For the World Voice Day (April 16), a three-hour workshop on vocal fitness was conducted by Dr. Kannan Pugazhendi, Sujatha Pugazhendi and playback singer, Coke Studio artist and vocalist mentor, Mathangi Jagdish. The unique workshop focused on the wholistic approach towards vocal health and role of fitness in voice health. Mathangi shares the need for a singer to perceive oneself as ‘singing athlete’. In a chat with DC, she threw light on the need for such workshops.
The panel also had Saraswati, a phenomenal yoga exponent, and psychologist, Dr. Vidhubalan.
Mathangi says that whole point of this workshop is to create awareness on vocal fitness which is mostly overlooked — “Professional singers do have a certain amount of knowledge about the vocal fitness, but it slowly takes the back seat once they get into the profession and get tied up with the work. In the last three years, my struggle has been finding techniques for vocal fitness in daily life.”
She also adds that vocal health is not just for professional singers but also for a large section of people who are into singing in one way or another — “We call them ‘serious amateurs’. It is also for a person who is in some reality contest, or a student planning to venture into singing. Nowadays, many pursue music part-time. IT professionals have a band of their own. So, they also need to know about the vocal fitness.”
Other than her association with Dr. Kannan Pugazhendi’s popular
SPARRC Institute, Mathangi also has her own platform called ‘Wholistic Vocalist’. “My platform is about things that we don’t even associate with our voice health,” says Mathangi, adding, “Even the posture of the shoulders and the chin will have a dent on the singing. We are always on the phone texting and that could even affect the vocal health. So, these are the smaller things affecting the voice that people aren’t aware of.”
Mathangi, who recovered her voice after losing it due to a gastroesophagal condition, says, “I am sharing the importance of voice health from my personal experiences and I think that is what makes our existence.”
