Teaching Rules
There are no simple voice teaching rules that will conquer all difficulties. A multitude of personal qualities enter into any type of teaching or study. A teacher must love to teach, and he must have the aptitude to inspire his students with a genuine love of song. It is true that a mediocre voice can never become an extraordinary one, no matter how hard a teacher may work. But correct placement, musicianship, and interpretation can make a mediocre, small, or limited voice at least acceptable and worth hearing. So much the teacher must give, the intelligent student accept.
I understand the principle by which an automobile runs, but when I am stalled out on the desert, I want a mechanic who knows how to put a motor together and who can tell at a glance what is wrong with my stalled engine. It has been my experience that many teachers, particularly those just starting out on their careers, know a good tone when they hear one, even as I know that my car is running well. But when these teachers try to make a voice better, when a voice is stalled on a desert of ignorance, they seem to lack the knowledge to get it on its way.
Perhaps, my dear young teacher, some of these simple suggestions may strike a forgotten chord.
Simplify your student’s problems by learning what vowel each student finds it easiest to sing. For instance, some work easily with the vowel "ee," while others find this the most difficult vowel with which to attain tone focus.
The student must first grasp the principles of tone "focus" and "point" on the vowel simplest for him, in conjunction with the "ung-oah" , and then must strive for the same sensations while singing all other vowels, and vowel and consonant combinations.