The Culture of Singing

Friday evening musings...

As I have the distinct pleasure of having a foot planted fairly firmly - (well a stiletto wedged deeply into the dirt) - in the world of opera AND of music theatre, I feel I can see how these cultures differ...

And they DO differ...

This could be the title of a book I may need to write...but tonight, I will begin to observe and comment on what comes to me first - call it the word association of the culture of singing...

In opera, part of the culture seems to be the ongoing tied to the apron strings of student to teacher. Often, the culture of the singing in this arena is about how often you see your teacher, how long you've been with that teacher, are you with the "correct" teacher, are you doing EVERYTHING you are told to do? Do you have to get permission to do anything? Or everything? When are you going to be "out on your own"????

We all need our teachers, please do not misunderstand me! But we also need to be goal-oriented and be active about our development. We need to know WHY we are there. We are with different teachers through our careers for different reasons. One teacher is not all things to all singers. Nor should they be. Feeling beholden to a teacher isn't healthy; studying for years and years and never really developing isn't healthy; being held hostage in a studio isn't healthy; feeling you need to be with a certain teacher for political reasons isn't healthy;

The power/control game of singing is still very real and very present and we see it very blatantly in the classical and opera world. Many often pounce on a teacher to "fix" us - because they "fixed" somebody else; Many often feel the "name" teacher is going to make us and will by-pass a "real" teacher for a so-called "name"; Many stay with a teacher long after the relationship is useful - for either party! And many "study" when they aren't learning a thing!

We often hold the teacher accountable for some of this power/control game, and so we should! You all know I do! However, the singer is equally as responsible!! The singer has to learn, recognize and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!! If you aren't learning, and you know you aren't, why are you there?!?!?! If you don't want to invest enough in your craft and yourself to spend the time and yes, the money, to explore the possibilities of finding the BEST teacher for you for the time you need to be with that person, and have a sense of entitlement and blame then your denial and your delusion are larger than your talent, most likely!

We have ALL survived "bad" teaching, perhaps had "bad" technique, or NO technique, but it is UP TO US AS SINGERS TO FIND WHAT WE NEED TO MAKE US BETTER!!!! And if we are not, it is nobody's fault but our own!!! A teacher cannot give you a career; a teacher cannot make you practice; a teacher cannot create an instrument that does not exist - physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually; A teacher can lead, guide and help you develop what you are and what you have; However, the culture of singing in this arena should not make a student beholden, or held hostage to a "technique" or a "style" or a personality; It should not make a singer feel like a disciple of someone or something..."follow me or follow nothing" does nothing to promote the individual singer's journey!

In Music Theatre, the irony is this: the culture promotes the immediate. The singing is often not great across the board, because the dedication to the craft and the development of the instrument and the artistic musicianship is not cultivated in the arena of the "16-bar cut and here are your sides for tomorrow." Often, many feel if they can imitate it, they are singing it. Instead of really learning about style, form, physicality of instrument and true vocal development, many pretend and in actuality, know nothing.

Many dancers (not ALL!) I come into contact with will wonder why they can't learn to sing immediately - even though their OWN discipline of dance has taken them years to develop. The culture of singing in music theatre, as it is often promoted, is very deceiving and false: One lesson, or printing off the music the night before, should be enough work to nail the audition and get the job. This disgusts me. And it makes me angry. There is no knowledge in this instant falsehood. There is no craft, no voice, no responsibility taken. The entitlement of self, and the absorption of one's own delusion of grandeur reeks in this arena.

One lesson, one coaching, a couple of days of learning a cut, listening to it on youtube or on your ipod is NOT ENOUGH to call yourself an artist. Nor is it enough to call yourself a singer. It is nothing. Music theatre culture seems to falsely promote this. This is not artistry or developing vocabulary as a singer. Once in awhile studying,or once in a while learning music, learning roles, developing your voice does NOT make you a singer. It makes you a dabbler who is faking it. Fakers are not real. And fakers who fool the business and get jobs very quickly are shown that they don't have what it takes to survive, let alone thrive or grow. Vocal problems develop and the "singer" has to leave or will shorten their career quickly.

