LOVE/LEARNING MEANS NEVER HAVING TO SAY "I'M SORRY"

It's been a great couple of weeks of teaching here. My "old" students have come back from their summer vacations and I have acquired several fascinating new students of many different backgrounds, ages, and styles of singing. As is my usual policy, I inform everyone at the beginning of studying with me, one of our goals is to "fire the judges and hire the reporters." This means we are going to be on a journey together of exploration of their particular singing/acting process and how I can help them to find their most beautiful, strong, flexible, free and powerful instrument. Along the way we are going to run into many bumps in the road. Some of them will be because of the student's age. Some will be because I haven't found the right way to communicate to this particular student yet. Some will be because the student hasn't practiced enough (simple, but true). Some will be because there is an emotional block. And on and on . . . But LOVE/LEARNING MEANS NEVER HAVING TO SAY "I'M SORRY." I can't remember how many times I had to say this week "Hey! Don't apologize! We're learning here. That's what it's all about. We're both learning. Let's see what we can learn, celebrate our awarenesses and move on."

I know a lot of the apologizing for our "mistakes" or imperfections comes from our culture and/or upbringing. Goodness knows I have it myself. But I urge you in your work on your music to "Fire the judges and hire the reporters." See what it feels like for a day. Just observe. Have a day of "Hmmm. . . isn't that interesting. Every time I "reach" for a high note I lift my chin . . . or Every time the emotion gets stronger my shoulders get tight." Just observe. Don't judge and don't apologize. Love yourself into learning.

REVELATION OF THE WEEK

This week's revelation is about hard work, sweat, and laughter.  "Is it hot in here?" is the typical question for a woman going through menopause.  It's also a question for a student really working well in the voice studio.  I find myself stripping off layers of clothing during every lesson.  (Don't worry . . . there is a limit to how far I'll go!)  This week my studio was a veritable strip tease/comedy club!  "I'm exhausted!"  "Is your voice exhausted?"  "No."  "I'm tired too but let's take off a layer and keep going for a little while longer."  Then when I sense that the student's muscles can't support the tone anymore and/or they are singing "from their throat" we stop.  We rest and drink water and breathe easily and let the muscles recover.  But those supporting muscles are getting stronger each week and the beautiful, tiny vocal folds are protected and no one walks out unable to speak or sing at the end of a lesson.  They may need to take a nap or a shower, but that's OK by me.  

I have to be real careful with my younger students and constantly ask myself "How much can they take?  How much can they give?"  But they constantly surprise me.  So I had some revelations this week with a 13 year-old who hung in there for an hour of pretty demanding singing and with a sparkle in her eyes managed to make it through a song she never would have been able to tackle just two weeks ago.  Once again, the power of music working with the human body and spirit constantly amaze me.

REVELATION OF THE WEEK

Thanks to my wonderful students and their parents asking me questions this week, I have something to share for all of us regarding studying singing.  Sometimes it is hard.  Sometimes it seems like there is no reward in sight.  Sometimes it seems boring or stupid or exhausting.  So I have to ask myself, "Do I have the time, discipline, and willingness to put up with doing what may seem like silly, embarrassing, even impossible things for a while in order to allow my instrument to grow?"  And you know what?  Sometimes I don't.   And that's OK  too.  You can take a break.  If you find yourself resenting every moment of practicing or hating your lessons, take a vacation from them.  If auditions are making you crazy with self-loathing or confusion, find another way to fulfill your creativity by writing or painting or just dancing in your living room.  Your creativity will find a way to express itself if you give it a chance.  And eventually you'll come back to singing if you are meant to.  Just ran into a student I hadn't seen in a long time who did a very creative thing . . . she had a baby!    

Revelation of the Week

This week's "Revelation" happened to me.  I was working with three students, all of whom are  in their twenties and have been studying with me anywhere from eight months to two years .  All of them have gone through many vocal challenges but have been persistent in their studies and, despite the fact that they are not "blessed" with the most beautiful and mature natural voices, have hung in there with practicing and have kept a positive attitude.  Well, this week it seems that all three of them have not only made breakthroughs, but they are also able to consistently repeat their vocal improvements, make truly beautiful natural sounds and understand how they are doing what they are doing.  The only way this was able to happen was through "persistent, purposeful play" and trusting that Nature would, in Her own time, enable their voices to mature at the right time if we didn't interfere.  

A lot of young singers hear their "idols" on the radio, TV, Broadway or web and think "If so-and-so is only 17 and can sing like that, why can't I?"  They forget that "so-and-so" is amplified within an inch of her life and has a sound engineer tweaking notes to avoid any hint of "pitchiness," and that, most important of all, many of us do not find our  true voices until we are 18 or 20 or 27 or 32.  But we can and should keep on singing.

Revelation of the Week

A young soprano in my studio has been working on her demo CD for several months now.  After lots of detailed preparation both vocally and dramatically, she is ready to record a variety of songs from musical theatre to pop to rock.  This week for a change I decided to have her just sing her songs straight through . . . no breaks, no time to think, no time to evaluate how she did, no time to re-adjust her "technique" or her acting choices . . . just as if she were doing a cabaret show.  I had my back to her, so she could feel free to be as active as she wanted to be, but all I would hear was her voice as it would sound on the CD.  Well, what happened was pretty fabulous!

Her sound was more vibrant, exciting, and varied than it has ever been.  Her acting was thrilling and spontaneous.  And her reaction to the experience was overwhelming joy and excitement.  She said she found new things in each song that she'd never found before.  Try this exercise for your own audition and/or performance workout.  Take a bunch of songs you have accompaniment for and just SING THEM STRAIGHT THROUGH with no stopping, evaluating, or judging.  Let the music and your own impulses guide you on a journey of discovery.

Wonderful Revelation!

One of my students had a wonderful revelation this week.  Instead of thinking of high notes as HIGH NOTES he thought of them as opportunities to utilize everything he's been learning about release in his technique.  He relaxed his jaw (a big issue in the past) and most importantly, relaxed his mind.  Those scary  F's and G's went  soaring and sailing away!