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From:  l.s.mountford@a...
Date:  Thu Jan 3, 2002  7:13 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Changing teachers (was: Too many lines...)

If there was a point Bart's response, I fail to see it.

Like Karen, I invested almost 2 years with a teacher who
was absolutely wrong for me, although I had no way of
knowing it at the time. How was I to know that not
every soprano is destined to be a lyric coloratura? Two
years I spent trying to "lighten" and "brighten" my
rather large voice. She also made me believe it was my
fault that my voice simply would NOT cooperate and sound
like a bird. I spent two years feeling guilty and
stupid.

When circumstances allowed me to search out a different
teacher, I was lucky to find one who believed in letting
students find their voices, and developing whatever
emerged to its best most beautiful form. The rest, as
they say, is history. Oh -- and money had absolutely
nothing to do with it. Each teacher charged the same
amount, so that aspect of it was a "wash."

My advice to students: if you feel you're not making
sufficient progress, if your teacher implies that it's
YOUR fault that this is happening, if you're giving it
your best shot (practicing diligently, etc.), then you
have every right -- no, _obligation_ -- to change
teachers. It's your voice, and somewhere out there is a
teacher who can help you find it and develop it. If
you're totally new to learning how to sing, you need to
give a teacher a fair "trial" -- but not every teacher
is good for every student. If you're experienced, then
you'll know what to look for. Karen's correct -- it's
part psychology, and it's a great teacher who can help
provide the emotional underpinnings that go hand-in-hand
with the technical knowledge and pedagogical prowess to
help you achieve your goals. My two best teachers were
instrumental in helping undo the damage done by my first
teacher -- both emotionally as well as technically.

Bart, you may have a lot of offer us here on Vocalist,
but if I were you, I'd probably want to get the feel of
the territory before launching into tirades of
passionate, but basically unintelligible, riddles.

Cheers!

Lana Mountford







emusic.com