I applaud the singers who are willing to ask the hard questions - of themselves and others. Who are willing to realize that THEY develop their artistry. The business decides if and where they have a career. The two are NOT the same. I applaud the singers who say "NO, I can't do that. NO I am not ready for that. NO I need a little more time", when it is appropriate to say so.

A teacher cannot give you a career, but they can help you develop the instrument that you profess to want to have in order to develop your artistry. The business may or may not give you an opportunity to work in a venue that will give your artistry a place to show itself. YOU may need to develop that opportunity too. The business doesn't give you artistry. Only YOU can move past the culture of how the singer sings in your respect arenas and decide WHAT YOU NEED to be the best singer you can be.

If it doesn't matter to you, then I respectfully suggest you just keep working very hard not to be found out. You might fool a few people for awhile, but you can't fool everybody all of the time. And perhaps, the only one you are fooling is yourself.

If you call yourself a singer - in ANY arena, then BE ONE. Invest in the truth of that. Command it. Challenge the culture you are in to find what you NEED, and to find what IS needed to make the culture of singing true, pure, powerful and rich. Learn WHAT you need and why you need it. Don't expect it - go get it! YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE! Artistry is not lazy, entitled nor full of excuses. Artistry is active. Artistry is responsive.

Then, and only then, do we as artists truly take the reins and create our lives fully.

Protecting Your Performance

Sunday musings...

How are you protecting your performance?

If you have to ask me what I mean, then perhaps you aren't!

For those of you who are working in repertoire, or 8 (or more) shows a week, to those of you auditioning, giving a recital - whatever the performance - how do you protect it?

What are you doing to give yourself the physical and psychological space to prepare for that performance?

There is no such thing as "selfish" when it comes to protecting your performance! Selfish - for self - is NECESSARY, not negative. It is crucial to your well-being to create a space around you in every way in order to prepare, focus, get still, and deliver what you there to do.

Protecting your performance takes practice too. You have to learn what YOU need to make sure that performance comes off ideally. You have to be RUTHLESS about how you protect that performance. Compromise is not part of the equation here. Others don't need to get it - they aren't doing YOUR work. Only YOU can decide what makes you comfortable, and that decision has to be strong.

You do not need to apologize for taking the physical and psychological space and time needed to prepare. You don't need to explain it either. You take it. It is your performance.

Having stillness to focus and prepare is crucial to a solid performance. You have a job to do. Focusing on what you need to do is necessary - it is not assumed. We must SEE what we need to do - we must walk ourselves through it literally and figuratively. We have to visualize what we are going to do, in order for it to happen! As any athlete, we must focus on the task, the execution and the success of that task. We cannot find true focus if there is distraction around us - in ANY way.

If your family/friends don't understand, you need to tell them what you need. If they still don't understand, it doesn't matter. They either respect your boundaries or they don't. You must stand firm about your space. They'll get over it. It is not your responsibility to make sure the people around you get it; it is your responsibility to deliver a solid performance!!

We all develop a certain ritual the day of performance. This comes with experience, and it comes from knowing what we need. Take your preparation and your artistry seriously enough to discover these needs. They are CRUCIAL to your execution of performance! This is often what separates superior performances from the mediocre.

Create your ritual; determine it; fine-tune it; claim it; do not compromise it; Compromising your ritual of protection will compromise your performance. Your performance is the goal. To achieve it successfully, means protecting it viciously!!!

Protecting your performance requires uncompromising focus. It requires you to truly understand what you need and take that without apology. It requires the mental, spiritual and physical commitment to the task at hand. FEED your spirit, your body and your soul so your performance is FULL. If it doesn't feed you, it takes from you. Anything that takes away from your preparation is in the way, and must be set aside.

