Most often when an adult student comes to me for voice lessons because they can’t carry a tune the story is this. When they were children they were told by a teacher to mouth the words because they weren’t singing the notes. They stop singing and are frustrated. Would you tell an child that he/she “can’t do fractions” so just pretend to do the math problem? Of course not. Well, if you work with a child who is struggling to sing, that can be fixed easily, too. It takes a lot longer if you wait for the child to grow up.
And then there are the singers of most any age who make you cringe because they have so many out of tune notes. Most often, it isn’t because the singer can’t hear the notes. It is most often because the co-ordination of the muscles isn’t in sync for them to produce the notes they hear. It’s fixable. It often takes time AND maturity. If you are someone who thinks you can’t sing and you really want to sing, find a teacher who will work with you. Don’t choose a teacher who will say, you can’t do it!
I’ve a friend who is looking for a voice teacher. I’ve written this advice:
I’m finding it difficult to put into succinct words what you want to know about a voice teacher. The problem is enhanced by the fact that there is no vocabulary that all voice teachers use - let alone basics that all voice teachers agree on. But let me give it a shot.
There still exists among some teachers the myth that young voices should not be taught the low chest/belt voice. Indeed the bottom part of a woman’s voice sounds like a man. Yes, different muscles are involved than the ones you use singing in the high “head voice” register. There is a lot of disagreement about the register in the middle - but it is basically a balance between the upper and lower registers. You want a teacher who understands all three registers (or some just think of it as two registers.)
Why? From my years of teaching experience, there are two really good reasons. I’ve heard some singers who consider themselves to be classically trained professionals whose voice becomes so quiet when they get down to middle C that you really can’t hear them. The lower registration has never been taught. They have no sound at the bottom. What good is that? Secondly, over the years as I have watched professional singer/actresses, it seems to me that the ones who become ill the most and lose their voices most often are the ones who have no belt voice. The muscles haven’t been trained. They have no strength to hold up singing 8 performances a week.
So, though there are many, many ways to teach voice, you want a teacher who understands registration and wants you to sing it all. I think that is the most important criteria. I think you will also want a teacher who will let you sing both musical theater and classical songs. There are techniques in classical singing that are difficult to master if you only sing musical theater, but at the same time, theater songs are fun. And you want to do it all. Some musical theater requires a classical technique. Some requires a “pop” voice. It will be more fun for you if you have a teacher who is comfortable with both.
The grammar here is sketchy - mixing singular and plural, etc. - but I hope it makes sense.
I don’t post here very often. The place that really tells of my feelings and doings is Live Journal. Notice and link at the side, and visit me there.
This is a mishmash of somewhat incoherent ramblings. Still I want to write them down so I don’t forget the various directions my thoughts are going.
Some years ago, I jotted a note that said, “Work should be a place where we nurture the best in each other.” Life should be, too. That’s my problem with work reviews. When you come out of one, you are so aware of what you aren’t doing “right” that you become somewhat immobilized. And I’m not sure we can correct those things if it goes against our very nature. The question becomes, should I quit that job or can we design my job so it uses my strengths and find someone else for the tasks that are my weaknesses? And, if we want to retain the strengths of an employee, how much can we change their job description to use them at their best?
Now, is it a paradox that my dream job would be helping to run an artists colony where artists of all kinds could find a supportive environment to hone their crafts. Working to be better involves some constructive help. How can we do that as a supportive measure and not as a negative force? As a teacher, I’m sure I sometimes misjudge what a student can handle. How much can I ask for more of them without destroying their confidence and ability to grow? I know that sometimes I get it wrong – either by asking too little or too much of them.
Every time we go to the high school to see performances, we come away sad because we feel the students are being cheated. But how can we help the faculty by contributing our strengths without being seen as a threat to the faculty? There are ways we could help without in the least diminishing their strengths that we don’t have. But it takes trust building, doesn’t it? How do we do that?
Ego is such a double-edged sword. We need some of it in order to bravely do anything. But, too much of it gets in the way of working together. Who was it that said so much could be accomplished if we didn’t worry about who was going to get “credit” for it?
Teeth vowels:
Pete eats meat each week.
Kate gave Dave eight cakes.
Fred sent Ed fresh bread.
Sip this bit with Sid.
Pat’s cap sat half back.
Throat vowels:
Oh, no, don’t go home.
Paul caught frogs all fall.
Ah, Bob’s mop’s on top.
Bud runs some from fun.
Cookbooks would look good.
Sue knew Lou flew, too.
adventgridclean.xlsThanks to Melinda and Paul, here is a better crossword puzzle grid.
advent07.xlsIf you are playing both games, you need this crossword grid, too.
52A______________________ 1A__________________
31A________ 40D______ 10A______ 7D________
31A________ 30A________ 10A______28D__________
31A________ 39D__________ 10A______ 33A________
12A________ 8D__________ 14A_______________ 41A__________
31A________ 34A______ 20D______ 46D______
14D________ 19A______ 20D______ 45A________
31A________ 43D________ 10A______ 17D______
32D____ 1D__________________________
24______________________ 1__________________
14________ 19______ 5______ 3________
14________ 13________ 5______12__________
14________ 18__________ 5______ 16________
6________ 4__________ 8_______________ 20__________
14________ 17______ 11______ 23______
7________ 10______ 11______ 22________
14________ 21________ 5______ 9______
15____ 2__________________________