Voice, Singing & Alexander Technique with Alan Mars. 
Singing workshops and private lessons London & Brighton 

• Sing with greater ease, clarity, resonance and power.
• Develop increasing confidence & reduce nerves
• Experiment with simple vocal and breathing exercises.
• Explore vocal anatomy.
• Sing some beautiful group songs and rounds.
• Wrap your mouth around a rich language text!
• Everyone is welcome to this workshop – especially confirmed “non-singers”!
• Click here for courses…

Voice, confidence & presentation coaching with Alan Mars

London singing lesson

Brighton vocal lesson
Alan Mars has taught Alexander Technique, voice-work and singing both privately and at many top London drama and music schools , including the Arts Educational Drama School, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal College of Music, since 1982. He offers both group and individual coaching.
Contact details – please click here

Voice, Singing & the Alexander Technique, London, 4th July

Voice, confidence & presentation coaching with Alan Mars

Singing lessons in London presents…
Voice, Singing & the Alexander Technique – Learn some simple and effective ways to use your voice with greater ease and power. Experiment with simple vocal and breathing exercises. Explore the anatomy of confidence. Sing some beautiful group songs and rounds. Wrap your mouth around a rich language text! Everyone is welcome to this workshop – especially confirmed “non-singers”!
Saturday 4th July, 12.00 – 5.00pm, £45.
Movingartsbase, 134 Liverpool Road, Islington, London, N1 1LA

Contact  & Booking Information please click here

http://alp

hainventions.com/

London Voice Training- Vocal skills training courses, classes, workshops

Voice, confidence & presentation coaching with Alan Mars

London voice training presents…

Alan Mars has taught voice-work, singing and Alexander Technique both privately and at many top London drama and music schools , including the Arts Educational Drama School, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal College of Music, since 1982.

He has taught Alexander Technique and presentation skills within many top British and international companies (including: Abbey National, General Electric, Sainsbury’s, Lloyds of London and many other)since 1992.

After 22 years of teaching in London he now also teaches in Brighton & Hove and offers courses and personal coaching across the UK.

For more information please go to his website http://www.thetechnique.co.uk/index.htm
A list of workshops in London, Brighton and Hove is available here http://presentationskillslondon.wordpress.com/

http://alphainventions.com/

Voice Training Vocal Coaching workshops London, Brighton and Hove

Voice, confidence & presentation coaching with Alan Mars

Voice training London, Brighton, Hove presents…

Alan Mars has taught Alexander Technique, voice-work and singing both privately and at many top London drama and music schools , including the Arts Educational Drama School, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal College of Music, since 1982.

He has taught Alexander Technique and presentation skills within many top British and international companies (including: Abbey National, General Electric, Sainsbury’s, Lloyds of London and many other)since 1992.

After 22 years of teaching in London he now also teaches in Brighton & Hove and offers courses and personal coaching across the UK.

For more information please go to his website http://www.thetechnique.co.uk/index.htm
A list of workshops in London, Brighton and Hove is available here http://presentationskillslondon.wordpress.com/

http://alphainventions.com/

Confidence Tricks, Voice & Presentation Skills in London with Alan Mars

Voice, confidence & presentation coaching with Alan Mars

Reliable confidence is based on the repeated practice of surprisingly simple procedures. Experience Alive Relaxation, Energy & Flow during presentations, meetings or any challenging situations. Individual coaching within a group setting.
Sunday 21st June, 12.00 – 5.00pm, £55  
Movingartsbase, 134 Liverpool Road, Islington, London, N1 1LA

Contact  & Booking Information please click here

http://alp

hainventions.com/

Fitness Training Brighton & Hove. Bootcamp military style personal and group trainer

“I’ve always exercised at home but found it incredibly boring and unmotivating. I needed a really good group class with a motivating instructor. This came in the smiling shape of James Bartram who chivvies us along on Hove lawns (see times below). I can really see the results on the bathroom scales, mirror and the tape measure. A real confidence boost! A lovely group of people as well….”
                                                 Alan Mars, Voice Coach, Hove.

Brighton, Hove Lawns.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12noon – 1pm
Tuesday 7.00pm – 8.00pm
Thursday 7.00pm – 8.00pm

Seaford, ”The Salts, playing fields.
Monday 6.30pm – 7.30pm

Price: First class is free! £40 for 10 sessions.
10 sessions** = £50 (only £5 per session!)
1 month unlimited sessions = £40
(Paypal automatic payment system)
3 months unlimited special = £100
(Paypal automatic payment system)

Info: Call James on 07958 495 895 or email info@thefitmen.com
Website: http://thefitmen.com/bootcamp.html

Look out for the ORANGE Fitmen Flag

http://alphainventions.com/

London and Brighton Confidence Boosting skills workshops

Voice, confidence & presentation coaching with Alan Mars

London singing lessons
Brighton Hove singing lessons
LIBERATING VOICE & CONFIDENCE FOR PERFORMANCE

Most singers experience some anxiety at the prospect of performing or auditioning. For some the nerves can be completely debilitating. Celtic harp player and traditional singer Alan Mars suggests some simple methods for transforming stress and anxiety into confidence and excitement.

