Permission to be bad

I'm all about lofty goals and high standards. I can spend an entire lessons
picking at little details that need to be improved in a student's song. But sometimes we have to give ourselves and our students permission to be bad. Sometime that is the only way we grow.

This week a student expressed concern that her voice just isn't sounding as good as it used to and that she didn't feel like she could do things that she used to be able to do. Anytime a student comes to me with these concerns I want to make sure that both of us know exactly what is going on with the voice and determine if there is something I need to send him/her to a doctor for. The first thing I have a student do is keep a voice journal recording what they do, what it feels like and how it sounds. For this particular student, I also made a check list of technical things that she could check when she wasn't happy with her sound. And finally, I gave her a list of things that can affect the voice and how it sounds and feels. We didn't have to go far into the list to discover the reason her voice wasn't happy. She has a very tough schedule this year at school, and her stress level is really high. I know from personal experience what that can do to a voice. So we talked about doing what she can do and understanding that it won't be good, but she can learn and progress.

Tonight, my practice session was a perfect illustration of that. Today I was dealing with a lot of pain and tension, which is bad news for a singer. As I started to work on my songs, it didn't feel good and I could feel and hear lots of things I wanted to change. But, since I knew how hard that would be on a night like tonight, I gave myself permission to be bad and focused on checking my memorization. Because I gave myself permission to be bad, I didn't stress over those things I didn't like. That just adds more tension. I focused on what was working well. By the time I finished, I was actually making pretty good sounds, but I wouldn't have arrived at that place if I'd freaked out over the details tonight.

There are some practice sessions where you need to pick things apart and really do the detail work. And sometimes, you need to go for the big picture, allow bad sounds to happen, and be open to whatever good comes. I'm learning that about my own work, and I'm planning to be more conscious of it in the work I do with my students.

Practice Journal 9/29/09

Yes.

Practice Journal 9/28/09

Did a little warming up today when a student didn't show up. The voice is still not happy, but it is getting better. In addition to my usual memorization and listening work, I played through most of the Brahms songs. I like to play the accompaniment because it helps me to be aware of what is going on there in a way that I don't get by just listening. I also find new ways of shaping the phrases as I pay attention to the harmonic rhythm.

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!

Why I keep doing these practice journals

If you've been reading this blog over the last couple of weeks, you're probably wondering why I continue to post about my pathetic practice attempts. Shouldn't I be horribly embarrassed? I post because I want my students to know (and I want to remind myself) that:
1. I know it's hard to find the time and energy to practice.
2. I know that even a little bit keeps me moving in the right direction.
3. I know that there are days that I don't think I have what it takes mentally or physically to practice, but when I try, sometimes I have major break throughs and insights.
4. I know that there are wonderful moments and I want to remember those.
5. I know that showing up is half the battle.

So, if the post looks short and boring, feel free to skip it; it probably wasn't one of my good days. But, I will keep posting and when those wonderful moments come, I'll keep sharing. I also have several great blog ideas that I hope to get to soon. I don't intend for JMR Voice Notes to be just about my practicing or lack thereof).

Practice Journal 9/27/09

More memorization and listening. I know, boring post. I'm hoping my voice is up to some real work tomorrow. If not, I need to find more interesting ways of memorizing and listening and reporting about them.

Practice journal 9/26/09

More memorization and listening today. Found a spot I memorized wrong. That's why it's important to keep listening and reviewing the score even when you think you've got it down. I do pretty well with the nouns and verbs, but I really have to watch that I'm not changing articles and prepositions. Since I'm not fluent in German, sometimes it it's hard to remember which article to use.


-- Posted from my iPhone