Support is something I was never taught in all of my years of voice lessons. It was always talked about as if I was supposed to know what it was.
Then, one day a teacher described it to me in the simplest terms. He said, ”it is like a boxer.” A boxer, you know, like Rocky or Ali, has to keep his muscles around the midsection tense so that the punches from an opponent won’t just destroy his insides.
While that isn’t entirely what support is, it is a major part.
This tension of the intercostal muscles, hold everything together so that the muscle of the diaphragm can work on it’s own. Without that firm support, there is nothing but jelly.
Pavarotti says it like this, I inhale and that is all I do, exhale is going to happen naturally, it is unavoidable. It is keeping contact on the air that makes it possible to sing freely. Otherwise, the entire breath can only be controlled by the voice, which in most cases means the throat, meaning tension in the throat, which leads to disaster.
In addition, I have found that supporting high notes is easier than low notes. It is the low register and soft singing that require the most support.
The bottom line is, without support, your singing is like Santa Clause laughing like a bowl full of jelly, no foundation. Just mush.
The vocal cords work, as long as you are using them without airyness. What isn’t natural is supporting the voice.
Support is not something you can get and then you have it, it is a conditioning thing, you have to do it everyday or you lose it. Pavarotti.
So, I’m giving support a good long look!
All of those diagrams try to tell you what is going on, but they can’t. It is a 3D activity.
Go, sing, speak and play with support like a boxer! But, a flexible support!