Words, words, words!

As we get closer to the vocal juries and class finals that come with the end of the semester, the focus of our preparation shifts. Once the notes have been learned, the text has been processed, the technical challenges have been addressed, and it's all been memorized, we can delve more completely into the expression of the music.

Of course, we don't have to wait until this point in the process to experiment with different expressive options, but this is a necessary step that requires an equal—if not greater—degree of attention as any other element of performance.

I recently read some good advice on how to approach this aspect of preparation from American operatic composer Jake Heggie in an interview in Classical Singer magazine. In his early years as a composer, Heggie was told by mentors that he was being "too reverent with the text" in his music. They told him that his musical settings did not make it clear how he felt about the text as a composer.

Although Heggie believed he was simply being respectful to the poets, he eventually realized, "you've got to mess with [the text], or why bother?" He then began to consider a series of questions:

"What is the point of setting it? Why not just recite it? What do you want as a performer or as a composer? What is the ache in the middle of it that is causing you to declaim it in a different way?"

Heggie poses several other questions that he feels singers could apply to their approach to music and text:

"How do you feel about this? What do these words mean to you? What do these notes mean to you? What does that rest mean to you? Why do you think that is there? How do the words and music fit together, and what does it mean to you?"

Sometimes our biggest challenge as singers is to reconcile a lyricist's words with a composer's notes with our own feelings about both. In my mind, one way we can judge the value of a song is to consider how well the composer's musical language expresses or enhances the ideas found within a poet's or lyricist's words.

As performers, our job is not simply to be an empty vessel through which other people's ideas flow. Rather, it is to filter those ideas through our personal experiences, perspectives, and abilities and to then infuse the words and music with our own unique spirit. I believe this is how we add our "voice" to the music, which is arguably the most critical aspect of any performance.

How has your practicing been this week? What can you do in the coming weeks to add your particular voice to the songs you are preparing?

Now go practice.

Compliance, Third (and FINAL) Part

In the last two blogs we've been exploring some of the issues that contribute to compliance in the medical field and trying to make connections to our vocal practice schedules. Specifically, we saw how singers with an internal locus of control and strong self-efficacy may be more likely to stick to their practice schedules.

There is one more factor worth mentioning from Dr. Verdolini Abbott's lecture that impacted patient compliance: The demeanor of their doctor.

According to several studies (Korsch et al., 1968; Korsch and Negrete, 1972; Francis et al., 1969), patients who perceived their doctors as business-like were less satisfied with their clinician-patient interaction and were, therefore, less likely to follow directions from those doctors. On the other hand, patients who perceived their doctors as warm and caring were more likely to stick to the programs and procedures prescribed by those doctors.

If we again make a correlation to voice instruction, we might assume that students who perceive their voice teachers to be business-like are less likely to follow their teacher's directions. But if they perceive their teachers to be warm and caring, then students are more likely to do what their teachers say.

So, hold on, does this mean that if I'm not warm and caring enough, it could be my fault if you aren't practicing? I have some thoughts on that. :)

First of all, I don't necessarily believe that being business-like is the opposite of being warm and caring. I think teachers can have a professional demeanor and high expectations for their students while also being warm and caring. Conversely, I don't think teachers who have a warm and caring demeanor automatically have lower expectations for their students.

As an educator, I have long believed that one of the worst things I can do is to burden my students with low expectations, which allow students to underachieve and avoid exploring their true potential, and which condition them to expect rewards for even mediocre accomplishments. This idea is explored beautifully in a blog written by 2013 Rhode Island Teacher of the Year Jessica Waters titled, "We Can't Let our Love for Our Students Morph into Low Academic Expectations."

That being said, we all have demands that impact our ability to complete course requirements. One semester, I taught a single mom who was working a full-time job and dealing with a temporary physical disability. She earned a C in voice lessons, which reflected the effort she put into the class and what she was able to achieve that semester. That C also represented a triumph for this student. When factoring in all of her life circumstances, the fact that she could still pass college classes spoke volumes about her work ethic and character.

I don't always know how well I tread the balance of encouraging you, advocating for you, treating you like professionals, loving you, AND insisting on excellence. One of the best (and worst) aspects of higher education is that the more you know, the more aware you are of how much you still have to learn. So as I continue to commit myself to serving you in the most effective and meaningful ways, I'll keep pushing you while also doing my best to follow the Plato-attributed quote, "Be kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

Now that we're in the second half of the semester, what are the academic and artistic areas in which you need to push yourself harder? How are you doing on the goals you set at the beginning of the semester? Do you need to adjust any of those goals?

Now go practice.

Is it my fault? Is it your fault? Should I stop trying to figure this out and just go practice?