The nightingales of Europe (and beyond) are preparing to show off their singing skills in Malmö. They all hope to be the best. What makes one sound beautiful and the other sound like a false, hoarse crow? Can anyone learn to sing?
Zingen is 50 procent durven, zegt zangdocent Helena Saelman van zangpraktijk Natuurlijk Vrij Zingen. De rest is muzikaliteit, goede oren, juiste ademhalingstechnieken, heel veel en vaak oefenen en zuiver de toon kunnen raken.
Dat laatste is een vereiste om mooi te klinken. Als je niet van nature zuiver kunt zingen, kun je het wel aanleren. Maar dat is een hele lange weg, vertelt Saelman.
“Als ik een toon aansla op de piano – bijvoorbeeld de a met 440 hertz – en je dat meteen kan nadoen, dan kun je zuiver zingen. Zit je er steeds net onder – 395 of nog lager – dan klink je niet toonvast, oftewel: vals. Als je die goede oren niet hebt, wordt het moeilijk om mooi te leren zingen.”
Al jong veel zingen helpt
Dat weet ook stemlogopedist Henrike Jansen. “Zonder dat toongevoel is het de vraag of je kunt leren echt melodieus te zingen. Bij sommige mensen klopt alles, die zijn fysiologisch in staat om een toon lang vast te houden en zingen meteen een toon perfect na. Daar hoef je met zangles niet zoveel aan te doen, behalve het talent verfijnen.”
Saelman ziet een opvallend verschil tussen mensen die zijn opgegroeid met zang en muziek en zij die thuis nooit iets hebben meegekregen. “Mensen met een kerkelijke achtergrond kunnen vaak al aardig zingen. Ze hebben die schroom minder, ze zijn het gewend om veel in de kerk te zingen en hun stem te gebruiken. Als die basis er niet is, moet je een stuk harder werken om te leren zingen.”
Let your voice vibrate freely
Many novice singers breathe in too often and that is not efficient, says Jansen. “Think of your vocal cords as a valve that closes off the airways. If there is always increased pressure under your vocal cords, you cannot let the voice vibrate freely. You start breathing high at the ribs, get a sore throat or become tired and hoarse. I advise singers As a vocal exercise, I recommend first letting some air escape and then singing a tune.”
With your tongue and uvula you can create nice effects in the voice and embellish your sound. For example, a sultry nasal sound by lowering the uvula, the tip of your tongue in the front of the mouth to prevent a throaty sound and singing fiercely and loudly by opening your throat. When you learn to sing, you have to operate everything separately. A lot can be influenced, says Jansen.
We often see singing as showing off
Unfortunately, singing out loud is often seen as vanity and showing off, says singing teacher Saelman. That’s a shame, because it can be wonderful to let your breath flow freely to your own sounds. Many novice singers still find the latter difficult. To keep the breath flowing, you have to tighten your abdominal muscles and then release them.
“Many people, especially if they are heavier, hold their stomach in all day and have difficulty letting go. It takes a while before you condition your body in such a way that you can tense, hold and release. Professional singers have their whole lives class and some days it goes better than others.”
And if you have all the technology at home and practice a lot, but lack musicality, your singing will never really be interesting to anyone else. “It’s all in the little things. Just that little accent, singing a little louder or softer, holding back a little or a little faster, playing with your voice, your feeling in it, improvising. Culture also plays a role and our Dutch culture is not a bad thing. set to music.” It would make a difference if Dutch primary schools paid more attention to music education, the singing teacher thinks.
Squeaking from Maria Callas and hoarse throat from Janis Joplin
Jansen does not believe in a universally beautiful voice. Artists who make their money with their voices don’t always sound good. “I don’t like Janis Joplin with her hoarse voice. And Maria Callas sings beautifully, but I can only listen to that for five minutes. After that I can’t hear that squeak anymore.” Their special tricks, passion and performances make it special.
The technically trained musical stars who sing, dance and play for hours every evening can participate in talent shows such as Idols and The Voice always expect criticism. “Then people say that it is ‘too musical’. In short: whether something is beautiful is determined by the listener.”
Joost Klein will with Europapa Saelman expects to score well. “He dares, does fun and special tricks with his voice and there is show and spectacle in it. But I don’t find the singing impressive. I like jazz singers such as Eliane Elias, Ella Fitzgerald or classical singing such as that of Véronique Gens. “
In jazz or classical singing, a voice is expressed in a different way than in a rap or pop song with a lot of electronic support, says the singing teacher. “Europapa is not my taste, but it is catchy. You hear it once and sing it all day.”
