The Biz
PASSiNG iT ON
The next shock came when
she realized this new student
of hers had no idea how to
pitch from a piano. This
problem had never occurred
to her, she’d been born with
a musical ear and all her
musical friends were the
same. Her non-musical
friends often told her they
wished they could play or
sing, but they knew their
limitations and resolved
themselves to being
audience members forever.
She assumed that anyone
wanting singing lessons
would be musical and know
how to pitch him or herself!!
!
So now what? "
The teacher managed to
‘make up’ some relevant
pitch exercises to help the
student understand what was
required if he was to
progress in singing. The
lesson was a struggle as she
had made so many
assumptions about her
s t u d e n t ’s k n o w l e d g e o f
singing and music. As he
was a total amateur it meant
she needed to adjust her
language, pace and
approach. At the end of the
lesson she gave him some
homework, a recording of the
lesson and sent him on his
way.!
!
After the student left, this
fledgling teacher reflected on
the lesson. She realized that
she had a lot of holes in her
iSing | issue 1
teaching knowledge, that
being able to play
instruments, sing and perform
was not enough to be a
singing teacher. She needed
to find out more about the
voice, teaching different
sexes, ages, vocal styles and
abilities as well as
understanding the general
teaching processes. Whilst
she knew her student had left
her with some new
knowledge, she felt she’d
learnt far more from this first
lesson, and mainly about her
own shortcomings.!
contemporary vocal
technique but already I had
better, more efficient tools
and processes to competently
help singers. When I finished
my degree I discovered
Speech Level Singing, a
contemporary vocal
technique that helped my
v o i c e i m m e n s e l y, fi n a l l y
eliminating the flip between
my lower and upper ranges
as well as giving me a strong
sound throughout my range.
!
Guess what?"
It will not come as a surprise
to discover this fledgling
teacher was none other than
moi! That was in 1994. I
continued with two students
for a while but when they
drifted off I decided not to
continue teaching. I didn’t feel
comfortable with the gaps in
my skills and knowledge. I
needed to know more about
the teaching craft if I wanted
to be a good singing teacher.!
!
My way in was to go to
university and get a Music
Education degree. I also
began to read about and
attend workshops on singing
and vocal technique.!
!
When I recommenced
teaching in 1998 I was much
more effective. I was still in
the process of understanding
the voice and teaching
This technique had a training
programme so I decided to
certify as an instructor. I
moved on about 10 years
later as my understanding of
the voice and the performer
compelled me to approach
the singer more holistically;
to incorporate new
developments in vocal
science, neuroscience and
psychology. By this stage I
had also been working as the
head of the vocal department
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