Vicki Tucker Courtney's Contemporary Art Songs for Women

One of the fun things about conventions and conferences is visiting the vendors and looking for new music that hasn't shown up yet on the shelves of the music store where I usually shop.  At the MMTA Convention in June, I found a wonderful surprise.  Last year in this post I told you how much I love Vicki Tucker Courtney's Contemporary Art Songs for Men, but I had no idea that this book was in the works.

Like the volume for men, all ten songs in Contemporary Art Songs for Women come in low keys and high keys in the same book.  The CD also has accompaniments in both keys.  It's great for those students that sit somewhere in the middle, and sometimes need the high key, but other times need the low key. 

I didn't immediately fall in love with all the songs like I did with the book for men, but the more I go through them, the more I like them.  Sadly, it took me a couple times through the book before it dawned on me that all the poets of the songs were women.  There is a lot of wonderful music in the world by men, but I think sometimes it can be empowering for young women to sing something with both text and music by a woman.  You don't often get that chance.  

There are several poets I'm not familiar with, but there are also two settings of Christina Rossetti's poems ("What Do the Stars do?" and "What Would I Give?") and a beautiful setting of Emily Dickinson's "Will There Really Be a Morning?"  Can there ever be too many settings of that?  My favorite song in the book is "Repetition."  Courtney omits a few lines from Ella Wheeler Wilcox's original poem (That the worship of self is the only sin, And the only devil is greed) and I think I like it that way.  It keeps the song more positive.  

I see these songs as a great bridge for students that are ready for more than folk songs, but not necessarily ready for foreign language art songs.  I hoping the students love these as much as I do.  

Student Checklist for Performances

It's that time of year when I am busy revising old handouts and creating new ones.  I have a large studio, and even though I really try to make sure I discuss everything during lessons, I'm also just a little bit paranoid that I will forget something important.  I'm pretty sure that a lot of kids don't read the handouts I assign, but if the assignment is in writing and the handout is available to them, I feel a lot less guilty about things that don't go as smoothly as we might like them to.  

I prefer to attend every performance or contest opportunity that I offer my students.  However, there are times that it just isn't possible for me to be there holding their hand and making sure everything goes smoothly.  This year, I'm offering a few opportunities that I already know I can't attend.  I think that makes written instructions even more important.  I can't be there with them, but my handout can.  

This is the first draft of the handout I'm working on for those (and really all) performances.  I reference other handouts available on the password protected part of my website.  If you are interested in knowing more about those, please post in the comments.  

Checklist for Performances, Exams, Masterclasses, Contests, Auditions, etc. 

General Information:

• To help me process registrations faster, I will be asking students to fill out the registration forms.  You should fill out all parts of the form except the teacher contact info and any sections that say “Teacher: Please Complete” or “For Office Use Only”, “For Site Administrator”, etc.  Ask me if you have any questions. 
• Most MMTA events require that you present a form from me when you check-in for the event.  Make sure you have this. 
• I usually receive result within 1-2 weeks of the exams and contests. I will review any critiques and scores with you at your lesson. 
• Certificates, ribbons, pins, and other awards will be presented to students at our Spring Recital or at a lesson following that. 
• Keep your critiques and certificates (or copies of them) in pockets, folders, or sheet protectors in your Voice Lesson Notebook for future reference.

Preparation:

• The earlier you begin your preparation, the stronger your performance will be. 
• See handouts in the File Are like “Blueprinting”, “Mapping”, and “More ideas for building your interpretation” to help you polish your performance. 
• Be completely memorized and polished at least 2 weeks before the performance.
• For Theory Exams, feel confident on the material at least 2 weeks before the exam.  Then continue to study and review. 
• Attend workshops and studio classes and use them as an opportunity to get performance experience before the major event.
• Take advantage of opportunities to sing for family and friends, your choir, your church, or at nursing homes.  Again, this gives you practice in performing. 
•  Make an audio recording.  Listen to it, pretending you are the teacher.  Take notes.  What was good?  What do you need to work on?  How can you work on it?
• Make a video recording.  Watch it, pretending you are the teacher.  Take notes.  What was good?  What do you need to work on?  How can you work on it? The visual presentation is just as important as your sound.  How is your alignment?  Are your face and body expressive? 
• Write a Personal Positive Pep Talk. 

Accompanists:

These guidelines are especially important if you are using someone other than me as your accompanist. 

