| |
| |
|
|
|
|
Welcome
to Edition 12 of the Vocal Process Electronic magazine. In this
edition we are delighted to welcome Meribeth Dayme as a guest writer.
Meribeth’s book Dynamics of the Singing Voice is recommended
reading for our Integrated Voice™ participants, and her newest
book, The Performer’s Voice – Realising Your Vocal Potential,
launches this month in the UK. |
 |
|
 |
Also in
this edition you can find information on our new courses, the latest
Integrated Voice™ prospectus, and recent additions to the website.
Course Information
The
full prospectus for our comprehensive Integrated Voice™ training
programme is now available as an Adobe 'pdf' file. The pdf is less
than 1 Mb in size, so is fairly quick to download (even on dialup) and
will not clog up your inbox. Module One begins again in February 2006,
so send us a blank email to
info@vocalprocess.co.uk with “Integrated Voice pdf please” in the
subject line and we will send a prospectus winging back to you by
return. (NOTE: We've included the subject line content automatically
for those whose email systems support this facility).
And here
is a timely reminder: Vocal Process Core Training, the
prerequisite for joining the Integrated Voice™ programme, is fast
approaching. This year we are holding the course at the Haberdashers’
Aske’s school in South London on Friday 28th to Sunday 30th October.
Good transport links into London (2 train lines and a tube line) make
this an easy commute, and we still have a small number places open.
Click here for more details.
Module
Two of the Integrated Voice™ programme is well under way,
and we are opening two of our new courses to a small number of you by
invitation only.
Teaching in the Studio is a two-day specialist course for singing
and voice teachers which deals with the interaction between teacher
and client. On the first day Gillyanne and Jeremy will be discussing
ways of clarifying client goals, identifying the causes of vocal
difficulties and devising strategies for dealing with them. On the
second day Elizabeth Stirling will be sharing her expertise on the
clues that can be gained from involuntary eye movements, the different
language modalities used for communication, the circle of excellence,
and the "feedback sandwich". As this course is part of the Integrated
Voice™ programme, places for external clients are strictly limited.
The course takes place on November 12th-13th at the Haberdashers’
Aske’s school, so email us if you are keen to take part.
|
|
|
|
The
Endoscopy Day with Tom and Sara Harris will take place on January
28th 2006. We will be spending the afternoon with Tom and Sara in the
Sidcup Clinic and there will be an opportunity for a small number of
volunteers to be scoped. This course gives participants the chance to
experience the workings of a voice from the inside. Tom and Sara are a
highly experienced team and we are delighted to be hosting this event
for our clients. This course is by invitation only and places are
extremely limited. |
If you
would like to be considered for a place (there are only 4 left),
please email us at
info@vocalprocess.co.uk.
Insets and Presentations
Vocal
Process INSETS and In-house courses over the last few weeks have
included visits to Bristol, Southampton and Liverpool (LIPA). Next
month will see us repeating our tailored training at Motherwell
College. Over several visits we will be covering a number of Musical
Theatre topics, and the course ends with a Successful Singing
Auditions day. If you would like Vocal Process to visit your college
or university with a similar tailored course, email
info@vocalprocess.co.uk
for more information.
|
|
|
| At
the recent PEVoC6 conference in London, delegates
were wowed by the Kentwood Show Choir’s spot in the
Great Hall of St Barts (in fact, certain distinguished
delegates were seen humming and bopping…). Sheila
Harrod, Kentwood’s director, has been working with
Gillyanne since 1998, and has implemented a number
of Singing and the Actor techniques in the
choir's vocal training. Gillyanne returned to Swindon
recently to give the choir a top-up session. Click
here for a detailed account of her day. |
 |
The Website
|
We
are happy to announce that Jenevora Williams has joined our panel
of YQA experts. Jenevora has a special interest in the
adolescent and pre-adolescent voice, and has published a number of
articles in this field. She teaches at the Royal College of Music, is
teacher-in-residence for The National Youth Choir and works with the
choristers at St Paul's Cathedral.
Her specialisation in
the teaching of Treble voices has led to her being a consultant
for many recording companies such as Decca and Hyperion, and the
Royal Opera House and Les Arts Florissants for their work
involving child performers. |
 |
If you have any questions concerning
the training of children’s voices, email us on
YQA@vocalprocess.co.uk
And
an interesting
Your Questions Answered item submitted on vibrato (and how
to do it) sparked off not only a response from Jeremy, but also
a full article on three different ways to produce vibrato.
