Penny Grant

It was with a sense of incredulity that I read the words above on my twitter feed, whilst in Paris on tour with three of our senior choirs last week!

My immediate response on twitter was to declare that there is no such problem at SHSK – and I’m jolly grateful that this is the case.  It seems desperately sad (and very infuriating) that the headmaster of Marlborough College has deemed it necessary to bemoan the ‘death of the art of choral singing’ in the National Press.  Whilst educational reforms are doubtless leading to the decline of singing in primary schools it seems defeatist to claim that the whole art of choral singing is in jeopardy.  

Doubtless, the lack of expertise in music among primary school teachers, and the limitations on the curriculum and resources has had a huge impact on music education.  Having said this, there are many organisations trying to redress the balance and make music accessible to primary students.  When the budget for instruments is non-existent, surely singing is the obvious solution? Everyone has a voice – and everyone should be encouraged to use it.  Organisations like ‘Sing Up’ even provide all the resources for schools to get involved, and include songs which link to other areas of the curriculum, so that every school can use singing as part of the daily lifeblood of teaching.  Whilst these resources are not free, they are available at reasonable cost, and are accessible to everyone, no matter how little previous musical experience they have.  

There are numerous articles about the benefits of musical education to all round academic skills, and how music influences personality traits, improves concentration, team work and basic listening skills – even in those with little obvious musical ‘talent’.  Music is also hugely enjoyable, and a great social leveller – as long as the ‘teacher’ doesn’t make assumptions that certain social groups won’t cope with, or wont enjoy specific musical genres.  Anyone watching the TV programmes made by James Rhodes on just this subject a few months ago will know how excited young children are when they are exposed to all sorts of music.

I am well aware that I work in a privileged environment as a music teacher.  There are nearly 500 music lessons a week happening in the department where I work, over 100 of these are girls receiving individual weekly singing lessons.  There are ten separate choirs and vocal ensembles which cover all age groups and abilities.  Music is a weekly part of the academic curriculum in years 7 and 8 and many students continue with academic music into GCSE and A level.  Of those who continue to A level a high percentage choose to read music at University.  There are 30 visiting music teachers, 2 academic teachers and a wealth of other music clubs and groups to support music education at the school.  There are even supporting clubs for aural skills, sight singing and music theory.  Each year there are joint musical productions with the drama department, a Music Theatre concert, and in recent years concerts of Opera Scenes, and a fully staged production of Dido and Aeneas. Last year there were 45 different concerts across the school year. There really is no limit to the opportunities open to these girls, and they grasp them with both hands.  More often than not we are limiting the number of choirs they can sing in, rather than forcing them unwilling into rehearsals!

Colleagues and friends who work in less well funded schools across the country are also proud of their choral traditions and the musical opportunities offered to their students.  Many have used choral singing as the basis for igniting a musical passion in their schools – and have been exceedingly successful in so doing.  

So why is music at SHSK so successful? For me the answer is simple (whilst multi-faceted):

1. Freedom. It starts with a Head of Department who allows the staff to be creative, and to get involved.  When the staff are given freedom and encouraged to take part, they are naturally more inclined to give of their time and energy to run a wide variety of activities.  
2. Music is infectious.  Girls coming in to the school see their peers, friends, and role models taking part in music.  They see that it’s fun, and that there really is an activity for everyone.  They are rewarded for turning up to weekly rehearsals by a sense of community, and pride in their success when they perform in concerts or competitions.  
3. Aspiration and accessibility.  There is a hierarchy of activities, with some only open to musicians who have reached the highest standards of musicianship.  This drives the girls forward, as they want to earn their place in these elite groups and become role models themselves.  However, none of the ‘elite’ musicians is on a pedestal.  They also participate in the groups which are open to all-comers, and with a breadth of musical talent established in every year group, there are no ‘divas’.  Certainly, there are individuals who stand out from the rest, and achieve many accolades, but it is rare for there to be one single musician who takes all the glory.  As the girls reach sixth form they may well have confidence in their abilities, but they are aware of other talented individuals who they meet at national and local competitions.  They never become complacent, and they care about the music which is so central to their weekly experience.  Music forms friendships which last well beyond school, shared community and rest-bite from academic pressures.  
4. Resources.  The music staff have such freedom as they also have access to the resources to support them.  Without this, I am certain that some activities would continue to thrive, but it certainly helps when there is financial backing for the ‘showstopping’ extras which have the greatest impact.
5. Parental support. I have no doubt that this also has a significant impact on the level of music making at school.  If parents didn’t collect their daughters after weekly rehearsals after school, continue to come to many concerts, and ask the simple questions like ‘how was your singing lesson today?’ then the standard of music making would decline rapidly.  With the parents also understanding the benefits of a musical education, it is so much easier to inspire students to push themselves through a plateau in their learning, or to keep on attending rehearsals.

