On Mon, 25 Mar 2002 14:04:04 +1000 Robert Edgar <redgar@b...> wrote:
<<I've been asked by another singing teacher in another town to hold a Vocal
Pedagogy discussion -like a forum - as a result of a letter sent to the local
secondary school college choir conductor from a mother of one of the students.
<<It reads:-
On the recent ***College choir camp you conductor) forced her (15year old
daughter/student classified by her singing teacher as a lyric soprano) to sing
as a second soprano which made her have to sing from her chest and not her
larynx.>>
Man, oh man. That young woman must be SO embarrassed about what her mother did!
First, singing second soprano vs. first soprano has nothing to do with using
chest voice more. Sheesh. It sounds like this mother knows a few vocal terms
and not much else. Usually, 2nds and 1sts are singing exactly the same music
and only sing different notes when the soprano part goes divisi. So it's a
different between and E and a G. Personally, I choose to sing second soprano,
because though I have better vocal technique and high notes than 90% of my
soprano section, we have several excellent 1st sopranos, so I feel more needed
in the 2nd soprano section, where a good sound and solid musicianship is helpful
to the section.
<<Becuase of forcing her to sing in this lower register, I have today incurred a
medical bill of $** and a chemist bill of $**. I request that your re-instastate
her as a first soprano and pay attention to the medical problems that certain
children face and pay attention to their lvoe of singing, not the needs of the
choir. >>
What baloney! If I were the director, I'd write back that I am denying her
request. Period. Like they held a gun to the girl's head and forced her to
sing with bad vocal technique, and with a cold.
If the director is so inclined, next rehearsal, the director can make a point of
asking who has a cold, then not allowing those afflicted to participate. (Not
only because it's not good for the voice, but also because other singers could
catch the cold.) That should generate enough angry letters on the other side to
more than balance out the first one!
Peggy
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
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