where they are today and what they need from the space between us. I guide that space.
As a singer, your pliability and staying present in the studio means accessing where you are, trusting the process, asking questions and beginning to acknowledge on multi-levels of consciousness how you are creating technical behavior in order to do your work.
If we find each other in the space between, stay present in that space and stay pliable to change direction if needed, then that’s when the magic can happen!
Happy discovery! Happy exploration!