• Hire your accompanist early.  See me if you need recommendations and contact information.
• You are allowed to photocopy music for your accompanist to practice from, if it is destroyed after the event.  For MMTA and NATS, the accompanist MUST play from the originals.  Photocopies at any MMTA or NATS event will get you disqualified. 
• Double check to make sure that all notes, words, and markings are included on any copies you give to the accompaniment.  It’s easy to cut off the left hand piano part if you are not careful. 
• Get the music to the accompanist at least 2 weeks prior to your first rehearsal. 
• Make sure the music is clearly marked with breath marks, tempo changes, etc. 
• Rehearse with the accompanist at least once prior to the date of the performance.  If the site and scheduling allow for it, see if you can meet for a final check-up at the event site prior to the performance.  This is not always possible, but when it is, it is very helpful. 
• It is OK, expected, and necessary that you do more than just a quick run through with the accompanist.  Let him/her know if the tempo is comfortable.  Are there places that you have been practicing with slowing down or speeding up more?  Stop and work on sections so that you both feel comfortable with what you are hearing from the other.  Run it a few times so that you feel like you are working as a team. 
• While practicing with your accompanist, work out how you will show them that you are ready for them to begin playing.
• Payment for rehearsals and the event should be made at the first rehearsal, and absolutely no later than the performance.  Some accompanists will not play for the performance unless they have your money already.
• Write a thank-you note to the accompanist. 

The Week Before the Performance:

• Continue your normal practice schedule. If you have adequately prepared in advance, it will be enough.  Do not practice several extra hours a day trying to improve.  You will just stress yourself and your voice.  If you feel you need more practice beyond the normal amount of time you spend, make it silent practice.  
•  Practice your introduction if one is required.  Find out exactly what you need to introduce.  Some events will just want the song title.  Some want your name, grade, song title, composer, etc.  Focus on speaking slowly and clearly. 
• Decide what you will be wearing (especially shoes) and practice in what you will wear to your performance.  It will help prepare you mentally for performance and let you make any slight adjustments to clothing or presentation that may be required for comfort and optimal vocal technique. Unless event instructions specifically tell you otherwise, always dress up. 
• Get at least 8 hours of sleep per night.  Your body is your instrument.  Your performance will be better if you are not sleep deprived. 
• Make sure you are getting enough fluids. 
• Make travel arrangements.  Is a parent taking you, are you carpooling, or are you driving?  How long does it take to get there?  When will you need to leave to arrive with plenty of time to spare?  Do you know how to get to the site? Do you have maps/directions both to the building and the room you will be singing in? 
• Pack your performance bag.  Include music, water bottle, Kleenex, snacks, make-up (if you plan to wear it and might need to touch it up), your maps/directions, and something to do to keep you calm if you have to wait awhile.  Some events (mostly MMTA) will also require that you present a form at the check-in table.  Make sure that it is in your bag too. 
• Make sure my cell phone number and your accompanist’s cell phone number are saved on your phone or the phone of someone who will be with you.
• Figure out where you will meet your accompanist on the day of the performance.  Ask if you should meet him/her at your site, in the warm-up area, or at the registration desk.  You can also ask if you should call them when you arrive. 

The Day of the Performance:

• Warm-up at home if at all possible.  Yes, most events will have warm-up rooms, but your time there might be limited.
• Arrive early.  (How early will be determined by whether or not you can warm-up at the site.  You should always be there ready to go at least 15-20 minutes before your performance time.)
• Check-in at the registration table if there is one. 
• Explore the building.  Where is the room where you will perform?  Where are the nearest bathrooms?  Where is the nearest drinking fountain?  Where are the warm-up rooms? 
• Check-in with your accompanist. 
• Do some slow breathing exercises as you wait outside the performance room. 
• Review your Personal Positive Pep Talk right before you walk in. 
• Remember that the performance starts when you walk in the room.  Stand tall.  Look confident.  Smile as you greet the judges.
• If you have to announce your song, remember to speak slowly and clearly.
• Sing with commitment and expression.  Once you walk into the room, you’ve done all you can do technically, so just trust that it will work for you and enjoy the singing.   