Get rid of anything that distracts you. Or anyONE. You can deal with things and people AFTER the performance. They aren't going anywhere! It will all be there when you are done.

If you learn to respect your performance rituals and live them, then others will begin to recognize where they are welcome and when. A superior performance requires focus and no distractions. Create your space in order for those distractions to be minimal or non-existent.

We learn how to protect our performance by doing. You will learn by paying attention to what you need, and when you KNOW you will DO. Trust that. Trust yourself. You owe no explanations to anyone, but owe to yourself and your audience the best performance you can give. Protecting that is worth it.

Find your stillness, your focus, your quiet time; find your solitude, your energy, your regeneration; create your boundaries and stay firm in them; find your rituals and stay true to them. Your performance DEMANDS it.

edited to add this: YOU are an athlete! Don't misunderstand my use of "stillness" - stillness is about YOUR SPACE and YOUR CORE. If literally being still is necessary, do it!! If you have to DO something - cardio, yoga, pilates, a run, hitting a ball - whatever you need to blow out the energy and find stillness and focus - YOU DO IT! Just don't let OTHERS dictate your needs - only YOU can do that.

What DO I Need?

Post-Turkey musings...

I often have questions via workshops, singers consulting and emails about what you need for this career. This often comes from those you NOT in a performance-based degree, worried that because you aren't doing a music theatre/drama/classical voice/opera stream.

In all honesty, the question is simply this: are you willing to invest in YOUR ability and bring your potential to reality? Does it really matter where you studied, what you studied, who you studied with if you can't bring a reality into an audition or into a role? Ultimately, no. If you can't DO, it doesn't matter. Saying you can do it, and doing it are the defining differences.

It is up to you to invest in yourself and in your career. Just because you are in a program or graduated from a program that is performance based doesn't guarantee you anything. All it does it gives you an opportunity to learn a few things within the context of the program. Whether you do or not is up to you! For those of you who are pursuing more liberal arts, or non-performance programs, this doesn't mean you can't pursue, nor does it mean you are behind!!

The fallacy, that many who are seasoned professionals who read this blog (and who will laugh knowingly!) will attest, is that everything you need to learn about your craft and your place in the business is done in school. WRONG!!! It is simply the beginning, and does not give you everything, and in some instances, sadly a very large debt of nothing!

Your responsibility is to yourself. It means you have to go out and get it. You are not done studying and learning and growing after your degree no matter WHAT it is in! It is your quest to find what you need in classes, teachers, seminars, information and seek it out.

Ultimately, you can have all the "right" schools, the "right" teachers, the "right" training on your resume, and if you can't bring what is necessary into the audition or into the role, no one cares!! Can you do the job or can't you?

This is why our training, and our development is never done!

So what do you need? You need a dose of reality. You need to be honest with yourself about where you are in your journey. You need to develop your instrument. You need to STUDY and EXPLORE! You need to know how your instrument functions and what its possibilities are and what its boundaries are.

You need to explore seminars and workshops and classes, and intensives to find out where you are best suited; how the business works in different facets; how to build a resume; what you need in a headshot; how you network; when you need to look for an agent; what to expect and how to deliver in an audition; what your type is; what your fach is; what repertoire you should be presenting NOW; How you are seen; how you want to be seen - and on and on.

It doesn't matter if you aren't in a program that addresses these things or not. It is still up to you to discover it - and know how it relates to you specifically. You need to find the resources that you need and utilize them!!!

If you want a career - YOU have to go get it. It will not come to you. Enhance your studies - and develop your knowledge. Having a degree or diploma doesn't make you "ready" - it is just a tool to use to move toward the next, whatever that "next" happens to be.

What do you have to offer? What are your raw goods? And then, what are you going to do to develop them? You can't hide behind a degree that seems to be performance track if you can't deliver, nor can you make excuses for a non-performance degree if you don't go out and find what you need to give you further information FOR your career pursuits!

