Though I've been taking singing lessons on and off for the better
part of six years now, for whatever reason, I've made very little
progress. In fact, at times, it feels like I've actually gotten worse
since I've been studying formally. But I suppose, to a degree, that's all
subjective and open to debate. But I seem to running into a definite
problem now, and it's one that I don't know how to solve or to even begin
to take on.
I feel like my current voice teacher very often says things I
simply don't understand. Or, more appropriately, things that I don't seem
to be able interpret. For instance, while I don't really have much of a
problem getting a low enough breath on the inhale, he has had absolutely
no success whatever getting me to understand--or to do--what I'm supposed
to do on the exhale. "Draw up," he says. And he gives me lots of images
and things of that nature that I'm supposed to imagine and think about,
but they don't seem to help.
A very good friend of mine recommended this voice teacher to me,
and had wonderful success working with him. He and I are almost the same
age, and we've been studying singing roughly the same period of time. Yet
his voice has changed and matured in ways mine simply hasn't. I talked
to him about the problems I've been having lately, and at this week's
lesson in particular, and he seems to think I'm over-intellectualizing
things. He really believes all the troubles that I'm having with the
sound and the muscle movements I simply don't seem to be able to do are
connected to that, and the teacher in question seems to agree. I believe
they think that I'm spending so much time thinking about what I'm doing,
that I'm preventing myself from doing it. He says I need to
"feel" instead of "think," and it seems to >me< like there is absolutely
no distinction between the two during the lessons. Since no one else
seems to agree, I guess that's something I'm imagining. (So, at least my
imagination isn't completely not working during lessons!)
My first real problem is that I'm not sure I'm doing this, and I
don't know how to tell if I am. I have a very difficult time
understanding how I may be over-intellectualizing this, or even how that's
really possible. Maybe that's just because it's natural to me, or
something, I don't know. All I do know is that I am simply not getting
better in my singing, and this is the only real reason that seems to come
up again and again as to why. I'm hoping someone might be able to explain
to me how this interferes with the singing process, because I honestly
just don't get it.
Second, how do I get out of it? It makes me more frustrated,
angry, and sad than I am capable of expressing that something this stupid
would prevent me from learning to sing, and I'm not ready to accept that
yet. My friend, who I mentioned above, has been very patient trying to
work through this with me, but it seems like so much of the stuff he's
suggesting just doesn't make sense either. One thing he suggested was
that I try to get involved and sports and other physical activity so my
brain "can get a bit of a rest." But I can't understand how that would be
helpful, either. He says I have to "let go of [it] without even realizing
it," but I don't know how to DO that, and I don't see how subjecting
myself to activities I don't enjoy are going to help. And I >really<
don't see the connection singing and physical activity in that way. He's
tried to explain it to me, and it simply doesn't sink in at all.
I'm really hoping that someone around here may be able to explain
things to me in a slightly different way, so that I can get some clue of
what's going on, and why I'm still such an awful singer after such a long
period of time. I desperately want to improve, and even though I can't
begin to fathom what the problem is here, enough people have mentioned it
to me, so maybe it really is something I need to deal with. If anyone has
any suggestions, information, or solutions, please let me know.
Thanks,
--Matthew Murray
mmurray@c...
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