The techniques are drawn from the author’s extended training in singing, Alexander Technique, NLP and presentation skills training

NERVE ENDINGS & THE RING OF CONFIDENCE

The performing world is full of remedies for nerves, from the lucky rabbits foot (not so lucky for the rabbit perhaps) to Luciano Pavarotti’s gracefully flourished handkerchief! Ultimately, the luckiest charm you have is a harmonious relationship between mind, body and voice.

A little adrenaline can be the fuel that turns a merely adequate performance into an exhilarating experience for both singer and audience. But what can you do if you have rehearsed your material thoroughly and you still feel the kind of anxiety that turns performance into panic?

THE “OUR SONG” PHENOMENON
Many couples have experienced the phenomenon of “our song”. During the courting phase they had a favourite song. Hearing that song, even decades later, can bring the feelings, images and sounds associated with that time flooding back.

Similarly, for many people, the mere thought of performing in public can spark off feelings of confidence and resourcefulness or terror and abject misery. Does the name Pavlov ring a bell? The trick, of course, is to have your very best experiences of confidence and competence powerfully associated with the thought of the venue within which you are going to perform. How is this done? Nothing could be simpler!

LIBERATING YOUR BODY AND YOUR VOICE- IN REHEARSAL!
EXPERIMENT 1) Vocalising from restriction
Think of a time when you were feeling a bit pressured and restricted. Remember this as fully as possible… what you were seeing around you, what you were hearing and also what you were feeling… Stay fully in this state for a while longer.
Now look around the room, does it look any less bright or any less friendly than before? Now walk around the room. Do you feel taller or shorter? Do you feel wider or narrower? What size does your “personal space” seem to be (indicate with your hands)? Is your walking lighter or heavier?
Vocalise an ah sound. Sing a line or two of a song. How easy or difficult was it to vocalise?

EXPERIMENT 2) Vocalising from ease
Move around the room and stretch to dissipate the effects of the last experiment.
Remember a time when you felt “on top of the world”. Recall and relive this experience… what you were seeing, hearing and feeling…. stay fully in this state a while longer and allow yourself to take two or three easy, deep breaths with the emphasis on the outbreath. Allow this feeling to spread through your entire body…..
Look around the room again. Is it any brighter or friendlier now? Walk around the room. Do you feel shorter or taller? Narrower or wider? How large is your “personal space” now? Is your walking heavier or lighter?
Vocalise an ah sound. Sing a little. Notice how your voice feels and sounds different from the first experiment.

You have just taken the first step in freeing your body and liberating your voice! Which of the two states would you prefer to perform in?

The above experiment demonstrates that, as far as our muscles are concerned, the difference between thinking about a particular event and actually doing it is only a matter of degree.
When I run performance workshops many participants tell me that the room looks more friendly and welcoming after doing the second part of this exercise. This reminds me of the old cartoon series “The Gambols”. One of the characters, George, is portrayed in a variety of moods as he responds to the ups and downs of life. When life is going badly there is a grey or black cloud above his head. This is accompanied by an appropriately sagging posture.
When George is on a high, there is a puffy white cloud above his head or a kind of halo radiating light. This is accompanied by a confident posture, bright eyes and a smile. What this demonstrates so well, as many cartoons do, is that the state we are in at any given moment affects the way that we respond to the pressures of daily life- including any performance activity.
Many cartoons also seem to express the belief that the cartoon characters (and by implication, ourselves) are at the mercy of circumstances. It is possible, however, to stabilise your best physical, mental and emotional states, so that you approach performances with a peak performance state literally at your fingertips…

THE RING OF CONFIDENCE
Fully recall and re-live a focused and easy state by seeing , hearing and feeling it again. As you begin to slide into your focused state, gently link the tips of your forefinger and thumb together. Keep your fingers linked for 10 to 15 seconds. You are now beginning to link or “anchor” your resourceful state to your fingertips.
Once is not enough? Strengthen and reinforce your anchor by repeating the above process three times.
Simply linking your thumb and forefinger will now be sufficient stimulus to take you the critical first few steps into your confident and focused state- a very useful thing to do when waiting for your turn in a competition.