A Few More Notes on Warming-Up:

• Follow the basic structure outlined in the Warm-ups handout located in the File Area of the website. 
• Straws are great to include as part of your warm-ups especially if you are in a place where you don’t want to make much noise (hotel, in the car with family, etc.)
• When you think you are warmed up, check a few things.  
• Check breath. (Are all inhalations low, silent, and free?)  
• Check to make sure that all the vowels are lining up.  
• Check how easy it is to sing legato.  (Can you sing an exercise with zero gaps in the breath flow?)
•  Check how easy it is to sing staccato.  (Is the staccato breath or throat motivated?) 
• Check flexibility, especially if you have a song with lots of quickly moving notes.  
• Check high notes (Are they free and easy? Do they have enough space?)  
• Check low notes. 
• Sing through your song or do a spot check on the harder sections, especially high notes or notes that you hold for a long time.  If it’s not as easy and beautiful as usual, you’re not warmed up enough.  Do a few more minutes of exercises, and then repeat the spot checks. 

So what did I miss?   

The Voice Lesson Notebook

I'm reading Bonnie Blanchard's book Making Music and Enriching Lives.  I have mixed feeling about the book overall.  I'll do a full review of it later.  One of the concepts that I love is her two notebook system.  The first notebook is one that either the teacher or student uses during the lesson to record information about what the student needs to work on and how to work on it.  I do similar lesson notes that are saved on my MTH website and emailed to the students each week.  The second notebooks she refers to as the Music for Life notebook.  In this notebook, the student copies the lesson notes into the appropriate subsection:  theory, tone, fingering, etc.  They then have an easy reference to do their own problem solving in practicing.  And the more students can fix at home on their own, the more we can give to them in lessons.

Because I'm a total nerd and because I really want to find ways to give my students more ownership of their learning process, I took it a little further.  I want my kids to have one big binder for EVERYTHING.  Because that will be a big pain to haul around, I'm fine with them having a little folder like this that snaps in and out of the binder that contains currently materials and that they can bring to each lesson.

The current plan is to start them out small and take at least half of a lesson each quarter to check up on where they are with their books and introduce some new ways to make them even more helpful.

Baby beginners won't have all these categories yet, but this is what I would like the binders to grow to include.  Let me know if you can think of anything else to include.

Table of Contents

My Goals (Long term, short term, and plans for how to achieve them)

My Lesson schedule

My Due Dates

• Tuition
• Contest/exam registrations 
• College auditions

My Timelines: Preparing for Contests, exams, auditions

• How early do you need to know the notes, rhythms, and words? 
• When do you need to be memorized? 
• When should you be totally polished? 
• What performances will you do to get ready for these important events? (Studio class, friends and family, etc.)

My Repertoire (I will give them the format for creating a repertoire list.)

My Assignments and Lesson Notes

My Tools (pencil, straws, mirror, etc. in a pouch)

Personal Positive Pep Talks (a reminder list I have students create to review just before they go onstage.)

• General
• For Specific Songs or Specific Performances

My Music

• Sheet Music and Octavos
• Research 
• Composer bios
• Context: How does this song fit in the show, opera, or song cycle? 
• IPA
• Word-by-word translations
• Blueprints, maps, etc. (more song study homework I assign)

My Practice Record (see Robinett Studio Practice Journals for one way to record this information.)

My Evaluations and Certificates from Exams and Contests (originals or copies)

My Team (contact info)

• Voice teacher
• Choir directors
• Musical directors
• Accompanists
• Acting Coaches
• Diction Coaches
• Choreographers
• ENTs, speech/language pathologists

For Future Reference—In this section, you categorize and file pieces of information from your lesson notes and research for future use. One note may be filed in multiple categories. 

• Practice strategies
• Breathing
• Resonance
• Vowels
• Diction/Articulation
• Flexibility
• Expression/Interpretation
• Posture/Alignment
• Anatomy
• Music History (including composer bios)
• Classical style periods
• Renaissance
• Baroque
• Classical
• Romantic
• Contemporary
• History of Musical Theatre
• History of Popular Music Genres
• Theory
• Sight-reading/tonal memory
• Musical Terms
• Recommended Reading
• Other

Holiday/Winter/Christmas Music

Note:  I started this blog in the summer and almost had it done, but decided to wait to post until closer to Christmas.  Then I got busy.  It's a little late for finding things for students this year, but not too late for some Holiday celebrations of your own.  

In real life, the Christmas season begins the day after Thanksgiving.  I don't play Christmas recordings before then.  I don't want to see Christmas stuff in stores before then.  But, if young students want to polish a piece for a Holiday studio class or recital, we can't wait until the end of November to start finding songs.  My official start date for holiday music is the beginning of 2nd quarter which is in early November, but sometimes I even start kids in late October.

