Voice and the Alexander Technique

Jane Heirich has been helping singers and actors (as well as teachers and business people) learn how to use their voices with comfort and freedom. She has spent the past three decades integrating two approaches that can have a profound impact on our voices—the centuries-old Italian bel canto singing tradition and the Alexander Technique, developed by an Australian actor who solved his own vocal issues. For many years a faculty member at the Residential College of the University of Michigan, she has taught a basic voice technique class that included the Alexander work.

In this book, designed for both teachers and students of the speaking and singing voice, Heirich addresses some common problem areas of the voice-teaching world: breath management, voice projection, resonance building, singing high notes, “breaks” in the vocal range, excess muscle tension in the wrong places, and the relevance of overall poise to vocal output. The step-by-step approach through which she takes the reader allows new skills to develop for both beginning and experienced students/performers. If you’ve wondered whether you can improve your voice and enjoy using it more effectively, this is the book for you.

Voice and the Alexander Technique is a unique guide, linking sound and movement. It is an active-participation book, not a passive read. You are invited to embark on a vocal adventure by exploring movement and sound through practical activities. You will learn skills for consciously changing habits of thinking and movement. And through those new skills, you will learn to move and vocalize your way to vocal ease, while having a good time in the process.
Experiment with the practical exercises, work them through with your buddies, colleagues, and teachers. Learn to develop the vocal skill you’ve been searching for. Each time you read through this book, you will find another key to unlocking a free, expressive voice.