“…I use certain tricks that make me feel more secure. Everybody knows about my white handkerchief, which I used in my first concert in Missouri in 1973, in case I started to perspire… I feel much better if I have it out there with me. It has a function but it’s also for good luck.”
Luciano Pavarotti- My Life

VISUAL ANCHORS
Many different concert halls and audition rooms share similar characteristics e.g. exit signs, furniture, instruments of different types etc.
Get yourself into a resourceful state by using the fingertip “ring of confidence”. As your state changes visualise the furniture, the instruments and the general room layout. Repeat three times.
This will help you to anchor your most confident states to the appropriate context. If you can do this “live” in the venue, before you perform, so much the better.

EVOCATIVE ODOURS
Smells are very powerful. The smell of apple [1] blossom, for example, can virtually transport some people back to childhood, playing in an orchard.
Radio 4 recently reviewed techniques that help actors overcome stage fright. The performer first creates a state of poised relaxation and then sniffs a handkerchief impregnated with aromatherapy oils that encourage even deeper calmness and focus. They then strategically place the handkerchief on their costume just before they go on stage. The odour of the aromatherapy oils then triggers the state of poised relaxation. So there may be more to Pavarotti’s handkerchief than meets the eye!
Imagine your favourite aroma. Breathe it in gently and deeply and let it go with a whispered ah sound. Anchor your peak state to this aroma. Use this technique before performing.

DRIVING THE CAR
Instead of getting into the car and immediately rushing off to do battle with the rest of the traffic…

Pause and place your attention in your physical centre of gravity (just below your belt buckle); extend a strong positive feeling to the world around you; adjust your driving seat; your mirrors; keys in the ignition and your hands on the steering wheel.

This will anchor the touch of the steering wheel to a safer driving state and will ensure that you arrive at work, the interview, the sales appointment etc. in a happier and more efficient state!

POSITIVE FEELINGS
This is perhaps the simplest and most powerful self-management technique of them all. Radiate a strong positive feeling from the core of your self. Cast the “net” of your positive feeling over the whole venue including your audience.

BUT I STILL FEEL NERVOUS!

The point of anchoring is not to stop butterflies in the stomach- the point is to get the butterflies to fly in formation. Adrenaline can give you the critical edge that takes you over the threshold into performance excellence. Adrenaline means that you care.

The attitude behind anchoring, I believe, is of greater importance than any anchoring exercise itself. When I ask people about this they say it is to do with a quality of self belief- “I have a choice”; “I have control over my response patterns” ; “I can learn from all situations.” etc.

REACHING HARMONY- THE INTEGRATED ANCHOR
Much of what is written above is drawn from the field of sports psychology (national and local sports teams please take note!) and, more recently, from the field of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)- a study of, amongst other things, the structure of excellent performance.
Our best and easiest performances happen when conscious and unconscious are working in harmony. This is like watching two excellent dance partners waltzing. They make it all look and feel oh so easy and flowing. But as you look at them you realize that such skill required repetition, communication and time.
After a while your peak performance states become the new normal- you are no longer walking in the foothills, you are becoming acclimatised to the higher slopes. The higher slopes allow you to glimpse unknown and perhaps unsuspected lands of mental, physical and vocal excellence…

http://alphainventions.com/

Voice Care UK    

Voice, confidence & presentation coaching with Alan Mars

 Vocal Care UK  
Voice problems coaching London, Brighton, Hove

This article seeks to give you a basic understanding of your voice and how to warm-up your voice for classroom teaching. It is not a substitute for medical attention – if in doubt consult your GP.

 A SIMPLE ANATOMY LESSON

Imagine that the speaking, singing human being is constructed like a musical instrument. Your skeleton is a basically cylindrical shape- from your pelvis, through your ribs, shoulder girdle, larynx (voicebox) through to your skull and jaw all connected together by the column of your spine. This is the central, skeletal core of your vocal instrument onto which the bones of your arms & legs attach. Our skeleton is covered in sheets of muscle which wrap around it spiralically to create a perfectly tailored “elastic suit”…

 The “elastic” of your muscles can either contract and shorten or it can release and lengthen. Together these two qualities, contraction and release, enable you to move around easily and efficiently. BUT.. because of habit and the lifestyles that we lead nowadays, most of us are using far too much muscular contraction. Medical authorities, alternative and mainstream, warn us about the dangerous effects of prolonged muscular tension. On a mechanical and postural level this mis-directed muscular tension has a distorting effect, causing, to a greater or lesser degree, a tendency to shorten, narrow and twist natural skeletal alignment.

