The word flibbertigibbet is used in the iconic 1965 film Sound of Music  to describe the young postulate, Maria (see the clip here.) Although they admitted that she made them laugh, in other ways it just wasn’t working for them. We all know the story from there: Maria did indeed leave the convent and became Maria von Trapp. The rest, quite literally, was history.
Many years later, after the Von Trapps had immigrated to the US, Maria travelled from the family farm in Pennsylvania into New York City where sold the rights to her story to Rodgers and Hammerstein for $1,000. The rest (again) became history: first the Broadway musical and then the movie become history-making productions in their own way.
But back to our story, and it’s this: the older nuns of the convent thought Maria’s silly, scatterbrained, offbeat behavior was not how a nun should behave. Her way of approaching life just didn’t fit within the Convent’s proper ‘limitations.’
In vocal training though –and especially when singing—it’s good to know ones’ limitations.
  • Limitations keep us mindful and help us avoid hurting ourselves vocally by over singing;
  • Limitations help us find songs that best fit our voices and display our voice’s unique beauty and power while helping us avoid those not best suited for us;
  • Limitations steer us towards good singing habits, cultivating the good in our voices;
  • Knowing our limitations can, over time, help us develop an almost instinctive approach to how we sing that results in dramatic and powerful performances; and lastly
  • Limitations on what the voice can do are part of “playing” an instrument that is both delicate and durable and must be handled intentionally in a different way than any other instrument.
How do we find, learn and know our limitations as vocalists?
We go through active vocal training with a vocal trainer (me).
Then we perform – putting our work on the stage, into the studio, or a combination of both. You use the elements of your vocal technique that you’ve achieved, following the vision you have for  yourself as a performing artist.
My final point here is that your training –both on your own and in our sessions— must be regular, regimented and vigorous.
In this way you learn your limitations – then the muscles of the body and the mental conditioning of the brain blend powerfully together into a real, solid vocal technique that works, each time you do.
It is always my great joy to see and hear you work each week as you pursue your passion for singing, and I always look forward to it.
And I have one final question for the Mother Superior: how do you hold a moonbeam in your hand, anyway?

#flibbertigibbetswelcomehere
#dothereps
#majovta