There has been a strong choral tradition for many years at SHSK.  When I started at the school back in 2004 there were only 20 or so girls having singing lessons, but the standard of the Chapel Choir was excellent, and there were opportunities for choral singing across the whole school community.  Those opportunities have expanded a great deal, and I hope that we will always be looking for new experiences to offer our students. Last week in Paris the girls sang at Euro Disney in front of the Princess’ Castle, followed by recitals at Notre Dame Cathedral and La Madeleine.  Needless to say they performed a wide variety of repertoire in these disparate locations, but all emphasised that they had enjoyed each as much as the others.  There was great envy among those too young to come on tour this time, and much excitement already for the next music tour – and for concert opportunities in the coming year.  The girls made friendships across year groups and bonded over these experiences which I know will stay with them for many years to come.  

I’m very happy to report that the art of choral singing is certainly alive and kicking in this corner of Oxfordshire, and I’m confident that it can be so EVERYWHERE with a little encouragement from those in a position of influence!  Perhaps Marlborough College just needs an injection of enthusiasm from somewhere.  Fingers crossed they get it soon!

For reference the original article can be read here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11736981/Why-is-no-longer-cool-to-join-the-school-choir.html

It has been a busy start to the term and I feel that I have hardly stopped.  It has become quite normal for me to collapse in a heap when I return from school, and my (already fairly early) bedtime is moving even earlier!

There is much excitement however as the ‘Night at the Opera’ concert looms on the horizon.  Last term at the Junior Academy all the first study singers collaborated to perform a staged version of the whole of Act 1 of Gilbert & Sullivan’s ‘Pirates of Penzance’.  After the stress of trying to rehearse these singers over the course of a whole term, I should have known that tackling four different scenes, with four different casts in half a term was likely to be somewhat stressful!

Having said that, the girls are rising magnificently to the challenge, and I leave almost every rehearsal buzzing with inspiration and pride at their achievements.

Nearly half way through the rehearsal period, we have completed large sections of the blocking, have planned the sets and costumes and are well on the way to having all the music learned by heart.   The girls have started to appreciate why I asked them to learn the notes over the summer holidays.  Standing still and singing is all very well and good, but it’s amazing how much harder it is to move AND sing simultaneously!  Some of the scenes require less movement, making it somewhat easier for the cast on a physical level, but all members are required to interact with others, respond to the action on stage and be involved in a much more significant way than when singing solo.  The music is demanding and they have to use all their knowledge of technique as a primary concern, but this must not come at the cost of their dramatic engagement. 

Part of the reason for doing this concert at all was to allow some of the more advanced singers in the school the opportunity to experience these challenges for the first time, so that they are prepared for the demands that are made on performers in the ‘real world’.  Many of the girls perform regularly in the Musical Theatre Productions, as well as soloists, but have learned that the Opera requires another set of skills, in addition to those already ‘mastered’.  

It’s great fun working with such a talented group, who are all so committed and excited by the project.  The concert should provide real variety, and so there really is something for everyone – especially for people who don’t know much about opera, or think they don’t like it!  

I certainly don’t want to wish my rehearsal time away (still lots to do!), but I am really looking forward to the end result of all this hard work.  I think it’s going to be another fantastic night of music and drama.

I know it’s been a while since I last posted, but of course, it has been the summer holidays for all my students – and for me too!  This week saw the return to work, and this is always a hugely exciting time for me.  Naturally there is interest in meeting my new students for the first time, assessing their potential and starting them on their singing journey, but there is also great reward in hearing ‘old’ students after the summer break.

I always encourage my pupils to rest their voices during the holidays.  Whilst I don’t really want them to forget all their technique, and lose muscle tone, I firmly believe that the young voices in my care need time to relax and recuperate after the busy term.  For musicians and singers the end of term is inevitably jammed with concerts and productions, and the students are physically as well as mentally and emotionally exhausted by the time they get to the holidays.

So, one might expect that the return to the start of term is full of bad breath control, croaky voices and frustration for the students, and for me.  Actually usually the reverse is true.

After a long period of R&R, it is fascinating to hear the relaxed and free sounds of the voices.  The girls are often very surprised that they haven’t forgotten how to sing – and in fact seem to have made progress by doing nothing!  Of course, in voices this age two months can see a huge change in sound quality.  The younger students with small but perfectly formed voices can suddenly quadruple their sound with very little effort.  Older students voices may have shifted in range, and those who were in the middle ‘comfort zone’ can suddenly plummet to hitherto unknown depths, or reach for stratospheric soprano notes.

This shift can be quite alarming to students who have been very used to a particular sound, and I have to spend quite some time convincing them that this is a normal and natural phenomenon.  Female voices break, just as male, but the change is usually far less dramatic, and is therefore easy to miss if you’re not listening for it.  The trick is to be constantly aware of where each individual voice is ‘comfortable’ and work within these remits.  Sometimes this means having a song to work on in a number of different keys, so that the student can work on a piece wherever the voice is comfortable ‘on the day’.  Usually it’s not so changeable, but shifts gently over a series of songs to rest in a new tonal area.  

