Psychophony is a body-conscious singing method developed in the 1960s by the opera singer and organist Marie-Louise Aucher. She had noticed in herself that every sung frequency resonated at a certain level in her body. Her many pupils confirmed the feeling and the different positions. Based on these observations, she drew a vibration ladder of the human body. Regardless of the size of the body, the human being resonates on four octaves, from the head (high tones) to the feet (low tones).
Psychophony is about becoming more aware of vibration and reverberation, and better controlling and consciously using one's own various muscles/bones involved in singing (all of them, actually!).
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The aim here is firstly a healthy way of speaking and singing, and secondly greater freedom and choice, so that you can sound and sing the way you want to.
The pedagogy of psychophony ensures autonomy - nothing is taught dogmatically nor in a "ready-made" way.
Instead, everything is experienced by everyone, and ideally several times, until everyone has felt the process deep in their body.
Then every realisation is yours and you can use it again and again!
adapted from En Corps Chanté,
Marie-Louise Aucher
This is how an "hour" goes :
We let go of tensions through some physical exercises - and massages - and prepare ourselves for high physical and listening concentration
We discover certain points that are important for singing, for example the diaphragm, the sinuses, the larynx, etc. There are 16 points in total.
There will be a lot of "experimenting" around these points until you feel how it works and which variations have which effects.
We sing a song / several songs, where you can now choose how/when you use this point.
At the end we often listen to a "sound rain" where you concentrate on the resonance in the body so that you leave the class completely relaxed and centred.
For whom ?
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Generally speaking, psychophony is good for everyone. However, this course is exclusively for adults. No previous knowledge is necessary. You should only bring desire and openness.
The course is particularly suitable for :
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Professional singers who want to work more with their body and seek more leeway in their sound.
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All those who work with their voice, teachers, politicians, actors...
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People with special speech difficulties (lisp, dyslexia...) or with hearing difficulties, and people who need help to sing in tune.
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Shy people (like me), people who finally want to be heard better, who want to strengthen their presence or their self-confidence...