The elastic suit, such a perfect and roomy fit when we were young children, becomes restrictive of our movement. This all has a correspondingly restrictive effect on the voice: inaudibility, shakiness,  harsh and grating tone.

Common Stresses of the “Elastic Suit”

Lack of Body Awareness

Perhaps the most common cause of vocal difficulty lies in a lack of awareness of how we use our body in daily life. We are experts at screening out sensory information that is not directly connected to achieving our goals. An activity as simple as making a cup of coffee would become unmanageably difficult without this ability.

As we focus more intensely on goal directed behaviour our body can become increasingly muted. Day by day we accumulate small, seemingly insignificant amounts of tension without even noticing it. Just as constantly dripping water can distort the hardest stone, these small accumulations of tension have a detrimental effect on both body structure and voice.

Anatomical Misconception

Most people have only the vaguest of ideas about how their body is put together. And many of us simply have wrong ideas about how the body is structured. How many of us, for example, can accurately locate the full length and circumference of the spine; where the head and spine join each other; where the larynx is; where the jaw joint is; and where the ribs and diaphragm join with the spine? All of these parts, to name but a few, are part and parcel of the professional speakers stock in trade. Misleading ideas have a direct bearing on how we use the voice. It is possible to get a sound out of a trumpet by blowing in the wrong end but the process is wasteful of effort and the sound produced is disappointing.

Fear and Anxiety

In situations of perceived threat a group of responses called the “fight/flight” syndrome comes into force. Adrenalin is released into the blood stream. Breathing and heart rate speed up. The muscles become more tense. The shoulder and neck muscles are among the first to contract, pulling the head down, tortoise fashion, towards the centre of the body.

For the primitive hunter/gatherer this whole pattern was discharged by actual fight or flight after which everything returned to normal. It is not appropriate, however, to “fight” with your class or to take “flight” and lock yourself in the lavatory, tempting as both options may seem at the time! Fortunately there are many ways of creatively channelling the energy of the fight/flight pattern to enhance vocal security and ease.

Preconception of Effort

Imagine someone lifting a heavy looking suitcase only to find it empty – or lifting a light looking case and finding it full of bricks. If the lifter does not pause momentarily to truly consider the weight of the case, they may sustain an injury. Speaking, like lifting the case, is equally a muscular activity. Taking time to pause and consider appropriate effort is one of the single most important elements in freeing the vocal and breathing mechanisms.

Force of Habit  

Our largely unconscious postural and vocal habits start to feel familiar by virtue of long practice. Better postural and vocal conditions can, paradoxically, feel unfamiliar and even wrong in the beginning. A willingness to tolerate unfamiliar conditions will lay the foundations of lasting vocal freedom and security.

TIME FOR A CHANGE !

Find a place where you will not be disturbed for fifteen minutes. Tapping into the full potential of your voice will require a quality of self acceptance. Any sound that you make is going to be unconditionally acceptable! This leads to a reduction in the fear reflexes that interfere with easy voice use.

In a series of experiments in the early nineteen forties, the surgeon William Faulkner established that when his patients thought of something unpleasant the movement of their diaphragm became restricted, shallow and irregular. These breathing changes were accompanied by a corresponding tightening of the oesophagus. And this in turn was accompanied by negative changes in the quality and characteristics of the patients voice.

When, on the other hand, his patients thought of something pleasant the movement of their diaphragm became expansive and regular and the levels of tension in the throat reduced. All of this was accompanied by positive changes in the characteristics of the patients voice. 1.

As a simple, practical, voice warm-up let’s try repeating Dr Faulkner’s experiment…

Vocalising and moving from restriction.

Take a couple of minutes to remember a time when you were feeling a bit pressured and restricted. Use all of your senses to recall and relive this memory as fully as possible… what you were seeing and hearing around you and what you were feeling.

Now look around the room. Does it look any less bright or friendly than before? Walk around the room now. Do you feel taller or shorter? Do you feel wider or narrower? Are you breathing freely or are you holding your breath? Is your walking lighter or heavier? Smoother or jerkier? Easier or tenser? Indicate with your hands how wide or narrow your “personal space” seem to be.

Vocalise an “aahh” sound. How easy or difficult was it to vocalise?

Vocalising and moving from ease.

Move around the room and stretch to dissipate the effects of the last experiment.

Stand or sit in a reasonably symmetrical, balanced way and…

remember a time when you felt on top of the world – use all of your senses, seeing, hearing and feeling to recall this experience. Stay fully in this place for a while longer and allow yourself to take two or three easy deep breaths with the emphasis on the outbreath. Let this feeling spread through your entire body.

