I learned an important lesson when I lost my voice for
several weeks. From that experience, I have learned
to teach using hardly any demonstration. I talk
minimally as well. Some will argue that some things
just HAVE to be demonstrated, but I have truly found
that those are few, and when they do come up, one or
two demos is all that is really necessary. If they
don't pick it up from hearing it once or twice, a new
method needs to be found anyway! Usually, my students
are able to demonstrate for themselves once they try
my suggestions.
I have put the ball in my students' court. Instead of
telling them something, I ask them for answers. I am
surprised at how much they can come up with on their
own. One benefit of this is that they are now
learning more than ever before because they are more
actively involved in learning.
Try it. You will be truly shocked at how much your
students can teach themselves! The above is all
really derived from a session I saw with Richard
Boldrey which made me realize that I am not really the
teacher unless the student is ready to learn. This
concept has helped me to hand off so much of what I do
to them. I rarely lecture anymore in lessons. I
realized that they probably absorb about 10% when I am
talking, but more like 90% when they are thinking and
making their own analyses.
I would suggest challenging yourself to 2 weeks of NO
singing in lessons. Absolutely none. This may seem
extreme, but it will show you just how much you can
accomplish without singing a note. I was so surprised
to find my students did not learn less when I wasn't
able to sing. After I got over the ego crush, I
learned that the idea was really a gift.
Keep us posted on your progress!
--- EdgewoodVoiceStudio <EdgewoodVoiceStudio@a...>
wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
> I'm feeling really discouraged today and I’m using
> this forum to ramble
> hoping people who aren't interested will just delete
> before having to
> read through this whole thing! First of all I want
> to thank all of you
> who responded to my question about good
> undergraduate schools for vocal
> study! I wanted to respond to all of you
> individually but I've been
> really busy, which relates to this rambling.
>
> Somehow I've gotten into being a full time private
> singing teacher, but
> I never really meant to. I've been teaching for over
> 20 years and in
> that time had 2 children and have been divorced so
> now I'm single and
> supporting myself exclusively with my teaching. I
> enjoy what I do but
> for the last 10 years I've had ongoing difficulties
> with vocal cord
> swelling because of over use.. too much talking, too
> much demonstrating
> without being careful, too much singing everyone's
> part at the church
> choir rehearsals.. the swelling will go down and
> I'll be okay or it'll
> go to the other extreme and be really bad, and I
> don't have nodules,
> anyway.. that alone has been discouraging. I've met
> a couple really
> good teachers lately that I wish I had a voice for
> them to work with. I
> "hear" my voice, the voice that is clear with
> healthy vocal cords, but
> that voice isn't there when I want it because of all
> the teaching and my
> own technique was never stellar. But, somehow I can
> teach, using
> experience with other students and what I've read in
> books and what I've
> salvaged from my past teachers and vocalist has been
> an amazing help in
> improving my teaching.
>
> What I've come to today is I want to heal my voice.
> But, how do I even
> approach this task when I have bills to pay and 1
> daughter in college
> and the other on the way and I'm paying for some of
> those expenses as
> well? Charge more money, take less students...
> these are suggestions
> I've been offered... I've raised my rates a little
> but I haven't been
> able to lessen the number of students... it's odd,
> they don't seem to
> care that my singing voice isn't very good... as
> long as I'm helping
> them sing better and they can see an improvement.
> But I don't like
> that! I want to be able to sing well! Or even be
> able to sing! I'm
> considering even flying out to Chicago to meet with
> a dr. who was
> recommended to me by Randy B... but, I'm afraid...
> somehow I wish I
> could come up with, or someone could help me come up
> with a plan where I
> could deal with the expense and time to do what I
> need to do to achieve
> this vocal cord healing but still be able to pay my
> rent and car payment
> and Sallie Mae loans. I just feel overwhelmed at
> the thought of trying
> to figure out a plan. The older I get the more I
> just want to be in a
> comfortable routine and not have to figure out
> anything. But I don't
> want to be forever the eccentric hoarse voiced voice
> teacher.
> I just finished teaching a lesson with a retired
> bakery worker. 42
> years working in a bakery! He had a stroke and
> doesn't work, now he is
> focused on singing, singing hymns like Crystal
> Fountain and How Great
> Thou Art.. he has a huge big booming bass/baritone
> voice.. it's really
> good! And he's thrilled to know things like how to
> sing a legato line
> but still have good diction and dynamics and how to
> phrase. He's so
> happy after his lesson. I guess this is why I keep
> my prices low and
> teach so many people, because I kinda like seeing
> these people drive up
> in their beat up pick-up trucks with their dogs and
> their hymn books or
> beat up music theatre anthologies... but, it's hard
> on my own voice,
> right now.. if I could just figure out how to do it
> and still keep my
> own vocal integrity for my own personal enjoyment.
> I'm just feeling really depressed right now. I'm
> grateful for this list
> because who else would even understand?
> Deanna
>
> ---
> (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Date: 10/3/2002
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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