When to let a student go

If leaving a voice teacher is difficult, think about how difficult it is to let someone go.

First of all, you're not "firing" someone in the sense that you are paying someone and that person isn't working out, so you let them go to use your money more efficiently. Your student is paying you to teach them, and letting them go means you have to find a new source of income.

Also, because singing is such a personal thing, you want to make sure that you aren't affecting someone's self-esteem. You don't want to have someone never sing again because you let him/her go as a student.

I have never let a student go because he/she couldn't sing. If I did, I would be acknowledging that I have limitations as a teacher. I do not. :D

I have let a couple of students go because:

There was some organic vocal issue - nodules, hemorrhage - that they weren't dealing with and I felt that to continue was pointless and would cause further damage.

No-shows and excessive cancellations - these are particularly annoying to me. I find that the last-minute cancellations came the most often from adult students who weren't taking their lessons seriously. My MS/HS kids are the most dedicated students. They aren't "dabbling." This isn't something they're doing because they "gave up smoking/got a divorce/just want to do something for me."My MS/HS kids want to sing better in choir, get cast in the musical, and maybe, just maybe, go into music or theater. This is why I don't take adult amateurs any more. I'll work with adults who have some musical outlet - choir directors, community theater - something where the goal is clear and not something nebulous. Perhaps I just haven't met the right adult amateur.

They clearly didn't want to be there. These are the students who are taking lessons because their friends are taking lessons or because their parents' friends' children are taking lessons. They don't want to perform. They don't like performing, they like practicing even less, and they spend most of their lesson times checking their phones to see how close we are to being done, looking in the mirror and checking their hair, and sighing and rolling their eyes at new exercises. I have to say that I have had very few of these students in recent years. But these are also ones who no-show and cancel excessively.

This is different from the student who doesn't want to perform but wants to sing better as part of an ensemble. I don't mean to imply that I have no use for non-performers. I prefer working with performers because I love coaching them on performance practice and style. But if someone doesn't want to perform but still loves to sing and takes joy in the process, that's wonderful. That's more than enough.

They don't take summer lessons. In the last few years, I've been really liberal about summer lessons. There are some teachers who insist that you take a full semester of lessons over the summer or at least PAY for a full semester of lessons. My requirement is that you try to take lessons, ideally four. Part of this is because I have a wait list, and if I'm giving lessons to new people and then I have to turn them away in the fall because someone is coming back who didn't intend to take lessons all summer, well, that just seems unfair. "Thanks for your money this summer, but my real student is coming back." It's a question of maintaining what we accomplished during the school year and it's also a business decision. This is my primary source of income. If I can't count on a student for income in the summer and someone else has shown enthusiasm for lesson, that person gets the spot.

They don't pay me on time. See "business decision." I love teaching. I really, really do. But it is my primary source of income, and if someone consistently pays me late, it means I might be paying someone else late as a result. This isn't as much of an issue as it was when I was first teaching or when I was single, but it's a question of respect. I send money emails out every Saturday during the school year, and every Thursday or Friday out during the summer. Not paying me shows a lack of respect for what I do.

Even with all these reasons, it's difficult for me. Sometimes I just wait for them to graduate, if the behavior isn't too egregious.

Going back a few paragraphs, it's the idea of taking joy in the process. If the process is joyless for me, it's probably joyless for the student as well. And perhaps it's a question of the student not knowing when to leave the teacher and acting out rather than coming out and saying, "It's time for me to go." If this is the case for you as a student, please read my previous blog entry.

When to leave your voice teacher

The relationship between teacher and student can be a very close one, and a hard one to leave. It can be hard to know when it isn't working. I have studied with six teachers since I was 18 years old. I've been fortunate - three of those have been fantastic. The other three weren't bad teachers - we just weren't a good fit. (There were a couple of others with whom I really wasn't a good fit, but I was able to recognize it early enough so I didn't waste any time.)

I won't name the teachers with whom I didn't click but I can tell you why.

1.  My very first voice teacher was a bass who believed in lowering the larynx in order to create space. I tried that for a week. It hurt. I sounded like I was pulling my foot out of a bucket of mud. I gave that technique a week, thinking, "This doesn't feel good, this doesn't sound good... but Mr. X says it's what I have to do, so I guess it's right." At my first lesson after this idea was introduced to me, I gamely began to sing "Voi che sapete" and immediately burst into tears. I said, "I sound like an old woman! If this is what classical singing is all about, I don't wanna do it!" The poor guy - he was only a few years older than me. He mumbled awkwardly, "Well, we'll try something else." He left the college after that year. I probably would not have left him on my own. I may have had the courage to express how I felt but I wouldn't have had the guts to go anywhere else.

