Читать книгу Singing For Dummies - Pamelia S. Phillips - Страница 37

After you find the balance of weight on the feet, place your feet beneath your hips. If you place your hands on your hips, you can feel the muscles of your hips on the sides of your body and you can also feel your hipbone in the front. Directly under the hipbone is your foot (find the hipbone in Figure 3-1).

A lot of people tend to put their feet at shoulder width, which may or may not work for you. Women tend to have narrow shoulders and wider hips, whereas men tend to have wide shoulders and narrow hips. Regardless of the width of your shoulders, you want to align your feet under your hips.

I recommend that you place the feet parallel under your hips so that you feel the equal balance of weight on your feet. When that stance feels familiar to you, change the position of your feet and maintain the balance of weight in your body. You want equal distribution of weight and effort in the body. You can also stand with your toes pointed out, to feel the tension created in the legs. Likewise, you can stand with your toes pointed in and notice that effect on the muscles in your legs. You want to explore the feeling of toes pointed straight and the feeling of parallel feet.

Your toes may seem like cute little extensions of your feet, but they also play a role in your balance. Stand with your weight balanced on the three points. Now lift your toes and notice the sensations of the three points. Most people find that lifting the toes helps them feel the three points. You can put your toes down and feel the same sensation of balance on the three points. Push your toes into the floor and notice the sensation in your feet and your legs. Pushing them down creates tension. Practice without your shoes on so that you can observe your feet and toes while you practice. During your practice sessions, wiggle your toes occasionally to make sure that they aren’t tight and that they’re ready to help you stay balanced. Notice the bones in the toes on the skeleton in Figure 3-1.

Pretend that you have a tube inside your body that runs all the way from your head down to your feet. Open this tube all the way into your feet each time you inhale. Opening this imaginary tube helps you feel grounded and ready to sing the next phrase of your song. Each time you inhale, you want to open and release all the way into your feet. It may feel as if your feet open or widen as you take the breath.