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| Goodbye to nerves |
A song a day keeps the doctor away,
claims teacher
WE’VE all been there. Ready and waiting for an important
exam, speech or performance.
When the big moment comes, your stomach turns upside down, butterflies
run riot and you end up losing the plot entirely.
But singer and stress management expert Alan Mars (pictured) says
nervous energy is a good thing, and is teaching people how to transform
stress and anxiety into confidence and excitement.
Mr Mars – who has just acquired a busking license and plans
to play his Celtic harp and sing on the Tube – believes singing
is fundamental to a healthy lifestyle but worries people’s
insecurities get in the way.
He said: “When we think of the word ‘health’ we may
also think of ‘happiness’. And from happiness it is a
short leap of the imagination to song and celebration.
“It re-establishes a full, easy pattern of breathing and encourages
release of the muscular system and alleviates stress. It is a way
of expressing your feelings and of linking up with other people
and the world around you.”
“You would be more healthy if you just burst into song every
day,” said Mr Mars. “But I bet you don’t because
you’re insecure about your voice. The great thing about a group
class is that people find an anonymity.”
He added: “Singing is an innate mechanism for stress management.
Some people say when you hear a baby experimenting with their vocal
chords before they can speak, they are singing to cope with anxiety.”
Most singers experience some anxiety at the prospect of performing.
For some, nerves can be completely debilitating.
Mr Mars’s courses reveal stress-relieving secrets developed
by actor Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955). Alexander developed
chronic laryngitis but developed a technique that helped him overcome
his insecurity about performing with the condition.
The Alexander Technique is a way of learning how you can get rid
of harmful tension in your body. At first, Mr Mars only used the
technique with singers and actors. But soon he realised that stress
relates to us all.
He said: “Through a combination of breathing techniques, relaxation
and imagination the technique can help anyone turn nervousness to
their advantage.
“You only get nervous about things you care about – nervousness
is your body’s way of getting ready for something that is important.
However, we see the butterflies as something bad and that is where
the fear comes from. It’s all about getting the butterflies
to fly in formation.”
Alan Mars has been a teacher of the technique for 30 years. He has
taught it and voice training at arts institutions like the Guildhall
School of Music and Drama and the Royal College of Music. And he
has written a book on presentation skills.
Alan offers training in singing, voice, presentation and public
speaking at Cecil Sharp House, Regent’s Park Road.
Call 01273 747 289 or email alanmars2003@yahoo.co.uk |
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