It’s so wonderful to have given a student a piece to look at at the end of the summer, and for them to return able to achieve new levels of technical security and tonal colour.  Sometimes I am quite astounded by the changes I hear!  Despite the stresses of organising a timetable and the inevitable paperwork which has to be done at the start of term, it is definitely one of my favourite times of the year,  Welcome back, everyone!

Some of you may have been aware of the recent furore in the press regarding the Critics’ Reviews of Glyndebourne Festival Opera’s production of Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier. For those who haven’t followed the issue, several of the Press reviews of the new production chose to concentrate upon the physical appearance of one of the lead singers, Tara Erraught, describing her as – among other things – ‘a chubby bundle of puppy-fat’ (Andrew Clark writing in the FT).  This sparked a huge amount of debate on blog sites, social media, radio interviews, and magazine articles as to whether the physical appearance of a singer is relevant, or a matter which should be even discussed in reviews.  Many well known singers and performers have waded in with their own opinion on this issue (if you want to see more on this, try googling ‘Tara Erraught Rosenkavalier reviews’!) 

Obviously for Tara Erraught herself this kind of personal attack on her appearance is likely to be one which affects her own self esteem and for most who are outraged about these comments made in the public sphere, the focus has been on how terrible the whole thing is for her, placing the blame for her appearance with the costume department and the possibly the casting panel.

Until now I did not want to pass comment, other than tweeting links to articles on the subject as I had not seen the production for myself.  I wanted to be able to make my own judgements and offer a considered opinion, and fortunately with Glyndebourne offering a live stream of the production to cinemas all over the country (and on the internet) I had just the chance to form my own ideas last night.

Der Rosenkavalier is a comedy with cross dressing, mistaken identity and issues of class and social ambition at its centre.  There is also a tragic love triangle between the Marschallin, a lonely older aristocrat, her young lover Octavian, and his new love, the young Sophie, the daughter of a merchant who has recently elevated to the nobility.  The role of Octavian is a ‘trouser-role’ and is played by a mezzo soprano (woman) who dresses as a boy (this is a common practice in opera, for those who don’t know!)  Octavian is played in this production by Tara Erraught.

The critics’ issues with the casting appear to have focused largely on the fact that Tara is ‘too large’ and ‘too short’ to be believable as a young nubile 17yr old, who can attract the love of two women with any success.  There are several problems with these objections, many of which have already been considered by others who have written in response to the reviews and some of which I discuss below.  

As a basic starting point there should be no assumption that slightly larger people cannot be deemed attractive by the opposite sex!  Originally set in the mid 19th Century, Tara almost perfectly fits the physical images of young boys from this time.  Tara is by no means fat – in fact she fits into the ‘average’ size of British women in the 21st Century.  In her performance as Octavian, Tara is beguiling, entrancing, adolescently enthusiastic and innocent – in short, perfect for a young boy who cannot believe his luck when he is loved by an older woman from the highest classes, and who is also able to capture the heart of a young modest Sophie, at the same time falling deeply and passionately for her, enough to forget his earlier love for the Marschallin.  Some reviewers also claimed that she was ‘too short’ to be a believable lover.  Again, why should there be an assumption that all successful male lovers are tall?!

I take issue with this presumption that someone’s weight or height should be a matter for the reviewers, unless they are placing the blame with the Casting Director.  It is up to this person to ensure that the whole cast work together to create a performance which allows the audience to enter the suspension of disbelief (I’ll be coming back to this!) and enjoy the music.  The casting team’s first consideration should be the vocal talent of those in front of them – and I firmly believe that on this occasion the casting team selected a fabulous group of lead singers to produce a wonderful production of one of the most moving operas ever composed.  IF there is an issue of physical mismatching (which I do not believe to be the case here) then the fault is with the casting director alone.

The other party to take blame (if there is any) should lie with the costume department.  In discussion with the Director, it is up to the costumiers to create clothing which fits in with the concept of the opera, but also makes the singers feel confident on stage.  If Tara Erraught really looked too fat on stage, this is the fault of the costumiers, not the singer!  For my own part, I didn’t think that the costumes did anything other than support Tara to perform as one would expect.  Her wig and sideburns with slight shadowing on her face allowed her to appear ‘boyish’ and her costumes were appropriate for the role she was playing at any given time.  To be fair to the critics, I believe that the costume department have made a few alterations to her outfits in the wake of the criticism offered, and so perhaps these helped with last nights’ performance.

As a member of the audience at any piece of theatre, you are required to enter into the performance space and suspend your disbelief.  All sorts of things happen all the time in theatre which are not remotely possible in ‘the real world’.  It is a part of the reason that we all love the theatre: it allows us to move in time in ways we cannot really experience, and explore emotions and ideas which cannot happen in real time.  Opera, of all the types of theatre has often required the greatest acceptance of this premiss – the plots are usually totally ridiculous, and not many of us live our entire lives in song… (think of Mimi in Puccini’s La Boheme, or Violetta in La Traviata, who have to sing HUGE arias, featuring many excessively high notes, whilst dying of consumption – a disease which leaves you unable to breathe, thin as a rake, and coughing up blood!)  These roles were often tackled by larger ladies, who were far from ‘consumptive’ in their appearance.  Opera audiences have happily accepted for many many years that singers are cast in operas for their ability to sing, rather than their physical suitability for the role.  Think of the celebrated Pavarotti, who for many years played the roles of young nubile lovers whilst weighing upwards of 30 stone – no-one complained that he was not believable in the role….!

