Nightswimming Pure Research Proposal The Unfettered Singer- ABSTRACT We would like to explore the physical limits of elite Classical singing. Two Classical singers (one male, one female) will collaborate with one director to go through a number of pre-determined and improvised exercises/experiments to test the physical limits of the performers under various circumstances to determine whether it is possible and/or safe to maintain performance quality phonation. Objectives & Goals • Explore the physical limits of classical singers in four major areas: • Cardiovascular and pulmonary limits on singing • Limitations of body positions and poses • Limitations of large physical movement & choreography (body in movement) • Effects of environment • Discover personal limits in endurance, physicality and response to environment • Expand the expressive palate for singers and directors particularly where it could be used in standard traditional repertoire The experiments will be grouped into sessions and distributed over three days (see Proposed Schedule- Day 1). These sessions will planned to complement one another so that the performers aren’t burnt out early on, but there will also be time budgeted towards revisiting ideas/avenues of research that have been flagged for further study. Benchmarks of performance include: a vocalise covering the singer’s entire vocal range and covering different technical aspects of singing (legato, staccato, coloratura/fioritura, full range, leaps/wide intervals, length of line), individual arias that are challenging to that singer’s capabilities, and a duet for exercises involving both singers. Safety is a top priority in all of the exercises. The exercises will be constructed and scheduled to take into consideration the performers’ endurance, while fully recognizing that it is this endurance that we are interested in testing. Data collected will be qualitative and subjective. The participants will each keep a written record of the results, observations and discoveries of each experiment- both those doing and watching. Individual records are vital as it will be up to the performer to ultimately decide whether something is possible/safe. Group discussions will also take place to review the proceedings and to identify further possible avenues of exploration. There will also be video and photographic documentation of the exercises.
Proposed Schedule- Day 1 10:00 am Meet & greet 10:15 am Physical and vocal warm-up 11:00 am Finalize measurement criteria and data collection methods • Vocalise, arias, duet, other vocal passages/exercises • Legato, staccato, coloratura/fioritura, full range, leaps/wide intervals, length of line • Rehearsal if necessary • Video taping, journals, discussion formats 11:45 am Poses 1 • Yoga and body poses • Compressions (forward bends) • Spinal Twists • Arches • Feedback throughout, breaks as necessary 2pm-3pm Lunch 3pm Cardio 1 • Singing while running, skipping, jogging and its affects • Different speeds (maintaining quality) • Different levels of vertical motion • Feedback throughout, breaks as necessary 5:30pm Re-group, closing thoughts, finalize schedule for Day 2 6pm End of Day 1