The illusion of perfection

In Amanda White's article in the September 2010 issue of Classical Singer she addresses some of the Internet and social media sources used by musicians in the popular music world and how they can, or should not be used by classical singers. The article is great and I agree with her assessments of these tools, but at the same time, I am disturbed by her general response that unless it shows you at your very best, you don't want it out there. To be fair, this is the prevailing attitude in the classical music world, so it is not Ms. White that I am arguing with.

I recently read Lynn Eustis' book The Singer's Ego. Loved it! It should be a "must read" for singers. My response to the book was this--I've thought that for years, but we're trained not to express doubts or fears, or let anyone know that we are anything but the very best at what we do.

Singers need to know that we all have doubts. We all have works-in-progress. We desperately need to discuss these things and know that we are not alone. What academia and the professional world does to singers in terms of mind games would be viewed as abuse in other disciplines.

I want students to talk about the reality of what it is we do without worrying about being viewed as a lesser musician because of our doubts or our less than polished performances.

But on the other hand, what does the nature of the art demand? What standards of excellence do we need to hold to in order to teach respect for the art?

In many ways, the explosion of Karaoke has been good. Otherwise shy people will get up and sing because they know that the expectation is not high. Karaoke gets the world singing. It has created a culture though, where my students feel entitled to the stage rather than earning their place on it. They think that knowing the right notes and words means that they are performance ready. But the music, the art, asks more of us.

So, I continue to struggle with how to teach artistry without creating head cases. How do you stretch them without making them feel inferior? I don't have all the answers, but I know that we can acknowledge and even value the struggles. We can show them the goal. We can teach excellence. And, we can love and nurture them. A dear friend of mine reminds me that although our titles say voice instructor, we are first and foremost teachers of people, not voices. Maybe that is where the answer lies-- in valuing both the art and the person.





-- Posted from my iPhone