Capacity
Imposing learning on students does not lead to strong retention and integration of whatever it is you want them to know or get good at. It also does not foster a love of learning—quite the contrary.
Value
Grades reduce learning to a common denominator and rank students against one another, creating a situation where external validation by a teacher and comparative success over their peers become more important than actual learning.
Talent
When someone seems to have a naturally beautiful voice, all that means is that they intuited how to move their articulators in a way that provides for more expansive, consistent resonance. It absolutely does not mean that what they intuited cannot be developed—it can.
Dexterity
When you want to improve a particular type of coordination, remember that you’re not bringing a blank slate to the process. At least some of the coordination you have already habituated is likely to be at cross purposes with the new coordination you wish to develop.
Range
Singing is a process of musical expression that is facilitated by internal physical movements. As a voice teacher, part of my job is to help singers condition their vocal anatomy, which includes improving range of motion, continuity of movement, and continuity of sensation.
Catharsis
Singing is a fully embodied musical experience. In retrospect, my difficulty learning to sing came from an inability to feel a functional connection between different parts of my body.
Smash
There is tension, and then there’s Tension, with a capital “T”. The creative tension I experience preparing to write a blog post is one thing. The kind of Tension that you urgently need to get rid of because it’s messing up not just your singing but also your life, is something else.
Breath
Breath management feels mysterious because breath management is a deeply personal thing. In the same sense that your relationship with the Divine is a deeply personal thing.
Feelings
Skill at interoception is not all that difficult to develop or teach—it’s just often counterintuitive, within a culture that is intensely fixated on outcomes and external validation.
Support
A supportive teaching practice requires strong communication and an atmosphere that feels safe and affirming to the student.
Spirals
Spirals go in both directions. Strap in, and don’t forget to use your turn signal.
Cookies
What could possibly be more important than the quality of your own moment-to-moment experience? The cookies you bake are one thing—the quality of experience you had while baking them is another.