Something happened in one of my students' lessons yesterday, and I can't stop thinking about it.
My student is a Woman Of A Certain Age, and she's been singing all her life. She's has sung professionally and with amateur groups and bands.
She's taking lessons with me, currently, because she wants to be able to sing in a pop style. Ideally with a high chest mix. She's also a strong and tenacious person, not given to emotionality or drama.
Yesterday at her lesson she brought me regards from one of my old cohorts, from my jobbing band days. She was at a wedding, and this singer's band played the reception.
The singer she brought me regards from is a terrific singer. She loves to perform, has a super-sized voice that can sing anything. She runs her own band and is the frontman singer. She's a smart woman with a generous spirit, and spent some time talking with my student at the wedding event.
As my student was telling me about the conversation, and about listening to Becca sing, she started to tear up. I was surprised and a little uncomfortable, because I was confused.
Then my student said, "That was all I ever wanted. All I ever wanted was to sing like that."
When she was young and knew she wanted to sing, she did what kids of families with money do: she took lessons. "Lessons" were (and kind of still are) defacto classical. (Or, "legit" style.) Years and years of lessons, all classical, none of them getting her closer to what she wanted. By the time she had the experience and knowledge to discern between classical training and popular training, she was in deep. She knew neither how to change her singing, nor how to proceed with the singing she had.
As I said, she's a tenacious person. She sang jazz and cabaret. She made it work. She shared her voice. She found joy. But as of this writing, she has not yet found her VOICE. The voice she always wanted. The voice she heard in her head when she was a teenager. And she mourns that loss.
Today I'm mourning with her. I'm pretty weepy as I write this, actually.
I'll be honest. Like all people, I sometimes get tired of my work. I sometimes doubt whether it's worth trying to help people sing. I sometimes doubt whether what I do matters.
Yesterday I was reminded that it matters. Having the voice that comes out of your mouth reflect the voice of your soul and your intention matters a lot.
February 2020
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#singingmatters and #thewayyousing matters. #voiceteachers need to respond to their students' #artisticdreams rather than their own agenda. #voiceteachers can be the most important person to help a #singer find their #truevoice.