A method for the method: On modern singing systems and their illusions
by Lukasz Rynkowski – vocalist, pedagogue, man with a musical past, and creator of the Emotional Laryngoscopy™ Method
“There is no single method for teaching singing — but there are dozens of ways to make a lot of money pretending there is.”
Someone could say that. Unfortunately, none of the founders of popular vocal methods have done so yet.
Perhaps for fear of damaging their own business model.
Over the past two decades, the world of vocal pedagogy has witnessed a curious phenomenon: a methodology explosion. Everywhere you look — CVT, SLS, Estill, IVA, MIX, belting, twang, anchoring, sobbing… sounds like a list of spells from Hogwarts?
Exactly. Each method promises the key to vocal success, usually hidden behind a paywall the size of a monthly salary and a certification process that feels more like entering a private club than proving one can actually teach.
Modern methods: excel sheets, anatomy and marketing
Let’s take a look inside the catalogue of “holy vocal techniques”:
CVT – Complete Vocal Technique
Created by Danish singer Cathrine Sadolin, CVT divides the voice into four “modes” (Neutral, Curbing, Overdrive, Edge). Everything has its place: support, twang, metal. In CVT you can dissect the voice like a car at a Volvo service center.
Except… not everyone wants to sing like a Volvo.
Estill Voice Training (EVT)
Jo Estill introduced “figures” – controlled configurations of the vocal tract: tongue position, larynx height, degree of twang. Singing becomes the art of consciously managing every tiny muscle.
Its followers proudly speak of “false fold constriction ratios,” while students beg for a simple way to sing Bohemian Rhapsody without a manual.
SLS – Speech Level Singing
Created by Seth Riggs, based on the idea that singing should feel as natural as speaking. Sounds lovely – until you see a student trying to sing Puccini in speech-level mode, avoiding every emotion as if it were a virus.
Many singers who train in SLS eventually need to start all over again – with someone who listens, not recites definitions.
IVA – Institute for Vocal Advancement
The younger sibling of SLS, created by former Riggs students. New branding, same idea.
Their website uses phrases like methodological consistency, holistic approach to phonation, and global community of vocal coaches.
The only thing missing is executive vocal coaching summary.
MIX
The “mixed voice” – the holy grail of middle register ease. Beautiful in theory – except that every teacher defines it differently.
For some it’s twang, for others falsetto with chest overlay, and for others simply “whatever makes it easier.”
In practice, it feels like searching for the Holy Grail with an IKEA map.
Transformational Gestures: Micro-Movements for the Voice and the Soul (or the strangest things I’ve encountered)
1. The 1:00 Jaw Alignment
Place your index fingers on the back-lateral edge of your jaw — exactly at 1:00 on an imaginary clock.
Effect: immediate release of your “inner tension monster” and a flow of creative energy… or at least the feeling that something is happening.
2. The 11:30 Temple Touch
Touch your temple at 11:30 on the clock face. While doing it, sing “e” as if your beloved grandmother were cheering for your success.
Effect: a surge of warmth and improved resonance (mostly in your imagination).
3. Deep Gaze Into the 3-Metre Abyss
Focus your eyes on a point exactly three meters ahead for at least seven seconds without blinking.
Effect: cosmic depth and authenticity — because intention beats physics.
4. The Sternum Touch on the Exhale
After exhaling, gently touch your sternum and recall your first karaoke triumph.
Effect: emotional-vocal integration, enabling you to “sing from the heart” — even if the pitch doesn’t agree.
5. Wine Break (Optional but Recommended)
Take a sip of red wine (preferably tannin-rich) after each technique.
Effect: reflection benefits from tannins; the voice… maybe too.
6. Earlobe Massage
Gently massage your earlobes for 10 seconds, as if transmitting secret messages.
Effect: enhanced sonic self-awareness and readiness for “transformation.”
And Now… the Classics: Less Flashy, More Effective
Before the era of trainer exams and “jaw clock alignments,” there was simply the art of singing. Not “phonation management systems,” but the master-student relationship.
Bel canto masters of the 19th century taught resonance, breath, and artistry – not “safe belting strategies.”
Manuel García II, inventor of the laryngoscope, taught through observation, not dogma.
He believed the singer must hear themselves inwardly – not rely on external analysis.
Francesco and Giovanni Battista Lamperti taught breath based on appoggio, sound carried through space, and the inner acoustic imagination – no “mode-switching.”
Cornelius Reid, the 20th-century rebel, wrote clearly:
“There is no correct method. There is only the correct response to the student’s present needs.”
Richard Miller, the scholar-poet of vocal pedagogy, knew every physiological detail, yet still insisted:
“What matters most is what you hear and what you feel.”
Victims of Methods: Voices Left on the Junkyard
Kate
Her CVT coach told her for three months: “You’re not in Overdrive yet. Work on the metal.”
She tightened her throat to fit the mode. Two years later – silence.
Peter
After several levels of SLS and IVA, he felt he couldn’t sing anything authentic.
He quit music – until a new teacher simply said:
“Sing how you feel. Then we’ll fix what’s not working.”
Julia
After months of Estill exercises, she became an expert in neck musculature – but unable to sing Feeling Good without an internal chart.
So what do we do when everything fails?
It doesn’t.
But most methods fail when they become religion:
When the teacher becomes a disciple of the system rather than a listener.
When “CVT instructor” outweighs “good human being.”
When Estill “figures” overshadow the actual student.
When certificates on the wall replace real vocal progress.
Imagine a world where the singing teacher is not a brand ambassador but a companion.
Where a lesson begins not with diagrams, but with one question:
“What do you want to express?”
Final thought: Sing as if no one is measuring your resonance
If you want to learn to sing – look for a person, not a method.
If you want to teach – listen, feel, respond.
And if you think you’re not good enough without certification…
…remember that Freddie Mercury never took a CVT course.
Strangely, no one seemed to mind.
My original method: Emotional Laryngoscopy™
A non-certified system.
Side effects: authenticity, vulnerability, chills.
Description:
Emotional Laryngoscopy™ is a pseudo-scientific approach to the voice that ignores the vocal folds and focuses on…
…the emotional folds.
The method assumes that:
- Every voice carries hidden traumas and desires.
- The voice doesn’t originate in the larynx but in the gut of existence.
- “Lack of breath support” is often an unresolved rebellion against one’s father.
- “Neck tension” is simply the suppressed need to scream from childhood.
Techniques include:
- Existential screaming in C major – expressing despair in a positive key.
- Tremor deconstruction – discovering whether you fear the sound or your mother’s opinion.
- Emotional crescendo – building emotion until tears or wonder (whichever comes first).
- Wine break & life-purpose conversation – mandatory every 45 minutes.
Remember:
“Here, you don’t learn modes — you learn to say ‘I love you’ on G4.”
“Feel. Speak. Sing. Then breathe.”
“We don’t certify. We transform.”
Testimonials
“Thanks to Emotional Laryngoscopy™, I discovered that my falsetto is nothing but longing for childhood.” – John, former tenor, now a free man.
“I stopped singing arias. I started telling the truth.” – Jenny, post-traumatic alto.
“This method didn’t just improve my singing — it improved my life.” – no one ever, but it sounds good.
Warning
Not recommended for:
- fans of SLS, CVT, or Excel resonance charts,
- people without a sense of humour,
- those allergic to irony or authenticity.