So - what do you need? You need focus, you need perseverance, you need a dose of reality about your ability, you need determination, you need KNOWLEDGE. This business is too difficult to feign ignorance or wide-eyed disbelief. Get the information, claim it; find out who you are and what you have to offer and how it can be developed - and DO IT.

Embody your talent, your ability, your craft. When we see it, feel it, experience it, then nothing else matters but what you CAN DO, not where you learned how to do it.

What are you thankful for?

American Thanksgiving day musings...

We begin the holiday season. It can get ridiculously busy, materialistic and stressful. We as singers often enter our busiest season and don't stop til we collapse in a heap just after New Year's!

As we pursue a career in this business, where so much of time we are faced with rejection and worse, indifference - it is very easy to get negative and bitter and jaded. And why wouldn't you?

So, my thoughts today are about how you reclaim your love for your craft - and what you have to be thankful for. Leave the rejection and the indifference and the stupidity and the ignorance, and the racism and the sexism and the size-ism, and the arrogance and the rudeness, to seek its own level. It will.

Wrap yourself up today in your positive self-filled creativity and purpose.

What are you doing all this for? Have you lost your joy? Your reason? Your passion? It's time to re-discover it and and re-claim it!

Give thanks for your passion - for ANYTHING. Some people walk through life in beige clothing. They are passionate about nothing. You have the potential to live in VIVID COLOUR! Live it!

Give thanks for your body - yes, I said it. Your body is where your instrument resides and where it find tangibility. Yes, it may need some firming up, it may need a few inches or pounds shed, but it is YOURS. EMBRACE IT. TRUST IT. Make changes that are healthy and true and real for YOU not for the business. Today - enjoy your food and and enjoy that body. Treat it with respect and with love. Give thanks for what it gives you - strength, health, a place that your voice can call home.

Give thanks for your talent. No matter where you are on this journey, you have something you are working with and developing and discovering and nurturing. This is a wonderful thing. This is uniquely yours and it's your responsibility to discover what it can and will do. Don't worry about what it might do, or what it doesn't do - what DOES IT DO NOW?!? EMBRACE that!!!

Give thanks for those people around you who create a safe and and soft place to land. Who mentors you? Who encourages you? Who builds you up? Who inspires you? Who reminds you that you are worth it? This net of people is crucial - and we often forget how much they do for us, just by being there. That net of positive energy is larger and more potent than anything else.

Give thanks for POSSIBILITIES!!!! If you are on a path, strong, vibrant, passionate, talented, creative and building craft, there are always possibilities!!! And the possibilities are positive! If there are possibilities, then another step can be taken. If you are breathing and can lift your head and sing a note - it is POSSIBLE.

Give thanks for choice. Choice allows us to create and re-discover - and make another choice!!! There are only choices. We learn from those and make more!

Give thanks for opportunity. It can come in the strangest forms and in the strangest ways. Keep your eyes open for those doors - don't stare at the closed ones!!! Open doors and unlocked doors dare you to walk through - and so you should!

Give thanks because you are a living, breathing artist developing your craft. Your life is important. Your BEING is crucial.

Seek the level of your spirit. Seek the level of your talent. Seek the level of your ability. Seek the level of your craft.

Today - be thankful for YOU!

Happy Holidays!

Creating Your OWN Path!

Wednesday musings...the beginning of the American Thanksgiving weekend!

This subject has come up again and again in my own life and on my journey as an artist and human being. It seems to be an ongoing discussion with many of you in different manifestations so I thought I'd bring it to light and thought here...

You can't take anybody with you. And you can't ride somebody else's coat-tails.

Simply put, your path and your journey and your career is about YOU. This does not make it selfish or self-centered in a negative way. Your research, development, your relationships, your sensibilities, your pursuits are YOURS.

Being an artist, pursuing a career being an artist and "becoming" an artist takes investment on all levels. The success of that investment varies, but ultimately it has been claimed by the artist him/herself. No one can claim unless he/she has done the work to get there.

