Hi, Kirsty --
Let me add my reassurances to those you've already received . . .
<< snip >>
> For a start it's been really hard work, I leave my lessons feeling
as
> though I've been in the gym for two hours!!! What has happened now
> is that I can no longer "place" my voice. My teacher warned me that
> everything would go completely weird for a while and she's right!!!
> I just didn't realize it would be THIS weird!!!
>
> Has anyone else ever had this experience?
YES!! When I switched from my first teacher to my second, I went from
a teacher who was trying to shoe-horn me into a light lyric coloratura
"mold" to one who was intent on helping me find my real voice.
In so doing, I went from a situation where I was intentionally
over-controlling every aspect of vocal production (in order to lighten
and brighten the sound to match what my first teacher wanted) to one
where I was suddenly letting go of everything and basically letting my
voice going wherever it wanted. Given that I'm "some kind of dramatic
soprano," I had understandable difficulties at first in controlling
volume, in controlling pitch, etc. Let's face it -- I felt like an
elephant in a china shop! I even had a situation where my throat/neck
*hurt* after the first 3 or 4 lessons -- not so much from overuse but
from **muscles** that I was suddenly using differently. I thought at
first that I was absolutely going in the wrong direction -- I had NO
idea what my voice was *supposed* to sound like -- but I stuck it out.
What I ended up with was a large, powerful voice with a lot of
richness, and I quickly regained my ability to stay on pitch and
control volume. It took time to incorporate the new technique into my
"structure," but with work and by trusting my teacher, it all worked
out great. In my case, it took about 4-6 months to break down the bad
stuff, and another 4 months or so to rebuild it into something that
started making sense. (I might add that I was 43 years old when I
started lessons with my first teacher, and 44 when I started with my
second teacher -- a little old for a beginner.)
<< snip >>
> Please, someone, tell me you've had the same experience and that it
> doesn't last long!!!!
Hang in there and give it some more time.
Cheers!
Lana
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