It is perhaps this final point which riled so many singers and teachers when they read the reviews of Der Rosenkavalier.  In a world where physical appearance has become such a focus that everywhere young girls and boys are developing alarming body image issues at ever younger ages, Opera has been the one remaining bastion of the idea that talent counts for more than appearance.  Whilst there has been a move in recent years to at least have a sense of credibility when casting singers, and certainly there is now a requirement that singers have some acting skills as well as a fabulous voice, no-one has ever expected singers to look like super models as well.  

Back in 2003, the well known singer Deborah Voigt was sacked by the Royal Opera House for being too fat.  Again this story received much media attention.  People were truly shocked that such a renowned singer had been sacked over her appearance.  Ms Voigt went on to have gastric band surgery and has since performed at the ROH a number of times, as part of her glittering international career. She claims that she did not have the surgery as a result of being fired, but admits that as Covent Garden still had to honour her contract, she used the fees from the work she never did to pay for the operation.

In the Opera world at least, this unpleasant new focus also appears to be focused on the women.  No doubt, it will be followed in due course by a requirement that all but the most vile of characters (such as the Baron von Ochs in Rosenkavalier) be portrayed by the most handsome of young men. However, the sexism of male critics openly discussing their opinion of the physical appearance of a young woman which smacks of beauty-contest type prejudice is not balanced by equally disparaging views of the male singers who could do with shedding a few pounds.  

Of course there are now many glamorous and attractive opera singers of both genders who are carving successful performance careers across the world which is fine, and has certainly helped to convince younger audiences that opera isn’t all about stereotypical ‘fat lady singing with horns on her head’.  However, it is deeply saddening to think that as well as spending years of effort and money on singing lessons, acting coaching, language coaching, movement coaching and of course hours and hours of practice, singers must now all miraculously look marvellous at all times too.  

Tara Erraught’s performance as Octavian is vocally fabulous.  She covers the wide vocal range demanded by Strauss with ease and grace.  Her sound blends beautifully in the finale with the other two soprano voices, and yet is unique enough to be identified when the large ensembles are on stage.  She is a consummate actress, balancing the adolescent enthusiasm and vigour with indignant rage towards Baron von Ochs, is tender, earnest, flighty and all that this role requires in turn.  The entire cast is stellar, and Kate Royal as the Marschallin, Teodora Gheorghiu as Sophie make a perfect trio with Tara Erraught in the finale.  My favourite performance was given by the inestimable Lars Woldt as Baron von Ochs – disgusting, lecherous and slimy in the most perfect manner… Don’t take my word for it however!  You can watch it online until 15th June here and form your own opinion.

Hopefully the backlash from readers, singers and those involved in the performance arena will make the critics think next time about where they place the blame if they dislike something about the performance.  Singers have a hard enough time in their careers, and it is something of which I have always been proud that the Classical music fraternity were always more interested in substance over style.  I hope that this reverts back to being the case, and thank the casting director of Glyndebourne for selecting such an exciting group of singers for the production, as well as the singers for creating a memorable and musically satisfying performance which will doubtless be remembered for long after the issues over Tara Erraught’s vital statistics are forgotten.

In recent weeks most of my students have been involved in some form of performance or other.  For some, this was their first foray into public performance, and for others one of a long list of recital opportunities they have experienced.  

I am a firm believer that performance is a huge part of learning to be a musician, and consequently encourage all my pupils to participate in the opportunities for singing in public which are available to them – even if they are reticent to do so!  I am fortunate that in both places where I work there are a wide range of performing opportunities open to my students ‘on the doorstep’, but I also make an effort to provide them with other ways to develop their skills when and where appropriate by encouraging them to participate in music festivals, competitions, external concerts and masterclasses.

The art of ‘performance’ is so much more than singing (or playing!) a piece of music in front of people – and it really is an Art.  Whilst I took part in many school concerts when I was younger, and considered myself an ‘experienced’ performer, it was not until I was at University and studying singing with more focus that I began to really understand how many things contribute towards a polished and poised performance.

Of course, the piece of music – and one’s rendition of it – is central to the success of any performance.  It is this which is the focus of lessons and practice time for the person on stage, and what the audience turn up for.  Without a piece which is well prepared, all the ‘fripperies’ of stagecraft (or how to perform well) are almost pointless – which is why so few teachers concern themselves with the ‘extras’ until much further into the learning process.  Having learned the hard way how important these other things are, I have made a concerted effort to educate my students from their very first performance so that they learn the basics initially, and then develop them along with their technique.  Naturally my expectations increase along with the technical demands of their repertoire, and thus performance confidence grows alongside the technique.

