Playing the voice

jinksba1 — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 19:00:47 +0000

As a voice major in my junior year of undgraduate study, I’ve come across a number of issues I’d like to mention partly for the completion of a course requirement, partly to perhaps spark discussion or at the very least, develop my own thinking on the matter, and party for the sake of my own catharsis. It is to be expected that any music major will quickly find plenty of stumbling blocks throughout their private study despite their concentration. It is also likely that they will develop a list of issues unique to their instrument that “no on else has to deal with.” While many of these claims may carry some level of legitimacy, it is clear that voice study is completely different than playing an instrument. While hard work, determination, and hours upon hours of practice and repetition can yield significant improvements, there are certain unique qualities as well as limitations to the voice that God blessed you with that one simply cannot change. Some elementary school children have the most gorgeous tone quality and sing with nearly flawless intonation. On the other hand, about 1 in 5 high school boys enrolled in chorus struggle with matching pitch. I made that statistic up but it’s probably not far from the truth.

Another obvious dimension and focus in voice study is language. The problems posed for vocalists singing in 3 or 4 differerent languages in a single semester can be overwhelming. Not only memorizing the tendencies for vowels and consonants in each language, but putting in the extra time and having the presence of mind to convey the text through one’s interpretation of the piece, while still keeping in mind tone color, intonation, breathing, posture, etc., is an undeniably unique challenge for vocalists. Not to mention memorization of text. (see Dr. Misra’s site highlighted on my blogroll) The life of a vocalist is no walk in the park as is rumored by many instrumentalists.

Music is Time

jinksba1 — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 18:06:45 +0000

As a musician, time managment, has been a struggle in my life ever since I can remember. Music takes time. Sightreading, individual practicing, rehearsal, lessons, score study, and listening are all integral parts of the daily life of a musician and they all require a significant time commitment. Most music students begin studying private lessons in elementary school and begin to perform in ensembles in junior high. By high school, many students develop a variety of interests and wish to participate in several different activities. High school music programs are becoming so involved that they are likely to be one of the first activities that eclectic and talented students consider dropping from their schedules.

I attended Norwin High School (’05) and was a member of one of the most competitive high school marching bands in the state in my freshman and sophomore year. In my sophomore year, I realized that I was missing out on a great number of opportunities because of the intense time commitment that the marching band demanded. I did not participate in the band my junior and senior year which allowed me to become more involved with other groups, organizations, and activities at school, my church, and the community. In my freshman year the Norwin High School Marching band had about 120 members. This fall the band is half that number.

I think the problem is that in America today, we want things to be fast and cheap. We have this tendency to just get things done as quickly and efficiently as possible and quality or even the original purpose for the task or discipline takes a backseat. We multi-task, listening to music in the background while we study or read. Time is far too valuable to just sit down and listen to any piece of music longer than five minutes, let alone to actually go to listen to a live symphony orchestra for two hours. A high school music educator would be foolish to think that the average student is diligent enough to practice every day, even for 30 minutes.

Technology, is as much, a contributor to this cultural phenomenon than anything. Why would you compose a hand-written letter, address and seal it, buy a stamp, walk to the post office and mail it, when you could shoot an email in a fraction of the time? Why would a student read the full text of a difficult piece of literature when you can go online and get a summary and analysis and probably do better on your exams than if you were to actually complete the reading? Technology has provided us with short-cuts for virtually everything. We have become so dependent upon these short cuts that whenever we can’t have them, we become frustrated or confused.

There is no shortcut for learning music. There are no sparknotes for trombone lessons; no freeware program that turns a bunch of kids into an excellent choir or orchestra unless of course they just create a MIDI imitation. When a student has everything handed to him and he is given the opportunity for immediate success on a regular basis, that student loses the concept of what it means to work hard. Hand him a violin, and he’ll expect to be a concert performer in no time. My freshman year of college was the first time that I felt truly stretched and challenged academically or musically with the exception of the marching band in high school. My situation is a great example, when things got too difficult or were taking too much of my time, I quit and did something else that came a little easier and quicker. As educators in America, we need to find a way to teach kids at a very early age what it feels like to experience the rewards that come from diligence and hard work. I can’t think of a better way of doing that than to make music a more frequent and significant part of the curriculum from K-12. But it will take time and that is a commodity that Americans today just can’t seem to find.

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Playing the voice

Music is Time