Often, we are generous, thoughtful and caring human beings, and so when someone asks for our help, we tend to give it, and share what we know and what we have. There is nothing wrong with that impetus, however, is shouldn't cost us anything.

Generosity is given when it doesn't cost the giver to give it. Those of you who hold that "it" factor will always draw to you people who want to possess it. They haven't figured out how to develop their OWN path, and so they will create a faux-path by trying to latch on to yours. Often, these people don't have that "it" factor, have a false sense of entitlement, expect and demand more than they are willing to seek for themselves, and have a false sense of their own abilities. They will try to latch on, or copy you, or manipulate you for information that will not enhance, but inhibit.

I am not saying be wary and suspicious of anybody and everybody who asks you a question! I am saying, be aware of your own path and what it takes to be on it. If sharing information doesn't cost you anything on your journey, share it. If encouraging a fellow artist through word or deed doesn't cost you a step, then encourage. But don't do it without seeing first.

If you have done your research and study and ongoing development, and are getting out there and DOING, and an artist expects/asks/demands to know, to borrow, to take things/contacts/information they have not gone out to get for themselves - then back off. This will cost you. It is up to THEM to discover their OWN information. It is up to EACH of us to discover and create our OWN path.

If someone tries to do everything you do - it can be flattering at first, but then it can become very clear that it is imitation and not flattery. You must retreat from this is. It will cost you too much.

The grays are often murky as this is never black nor white. As artists we are always growing and evolving, and what started out as two people who seemed on the same level can change quickly, and you leave the other person behind. Perhaps they aren't as naturally talented; perhaps they just don't want it as much as you do; perhaps your next level demands more than they are willing or able to find in themselves. It is okay. Nobody has done anything wrong. But you cannot take them with you. YOU must continue to strive for YOUR excellence. They must find their own. What gets murky, is that we often forge more than just professional relationships, but personal ones. Can we separate them enough to allow for the friendship and the professional path and creative process to be individual?

If we are true to our path, we MUST do it. If the friendship has so little to anchor it that it cannot withstand the individual's choice to find his/her artistic development, then that friendship is not feeding both people! Then again, it is costing one more than the other.

Don't just give it away!!! What you have learned, and the professional assets you have established are for YOU until you are at a point in your career that it doesn't cost YOU anything to share them. And then, know who you are sharing them with!! Your reputation is also augmented or diminished by how you share and what you share and with whom you share it!

You can say "no" with grace. You can suggest to someone who keeps asking, or following you, or imitating you that they start to discover who they are and what they have to offer on their own. You can suggest a discussion of teachers or classes or agents or, or, or...once that other person has done the preliminary research to find out what is out there and comes with his/her own information!

Just because you are "friends" does not mean you have to share assets. And anybody who says "come on, you are my friend" is giving you the biggest red flag of all. Friendship is friendship; business is business; Your career belongs to YOU and everything you bring to it and develop with it and for it is yours. It is NOT up for grabs by people who are too lazy/scared/entitled to get out there and create their own path!

Your career path needs you to be focused on YOU and not worried about someone else. Baggage is baggage and we all carry enough of that!!! We do not need to be worried about dragging somebody else along who doesn't belong just by the nature of dragging!!! Let them find their own way. Their own way is best for them. Your way is best for you. If you need to make changes then do it. Do it with human respect and kindness, but do it.

YOU CANNOT TAKE ANYONE WITH YOU. Pure and simple. Career is solo. It has to be that way.

YOU CANNOT RIDE THE COAT TAILS OF SOMEONE ELSE. You need to find your own life, your own path and develop your own talent and your abilities. You need to discover what you do well, and not what you can take from someone else.

At the end of the day - the house lights will dim, and the spot will slowly light you on that stage. You either deliver or you don't. You cannot claim what you do not yet own. You cannot blame on someone else something that does not belong to them.

It is YOUR path. You choose it. You create it. You pursue it.