Holiday music is one opportunity for my students to sing whatever they want.  I do reserve the right to veto if they are not vocally ready for the song or if we can't find it in a key that works for them, but other than that, I'm pretty open to whatever style or song they want.  They just have to purchase the music and bring it to their lessons.

I never require students to do Holiday music, they can always choose to do something else.  I would estimate that probably 90% of my students do end up choosing a Holiday song.  Those that don't sing holiday songs have a variety of reasons:  they need to work on classical rep for an upcoming audition, they're doing so much in their choirs at church and school that they just want something different, they prefer not to because of their religion. (Although I must say, I've had several Jewish kids ask to sing "Silent Night" or "O Holy Night" just because they are beautiful songs.)

Speaking of "O Holy Night"...this is one of the things I veto a lot.  I do let advanced students sing it, and sometimes in other keys or arrangements, but I insist that they use good classical production.  This is one of those times when my music snob shows.  I won't work with students on singing this song in any popular style.

With the exception of the songs from Ready to Sing...Christmas, I do not copy songs for students.  This is the information that I give them regarding Holiday Music.

♦ The 14 “legal to copy” songs that I have are:
Jingle Bells; Away in a Manger; The First Noel; Over the River and Through the Woods; Silent Night; Ding, Dong! Merrily on High; Deck the Hall; Fum, Fum, Fum; Still, Still, Still; Joy to the World; A-Rockin’ All Night; Go Tell it on the Mountain; Frozen December; and Good King Wenceslaus.

♦ If you want to purchase just one song, I suggest trying out one of these web sites, where you can find the song, put it in the key that is best for you, and print it on your printer at home. Most songs are $4-$5.
Sheetmusicdirect.com or jwpepper.com musicnotes.com or sheetmusicplus.com or musicnotes.com

♦ If you love holiday songs, you may want to invest in a book that you can use for many years to come. I have the following books at school that you can look at to decide which book you want to buy. (I then give them pretty close to the same book list you see below.)

In the first section of this blog, I will do short reviews of several books of Christmas song arrangements.  The second section will cover mostly bigger Christmas collections that include carols and popular style songs.

Part I

15 Easy Christmas Carol Arrangements
Edited by Richard Walters. Great for Beginners. Available in High and Low keys.
The arrangements of familiar carols in this book are fairly simply and in most of the songs, the piano part doubles the melody.  My favorites in this book are the arrangements of "Silent Night" and "Away in a Manger," both by Christopher Ruck.

Christmas for Two
Alfred.
Several of the songs in this book are actually partner songs, using the melodies from two different songs and then intertwining them.  My favorite song here is "Joyful, Joyful to the World" which combines "Joy to the World" and "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee".

Carols for Two 
Alfred.  Christmas duets.

Ready to Sing...Christmas
Compiled and edited by Jay Althouse.
I use these simple arrangements a lot in my studio, partly because I can legally copy them, and partly just because they are good.  This book includes my favorite arrangement of "The First Noel".

The Mark Hayes Vocal Solo Collection:  10 Christmas Songs for Solo Voice
Arranged by Mark Hayes. Available in Medium High and Medium Low keys. Vocal difficulty varies, but piano accompaniments tend to be more difficult, so if you plan to sing for church, check it out with whoever will be playing for you.  I love these arrangements.   In "Away in a Manger" Hayes uses 3 different melodies, including "Normandy Carol" for the "Be near me, Lord Jesus" verse.  This verse in minor creates a beautiful bridge between the two more well know melodies.  My other favorite is "The Coventry Carol".  I've always loved this tune, but I love it even more here where he uses a minor key version of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" as the basic accompaniment pattern.

Favorite Christmas Classics for Solo Singers
Compiled and edited by Patrick M. Liebergen. Available in medium high and medium low keys.  This book contains my favorite holiday song ever, a haunting setting of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" by Patrick M. Liebergen.  I also use "In the Bleak Midwinter" and "The Virgin's Slumber Song" frequently.  

The Christmas Soloist
Compiled and Edited by Jay Althouse. Available in medium high and medium low keys.
If I remember correctly, this book was actually my introduction to the music of Jay Althouse and the publications of Alfred Publishing.  This book also contains the Christmas carol and song arrangements that I most like to perform.    Favorites in this collection include "God Rest You, Merry Gentlemen", "Once in Royal David's City" (with trumpet!), and "Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow!"