So, what are the extras which might need taking into consideration?  The way you look (how you dress – not the need for a crash diet or Botox!), the way you walk on stage, the manner in which you introduce your performance, how you interact with the accompanist(s)/ orchestra / conductor, the way you cope with ‘blips’ in the performance, how you acknowledge appreciation, and the way in which you leave your stage are all included in what we loosely term as ‘Stagecraft’.  

And how do I teach these things?  Naturally much of this is taught as I discuss a performance in the weeks leading up to it during lessons.  My students practise their introductions before singing their pieces, we discuss what they will wear, and they rehearse with their pianists so we can iron out any problems.  We also discuss how to deal with things that might go wrong, and develop coping mechanisms.  After a performance we de-brief, talking about how that particular performance went, and what the student can learn for the next time.  

The students at school also have an annual Performance Class.  This is taken by one of the vocal teachers in the department, and is organised in small groups of students by year group.  The girls meet with the teacher and allocate one lesson slot to a discussion of these issues, consolidated by the opportunity to put what they have talked about into practice in front of the rest of the group.  This is an excellent forum for all students and teachers.  The students are in a relaxed environment where they can practise the skills they are developing, and gain instant feedback on how well they achieved their objectives.  Ideas instigated in lessons are the object of specific focus, and the students leave the session better prepared for the next time these skills are required.  For the staff it gives the opportunity to see other students of other teachers, gain new ideas, think about good teaching practice, and encourages discussion within the department about development of students.  It also allows the teachers to observe students in a different way – taking a step back and seeing them afresh.

There are many studies and articles written by academics about the benefits of musical education on all aspects of academic life.  The Stagecraft skills practised by my students naturally adapt to any form of public speaking or dramatic performance, as well as developing confidence and awareness of interacting and working with others, the importance of appearance when in formal situations, and the simple ability to stand in front of others and present.  What a fantastic skill set to establish in any person! 

Apologies for the radio silence – things were somewhat manic at the end of term, and then there was a holiday… still, I promise to try and post more regularly!

Many of my students get exceedingly bored by me constantly talking about the words in their songs.  Of course, text is something which is totally unique to singers amongst musicians, and something which instrumentalists rarely, if ever, have to consider when preparing their pieces.  Whilst my students must often despair as I once again ask: ‘So, what’s this song about?’ it is vital to any singer to have this thought at the centre of all they do with their song.

Back in March at the Audrey Hyland Masterclass at the Academy, as well as confronting the singers with ‘WHY?’ (see earlier post) she talked about the idea of a ‘tree of words’.  Whenever a lyricist, librettist, or poet sets out to compose their text they have an infinite number of words to choose from to convey their ideas.  One of the wonderful things about language is simply the vast range of options available to us, each of which has its own subtle nuance from other possible synonyms.   Audrey suggested that to remain fully connected to the text at all times, the singer should put themselves in the place of the poet, and reach out and choose each word they sing, as though selecting it from a ‘tree of possibilities’ for the very first time.  When singers really do this, the audience is totally convinced that they are feeling these emotions personally and ‘in the moment’, rather than a performance having a sense of having been learned and prepared (although of course, any performance has indeed been very carefully thought through beforehand!).

As well as considering the immediate text in front of them, the singer must also research the context of their song.  If it comes from an opera or oratorio, it is part of a narrative, and thus to be fully convincing, they must be aware of the ‘backstory’ and of what happens as a consequence of their song or aria.  

If the song is in a foreign language, singers must hunt down an accurate translation (not just relying on a florid English translation which fits the music!) so that they understand every word and nuance as if the piece were in their native tongue.  This certainly requires much effort, but is essential if you wish to sing your piece with connection and understanding.

It is often with pieces in English that we are most lazy however.  We assume an understanding without analysis of the text, and it is often some weeks into the process of learning a new piece that my students finally stop to consider what it is they are actually singing.  The assumption that we know how to pronounce all the words is particularly dangerous; we are careless in our attention to detail, and words frequently get lost because we are lazy in our enunciation of each syllable.  

I am a stickler for word clarity (much to the irritation of every one of my students!) and firmly believe that if the words cannot be heard clearly, then there is no point in singing anything other than a vowel.  I myself was trained with this thought, and cannot (nor would I wish to!) un-think it, or take it as anything other than central to good singing technique.

Achieving word clarity is simple: you have to work the lips, teeth and tongue as if trying to make words intelligible to a deaf old lady sitting at the back of your performance space.  If you can be lip-read from a distance, you are probably working hard enough!

This weekend at the Abingdon Festival I was delighted to have my students adjudicated by Ann Lampard.  She cares hugely about words being projected correctly and that students should understand the context of what they are singing – as well as singing repertoire with text appropriate for their age and maturity!  Ann discussed these issues at length with some students in their Masterclasses, and quoted none other than Dame Janet Baker, who once said to her:

‘There is absolutely no point in being able to sing sixteen bars of music in one breath, if you have nothing meaningful to say’.

What a wonderful thought for all of those students out there who don’t see the point of caring about the words!

