A pedagogia do canto através do movimento corporal: o uso da bola suíça e da faixa elástica no treino vocal de estudantes de canto

Abstract

This Thesis presents the study of proprioception based on body movements performed with the aid of elastic materials such as Swiss ball (SB) and elastic band (EB) during singing. Based on the pedagogical assumption that muscular and vibratory sensations in classical singing are not easily perceived by novices or even veterans, a first exploratory study investigated, on a preliminary basis, the immediate effects of the use of these materials under subglottic pressure (Psub) as well as breathing muscles activities, which are considered crucial parameters in singing production. Additionally, in a second study a vocal training program (VTP) created by the author was carried out. It comprised physical and vocal exercises with the aid of SB and EB, aimed at assessing the training impact on increasing proprioception and improving technical performance in singing along time. The exploratory study counted on two volunteers, both singing students (sopranos) in good health and regularly enrolled in an undergraduate course. In two experimental sessions, both students were required to record one single vocal task that consisted in the performance of a C major arpeggio under the following conditions: with and without the use of SB and EB. In the condition with SB and EB, the task was recorded while the two students respectively performed movements of jumping over the SB and pulling the EB. Thus, in the first session the Psub was measured using a system of signal acquisition of electroglotography (EGG) and in the second session, the respiratory muscular activities were recorded: oblique (OB), rectus abdominal (RA), intercostal (INT), sternocleidomastoid (STM) and trapezius (TP) through electromyography (EMG). The second study involved four volunteers, classical singing students (sopranos) in good health and regularly enrolled in undergraduate program. A single vocal task consisting in the performance of three excerpts of an opera aria in two different moments was audio-recorded: before and after the VTP. During the VTP the subjects participated in ten individual training sessions, at the end of which they were interviewed. The audios recordings in the conditions before and after the VTP were assessed by an international panel of twelve singing teachers, who participated in listening tests. The audios recordings were transcribed and analyzed. The first study results suggest that: i) the use of both SB and EB increases one individual Psub, while the other individual doesn’t show any Psub changes between conditions with/without SB and EB; ii) the increase in muscular activity of one of the individuals is found under conditions with/without SB and EB, while for the other there are less distinctions in muscular activity between those conditions; and iii) with the EB, there is a simultaneous increase in activity of muscles OB, INT and TP, and of Psub as well, regardless of the subjects; with the SB, the increase in activity of the INT decreases the Psub; and with EB, the increase in activity of RA lowers the Psub. The results of the second study demonstrated that: i) in the interviews, students’ reports suggest that the use of SB and EB increases the proprioception and improves the technical performance in singing, and ii) by assessing listening tests singing teachers found that, for the majority of students, vocal training that uses SB and EB enhances phonation fluency in singing, which is consistent with the subjects’ reports during and after VTP. Results suggest that SB and EB are potentially promising pedagogical tools for the awareness of singing technical problems and for overcoming them, as they influence the behavior of variables that are essential to vocal production and further the student’s self-perception, rendering him more aware of his vocal development.