2. My third teacher (first post-college) was a lovely woman but I was the best student in her studio, which was a spot I did not want to occupy at that point in my life. I wasn't good enough yet to be the best student in anyone's studio. I wanted to have people better than me that could inspire me to continue to improve. I used the excuse of moving across town in order to switch teachers. (Moving was something I frequently did to get out of things, including my first marriage.)

3. My fourth teacher was a famous Romanian soprano who defected to the United States after the Communist overthrow of her country. She was also a lovely, lovely person and had some fantastic students who went on to great international careers. She didn't quite know what to do with me. She gave me repertoire that was totally wrong for me, and I didn't know any better. I did two auditions at which the panel said, "Miss Thomas, why are you singing this aria?" and I answered, "Because my teacher assigned it to me." The second time I added, "This is the second time I've been asked that question. Why do you ask?" and I was told, "This is an aria for a dramatic mezzo and you are a lyric." Up to that point, I knew nothing about fach. I thought that if it was in the mezzo aria book, I could sing it. I spent a lot of time with recordings of lyric mezzos to know just what I was supposed to sing. Then when I was assigned another big honking dramatic piece, I knew enough to stop taking lessons. (I also had the excuse of ... moving.)

So here are things that you should think about:

1. Does it feel good? Are you uncomfortable? Does it feel unnatural? That's different from something you're not used to. If it hurts, it's not good for you. If you're hoarse (not just tired), it's not good for you.

2. Are you being challenged? Does your teacher have students who are your level or higher? If he or she isn't used to working with people at a high technical level, he/she might not have enough to offer you.

3. Are you singing the right repertoire? This will require you to know just what the fach you are. :) This doesn't mean that you shouldn't sing something outside your comfort zone. It means that you shouldn't sing rep that is too heavy for your current level of ability. If you are a light lyric soprano, you shouldn't be singing Wagner. If you are a young lyric mezzo, you shouldn't sing "O mio Fernando." (See "Miss Thomas, why are you singing this aria," above.) If you are a legit MT soprano, you probably shouldn't be singing "Astonishing" in a full belt. If you are a belter, you probably shouldn't be singing a very high legit soprano. At least not in auditions. You can work on those pieces for technical reasons, but if they aren't songs in your fach, then don't perform them for anyone who counts.

Other clues that it's time to go:

• You're dreading your lesson
• You cancel at the last minute with lame excuses
• What your teacher is saying is not making sense to you and you don't know how to express that you aren't getting it, so you just nod and smile

If you can't talk to your teacher about your concerns, it's not a good fit. And your teacher probably senses it, as will be discussed in my next blog, "When to let a student go."

The Ultimate Music Theatre Audition Workshop

On June 29, I attended The Ultimate Music Theatre Audition Workshop, presented by Stage Door Access. This was a pre-conference workshop that I was grateful to have been paid for by Cardinal Stritch University (as well as the registration fee for the conference itself).

I got some interesting information, both from the written handouts and from the audition master class, which I'll summarize here:

HEADSHOTS

1. Should look like you
2. Use natural makeup and lighting 
3. You can show more than just your head
4. COLOR - no more B&W
5. Be age appropriate

RESUME

1. Don't include your home address or social security number (really? who'd put that on a resume?)
2. Make sure the overall formatting is clear
3. Don't include years
4. Put role credits before ensemble credits
5. List credits in appropriate categories
6. Format the training section clearly
7. Be clear and conside

THE SONG AUDITION

1. Do your homework. What's the style of the show? How should you look?
2. If your song is angsty, find a moment of lightness. Don't be monochromatic.
3. Less is more in terms of movement. Find more stillness.
4. Work the song as a monologue, not just as a poem.
5. A great audition is something that is watchable.
6. Bring a piece that can be played by the accompanist. If it's too hard, bring your own accompanist or bring a different piece. [As I've said, if I can't fake my way through it, don't bring it!]
7. Be very clear in conveying tempo to the pianist before beginning. Do not clap, snap or tap it!
8. Take charge of your audition!
9. If you say something more than once, find a different motivation the 2nd time.
10. It's not attitude - it's specificity. Deal with every moment in the song.
11. Earnestness is a turn-off. Find the line between earnestness and immediacy.
12. Text should follow the musical direction.
13. Be present in the room - be aware and energized! (This is not the same as earnest and overeager.)
14. Don't state your name or the name of your song. We already have it.
15. Leave when you're done - let them call you back if they want more. Don't hang around and wait. It's awkward.

THE DANCE AUDITION

1. Get out of your head. 
2. The audition is less about the steps and more about conveying the energy and expressing what you have to express.
3. Are you willing? That carries a lot more weight than whether or not you can dance. Show that you are willing to try.

