- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Epigraph
- 1 Imagery and the Teaching of Singing
- 2 Five Principles for the Successful Teaching of Singing
- 3 <i>Covering</i> in the Singing Voice
- 4 The Open Throat (<i>La gola aperta</i>)
- 5 Breath Management, Diction, and the Vocal Legato
- 6 Diction and Vocal Technique
- 7 The Performer as Voice Teacher
- 8 Pedagogical Clothing for the Emperor and Empress
- 9 The “Tricky” Teacher
- 10 Woofy Baritones and Tinny Tenors
- 11 McPedagogy
- 12 “What You Need Is More Support!”
- 13 “Simplicity” in Singing
- 14 Teaching <i>Hearing</i> the Voice
- 15 Si canta come si parla?
- 16 How Singing Is <i>Not</i> Like Speaking
- 17 Thinking Phonetically (Values and Pitfalls of the IPA)
- 18 A Parable of the Foolish Baker
- 19 The Choral Conductor as Teacher of Vocal Technique
- 20 The Law of Contingency and Vocal Pedagogies
- 21 To Admire or to Teach?
- 22 Patching the Vocal Garment
- 23 Mysteries and Miracles
- 24 The Flat-Earth School of Vocal Pedagogy
- 25 Sharpening Up Some Old Pedagogical Saws
- 26 Open Windows
- Index
The “Tricky” Teacher
The “Tricky” Teacher
- Chapter:
- 9 The “Tricky” Teacher
- Source:
- On the Art of Singing
- Author(s):
Richard Miller
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This chapter argues that “tricky teaching” not based on principles of mechanical freedom may cause detrimental reactions in the singing voice. Given the diversity of vocal problems and the individuality of the singing voice, it may at times appear that no two voices can be taught in the same general fashion. On the contrary, every voice must obey certain functional laws if freedom is to result. Compensatory “tricks” may randomly be attempted, and on occasion may momentarily serve to correct some technical problem. Imaginative teaching is necessary, but inventive teaching based on chance exploration of adjustments to the singing voice is plain wrong. Too often it is erroneously believed that such “creative” teaching is easier than taking time to learn how the vocal instrument really works. However, all technical suggestions must be judged against the measurement of functional freedom. Playing “tricks” on a singing voice is not part of the game rules of any respectable vocal pedagogy.
Keywords: tricky teaching, mechanical freedom, singing voice, singing, inventive teaching, functional freedom, vocal pedagogy
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- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Epigraph
- 1 Imagery and the Teaching of Singing
- 2 Five Principles for the Successful Teaching of Singing
- 3 <i>Covering</i> in the Singing Voice
- 4 The Open Throat (<i>La gola aperta</i>)
- 5 Breath Management, Diction, and the Vocal Legato
- 6 Diction and Vocal Technique
- 7 The Performer as Voice Teacher
- 8 Pedagogical Clothing for the Emperor and Empress
- 9 The “Tricky” Teacher
- 10 Woofy Baritones and Tinny Tenors
- 11 McPedagogy
- 12 “What You Need Is More Support!”
- 13 “Simplicity” in Singing
- 14 Teaching <i>Hearing</i> the Voice
- 15 Si canta come si parla?
- 16 How Singing Is <i>Not</i> Like Speaking
- 17 Thinking Phonetically (Values and Pitfalls of the IPA)
- 18 A Parable of the Foolish Baker
- 19 The Choral Conductor as Teacher of Vocal Technique
- 20 The Law of Contingency and Vocal Pedagogies
- 21 To Admire or to Teach?
- 22 Patching the Vocal Garment
- 23 Mysteries and Miracles
- 24 The Flat-Earth School of Vocal Pedagogy
- 25 Sharpening Up Some Old Pedagogical Saws
- 26 Open Windows
- Index
