Myths and Misunderstandings

Not long ago, a fellow voice teacher's status on Facebook told us about a new student of his that thought she was a good singer because she "sang with her diagram."

The beginning of the school year is always a fun time for finding out which kids are completely confused but are confident that they know everything. And it's not just the kids new to my studio. Some of the returners are a little confused too.

Most kids are clueless about the diaphragm. Their choir teachers told them to sing with it, but either they didn't explain what that meant, or the kids weren't really paying attention. (And yes, not paying attention could be the real problem here.)

Here are some of my favorite things I've heard from kids:

"When you breath in, you need to fill up the diaphragm."
Will someone please explain to me how to do this? You can't put anything in it. It descends. Time to talk about anatomy and pull out the cool pictures.

"For singing, you breathe into your stomach, not your lungs."
OK, I can understand how this misperception got started. It's because we refer to the entire abdominal region as the stomach and teachers are trying to get the kids to take low breaths, not shoulder breaths. However, once again, it's time for the anatomy discussion. The only place you can breathe into is your lungs. If you breathe into your stomach, it doesn't make you sing better; it makes you burp!

"But my last teacher said it didn't matter what it sounded like if the technique was right."
(Sounds of me screaming and pulling out my hair!) Technique is a tool to help us create beautiful sound, not the goal itself. If it doesn't sound good and feel good, the technique is not right.

Now, just to be fair, I'm sure that there are kids out there right now telling their new college teachers that I told them to sing out their eyes. And for some of them it is true. I use a lot of imagery and movement to help my students find their best sound. Most of them are high school students and don't need to know all the technical information about what is really happening. However, when I have them do something like singing out their eyes, I make a point of explaining the physical changes that that mental image helps to create. I make sure they know it is just an imagination game, not literally what happens.

So, fess up. What things do you say to your singers that they may misinterpret or mistake for actual technique? How do you go about fixing students misperceptions without saying, "Your last teacher was an idiot," or "You weren't really listening, were you?"

Also, I want to hear the wonderful quotes from your students!