AUDITION BOOK

1. Have both legit and belt pieces available.
2. Comedic
3. Character
4. Standards
5. Three ring binder with your music in non-glare sheet protectors 

Do NOT bring anthologies! [This is a total violation of copyright law!]

ATTIRE

1. This is much more casual than it used to be. Wear what you'd wear to a brunch where you're going to meet your future in-laws.
2. Be appropriate to style - contemporary shows demand contemporary wear.
3. Don't wear costumes - but do suggest the character.
4. Don't wear loose baggy clothes - let the clothes reveal your body. (But not too much!)
5. Make sure that you can move in your clothes and that they aren't distracting.

BUSINESS/NETWORKING

1. The creative team is behind the table. Know who they are. Know what they do.
2. Befriend casting directors - go to auditions, workshops, industry functions.
3. Make friends with the room monitor.
4. Treat the accompanist professionally.
5. Keep an audition journal - know who is behind the table, record the feedback, the total experience.
6. Treat the audition like an interview. When it's over, let go.

MISCELLANEOUS

1. The purpose of the audition should be to show yourself in your entirety and to match you to a role.
2. The panel wants you to be good as much as you want to be good.
3. Musical theater performers must have good musical chops and be able to learn music quickly.
4. Make the piece appropriate to the audition. 
5. Have a flexible voice. Be able to approach a phrase in a variety of ways - belt, mix, head
6. Some songs people are sick of because they're good audition songs. That's why they're so frequently done.
7. "Don't sing Sondheim" - baloney. Some Sondheim is too hard to play, some is not. [See difficulty, above.] Some are not melodic. Some are. 
8. Signature songs - individuality is important. If you can sing "Don't rain on my parade" without doing a Barbra Streisand impression [or a Lea Michelle impression of a Barbra Streisand impression], then do it.
9. Don't look overeager or crazy.
10. It's important to have an agent in NYC. Have the right agent for where you are in your career.

Benjamin Britten Centenary Celebration

On Sunday, July 1, 2012, I was blessed to perform two duets at the 52nd NATS Conference in Orlando. The composer was Benjamin Britten, 1912-1976, whose music I'd only performed before in opera - as Florence and Nancy (two separate productions - Peabody and Opera North) of Albert Herring and in the chorus of Peter Grimes at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

I sang "Mother Comfort" with Beverly O'Regan Thiele, a fantastic soprano, and the opening of "Canticle II" with Steven Stolen, a wonderful tenor. We were accompanied by Hal Leonard's vocal music editor, Richard Walters. The other singer on the program was baritone Kurt Ollmann.

I had been more nervous about the former, because I had more solo lines. However, as it turned out, the Canticle presented more challenges. Steven and I were the voice of God in this piece - consequently, everything had to be together. Onsets, phrasing, releases - our blend had to be impeccable.

And it was! It was such a fantastic experience. I got great feedback from my colleagues, those on stage and those in the audience. (Wanna know pressure? Sing for a roomful of voice teachers!)

And I didn't have any performance anxiety - except for burping. I don't know where that has been coming from. But I'll take it over dry mouth, shaking, and mental fuzziness any day!

Worst things that ever happened to me as a performer

1. When I walked up my skirt and fell into the first violinist's music stand (see previous article on performance anxiety).
2. When I had violent abdominal cramps while wearing spandex in A Cudahy Carolers Christmas and wound up going up on a line and breaking character for the first and only time in my life;
3. When I pierced my finger with a spindle during a production of Flying Dutchman at Washington Opera.
4. When I was thrown off someone's back while on tour with Pirates of Penzance and crashed into the stage, dislocating my knee and, as I found out much later, cracking my coccyx. (Didn't know that until I lost weight and no longer had padding on it.)
5. When I came home from a Friday luncheon and decided to take a nap, only to sleep through a wedding I was supposed to sing that day - although I woke up deathly ill and wound up being so sick I couldn't sing or teach for two full weeks.
6. When I drooled on someone's head on stage .... I was in Rosina at the Skylight, playing Pilar, the slutty landlady, and at one point, the soprano ties a scarf in my mouth and leads me across the stage to a blindfolded man singing a love song (he's singing to the soprano, but I think he's singing to me). Well, the scarf hit my tongue in just the right way to make me salivate. So I'm sucking back this mouthful of drool the whole time, trying frantically to keep it in my mouth - and just as I get on top of the baritone - I failed. Fortunately, he was wigged (and still blindfolded) and wasn't aware of it. I was totally humiliated!! 

The good far outweighs the bad, but those things do stick out in my mind!

