The major skill of a voice teacher is listening. The teacher listens, discerns what is good and what needs help to get better, and then prescribes an exercise to train…
Tag: listening
In my last post I wrote about my personal experience with the acoustics of my insides – my own physical environment. Today I am exploring an outside influence. When I…
When discussing politics, pedagogy, problems, conflicts – The hardest thing is to not let our hearts harden. Sometimes we must work very hard to cultivate lightness, humor, kindness, truth, love,…
The way that the accompaniment to a vocal exercise is played matters a lot. The biggest problem I hear with young or insensitive teachers is rushing. The second biggest problem…
Is it emotion? If so, what about a singer’s performance evokes emotion? Can it be feats of strength? Sensitivity? Fascinating ebb and flow of the lyric? Are exciting singers “loud”?…
A recording is not the same as a live performance. Specifically, the sound you hear on a recording is not the sound you would hear if you were in the…
Singing well is easy. Learning how to sing well is hard. Talking about teaching singing is easy. Learning how to teach is hard. Developing the listening skills required to be…
Below is an excerpt from one of the old Italian books on singing. It contains a teaching tip that is useful for any voice teacher in any genre. Practical Reflections…
Some teachers and singers have said “You should not listen to yourself when you sing. You need to learn to sing by feel.” This has some merit. If one develops…