Posted 7 months, 3 weeks ago at 6:03 pm. 2 comments
I have a voice student who only communicates effectively through her MySpace account. Emails and phone calls don’t work when trying to reach her.
One student communicates solely through text messages. Her mother I can ONLY contact through land-line (no email, text, cell phone messages – although she has that capability).
When I was in college (early 1990’s!), I would try to call home and the line would be busy – my mother was on the internet! So, I’d send her an email and 5 minutes later, I’d get a phone call. When I graduated for college, one of the running jokes was that we were going to grad school so that we could continue to have an email account (hotmail was JUST in its infancy, Windows 3.0 had just come out and Gmail wasn’t even a thought in Google’s nonexistent eye).
via www.telephoneart.com
Nowadays we have SO many options to reach one another that frequently we are communicating TO other people rather than WITH others. Blogs (like this one, for instance) often tend to talk a lot without having conversations. I am trying to raise my “presence” as a blogger so as to increase my conversations, but don’t want to monetize the blog. I just want to communicate with more people! So, it’s a slow process.
I use Twitter (via Seesmic Desktop – which integrates my Facebook updates) to find cool information. I’ve found some really amazing people out there who have worthwhile information. I started by following a few really interesting people I’d run across while doing web searches (it started with Chris Foley at The Collaborative Piano Blog). Then, I went through who THEY were following and followed them too. Chris Brogan is the social media guru I ran across through Chris Foley (I’ve subscribed to both of their email RSS feeds for almost 2 years now). Between the two of them, I’m covering a large portion of musicians and social media information. Through this method, I now have over 1000 followers on Twitter (which I’ve only seriously been using since March 2009) and am “following” over 1000. It’s not easy keeping up, so I don’t try to follow everyone.
With Seesmic Desktop, I can do a search for my favorite “tweeple.” I then keep those searches at the side and can pull them out at any time to view what they’ve been saying recently. I also go through my stream at least once daily. I then use an application called TweetLater to send out interesting links that I’ve found at spaced out intervals (I’ll sit down at Twitter for about 20 minutes, but send out links that post on my schedule – I choose about 1 per hr throughout the day). Seesmic then lets me know if/when someone responds to my tweet.
Posted 8 months, 3 weeks ago at 1:39 am. 4 comments
Trying something new…
I’ve been working on promoting and building my studio for the past month. I got MANY great ideas at the Classical Singer Convention in Chicago at the end of May, thanks to Cynthia Vaughn at Magnolia Music Studio in Fort Collins, CO. Cynthia has SO many amazing ideas and she worked with several other voice teachers to try to get as many as possible so that we could benefit from all this experience.
Several points were made:
* Attract & Retain students
* Show progress with
* quantifiable advances
* awards/competitions
* roles/solos – community based
* technical goals achieved
* Have a Student Achievement Page on the studio website
* Relevance – non-quantifiable advances in:
* enjoyment
* validation
* feedback/applause – studio class BEFORE a recital!
* Added Value:
* Options in scheduling and payment (check/credit card/PayPal)
* bonuses – register early, get 10% off, register for summer & get free lesson
* performance opportunities – find out who has space you can use!
* Gain New Students
Word of mouth through different circles
teach styles OTHER than Classical/Musical Theater
* Marketing:
Bold, creative, SELECTIVE (no mass emails!)
Distinctive logo (see my new logo here!) & business cards
* GOOGLE yourself & find out where you are listed – you might be surprised at what’s there AND what’s not! (I have an OLD listing that I’m trying to modify – the web address leads nowhere)
* Advertising??
* Facebook Advertising – can limit yourself to a small daily $$ & focus the market
* Facebook Fan Page
* I’ve tried Craigslist & gotten several spam emails and one VERY rude call from a potential student (she decided I was too far away – but by the 3rd word I’d decided I didn’t want to teach her)
o EASY website address/email
o Ask friends from around the country to come in & do special classes. Just ask, “What would it take to get you here?”
o Sight-reading workshops, songwriters, ticketed events => benefits? (get tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com)
o Making Music Magazine – they’ll send a free subscription for you to hand out to your students
o Logo products and merchandise – it’s free marketing!! $15/ea or $25/2, tote bags & t-shirts
o advertise in an opera/community/young people’s theater program (maybe not as expensive as you might think)
“Voice Lessons may be your students’ hobby, but you can never treat it like a hobby. It’s a BUSINESS and maybe, even a calling.” — Cynthia Vaughn
What do we as music professionals owe our students?
I just came back from the Classical Singer Convention in Chicago. I heard some AMAZING singing and some really good singing. Unfortunately, I also heard some excruciatingly bad singing – from people who are trying to make it in the singing business. This means that they spent the money to attend the convention (fees, hotel, flights…), they are paying for voice lessons and coachings, and somebody is telling them that they are ready for a professional career.
