Continuing the "questioning" theme from the last blog, it's noteworthy how many musical theatre songs involve characters asking questions: "Do You Love Me?" (Fiddler on the Roof), "Shall We Dance?" (The King and I), "Whatever Happened To My Part?" (Spamalot), and "Who Am I?" (Les Mis). I guess the opposite of an "I am" song is a "Who am I?" song. Perhaps the most ridiculous—and unanswerable—musical theatre question of all time is "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful [or are you beautiful because I love you]?" (Cinderella).
For a different take on the topic of questions, I'm reminded of one of the international students I met in our Summer Vocology Institute last summer. This student would frequently raise her hand in class, but instead of saying, "I have a question," she would always say, "I have a doubt."
At first, it could seem like she was challenging the professor, essentially saying, "I'm doubting what you're telling me. Prove that what you're saying is true." But, by definition, her phrasing was probably correct. According to Oxford Languages, a question is "a sentence worded or expressed so as to elicit information." A doubt is "a feeling of uncertainty or a lack of conviction."
This student is incredibly bright and was always prepared in class. She didn't really need to "elicit information" from the professors—she had already gotten that from the assigned readings and from the lectures. When she raised her hand, it was because she was uncertain or unconvinced. Something that was presented in class didn't jibe with her previous knowledge or experience. As discussed in the last blog, teachers can respond to such "doubts" in unhelpful ways ("I don't understand what you're not understanding." [*an actual quote from one of my former professors*]) or they can attempt to reframe the material ("Let me see if I can explain things in a different way.").
One of my previous voice teachers once told me, "I want you to doubt everything that I'm telling you. My goal is to tell the truth, so I want you to question and verify that what I'm telling you is the truth. Don't be afraid to.” At the time, I wasn't quite sure what to make of that statement. I was used to a different process in voice lessons. Step one, I would be told what to do. Step two, I would do as I was told. Step three, repeat. And somewhere in that process, I was supposed to learn how to be an independent artist.
My teacher wasn't asking me to be defiant in our lessons, and he certainly wasn't expressing a lack of confidence in his teaching (trust me, he did not, in any way, suffer from a lack of confidence). He just wanted me to maintain a curious mind and to know that, if my knowledge and experience clashed with his, it was OK to bring it up so we could work things out together. Not only did that give me the chance to learn more from him, it also allowed for the possibility that he might even learn something from me. That really turned the master-apprentice model on its head, in my mind.
You may have noticed that a lot of my teaching involves asking a lot of questions of all of you. "How did that feel?" "What did you notice?" "Can you explain how this time was different from last time?" "What are your actionable verbs?" "What does this song say about YOU?"
I ask some of these questions because I'm truly curious to know the answer. I'll admit, though, that sometimes I ask questions knowing that it won't matter at all to me what your answers are. I can say, "What did you notice about that sound?" And you can respond, "When I sing like that, my sound feels purple." OK. That response means nothing to me. But if it means something to you as you are building your self-perception, then it's a valuable observation.
My questions, then, are intended to serve as prompts to encourage you to self-analyze. Your answers don't need to make sense to me—they only need to make sense to you. Only by building your own self-awareness can you start to get a feel for what makes your singing click and what doesn't. Then you start to learn which choices are most likely to get you where you're intending to go and which may lead you elsewhere.
Question. Doubt. Verify. Don't be afraid to.
Now go practice.
I really appreciated this blog as it brought to my attention the true meaning behind why you teach the way you do. It was beneficial for me to see the thought process behind your questioning; I think it will ultimately allow me to ponder more once asked. I believe that this blog post is also very encouraging for me to question the way you present things as well. Even though I may have comprehended the ideas well, it is important for me to dive into the details behind your instructions.
ReplyDeleteAlexa Shaheen
I really liked this blog and I feel like this really is what we do in my lessons. I really enjoy how you ask questions, even if it means nothing to you, because when I am practicing outside of my lessons I run through the questions in my head and really pay attention to what I am feeling and the sound. I really enjoy asking myself questions and when you ask me questions because it makes me more self aware and more able to self asses and fix.
ReplyDeleteHi Brian! I really like what your voice teacher said about to doubt everything that he said to you in a way that it allows for you to be able to explore everything. I feel like it also really opens up the relationship between the mentor and student. For me, the questions that you’ve asked me have helped me so much in figuring out my placement, which was a big goal for me as a student. I feel like having that also opens up the possibility I might feel something differently than how you might feel it, but both are just as effective.
