| |
Years ago I drew up a set of “working rules” for the teacher which I had found very useful, and I give them herewith:
1. Make your students like you.
2. Be sure your students trust you and your method.
3. Acknowledge that your students may grow beyond you some day; give them leeway; keep an open mind.
4. […]
Although it is a great pleasure to work with a fresh, unspoiled voice, I sometimes think the experience of salvaging a wrecked voice and restoring it to its original loveliness is even more gratifying. It is a much greater test of the teacher’s knowledge and skill, and is naturally much more difficult; but the ultimate […]
It has always seemed interesting to me that although a student mentally may grasp the method theory as presented by the teacher, true vocal improvement does not come until the student’s subconscious mind has fully accepted the new order of things.
A student may say, "Yes, I understand—No, I have no questions," day after day, […]
There comes a time in the life of every teacher when a student arrives for a voice trial and discloses a splendid yoke. Excited and happy at the prospect of having the chance to work with such fine material, the teacher lets himself go . . . "Yes, indeed, you should study. I feel sure […]
Another highly interesting pupil was a noted baritone. He approached me one night in the lobby of the Metropolitan Opera House and asked if I would give him an audition. He explained that he wanted to be a singer but wasn’t sure that he had a voice or talent enough. If not, he wanted to […]
I had not been teaching long in Russia when a young lady came in for a voice trial. She had a sad story to tell. She wanted to sing, felt that she could, but unfortunately she was the only one who felt that way about it. I heard her sing, thought she had the personality […]
It is sometimes discouraging to find that a student who has been thus turned down has gone to another teacher and been accepted in spite of his lack of necessary qualities. For the honor of our profession it seems dreadful that any student should be so fooled, even though he may well deserve it.
I […]
It is my contention that every student should have a voice trial before he is accepted for a course of lessons. A voice trial is important, for it tells the instructor the type of material he will have to work with and indicates the student’s study and improvement capabilities to some extent. Naturally, every teacher […]
A lady who admired low voices and had studied as a mezzo soprano came for a voice trial one day. She was very discouraged, since whenever she sang, her glottis pained her. It seemed that she had no idea of head tone or tone focus, and as soon as she began to sing in a […]
A young soprano came to my studio one day, declaring that although she had studied with many famous teachers, and in several well-known conservatories, she was unable to sing as she constantly suffered from sore throat. It did not take me long to realize that her voice quality was that of a contralto, albeit one […]