Robyn Edgar asked for suggestions about a 31-year old student who seems
unable to express emotion in the song texts. She received many good replies
about repertoir and acting.
I would like to suggest a different problem may be at the core of this. I
often work with older singers who return or start lessons 'after-college'
age. I have found for those who have trouble expressing that there is a lot
of baggage they carry from the earlier decades of their lives. The problems
for them are not in finding fun or emotional songs. They are simply blocked
to expressing emotion, at least when it comes to singing. There can be
hundreds of reasons for this, from having a big booming voice when a kid and
being told to 'just move your mouth, don't sing', to competition with a
sibling over music endeavors, to just being emotionally blocked in many
aspects of life. The repertoire here isn't such a factor. It takes a long
time, an understanding of the problem, and a strong will to break through
the shyness, fear, self-consciousness, self-unawareness, whatever it is.
As teachers we may or may not be able to help them go all the way to
expressive performance with these pre-conditions. We can be supportive, help
them with technique and repertoire, build muscles and confidence the best we
can, but this type of problem probably calls for the help of a therapist or
counselor.
It depends on why the student is studying. If they want to be a professional
then they need to do serious work! If they want to enjoy singing with
others, then it doesn't matter as much. If they are using the vocal study as
a way to "break through" their self-consciousness, it also takes time and
work. Group voice classes are a wonderful way to get extra feedback.
This may not be Robyn's student's situation, but as teachers looking for
help for our students I feel we have to consider psyche as well as body.
Best wishes,
Candace
Dr. Candace A. Magner
University of New Mexico - Los Alamos Dept of Fine Arts/Music
magner@l...
homepage http://clik.to/candace
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