ReplyDeleteContinuing on from last blog, I am just now starting to get used to ask questions, but I always have a tendency to talk to myself. Whether it be in lessons, or just in general. And I have noticed when I have listened to my voice lessons back, I can hear me mumbling under my breath about the way I just sang and how it made me feel afterwards. Likewise, I can hear the freedom in the way I choose to navigate my lessons by also posing questions about things such as my character choices and agreeing with you when you bring up certain points of view that I have never thought of that helps improve my performance. Those such things like playing the opposite or "stapling" my feet to the floor so I do not shift, or just asking me character work in general really helps, and I am glad that I am allowed to ask questions in very much the same way.
ReplyDeleteQuestioning everything is the only way that I can keep interest in my work! This at first felt weird to me like I wasn't putting enough trust in the process of learning and also not putting enough trust in my professors, but now I can see that I do trust both my professors and the process, but questioning elevates my understanding of theatre as an art form.
ReplyDelete-Tate Foshay
I remember when I first got to college, I arrived with a mentality of waiting to be told exactly what to do. I was scared to trust myself, and still am, but developing trust in my ability to self-analyze in voice lessons and in practice has allowed for healthier growth. I’ve come to better appreciate whenever we sing through something in lessons or even during warmups and you then ask what did that feel like. In all honesty, when you first started asking I had no idea what to say. I wanted to ask well what is it supposed to feel like, what should I be feeling? While there are “feelings” I might relate to and it can be very helpful to explore feelings of sounds and imagery that work for other people (because it might just work for me), it’s still important to play and discover what those sounds feel like on my own. I also think having the courage to question the knowledge and material presented can foster a deeper understanding.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you explained that by asking us questions it trains us to make observations on our work, I’ve never really thought of it that way but it definitely does. I think about the many times where I’ve assumed that you’re about to ask a question and I begin processing how it went, even if that question doesn’t come (which it usually does). I also really liked what you said about doubting you, not to challenge your knowledge but to help figure things out and to find new ways of thinking about things. All new ideas come from challenging existing ones.
ReplyDeleteI really really like this way of thinking. It’s so important to be curious and question things and make sure you gain as much wisdom as you possibly can. I’ve always loved teachers that encourage students to question and verify the everything. I’ve always felt very safe in your class for this reason. I know I can always ask about things I don’t know and also provide insight whenever I’m asked. Your questions always make me think about things I never did before and they push me to understand the characters even more. It’s truly so helpful and appreciated.
ReplyDeleteOne thing you've mentioned here that really stuck out to me was the idea of knowledge and experience clashing within an educational setting. At this point in my life I know I still have so much to learn, but I can also acknowledge that I have already learned a great deal by this point in my life. I often forget that I have grown up through an entirely unique life experience - in the same way everyone in the world has - and I have my own unique perceptions about each moment of this life experience, as well. With that being said, it's entirely possible that there are manners in which I think about material that have not been explored by my educators, and there is room for my own knowledge to be explored within an educational space, as well. This also goes hand-in-hand with a thought I've been reminding myself of a great deal recently, which surrounds the fact that people have no idea who I am or what I'm capable of when I first meet them. While I feel I am perfectly capable of giving a good first impression, it is my responsibility to show them who I really am, and I should not expect that they know everything about me from their initial perceptions, just as I should not assume the depth of my knowledge is understood by those who educate me.
ReplyDeleteIt was really great to read all of the ideas from the blog this week. As a student newer to your voice studio, I am not entirely used to this way of learning yet. My previous teachers didn’t really take this approach, so I’ve gotten used to waiting to be told what to do and how to do it. I’m hoping to become more comfortable with this and to incorporate it into my practice sessions as well. I tend to feel embarrassed by things I don’t know, so moving forward, I want to try to think of them as doubts and things to verify, like you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the information given in this blog. I know for me I do tend to get stressed about the questioned said to me from you. I do understand in the end that you are helping us find our own answer. Thats also what makes you the best. I am very thankful to have such a great sense of how to direct and understand songs.
ReplyDeleteAlex Fish
A phrase I immediately thought of while reading this was, "Curiosity killed the cat." I hate that. Why did it kill the cat? I once read an article titled: "Curiosity Didn’t Kill The Cat, It Created The Mousetrap," by Patrick Hanlon. He argues that almost everyone is curious, and suggests that curiosity is hard-wired into our persona. But like most everything else in the human condition, it can vary from person to person. Being curious and asking questions is going to do nothing but HELP you to better understand a situation or concept. Have we learned nothing from 12 Angry Men? The resolution to the plot was only reached after addressing every man's doubt. Mind blowing. I will no longer hesitate to say, "I have a doubt."
ReplyDeleteI think that the idea of doubt is a powerful one. If we can hone our doubt, but also hone our conviction in our beliefs, we will be more powerfully able to find out what is right for us. I think it is difficult to learn to trust/have your own beliefs when you've become so good at doubting. Critical thinking is the primary skill that school teaches you. How do you stop criticizing so you can just do?
ReplyDelete