Click here to read the article.
|
|
|
|
There are also three new additions to the SATA Experience section
which we've called
Coffee Break - fun word puzzles based on key
words in Singing and the Actor. If you have a spare few minutes
and want to brush up your knowledge of SATA phraseology, try your
hand at the Crossword, Wordquiz or the Wordsearch. They are
available to play live on the site as interactive Excel files or
as downloadable pdf files to print and fill in. |
 |
If you want to
play online, hover your mouse over the small red triangles to
reveal the clues, and type in or highlight your answers as you go.
The article...
by Meribeth Dayme, PhD
Curiosity killed the cat…and satisfaction brought it back
The trend in vocal pedagogy is to encourage students to be curious
about their voices so that they can take more responsibility in the
process of learning to sing. The worry is - that too much knowledge
will “kill the cat.” And, too much intellectual knowledge without
clear practical application surely will. |
 |
The “aha” moment for teachers and students alike usually comes after
much kinaesthetic trial and error. However, that time can be shortened
and made easier by finding a way to help students see for themselves
rather than just following directions. The benefit will be
co-responsible learning in the studio.
Here are a few suggestions for including your students in the process,
and for helping students to take responsibility for their own
learning.
For teachers
|
|
|
1.
|
Students
need see for themselves to make real change in a short time. This
can be done in a number of ways. Consider videoing the lessons and
taking time at the end of every lesson to show them the major
changes (using fast forward to save time). If something very major
happens, stop and replay the video at that moment. Showing the
video is part of the lesson and may in some ways be the most
valuable aspect. |
|
|
|
2. |
Whatever you can’t help to change, don’t mention! Or suggest the
student see a specialist in the area where you are weak. There is
nothing wrong with having gaps in your knowledge. No one knows it
all—especially in these fast moving times. |
|
|
|
3. |
Do something to nourish yourself and at the same time add to your
core knowledge of the body, the mind, or the spirit. Attend
self-development courses, read journals of singing or voice and keep
up with the trends today. There are many areas of research that are
complimentary to vocal study and with a little adaptation could offer
the singing community a lot of valuable information. One such area is
the research programmes that look at physical and postural efficiency
for athletes. Could these be applied to singers? |
|
|
|
4. |
Examine the sources of your own knowledge. As a teacher, are you
just accepting what you teach on the basis that someone told you it
was the way to do it, or do you truly understand your instrument?
Today there are many practical courses, given by organisations like
the BVA or individuals, or books, dealing with vocal anatomy and
function. |
For students of singing
|
|
|
1.
|
Let
someone know when you do not understand something. This is an
important responsibility. A teacher cannot answer questions that
are not asked or read your mind. Nothing is worse than to go away
from a lesson with questions that were not asked, leading to
confusion in practice and rehearsal. |
|
|
|
2. |
Make a
list of the characteristics that you would like to have in your
voice. Do you want warmth? brightness? clarity? You establish your
own criteria and match your performance with those. That way you
will be satisfying yourself as well as your teacher. |
|
|
|
3. |
Become a
vocal scholar. Don’t depend on your teacher to tell you
everything, find out for yourself. |
|
|
|
4. |
Go to
concerts, watch and listen to professionals who are accepted by
the wider public. What do they have going for them—presence?
beautiful quality, personality? Remember the things they do well
and dare to risk doing them yourself. |
|
|
|
5. |
Video your
own practice. View the video as if you were watching someone on
television. Ask yourself if that person is truly communicating the
song, or if the voice meets your criteria for quality. So many
singers are afraid of what they will see. Isn’t it better to see
it and make changes before you arrive at an audition? |
|
|
|
6. |
Good
performers take risks. Use some of your practice time to
experiment with many different approaches and sounds. Shrinking
violets who desperately want to perform will never get there until
they make a leap of faith and have the courage to stop shrinking.
The safest place to do this is with your teacher or with your
video camera. Then you can see for yourself how they sound and
look on the replay. |
We have so much available to us today. Venture out of the box and
explore every avenue. It is exciting to know that there is great
knowledge and at the same time remaining mystery about the human
voice. Explore, learn, teach, and perform with pleasure!
© Meribeth Dayme, PhD October 2005
Dr Meribeth Dayme is author of
Creating Confidence and creator of
Free
Chocolate Cake Enterprises.
In the meanwhile, remember to monitor your effort levels.
 
|
|
