What is my job as a voice teacher?
I have decided to define myself is as a voice teacher. I believe that everyone has the RIGHT to sing. Research has shown that human beings are born to be musical. Even more, humans are born to be singers (see Daniel Levitin’s book This is Your Brain on Music). This means that EVERYONE can sing.
As a voice teacher, it is NOT my job to like or dislike your voice. It is not my place to help you “be famous.” It is not my job to decide whether you can have a career or not.
It IS my job to help you to sing to the best of your physical ability. It IS my job to give you information about how your instrument (your body!) works and how best to affect it. It IS my job to change my teaching style to best suit each student individually in order to maximize their potential. It IS my job to make singing fun and enjoyable. It IS my job to encourage you to let your voice out and be free. It IS my job to give you all the information you need in order to reach both your short-term and long-term goals. It IS my job to help my singers learn how to practice effectively and affectively – what do they need to do in order to teach the body the HABITS of an effective singer?
Singers must be “mental” in order to sing well. The main function of the vocal chords is to manipulate the air (this is part of what I tell my singers in their first lesson). This means that the chords are part of the automatic nervous system, so we cannot successfully send direct orders to the chords. We must place the voice WITHIN a situation where the desired effect will occur. A great example that I use is this question: “Can we TELL our eyes to dilate? No. Can we put our eyes in a situation where they will dilate? Yes.” This is analogous to how the voice works.
As I’ve stated in previous postings (notably in: “I don’t care what you don’t want”), we must think in terms of “positive directives.” This means that we focus on what we’re looking for and using identifiers to analyze what we’re looking for. To help with this, I have developed my “C list” (to begin with).
Clarity of tone
Cleanliness of tone
Confidence of production
Consistency of tone
Capability of vocal production
Clarity & consistency of VOWEL
Consistency of “spin” in the tone
Can I TRUST this sound? Do I know what will come out when I open my mouth?
Are the breath and tone “marrying” together to function as one dynamic unit?
Freedom of production
EASE of production
Can I TRUST this sound? Do I know what will come out when I open my mouth?
Facility of vocalization
Is the “fila di voce” present? Is the voice seemingly “hung together on a thread of sound?”
Is there TONE vs. PITCH in the sound?
Nowhere in this list do I pose judgmental inquiries. Judgment is not my job. To produce the best sound, we cannot listen to ourselves as we would another performer. Our ears are hearing “twice at a time delay” (both through internal, sympathetic vibrations as the sound is produced and then “normally” after the sound has left our mouths) and the brain does not successfully process this information in a way that is productive. So, we must listen to the elements of the sound, decide what is working well and on which issues we need to focus.
These analyses are applicable no matter what genre the student chooses to sing or at what level the singer chooses to perform (from the shower to the stage). The CORDS function in the same way to make sound. Style is then placed upon solid vocal function. As a voice teacher, I must facilitate all who wish to sing. I don’t discriminate in terms of age (I don’t take students younger than 10 because of cognitive/analytic ability), vocal ability, musical knowledge, career aspirations. My job as a teacher is to help my students know their own voice so that they can be THAT singer when their 70 (you know, the one everyone points to and says “Wow! They’re amazing!”).
What do you see as YOUR job as a teacher?
I absolutely agree with you. Do you also believe that your voice will improve as you practice more? And what do you think of tone deaf, is there such a thing? do you believe in it?
I absolutely agree that the voice improves with practice. It is a muscle that you are training, and just as in sports, dedicated and focused practice yields improvement.
As for tone deaf, there IS a neurological condition that does not allow people to hear or match pitch (see Daniel Levitin’s work in last summer’s PBS special “The Music Instinct.” But, recent brain research has shown that humans are hard-wired to be musical and some even think that we may have sung before we talked. I strongly believe that most people can be taught to sing – it’s more because their musical development wasn’t supported as children (in the way reading and math development need to be supported in order to help you to your highest level). As adults, we CAN learn new tricks, it just takes longer.
As a teacher, I have taught students who had an incredible hard time matching pitch. Many times it’s the coordination of and control over the instrument (i.e. the voice) that creates the problem, rather than an innate inability to sing. Just as a violinist or clarinettist needs a lot of time to learn the technique before they start to “sound good,” so too does the voice need time. Unfortunately, we often try a few times and then give up saying “I can’t sing.” Perseverance and dedication win the day!
Thanks for your comments John!