Last weekend one of my students took part in a Masterclass with Audrey Hyland at the Junior Royal Academy of Music.  This was a fantastic opportunity for the students to get new and alternative insights into singing and learn from observing each other.  It was also an opportunity for the singing teachers to sit back and listen objectively to the performances given, and see their students react to new and different approaches.  The whole afternoon was a real pleasure, and Audrey had a couple of very useful thoughts to do with preparing for performance, and I have been discussing them with some of my St Helen’s pupils this week.

Audrey talked a lot about the preparation for performance, something which many of the singers at my school will be considering in basic terms in their Performance Classes this year.  Beyond the basic stage craft issues (perhaps more on this another time!), Audrey encouraged each student to approach every song they are singing with the question ‘WHY’? : Why has the composer chosen to set this text? Why have they written the introduction in they way they have? Why is it in that key? Why is there a rest in that phrase? Why does the melody move in that direction at that point? Why does it speed up or slow down there? Why are the dynamics marked as they are?…  

There are two significant benefits of approaching a song in this way:  The first is that this kind of thought leads to a naturally heightened sense of observation and retention of musical detail.  If the singer is observing performance markings, phrasing, musical line and other details in the score immediately, they will get a much more accurate idea of the shape and feel of the song – even if they have yet to sing it.  When they come to reading it through for the first few times they are more likely to think about the piece musically – and consequently it will still sound musical, even if the odd note or rhythm is a little uncertain.

Secondly, if a song is approached in this fashion it is much easier for the singer to get to the ‘nitty-gritty’ of what the song is about, and to understand the mood they are trying to create quickly.  I always try and encourage my students to think about what their song is about as soon as they are given the music, and despite me discussing this with each of them every time we approach a new piece, it is amazing how few of them consider the words before prompted to do so.  If a singer has not engaged with the text in an analytical manner, and reached conclusions about the emotional journey of the text and the mood of the piece then they will never be able to convince an audience that they are singing with true emotional connection.

As someone who works primarily with young singers (under the age of 25ish) I am only too aware of the negative effects of endless practical work on the voice.  For young voices, much practice could and should be done away from the piano, without making any sound.  Singers who analyse and absorb the musical map of the score and internalise the text will find that practice in a more traditional sense becomes more speedy and far more effective.  They will also be able to sing with a real emotional connection in performance, confident that the text is burned into their brain and their technique is solid.  At this point they can let go, and concentrate on the present emotion, meaning every word as if it has just come to them that moment.  It is these performances which take the breath away!

Practice is always a contentious issue with students and teachers, and I’m sure that most students feel like their teachers are never satisfied with the amount of practice they have done.  In fact, you don’t have to do lots of practice if you learn to work efficiently: listen carefully, analyse, and correct mistakes as soon as they are noted.  

The question is: How do we know if we are practising efficiently?

Endless mindless repetition is not the key!  Each time we approach practice we should reflect on the last time we looked at this piece.  If it’s new, one might need to consider the basic nuts and bolts of the music – the notes and rhythm.  Going through both carefully and slowly until we are certain they are accurate gives a solid foundation to build upon.  Learning a thing correctly the first time saves a lot of difficulty.  It is far harder to ‘unlearn’ a thing and then relearn it, than to learn it correctly the first time! 

If the piece is a song (as the case with my own students) I expect them to look at the words, read the poem, think about the phrasing, and the meaning.  If it’s in a foreign language they should find a translation immediately – one should never sing a piece if you don’t know what it means!  

Once the piece is more familiar there will doubtless be areas of weakness which have been worked upon in a lesson.  Think about any markings which were made in the score, and make sure any small inaccuracies in notes and rhythm are correct EVERY time you sing that passage.  If one small passage is repeatedly wrong, take it slowly and stop as soon as you make a mistake.  Work on the two or three notes surrounding the difficult bit.  Sing it through SEVERAL times in succession.  If it’s still wrong, go back and do it again.  Until it is right.  Several times in succession.  Then put the phrase in context with the bit directly before and after it.  If it’s still not right, go back again!  

You should also consider the technique ideas which were mentioned or worked on in the lesson.  Why were you doing those exercises, and how did they help?  Try doing them again, and applying them to the piece you are working on. If you don’t understand why you’re doing a particular exercise in a lesson, then ask your teacher so that they can clarify!

If one thing isn’t going well today, leave it and choose something else to work on.  This doesn’t mean you should give up immediately, but if you’re becoming demoralised and stressed then you will not be in the best mental place to work effectively.  If necessary, go away and do something completely different for a while, and come back to the music later.  It’s much better to do this than build up frustration and negativity.

If you don’t have much time to practice in one go, that’s fine.  Break it up into smaller amounts of time, but use each session to focus on one particular technique idea, or one section of the piece.  That way you will be more focused on something specific, will feel more motivated, and get more done.  In fact, I really advocate practising for no longer than 20 minutes at a time.  Short bursts of practice makes it much easier to concentrate as you know that you won’t be there for hours ‘until you get it right’.

