Do You Feel Loved? > Weblog

Dude, I'm telling you now...don't even listen to him. I have a degree in opera. I've studied vocal pedagogy inside and out, and the mainstream voice teacher in America FUCKS YOU UP. It's based on all this pseudo-science and complete nonsense. I can go into much more detail on a different medium...

But if he's having you do anything unnatural--breathing exercises, mouth-shaping, hand gestures, "strategies," get out. Those are all devices that have been developed because no one knows what the fuck to do to make someone sing. They treat the symptoms of bad singing by trying to recreate the by-products of good singing--namely breath management and resonance. That stuff is just crap, crap, crap. I can almost guarantee that your natural voice--the one you've been using previously--is far more healthy than what you'll end up with him. Singing isn't a thinking process; it's a release of controls and strategies, something not to be monitored or interfered with.

Hit me up on AIM or email sometime. There's MUCH to discuss.

Posted by nick at January 31, 2004 01:06 AM

The worst is when they try to flatten your tongue out, so they make you wrap your tongue around a pencil and then tuck the tip of your tongue between your lip and teeth. SO your standing their with a pencil in your mouth and then they expect you to sing. That was not one of my finer moments. I actually enjoyed Diction more then Voice, it was more like a yoga class.

Posted by Megan at February 1, 2004 05:12 PM

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