It doesn't matter what I say or do, I just can't seem to make my
singing teacher understand that picturing this and picturing that
DON'T HELP ME. I just want to do technical, physical things in
order to get it to work rather than having to imagine this or that,
because my mind just doesn't translate whatever pictures may be in
my head into anything related to singing, and my inability to do
that only piles problems on where I certainly don't need any more!
Matthew:
It sounds like you are more of a kinesthetic/tactile learner who
needs teaching ideas which appeal to your learning style. Your teacher
is probably wonderful for those who are more visually or conceptually
structured in terms of their learning styles. While I have long been
aware of the fact that different students learn differently, I have
recently been toying with the idea of giving each student a "test" to
determine learning style (there are lots of books, web sites, tests,
etc. available about this subject). I know that such testing is done at
the graduate level in UNC's drama dept. (one of the best programs in the
US) and that it was also done a private school my son attended. It is
very helpful for the student and the teacher to be aware of how the
student best takes in new information. Otherwise, a lot of time and
effort can be wasted when there is a gap between how the teacher gives
the information and how the student best takes it in!
This might be one of the areas you need to find out about when
interviewing a prospective teacher. I am visual (first) and auditory
(second) in my learning styles, but also find that many students need
the kinesthetic or feeling component present in singing, especially when
learning breathing technique. Until they have "felt" what good
breathing and efficient breath management are, there is little hope of
getting them to do it consistently. So, I try to be aware of the
feedback they give me and try to structure my information to them in a
way that will best help. The testing for learning styles might just
give me a good place to start in assessing what might work best for
them.
Sharon Szymanski
The Szymanski Studio -"encouraging excellence in the vocal arts"
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