You and only you are responsible to develop it and nurture the relationships along the way. Sometimes you walk parallel with another, and then the paths fork. Sometimes the paths cross. Sometimes they move in totally different directions. Enjoy YOUR path.

Be generous when it doesn't cost you anything to be so; know what that means at all the different moments in your career; don't apologize if you cannot be generous with certain things at certain times because it puts you in jeopardy.

Discover what YOUR path needs. Don't try to be something you are not or someone you are not. You are enough. Whatever that path is, get on it - time is wasting!!

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NATS and Music Theatre

Sunday rant...

NATS - The National Association of Teachers of Singing - is actually an international organization to which I belong.

As I was offered some information from different chapters on their definitions of Music Theatre singing, I am beginning to wonder why I belong and may have to rethink my membership, or they should hire me to educate their obviously very poorly informed teachers in certain circumstances!!

NATS offers "student auditions" - basically a vocal competition set up by age group and adjudicated by other members of NATS and voice teachers looking to join.

Here is a template so you see what I mean:

http://www.mddcnats.org/auditions/pdf/repertoire_chart.pdf

All looks great huh? What a fabulous opportunity for singers to try out repertoire - both classical and MT - and get some feedback!

Could be...the idea is good...BUT...

Then we look further into the DEFINITION of Music Theatre singing and the requirements, and Susan sees RED!!!

Here's the document I saw - from the Mid-Atlantic Region of NATS -

http://www.ncnats.org/auditions/pdf/Music_Theatre_Category_Revisions_Information_for_NATS_members_for_website_2008.pdf

When I first read it I thought "This can't be serious", and then I realized of COURSE it is serious!!! It is an ORGANIZATION imposing LANGUAGE on its membership to make it look as if they know what they are talking about. Obviously when you know about vocal behavior and know the styles of Music Theatre, and know how to build a voice from the physical and behavioral aspect, this becomes an absolute disgrace!!

This, my dear snowflakes (!) is why it is IMPERATIVE that you understand your voice - and how it functions, how it is built, why it does what it does, and get your terminology CORRECT as it pertains to your balance. Otherwise, documents like this will scare you to death, or even more accurately, confuse the hell out of you!

And not just singers - teachers too. I am sure that at least HALF the teachers reading this document and using it as a guide for their students don't understand the terminology and will mis-interpret what is written here. And I'm being generous when I say half.

There are MANY so-called teachers hanging out a shingle saying "voice lessons available here" who should be working retail at the mall. Or selling Avon or Amway or something else. A little knowledge or a nice voice or a voice degree isn't ENOUGH to make you a teacher of voice and be responsible for the development of someone else's instrument! Just as the ads that say "Learn to sing in 4 easy lessons" or "learn to belt like the stars", so documents like this show absolute disregard to the style and genre and craft of singing.

I am VEHEMENT in my opinion about this and will NOT apologize for what I do and what I see others are NOT doing. And I will NOT back down. And if NATS decides they want to revoke my membership, then fine, do so, but I believe this needs to be addressed - and publicly. Not within the "preciousness" and safety of the NATS organization!

In this document, there are many vocal science terms. If you are going to use vocal science then please know what you are talking about!!! It has NEVER been established that vocal science or ANY science is EXACT and therefore constant enquiry is NECESSARY to acquire full knowledge.

By using CT muscle or TA muscle dominant means NOTHING!!! What you are actually doing is promoting an imbalanced instrument!!! The whole point of vocal behavior NO MATTER WHAT STYLE OR GENRE IT SINGS is to be BALANCED which means CT and TA muscles share and pass dominance to each other depending on where the singer is singing - tessitura, range, and stylistic information. Anything else is imbalanced vocal production.

CLASSICAL musical theatre which uses middle voice primarily, needs balanced use of both CT and TA muscles to develop even resonance. Why not just use the term "Classical" Music Theatre with emphasis on a balanced voice?

Gershwin et al is still CLASSICAL not "non-legit"!!!!

