The Singer Vs. The Material
When you are a singer in a program, there are two constant balances you and your teacher have deal with: your voice development and the requirements of said program.
When you emerge from said program, or when you want to pursue a possible career, you still have to discover the balance of you the singer, and the material you are required to prepare, in order to be considered for employment.
I say balance, because these things work in tandem, and sometimes in opposition.
No matter whether you are in an undergrad program, a grad program, or something else, you have curriculum. That curriculum needs to be checked off in order to move through that program. You also have an equally and might I say, larger, responsibility to develop that voice and that technical behavior, in order to inhabit said curriculum authentically. Basically, it’s a lot. Sometimes it’s too much.
Voice development and growth is more about how it measures to your previous self. Vocal growth in individual. In a program, it’s hard to not compare to others, especially if you are being compared in plain sight or covertly. Before we really understand the difference between talent vs potential vs ability vs actual skill and technique we begin to compare and wonder where we fit in. Or, we assume because we are at a certain program, that we are already THERE, or will be THERE when we graduate.
And then there’s the curriculum: the hoops you need to jump through from classes, to repertoire, to recitals, to juries, to ensemble participation and on and on.
Some teachers teach the singer. Some teachers teach the material. Some teachers work to balance both and create an environment of security for a singer to measure one’s own development in relation to the material they need to develop. None of this easy. None of this is the same.
The same continues into the your post-studies as you pursue having a career if that’s your path.
Many singers don’t realize that they need to keep studying once they start auditioning. Again, I go back to a sports analogy: all athletes at EVERY level including and ESPECIALLY at the professional level, have coaches. Always. Why wouldn’t we as singers do the same? And why?
As a teacher, I will never say to a singer that they won’t have a career or won’t work professionally. That’s not my lane. I will, however, hold a singer accountable to their previous self; I will be that other set of eyes and ears to guide a singer in their personal vocal development or lack thereof.
Is there material to approach? Absolutely! The balance continues through recognizing what the singer wants to do, what they want to sing, what they want to audition for. The difference now, is that there is no curriculum hoop-jumps. Now, there is BUSINESS: Is your vocal behavior, your stylistic knowledge and execution, your acting intelligence, and all that holds, ready, able, and sustainable to inhabit what is needed to be taken seriously for what it is you say you want to do? Are you being honest with yourself?
Just because you want it, doesn’t make it so.
When a singer comes to me and sheepishly says “I haven’t had a voice lesson since xyz” I don’t chastise. I am thrilled they realized it was time! Now let’s get to work!
When a singer comes to me with the same issues session after session, and things aren’t developing, then we have to figure out why not: is it something about that singer’s physicality that is unable to develop? Is it a psychological block? Or is it time to find another teacher and another approach that might access things more successfully?
Who are you as a singer? What are you dealing with vocally? Are you still building? Are you working on maintenance? Are you wanting to discover something new? Something different?
Are you aware of your physical intrinsic muscular development?
Are you returning to the business? What are the demands of that?
Are you returning to study due to vocal injury recovery?
Are you changing fach?
Changing type?
Are you singing material that works with you or fights you?
Are you getting the same comments over and over and now it’s time to explore what that actually means?
Listen, I get it. It’s hard to take a close look in the mirror and say “now what?”
Finding a teacher that will be honest and supportive, knows how to help you discover what needs to be done technically and within the material you may want to prepare, and where you want to present it, is rare. It’s time consuming. But it is CRUCIAL.
The material you sing may be “right” but if the voice hasn’t developed fully enough to inhabit it, you have sabotaged yourself.
You may think you want to sing certain material, or pursue a career that has a destination, but what if that just isn’t what you are capable of? It’s okay you know. Finding your material, finding your lane, finding your place is a relief, frankly. Once you know what, where and how, it all begins to make better sense.
Embrace all of it. Ask the hard questions. Ask why. Find the people that will be there to mirror back to you what you need to see and hear, not what you WANT to see and hear. This can be done and should be done with care and support, ALWAYS.
Find your balance. Find your team to hold you accountable to your talent and to your ability, and your work to develop it. It’s so worth it!
with fondness & fierceness,
