Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Teaching voice...YOUR voice, and YOUR brain!
As most of you know, I've been studying with a renowned voice teacher in Vienna. We've had three lessons a week for two weeks, and it's been a very intensive experience, as you can imagine. I've learned a great deal as a singer, and anticipate this will translate to some interesting changes as a teacher, too. Here's why:
I tend to be pretty concrete. Do this with your tongue, watch your alignment, be sure that vowel is a reall "oo," etc. I tend to respond well to this kind of teaching, and (as we learned from my Kolb workshop), my default teaching style corresponds predictably. I do try to meet each of you where you are and speak your language, as it were, but I want to continue growing in that area.
Here's what's been so interesting about this summer: my teacher here is extremely abstract. And I mean, REALLY abstract, at least to my mind. No muscles directly addressed, no tongue position, nothing that I might consider concrete. [There is ONE concrete thing, though. We'll talk about pelvic floor later; this has been astounding.] Sometimes I'm not sure what she's talking about, even though our lessons are in English. But I jump in and do it, and am hearing a HUGE difference on my recordings. It seems that even if my conscious brain doesn't always understand, my subconscious does. Or my body does. Who knows? All I know is, it's working.
So the question I want to pose to all of you is, how do you learn in lessons? This might be different than standard classroom learning. Which lessons jumped out at you as breakthrough lessons? Where did you hear progress? Would you be open to trying totally new approaches? Talk to me, and please be as free-form as you wish.
I'm really interested in hearing what each of you have to say. This could impact our experience together in a powerful way! Please post here, and see what other people have to say, too. Reading other responses might spark something in your own mind that hadn't before occurred to you.
Looking forward to your thoughts.
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7 comments:
I am very excited to hear your experience has been a profound one!
In regards to new approaches, I tend to be pretty open-minded. Perhaps an abstract approach might be refreshing. Personally I have a tendency to get in the way of my voice due to overthinking, so it could help me to be less analytical. The only thing I would really worry about with something like that would be that the likelihood for lapses in firm technique seems greater. I've always looked at abstract teaching as something that comes after a very concrete understanding of certain basic "truths" is present.
I look forward to hearing everyone else's ideas and all about the things you've learned!
-Jess
That's a good point, Jess...maybe we all need a firm foundation in the concrete facts of singing before we can get abstract about it. We'll experiment and see how it goes. The key is having open conversation (on both sides) about whether or not we feel things are successful, how our perceptions jive (or don't), and if we feel we're getting what we need (or not).
I think there was one other comment that I may have mistakenly deleted. Please re-post, whoever it was!
-Dr. Kris
I am very open to new things. I think being more concrete helps me, though, like Jess, I tend to over-analyze certain directions. This is so exciting hearing about what's going on in Vienna. I'm excited to see what you will share with us when you return! :)
Generally a combination of both works best for me. If I get nothing but abstract suggestions I feel insecure about what I'm doing and generally don't know how to correct problems when I'm doing something wrong, but there are some concepts, especially regarding some of the finer inner muscle movements that I don't understand yet, that work better for me in images. And sometimes if I operate solely on technical ideas about specific muscle movements, I focus on bits and pieces instead of one whole idea of simultaneous synchronized muscle movements and it becomes more difficult than it should be.
In my lessons, I usually start off being overly forceful with things...trying to push the voice rather than to naturally allow the sound to come forward. Even then, small tweaks and things need to be made. I'd be very interested to see what kind of new ideas start bubbling around the department. I agree that a concrete foundation is necessary, but there is always room for change. A foundation for one structure isn't going to work for others, so there has to be some manner of individual search as to who you are and where you want to go. I may just be rambling now so I will leave it at that...hope summer is GREAT for everybody
I'm totally open to trying new ideas and approaches. I like visual images, but need concrete things to connect and associate them with.
I'll try anything, but like to be able to understand it, even if I get the light bulb moment AFTER I've tried something I don't quite "Get."
I think that the images I've grown up with have been too general after a point to be informative, in a way that is helpful in bringing about "ah HA!" moments. I'm FINALLY able to begin to tie in concrete physical feelings from muscular (and always very subtle, darn it...) movements. It could be partly because singing has always come fairly easily to me, but moving forward in any meaningful way is really very recent, and due to taking more risk, taking the time to sound really bad, and FEELING the difference, either in the abdomen, or the throat, as with tension. So much to learn...-Nancy
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