Finally, finish your practice session by playing or singing the piece all the way through.  Listen to your performance and assess what has improved, and what still needs work.  Make a note on your music or in a notepad, so that you can get straight back to it when you next have time to work on the music.  If you do this, you will know if you are practising efficiently.  You will be able to recognise what you have achieved, as well as areas which still need work.  You will also be able to start your next lesson well, as you will be in a position to discuss concerns or areas of difficulty with your teacher clearly and accurately, so that they can help you.

Most people practice until they get something right.  The best type of practice is to work at something until it never goes wrong.  It is only this second method of practice which will guarantee the secure technical grounding necessary to really let go in performance and produce the very best levels of musicianship. 

One of the hardest things to teach my pupils has always been sight singing.  Many teachers avoid the issue completely and hope that somehow their students will miraculously work out HOW to sight read by osmosis, or a process of lucky guess work.  As someone who ‘learned’ this way I know it to be deeply unsatisfactory, and I was left after years of lessons with a deep seated insecurity about my ability to sight sing, especially when under pressure in audition or examination situations.  Given that the suggestion to practice sight singing in lessons is often greeted by as much enthusiasm by teacher as pupil, it is hardly surprising that this tendency to hope for the best rather than work out a practical method to help is the norm for most vocal teachers I have met.

There are lots of ‘methods’ out there which claim to make sight singing fun, relevant and easy, and I have tried many out over the past ten years.  Whilst many offer insights into ways which might help certain students, or deal with specific difficulties with useful tips, most are difficult to grasp, and leave students almost as confused as the ‘keep-your-fingers-crossed-and-pray’ approach.  Not one of them could be honestly described as ‘fun’!

My favourite example of this which I encountered in my early searches encouraged students to memorise a well known melody or song which started with each possible musical interval you may come across in a song (e.g.. a major 3rd would be known by ‘While Shepherds watched their flocks by night’, or a perfect 5th by ‘twinkle, twinkle, little star’).  The idea was that when presented with an unfamiliar tune, one could access each interval by thinking of the relevant song, and humming the first two notes.  Fine, for the first two notes of the unfamiliar piece (ok, C to G, that’s a perfect 5th… ‘twinkle, twinkle’…. but then you have to think of the next interval, and the next, and this is taking into NO account any rhythm, or tempo marking, or allowing you to keep a sense of ‘home key’.  Go on, I urge you to try this with a random piece of music you have to hand….bet you don’t get further than about 3 notes in, before collapsing in a heap and requiring a cup of tea!)

In my search for a better solution to this perennial problem, spurred on by a frustration that my own pupils usually gained brilliant marks in pieces and aural tests in examinations, and yet were frequently let down by a disappointing sight singing mark, I rather rashly volunteered to start a ‘sight singing club’ at school.  This idea was met by enthusiasm by all the other singing staff, and many of my other colleagues, who felt that this could help instrumentalists cope better with the sight singing sections of the aural tests in examinations, as well as develop a better ‘inner ear’ and overall musicianship.  Fantastic.  Now all I had to do was find a way of teaching sight singing to groups of students of different ages and abilities…  

As with all such problems in life, my first response was to read some books on the subject.  I took home all the dusty sight singing method books from school, read some stuff on the internet and browsed the shelves of Blackwells Music shop for inspiration. It was here that I found a book written on the Kodály method, and whilst a somewhat weighty tome, I had heard good things about the system from other musicians, and was interested to know more about its application.

Kodály was a Hungarian composer, who fed up with his fellow musicians’ inability to cope with basic sight singing and sight reading tasks developed a pedagogy to improve musicianship, the inner ear, and sight reading stemming from the root of his Nation’s Folk heritage.  After years of research and thought, Kodály approached his government who allowed him to operate his new system in one school as a trial.  Alongside language, science and maths, music was given equal precedence in the timetable.  Results in all subjects improved dramatically, and the standard of musicianship was markedly better.  Kodály was allowed to implement his system in more Hungarian schools, and again both academic and musical results improved hugely across the board (see, Mr. Gove – another reason why musical education is SO vital!)  With such a record of success, Kodály managed to get the Hungarian government to implement his system of musical education across the whole country.  Whilst not every Hungarian would consider themselves a musician, nearly every citizen today can sight sing a melody presented to them.  

I decided that this might be the solution to the problem (how amazing if every student of mine could sight sing any melody they were given!), and instantly set about reading more, teaching myself some basics, and acquiring some teaching aids for use with the sight singing club and my pupils in lessons.

The system is based on the solfege scale, which allows recognition of the separate intervals which form a scale (and is thus transferable into any key).  It takes a little while to establish, but once firmly fixed in the brain gives the singer ‘memory hooks’ to be able to work out the intervals in a piece without constantly referring to any other interval than the tonic.  As a teaching tool it relies on kinesthetic learning, as well as aural and visual cues, and is therefore accessible to most students.