Christmas for Solo Singers
Compiled and Edited by Jay Althouse. Medium high and medium low keys. Contains beautiful arrangements of Christmas favorites that are very singable for high school students.  The poem "In the Bleak Midwinter" shows up in this book too, this time as "Winter Carol" with a new melody by Sherri Porterfied.  A simple, yet beautiful arrangement of "Silent Night" is a favorite with my students.   "Jingle Bells" is another student favorite.

Christmas Solos for All Ages
Compiled by Joan Frey Boytim. High, Medium, and Low keys. Includes songs that range from easy to moderately difficult.  Arrangements of lesser known carols (no "Silent Night" or "Away in a Manger"), Art Songs/Traditional songs, and 3 popular songs ("The Christmas Song", "Do You Hear What I Hear", "White Christmas").

Part II

The Reader's Digest Merry Christmas

The Ultimate Series:  Christmas:100 Seasonal Favorites
Hal Leonard. Many standard carols and popular style holiday songs.

Seasons Greetings.
Hal Leonard. Many standard carols and popular style holiday songs.

Once Upon a December and 50 Christmas Favorites
Warner Bros. Publications. Many standard carols and popular style holiday songs.

The Christmas Collection--53 Songs for the Classical Singer
Hal Leonard. Art Songs and Arrangements of popular songs and carols. Moderately difficult to advanced. Low and High keys available.

Home for Christmas—Amy Grant
Hal Leonard. Arrangements from her CD.

Mary, Did You Know? Plus 24 New Inspirational Christmas Favorites
Word Music.  Contemporary Christian.  I'm not a huge fan of contemporary christian music, but there are some songs in here that I really like.  "Breath of Heaven", "Christmas Lullaby (I Will Lead You Home)", "Not that Far From Bethlehem," and "Welcome to Our World" are my favorites.

30 Christmas Favorites Then and Now. Cherry Lane Music Company. Contemporary songs and arrangements from popular artists.  This book may be out of print now, but you can occasionally still find used copies.  This book includes two songs recorded by Linda Eder that I haven't found in other books.  "The Gift" is my favorite.

Big Book of Christmas Songs.  Hal Leonard.

The World's Most Beloved Christmas Songs.  Alfred.

A little controversy

This

is not this



This

is not this



This

is not this


By the same token, this

is not this


And this (although I love her scatting)

is not this


But is it wrong?

I have very mixed feelings about this.  On the one hand, I am a firm believer in honoring the intent of the composer and demands of the music itself, both in terms of technique and artistry.  On the other hand, if Sarah Brightman singing a Czech aria in Italian gets someone interested in opera, isn't that a good thing?  I appreciate the fact that these artists cared enough about this incredibly beautiful music that they wanted to sing it and share it with the world.

As a teacher, I do feel that I have the right and responsibility to educate my students about the really good performances of these songs, so when someone brings in Paul Potts singing "Nessun Dorma", I introduce them to Bjorling.  And when they ask to sing "Nessun Dorma", I tell them, "No way in hell!!!" Actually, I explain the difficulty of this aria and tell them that in 15 or 20 years they can ask whoever they are studying with then if they can do it.  I also explain that not every voice should sing this.  Only a very special kind of tenor should be singing this.  (Side note:  Several years ago, someone at the local music store just gave me a couple of copies of "Nessun Dorma" because they hadn't sold them and they thought someone at our school might be able to use them.  I'm pretty sure I didn't actually burn them, but they are definitely not at the high school where I teach.)

Then there are these duets that make you go, "Huh?"  At least they did the first time I heard them.  The more I listen the more I like them.  I think my family had every John Denver recording ever made.  Although as a voice teacher I sometimes hear things in his voice that I want to fix, I love the color of his voice and I love the songs he writes.  But I remember being really confused by this duet.  Domingo's accent and classical technique were a big disconnect for me.  It didn't seem to fit.  But it introduced me to Domingo who has become one of my favorite singers of all time and definitely my favorite of The Three Tenors.



I actually knew Caballé before I knew Freddie Mercury.  Her "Casta Diva" is exquisite.  To be completely honest, I had heard Queen songs, but I wasn't really into that kind of music in high school and college.  It's really only been that last few years that I learned about him and how amazing his talent was.


