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BriVocals
Why
do we need to do so many silly exercises?
Applied Tension - Potential Tension
In order for muscles to operate they must be engaged into action, they must "take the strain" before they carry out the desired task. The amount of tension to be applied will depend on the strength of the muscles to be employed. For example, two men lift a very heavy object; man (a) is very strong, man (b) is not very strong at all. To lift the object the weaker man breaks out in a sweat but the strong man seems unconcerned.
So the amount of applied tension needed to lift the weight is vastly different for our two heroes. If potential tension is high the need for applied tension will be reduced, conversely if potential tension is low then applied tension will need to be increased.
The problems for the untrained singer become apparent when you consider that he doesn't know which muscles to use, where they are, or what to do with them. So unless they are in everyday use for some other purpose they will have very low potential tension. When the untrained singer becomes aware of the muscles to use he must use a great deal of applied tension to operate them, simply because the are weak (have low potential) muscles.
The muscles and mechanisms (M&M’s) required for optimum vocal performance are rarely used to the same degree in other bodily functions. Exercises must be undertaken which are specifically designed to increase M&M potential, hence the need for exercises which sometimes seem to have little to do with singing. A runner will spend many hours in the gym as well as on the track!
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