If an INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONAL organization can't get it right, how can we expect our singers to understand?!?!??!?!

I see ultimately, that these organizations are afraid to use the word "belt". I see why. They don't know how to use the other words either.

Music Theatre is as large a genre as Classical music. Therefore, you need to subdivide by era - which I will acknowledge has been done - and leave the other complications alone. By adding science and muscles just confuses the issue because it has no reason for being there! Specify the ERA and the COMPOSERS and talk about singing with a balanced and well developed instrument that you sing with so STYLE INFORMS TONE!!!!

I also have issues with the "characteristics of belt" in this document and how it is "translated" -

Belt is not controversial if it is understood and developed correctly. Belt is not spread, not breathy, not nasal - belt is focused, informed by style and physicality, and is done with an OPEN throat. Closed throat, nasal, unfocused and breathy tone is POOR SINGING no matter WHAT style is being sung.

A balanced vocal instrument has the POTENTIAL to sing ANY style if the style informs the instrument. To think otherwise is simply not true. A singer may find that his/her physicality cannot take on a style authentically - from belt to opera to early music to R&B - or find their psyche is not suited to said style, for many other reasons. But the INSTRUMENT must be solid and balanced and built!!

TRUE BELT is not controversial - and is sung with focused tone, and open throat. Vowel choices inform the balance of resonance which in turn leads to stylistic integrity and traditional authenticity.

In this above attached document, there are certain things that are redeemable - however, there are many things that are simply incorrect. Using the terms "legit" and "non-legit" are not clear; Do we use "non-legit" anymore? I think Music Theatre has begun to get more specific as to what is required show to show. Here's the irony - Legit means nothing, if it doesn't have a context. Belting is LEGIT if it's done in balance and correctly. Opera means nothing if it doesn't have a context. Saying you are an opera singer doesn't mean you can sing ANY opera. Specificity is NECESSARY to develop full understanding of what style and genre is and what is requires.

What disturbs me (!!) about documents like this, is that it couches certain truths within an academic vocabulary that is not specific enough to give clarity to what is being required. This is dangerous. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Why not stay with what you do well instead of introducing an entire genre and tradition that you know little about?

Throwing around some truths, with vocal terminology and some absolutely incorrect information does not promote excellence. It promotes confusion, and segregation. And who will "evaluate" these singers who are entering this competition? Can they truly be evaluated honestly if this is the document the teachers/judges are reading?

Vocal science is only one part of the equation. The stylistic information and genre and tradition of music is absolutely imperative for performance. Physical behavior and stylistic information has to live together in order to create a truth in performance.

As an international association, NATS has to be more responsible!

Scientists and teachers can spout terminology all they want, but they need to know how it works!!! They need to be able to DO IT and DEMONSTRATE IT and know how to FIND IT in their singers by understanding the instrument fully. They need to be continually researching, asking questions, developing, discovering... Science is constantly developing. Pedagogy is constantly being challenged and developing. So must we as singers, as teachers and as organizations that are there to support both.

Learn and discover and hold yourself and organizations responsible for what they know and what they SAY they know.

Whether it's NATS, a university, a college, a production company, a teacher, a coach or YOU - challenge, ask, and LEARN!!! Explore and FIND the truth. Don't assume. Don't back down.

Hiding behind terminology or the safety of an organization or some other "business" or institution, is not staying true to good singing and building true instruments. It's hiding. It's okay to say "I don't know; I don't have the answer" - honesty opens us to finding the answer!!!

If you see bullshit, don't be afraid to call it that. Don't be afraid to say I don't know. And then, don't be afraid to get excited and DISCOVER the answers!!!

None of us have all the answers - that's what makes our journey so exciting!!! Constantly learning and discovering and developing: That is what artistry is.

Don't be afraid to ask why. I ask why all the time!!!

I am asking why in this blog. On many levels. And I may get answers or I may not. I know one thing: I will not WAIT on those answers. I will go out and GET THEM.