It’s true that in Hungary (and in fact across the world where this system is now implemented) most pupils start to ‘study’ almost from birth, and therefore each interval can be introduced slowly and fully embedded over a period of months before adding the next idea.  I don’t usually have that luxury, and my students are generally of an age where repeating one interval for longer than about 2 minutes leaves them bored and frustrated.  

The sight singing club has grown from a very small membership to a much bigger group in recent months.  Some come for just a few weeks in preparation for the examination, and in these cases, instilling Kodály’s sol-fa technique often takes too long.  However, the basic principles can be applied by anyone, and nearly always make a significant difference to the pupils’ ability to read rhythm fluently, and pitch intervals with more accuracy.  Some girls have found it so useful that they have started coming to the club ‘for fun’ so that they can improve their confidence over a longer period of time, and it is these girls that will feel the greatest benefit.  

It is so exciting to see a student who is unable to read basic rhythms, and tackle a simple scale-based exercise after a minute of prior study transform into someone able to read dotted rhythms and pitch intervals of up to a fifth with no preparation time in the space of a few minutes.  Often this initial transformation occurs within one or two lessons or sessions in the sight singing club!  Whilst the system needs perseverance to become completely useful at all levels of sight singing (and this commitment is not often forthcoming in younger students) it is lovely to see so many of the girls approach sight singing tests with a higher degree of confidence in their ability to make a reasonable attempt at the task ahead, and a smile on their face!

I don’t claim that any system is a substitute for practice (or perfect pitch!), but it seems to me that Kodály certainly seemed to know something about teaching.  I will continue to learn more about the method, and am seriously considering investing on going on one of the Kodály Academy’s intensive training courses. In the meantime I look forward to seeing many more girls in the sight singing club over the coming months. 

The British Kodály Acadamy (www.britishkodalyacademy.org) has more information if you want to read more about Kodály or the method!

Teaching a number of my students this week has led me to reflect on perfectionism.  Whilst in many ways a desire to achieve the highest possible standards is a welcome and positive character trait in students, there are some ways in which an inability to accept that mistakes and flaws are part of the learning and creative process can really hinder progress.

Working in a high achieving school is in most ways a joy.  My students are polite, motivated, supported by parental interest and instilled with a recognition that education is a good thing.  However, when this desire to ‘do well’ tips over into despondency when students perceive that they are not ‘achieving’ as well as their peers, or even as well as they can as an individual, a perfectionist character can really suffer.

Today I taught L, a young singer who shows huge amounts of promise in her singing, and has already achieved a high level of technical control for someone her age.  Last week, I gave her a new piece to look at, and she arrived at the lesson having got to grips with the basic notes and rhythm.  Before she even sang it through she apologised that it ‘wouldn’t be very good!’  L proceeded to sing the song with a good legato line, mostly open vowel shapes, and a lovely open tone, with only a few slips on the very highest notes, and some breath control problems in the longest phrases.  “See” she announced as the last notes of the accompaniment died away, “That was rubbish”.  

Rather than allowing this negative line of thought to continue, I asked L to think of three things she had done well in her performance, before she was allowed to mention anything else that she felt was ‘rubbish’.  When she thought about it, there were several things she was able to mention (although a few criticisms did slip in too!).  Once she had analysed her performance with a more friendly pair of ears (I call this the ‘audience perspective’: no-one ever goes to a concert hoping to hear a bad performance, and therefore your average audience is far more likely to focus on the positive aspects of anyone’s performance than the mistakes), I allowed her to focus on one or two things to work on, so that she was happier with her performance the next time through (the ‘examiner/adjudicator perspective’: one who listens for points to improve, as well as praise).  These problem areas then became the focus for the rest of the lesson.  At the end of our time she sang through the piece again, and we went through the same process.  L was able to hear that some things had improved whilst others still needed work – and of course those are the things that she will be practising this week!

Of course, in order to become a better musician it is important to develop critical awareness and the ability to step back from your performance and look for areas which need improvement.  It is these skills which form the basis for practice, and help us to make changes necessary to improve. However, this criticism must be tempered with an ability to recognise what is good in our performing, so that we are able to keep doing those things well, whilst making changes to other areas of our playing or singing.  A student who is too critical of their performance can be just as destructive as one who cannot hear anything which needs improving.  The creative arts can be punishing if you only see and hear the negative side of things, and a lack of positivity can crush one’s enjoyment and love of the activity completely.  

A ‘perfect’ performance is nigh impossible to achieve; even the greatest performers and musicians say that the number of these truly ‘perfect’ performances can be counted on the fingers of one hand in a lifetime (and even then don’t always coincide with an actual public performance!)  Evidently, those students looking for perfection so early in their musical development are going to have a very hard time of it…  

So to L, and all students who give yourselves too hard a time: remember that is is natural and healthy to make mistakes on the road to making your performances the best they can be.  Allow yourselves to make errors.  Hear them.  Try not to repeat them. Finally, forgive yourself when you do, pick yourself back up again, and keep trying!  Be a little more gentle on yourself, for in life there will always be other people who will gladly offer you criticism – even if and when you don’t ask for it.