Having just come to the end of my first block of singing teaching for 2009, I’ve been reflecting on just what I’m doing and how I’m progressing in meeting the needs of individual singers.
For me, singing is a very physical/emotional thing and teaching is a very analytical thing. As a teacher, I find it important to be clear about what I’m teaching (i.e. the subject matter of voice, languages, music, etc.) and the strategies I’m using to get that information across. I need, also, to be tuned in to each singer’s stage of development and individual learning style. While I make those distinctions for myself, my aim in doing so is to be able to make complex co-ordinations as simple as possible for the singer. It’s important for the singer to learn in an holistic way, in a way that links mental image and emotional experience with kinaesthetic (body) memory. We’re aiming to embody the musical and linguistic text in order to communicate with an audience.
Of course I make sure I keep up with current knowledge of voice so that I can use what I see and hear the singer do to judge what is happening in the singer’s body (and perhaps mind!) and be able to diagnose faults, suggest improvements, or help the singer produce a sound better suited to the genre and style.
I like to have an agreement with each student about what is to be achieved over a course of lessons. I try to structure each lesson and the course of lessons to achieve that goal, or at least to make progress towards achieving the goal. Obviously the singer needs to be involved in the goal-setting and the learning strategies; to this end I encourage the use of recording and note-taking. I look for something the student does well and try to build on that. Whatever the current stage of development, I work towards the singer’s eventual autonomy – vocally and musically.