These pairings introduced audiences to people and sounds that they might not have encountered on their own.  And the artists themselves learn and grow from the experiences.  In a quick search, I didn't find any super reliable sources, but I've heard that it was Freddie Mercury's dream to sing with Montserrat Caballé and that John Denver changed his approach to how he used his words after working with Placido Domingo.  We all have something we can learn even if it seems like we are so different that we couldn't have anything in common.

Maybe sometimes the question shouldn't be, "Did the singer do the song justice?"

Maybe sometimes it should be, "How did this music change this person?"

So what do you think?  What offends you musically?

Here is what many classical singers want you to know

How Hard Should I Push?

Although I love teaching voice lessons, it isn't always easy and it isn't always fun.  One of the things I struggle with is knowing how much to demand of my students.  I firmly believe in teaching that emphasizes process and progress instead of just product.  I believe that my first job is teaching people, not building voices.

The school where I teach is a triple A school meaning that they emphasize excellence in arts, academics, and athletics.  Students are challenged to be the very best they can be. Many of my voice students are the stars in not just one area, but in all three of the A's. That's awesome, but it doesn't leave much time, energy, or focus for practicing for their voice lessons.  And voice lessons always seem to be at the bottom of the priority list.

I struggle with how to inspire them to practice more when I know I'm adding to a work load that is already close to impossible.  I don't want to add stress, but I want them to understand that if they want to win competitions and/or pursue music professionally they need to invest more than just the time they spend with me in lessons.

This all came to a head again this week with the lessons of three very talented students who have a competition in less than two weeks.  One is doing OK, but in an effort to improve technically has completely ignored the interpretative side of things over the last couple of weeks.  Another was exhausted and sick and not yet memorized even though the person has had the song since the summer.  The third (normally a very responsible student) just didn't show up for the last lesson and doesn't have any other lessons scheduled before the competition.  And of course because it is always about me (or so I think sometimes) I began to stress out about how I was failing these kids.  I wondered how to make them realize that they have to do more if they want to reach their goals.

Not only did I struggle with how to talk to them, I couldn't find the words to reach out to my colleagues and ask for advise.  I didn't want to look like a bad teacher.

Then another teacher reached out with a concern and in addressing her situation, I found my answer.  My teacher friend has a student dealing with depression and anxiety and asked for feedback about how she should approach things in lessons.  This was my response:

I have been the student struggling with depression and anxiety, and I have worked with several too. At my worst, music was my anchor, and if my teacher had insisted that I take a break, it would have made the situation worse.

Talking with the student and her parents is probably the best option right now. For the student that I have right now in this situation, together we decided that I will offer her performance and competition opportunities, but she gets to make the decision based on what she thinks she can handle and there is no pressure from me. I also remind her frequently that if I'm pushing her too hard in a lesson and she just needs to have a fun sing day that she can request that.

Several years ago, a student's parents sat next to me at the final choir concert of the year and made a point of thanking me for helping their child make it to graduation.

We can't be therapists, but we can support and encourage, and the healing potential of music is why I keep teaching.

As I thought about that response, I realized that I don't know all the details of everything going on the lives of my students.  With rare exceptions, I don't know who is dealing with depression or anxiety.  I don't know who is still experiencing PTSD from a past trauma.  I can't know all that, and I can't make myself responsible for everything in their lives.  But I can offer every student the options that I give to those that I know are struggling.

I've mentioned my tai chi study before.  Every tai chi class I take and every tai chi class I teach reinforces those ideals that first led made me want to teach voice lessons.  Every student comes to us with different needs and each of those students will need to discover the specifics of how singing (or tai chi) happens in their own unique body.  

In his book Teaching Tai Chi Effectively, Dr. Paul Lam says

When working with the young people, you must be well prepared and yet, very flexible.  Listen to them--with your eyes, as well as ears--and adjust as you go.

We must also listen with our hearts.  We must develop empathy and teach with compassion.

Another of my tai chi heroes, Caroline Demoise wrote this her her book, Tai Chi as a Spiritual Practice.    All you have to do to make this apply to voice lessons is substitute singing for every time she uses tai chi here.