Look around the room again. Is it any brighter or friendlier now? Walk around. Do you feel shorter or taller? Narrower or wider? Are you breathing freely? How large is your “personal space” now? Is your walking heavier or lighter?

Vocalise an “aahh” sound. Notice in what way your voice feels and sounds different from the first experiment.

Which state, cramped or expanded, would you prefer to be in when speaking?

Congratulations! You have just taken the first step in liberating your body and freeing your voice. “Embodying” a pleasant experience while vocalising a vowel sound, simple as it sounds, can make a real difference to your voice:

By vocalising vowel sounds in this positive spirit you will find yourself in good company:

“When I started serious study, I spent the first six months vocalizing only with the vowel sounds. Day after day I would be singing ay, eee, oh, eye, ooo… my teacher, Arrigo Pola, believed it was essential. And he convinced me. Over the years I have become even more convinced of the importance of this.”

Luciano Pavarotti- My World Page 282

MORE PRACTICE

Do some vocalised ahs. Play around with the volume – a bit softer, a bit louder. Play with the pitch – higher and lower.

Experiment with combinations of volume and pitch – high and soft; high and loud; low and loud; low and soft.

Slide from quiet to loud to quiet again on a single note. Repeat the same with a variety of vowel sounds.

Avoid straining your elastic suit as you do this. Continually return to a sense of ease in your vocalising. Allow your breath to return effortlessly and naturally between sounds avoiding any exxagerated sucking and sniffing of the air.

Vocalise an ah sound and then gently bring your lips, but not your teeth, together to make a humming sound. You may notice a subtle tingling or buzzing sensation spreading across your lips and face. This feeling may spread to other parts of your body – throat, chest, fingertips etc. This tingling is associated with muscular release and increased peripheral blood flow.

Now, if you’re feeling adventurous, sing a song! Sing several songs! Singing, even if it’s something you only do in private, is a great tonic for your speaking voice.

1. Faulkner, William B. Jnr., “The Effect of the Emotions Upon Diaphragmattic Function: Observations in Five Patients”, Psychosomatic Medicine, 3, No. 2 (April 1942).

 

 

 

 

Youtube video Alexander Technique Semi-Supine resting position  

Alan Mars- Alexander Technique since 1982

Alexander Technique in Brighton and Hove…

The semi-supine active resting position gives optimum support to your whole back – and to your spine in particular. Alexander Technique teachers recommend it as a daily practice. Do it once a day if possible for up to twenty minutes. As well as easing your posture it is particularly calming and centering. Youtube video clips, picture and written instructions are below…

Semi-supine Alexander Technique

It only requires a firm and warm surface, such as a blanket on the floor, and a few paperback books to serve as a headrest. It will help you to let go of excessive muscular tension in your body as a whole. It allows your torso to widen and your spine to release into its optimum resting length. It eases and reduces pressure on the inter-vertebral discs by placing the spine in a position of maximum mechanical support.

Most people need somewhere between 1 – 3 inches of books underneath the back of the skull. The head-rest encourages release in the muscles that join the back of the neck to the base of your skull. It should be neither too high (or your chin will compress your throat) nor too low (or your chin will stick up in the air). This gives maximum support to your spine. Your feet are flat on the floor, knees pointing up to the ceiling about shoulder-width apart and your hands can rest gently on your torso. It’s the ideal pre-cursor to some voice-work. No wonder my ex-drama students continue to practice it daily decades after being introduced to it!

Over the next ten minutes or so you will simply develop your relationship to the floor and head rest… Imagine the four ‘corners’ of your back–head, shoulders and tail bone– spreading and lengthening and widening away from each other and on to the floor. Let go of trying and forcing. Let it be effortless. Leave it up to gravity and muscular release. Look at the video several times to get a general idea of how to get into the semi-supine position. The main thing to remember about getting into the semi-supine position is to do it mindfully, quite slowly and with awareness. The same thing goes for returning to your feet again. I’ll go into a bit more detail in future postings.

http://alphainventions.com/

Confidence Coaching Tricks 10 – Sonnet XVIII

 

Voice, confidence & presentation coaching with Alan Mars

Recite this sonnet regularly. There are exactly 10 syllables per line. Remember what one of the original functions of a punctuation mark was? To tell us where to breathe…

10 syllables and a breath will guide you toward a BBC newsreader pace of delivery. A pace that is very easy for just about everybody to assimilate easily. By regulating speech and breath it will also begin to have a calming effect not just on you but also on your listeners. Translate the sense of the sonnet pace into your everyday speech and into your presentation delivery. I’ll say a little bit about the interpretation and meaning of Sonnet XVIII in another post…

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

alan.mars@yahoo.co.uk  http://thetechnique.co.uk/  Course dates

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