GOLDEN RULES FOR CONQUERING PERFORMANCE ANXIETY

While preparing for our remodel and cleaning stuff out, I found these on an index card that I'd made up for myself that was stuffed in a drawer. From reading it, it seems that I got the actual rules from somewhere and then I wrote my own comment on it. So - I'm going to share it here, in part so I can throw away the card. :)

1. You have practiced to the best of your ability.  Trust your autopilot (aka your technique) to work.
2. Do not judge what happened or will happen.  No "What was that?" thinking!
3. Don't second-guess audience reaction. Please yourself only!
4. Be in the music, in the moment. Be on stage, not in the audience. Be in the giving mode, not the receiving one!
5. Single out one aspect of your playing that is your #1 priority (before going on stage). Breathing? Expressivity?
6. Enjoy! Let your emotions and excitement for the music be present.

I just googled the title on the card. It came from musician David Leisner. For more of his take on the subject (much of which I paraphrased, although "what was that" thinking is something I say frequently), feel free to read his article.

"Now Ulla Belt" - or not: Why We Belt

I've been doing a lot of thinking about belting lately.  I've also been re-obsessed with the score for The Producers (Book of Mormon, Spamalot, The Producers  - are we noticing a pattern here?) and I was listening to the movie soundtrack the other day. What really bothered me about the movie was Uma Thurman's casting as Ulla. While she was physically right for it, she was not vocally right. Her big song is "When you got it, flaunt it," and at one point, she says, "Now Ulla belt!' and then -- she doesn't. The point is that at that moment, she should switch from a little girl character voice to a powerful, strong woman in control of her sexuality.

Here's an example from the original Broadway cast album, featuring Cady Huffman in the role. At about 2:22, Miss Huffman belts. It's funny, it's powerful, it sets up the character as a force to be reckoned with. She's not just a pretty face (and fantastic body).

Then there's Uma Thurman in the movie version. She's singing it lower, which means it should be even easier to belt. But at 2:08, when she announces her intention to belt and then doesn't - it's disappointing. She belts a little bit after that, but the whole thing is weak. (And please, Uma, even I could belt it in that tessitura!)

Belting should be used as a statement. It can be a statement of:

1. Sexuality
2. Fun
3. Conviction
4. Empowerment

It is not a statement of

1. Tenderness
2. Sweetness
3. Sorrow (heartbreak, perhaps, but not sorrow)
4. Insecurity

So I watched a few videos and decided that a song can be belted all the way through if it's a song that's fun, upbeat, and not particularly serious. Examples of this are "Anything goes," "I got rhythm," and "Johnny One Note". Songs that are fast and short lend themselves well to an all-the-way-through belt.

Two examples of belting used specifically to make a statement:

Eden Espinosa, "Once upon a time," from Brooklyn. Miss Espinosa does a mix until 1:50, at the words, "has never felt more right." A statement of conviction. And then she belts mostly till the end, using a mix as she ascends pitch-wise, winding up on a high A-flat (!!!) on the word "right." Can we say money note??

And then there's the ultimate contemporary song of empowerment, "Astonishing," from Little Women, sung by Sutton Foster. This is a bootleg video of a live performance, and it is sung very differently from the cast album. Probably because she has the rest of the show to sing and can't blow it all out on this one song - whereas she could've just come in and sang the song for the recording and nothing else. Recordings offer the luxury of risk-tasking in a way that 8 shows a week do not.

Notice the use of mix throughout this performance. When she sings of her yearning for a return to the simplicity, it's a very mixed sound. As she grows stronger in her conviction that she wants to and will be more, it becomes chest-dominant. But a full belt does not kick in until about 5:00 in, on "In my own way - today," and stays strong throughout the whole "Here I go" section. Empowerment.

Also notice that the high e-flat on "Astonishing" (the money note, the whole point of this song!) is mixed. It's much more true to the vowel than on the recording, where it becomes "astonishang!" in order for her to get a brassier sound. I find over-modification of a vowel, whether it be toward a more neutral sound in classical music or a more spread sound in musical theater, to be distracting. Vowel integrity should be maintained. Yes, the amount that the mouth is open and/or its shape may need to change but the tongue doesn't always have to - and that's what determines intelligibility.  Does the performance lose anything by her mixing that note? The audience doesn't seem to think so, by their reaction.

Just because you can belt a song all the way through doesn't necessarily mean you should. What are you saying? What is your mood? A belt can be thrilling if it comes in at the most effective and appropriate moment. Where should you belt? Why should you belt?

Even though I am re-defining myself as a classical singer, I love a good belt. And when it comes in at just the right place, it's thrilling beyond belief. When it doesn't come in or comes in at the wrong place - not so much.