Being interested in them as people and desiring to help them achieve their potential are quite different from having expectations about how good their tai chi should be, how far they could progress or how well they have taken advantage of the instruction they have been given.
Don't have expectations for the class.  Students will feel the pressure of your expectations, and it activates their critical voice when they are not progressing to your satisfaction.  Remember whose journey is unfolding.  It is not about you.  Class is each student's personal journey.  As the teacher, you are coaching, providing an environment for learning, giving encouragement, offering feedback and holding the space for them to unfold their potential.
As a teacher you want your student to succeed and reflect your teaching skill, but ideally your ego will take a backseat to your student's own timetable and development.  Students with incredible natural talent may have multiple priorities and may not be focused solely on tai chi, which influences the unfolding of their potential.  Means do not justify the end, and pressure and criticism are never appropriate as inducements to achieve.  Tai chi is not about competition, but about self-development.  Students who have only a little ability but who regularly show up in class, try their best, have a lot of enthusiasm for learning and feel better at the end of class are a visible demonstration of your success as a teacher.  

So how hard should I push? Maybe I don't need to push at all.  I need to give up the word should, and invite and encourage rather than setting expectations or demanding.  At this point, I think all I can do is offer opportunities and provide tools.  Each student needs to decide for himself or herself what to take and how far they want to go.  And I need to be OK with that.

When Parents Have Concerns

I just finished up my response to the first email of the school year from a parent concerned that her child did not get into an auditioned choir or the musical.  For the most part, when I receive these kinds of emails, it's not because the parent thinks their kid is the most awesome thing ever and is upset that their kid wasn't cast.  Usually it is a loving parent wondering if this is the right path for their child or if they should encourage them to pursue other interests where they might have a better chance for what the child and the parent view as success.  

I love the school where I teach, but no situation is perfect.  The philosophy is one of excellence in academics, arts, and athletics.  Excellence is great, but it creates a lot of competition.  Yes, competition pushes us to achieve more, but it also means that there only are a few stars.  Kids who would have leads in smaller, less competitive schools might not even make a show at this school.  The average students sometimes feel lost in the shuffle.

And so I get letters from parents wondering where their child stands.  Because it comes up at least a few times a year, I thought I'd share some of the general comments I made here.

Do you see an improvement in her skills as a singer?
Yes, definitely. (The rest of my answers to this question refer to specific skills and the progress the student has made with each.)
 

Do you ever see her being able to be in the musicals?
Yes. I can't guarantee that it will be next year, but I think that making a show is a realistic goal. It is important to remember that very few freshmen make the shows. Chances improve each year. For example, if a senior and freshman audition at exactly the same level of proficiency, the senior has a better chance of being cast.

Because she loves music and theatre, she may want to explore some of the off-stage opportunities related to the shows, like tech crew, costume production, set building, etc. This will give her a chance to still be involved in the show even if she isn't on stage.


Do you think she could make it into the choirs that she would need an audition for?
There are always possibilities, especially when students practice and work hard on building their skills. [The choir teacher] will be re-auditioning for [a particular select ensemble] after the Holiday Concert, and she almost always adds more students at that point. To increase [the student's] chances of making a select choir this year or next, she should develop a habit of regular practice, working on solfege and sight-reading skills, learning music quickly, and applying the principles of vocal technique that we are covering in lessons. Staying focused and being a leader in choir everyday also helps.


Is there something more we could be doing to help her succeed?
Each week I send lesson notes to both you and [the student]. Encourage her to practice and make practicing more than just singing through the song. (There are several handouts on the website that can help her structure her practice time.) I'm attaching a practice journal. Some students have found this very helpful. It asks students to set goals for the week and for each practice session. If we talked about it at a lesson, that would be a good thing to include as one of the goals.

Continue being positive and encourage her to do things she loves, not just the things that she can be the best at. Passion and persistence are far more important to success that any perceived innate talent. I say perceived because researchers are finding that many of the people we assume must be just naturally gifted by God or DNA have actually invested a lot of time and practice in what they do. But that practice doesn't always look the same from person to person.

Also, everyone is on a different learning path and each person is moving along their own path at a speed that may be different for everybody else. That is really hard for high school kids to understand. We've had All-State singers that haven't really done much singing since they graduated from high school, and we've had kids that were average to slightly above average in [our school's] pool, that are now succeeding in music careers.

When I first went to college and auditioned for choirs, the only thing that got me into one of the auditioned choirs is that they wanted to use me as an accompanist. I had a good voice, but very little training, and some severe tuning issues (especially when I was nervous). Ranked against everyone at that school where choral music was extremely important, I was pretty close to the bottom of the pile. But I worked, and I persevered, and I now really understand why tuning issues happen and what to do about them. And I make my living using my voice.

What things would you share with a parent that is concerned about his or her child's potential for success in music?