Also, while she was never discouraging, she was not exactly actively ENcouraging either. My new teacher, by contrast, is the most wonderfully encouraging person, who loves singers, loves vocal music, and is just all around optimistic and a great "cheerleader" for her students. A good vocal pedagogue is NOT always a good psychologist, and we voice students need the latter at least as much as we do the former!
My students have, on occasion, offered to buy me the "pom-poms" to go with my "cheerleader" teaching attitude! Sometimes I wonder if my optimism gets in the way of achieving vocal excellence, but I do continue to strive for that too. I simply feel that it is my job to teach the "whole person" not just the voice, since the voice cannot exist in a vacuum, unaffected by other factors. I also think that an optimistic attitude enables me to stay creative and to continue the search for solutions to vocal problems and challenges that come up for students. I'm very stubborn! I hate to ever give up on a problem or a student! I am so glad to hear from another source (and one whom I have learned to respect greatly over the years) that this kind of teaching is valued by others too.
Sharon Szymanski The Szymanski Studio - "encouraging excellence in the vocal arts"
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