If you are an experienced singer who has studied voice with a private teacher, and you go to a new teacher, it can be quite a jolt. The following is…
Tag: ego
For singing to begin, the vocal folds vibrate against each other. The sounds are amplified and changed as they pass through the vocal tract, out of the mouth (and/or sometimes…
Some people defer to one master for all knowledge on a topic. This is really common with religion and singing. People have a need to follow a leader, and a…
Forget “fair”. Most of life is not fair. Everyone does not get the same opportunities, have the same talent, or have the same luck. Most singers will eventually find a…
The online forums are perfect cages for the exhibition of mental imbalance. There is so much meanness, pettiness, insult, and defensiveness. How did so many teachers and singers become so…
I’m linking to an excellent essay from Camilla Strandberg. We can get caught up in our identities as singers, and become unhealthy about it. This essay and manifesto frees us…
I have recently been watching a lot of videos from various voice pedagogy “leaders in the field”. Some are people I know personally, others I have only experienced from the…
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,…
In your journey through Voiceland, you will make many interesting discoveries if you have an open mind and a desire to improve. If you follow a functional approach, you may…
When I was a flute major, the university I attended required that all new flute students work on a syllabus of “basics” for a semester, whether they were first year,…
As a teacher, you can have high standards and be particular, honest, and clear with students, and still be kind and fair. Whether you want to be nice or not,…
Polishing biases: Looking for snippets of knowledge to support something already firmly believed. Discarding that which conflicts with your agenda. Building a case. Preference for received instruction versus independent study.…