ABSTRACT In this interview by SFI Journal editor and Rolfer Jeffrey Kinnunen, New York Rolfer™ David George Delaney discusses the release of his book Intrinsic Singing (2024). Although the book primarily aims at singers and actors, Rolfers and all somatically-minded people will benefit from its message of authentic self-expression. Delaney draws from his decades of experience delivering Rolfing sessions to professional singers and actors, as well as his training with his singing vocal instructor Margaret Laughlin Riddleberger (1924-2009), among other modalities. Delaney reflects on the impact Rolfing® Structural Integration had on his own voice and body.

With this brief article, I’d like to speak from my decades of experience as a professional singer and a voice trainer working with professional singers. My narrow topic is a review and commentary on the book Anatomy of Voice: How to Enhance and Project Your Best Voice by Blandine Calais-Germain and François Germain (Healing Arts Press 2013), and my broader topic is what can be gleaned from a book about voice versus what generally can only be learned through one-on-one work with a voice expert. This we can call the difference between knowing-what versus knowing-how.