When I teach, I try to make sure that I am honest with my students about their possibilities. I can teach anyone to sing. I cannot make them practice. I cannot overcome certain physical characteristics. I do have several students who have potential and might want a career. I have other students who tell me that they want careers in singing, but don’t practice. Do I have the right, ever, to smash someone’s dream? But, I also have the responsibility to let my student know that they might be wasting their time in pursuit of the goal of being a professional singer. I will NEVER tell my student that they “can’t sing,” as I believe everyone is able to sing (even if just in the shower). I think, though, that I do need to gently let them know that their goals are possibly not within reach – if they don’t have the vocal strength/stamina, dedication to practicing, physical qualifications. Many necessary skills can be learned and improved on. If you REALLY want it, I believe that you should try your hardest. This, though, includes clear self-honesty on YOUR part. You cannot make it in this business and be delusional about your flaws or bad habits.
That being said, I think that students MUST be aware of their voice and take responsibility for their training. Do you record your lessons and listen with a critical ear? This doesn’t mean being hard on yourself & deciding you are a horrible singer. Do you just like your teacher and are impressed with them, or are you REALLY improving? Does your voice, honestly, compare with those currently performing the same repertoire (and getting paid for it & re-hired for it)? If not, what do you need to do to get up to that level? Is your teacher guiding you in this path? Are you REALLY making enough progress to be able to achieve your goals within a reasonable time?
Things to beware of with teachers, no matter their qualifications:
Being on Stage – Could You Please Get Your Hair Out of Your Eyes?!
Musings mid-week after several weeks of attending singing performances of many different kinds…
When I speak of performances, I am NOT talking about playing a role in a show, but rather, playing YOU on stage in performance, not an audition, but an actual performance!
I write this BEGGING YOU, the performer to PLEASE begin considering your performance. We don’t come out of the womb knowing these things, they need to be taught and rehearsed, and I humbly ask you to begin exploring them for yourself, and if you don’t know ASK! ASK ME!
Could you please learn your material? Do I have to ask that? ehem, yes I do…Learn how to practice – technically, musically, linguistically, dramatically – so your material is SOLID. Don’t assume it will be, practice PERFORMING it.
Learn how to take stage. I mean PHYSICALLY take stage. How do you claim your space? How do you stand? How do you move? If you can’t answer it, you can’t do it; if you can answer it and can’t do it, you need to PRACTICE it!
Dress appropriately. Please. Know the venue, and the occasion and figure it out. This isn’t an audition, and you aren’t going to the hardware store, or meeting friends for drinks. You are performing and you are presenting the best YOU for public consumption. My dear colleague, Cindy Sadler, has written some marvellous findings on proper dress for opera auditions – please check that out!
So I add to that in performance setting, be it orchestral, recital, concert, cabaret settings…
Posted 9 months, 1 week ago at 10:44 am. 1 comment
Over the past several weeks I have asked my colleagues in person and via Facebook and Twitter: “During the Symphony for the Schools concert this morning at the beginning the kids applauded at 4-5 places during “Ride of the Valkyries” (1st piece). They were naturally applauding high points in the music. It made me start wondering. But, by the end, they weren’t applauding but were sitting restlessly. SHOULD we be so sure of ourselves & the importance of our presentation that we don’t allow the audience to participate in one of the only acceptable ways they have – applause? I’d LOVE to continue this conversation. I know I hate not being able to hear all the nuances of the music, but are we helping put the elitist label on classical music by proscribing when audiences can submit their input on the performance?”
Here is my Facebook Summary of responses:
“It’s always been weird but like with a cycle or set applause between each song would be tedious and also be distracting to the performer. So we hold off.”
“What if they want to applaud while you’re singing, like on American Idol or Sabado Gigante?”
“Yeah that’s annoying. I hate when you can’t hear them singing.”
Posted 9 months, 1 week ago at 9:24 pm. 4 comments
I love my husband. I’m here at the Classical Singer Convention in Chicago and he’s home with the girls (thank God he’s also got lots of family support). I sang on a Master Class with Stage Director James Marvel
Rachel & James Marvel in Chicago
this morning and did REALLY well (got lots of positive comments after & throughout the afternoon!). He helped me by suggesting that I play the aria (“Smanie implacabili” from Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte) as a silent film – I HAD to communicate without actually making sound. Then, in the late afternoon, I went to a session led by artist managers Robert Mirshak (President of Mirshak Artists Management) & Kristin Cowdin (Artist Manager at Guy Barzilay Artists). I got back to the hotel room at the Westin O’Hare and was somewhat depressed about the realities of the situation – especially financial commitments that I will need to make.
Yes, I sing the most beautiful music in the world (thank you Mark Stoddard for that quote!). Yes, I am a very good singer who is ready to be out there working and performing. The reality of it all is that I DON’T live in New York City. I am lucky enough to have friends I can stay with whenever I need a place, but getting the plane ticket from Phoenix to NYC is not easy. If I DO get management (my current goal), I need to be able to get to New York or other places relatively quickly. But, I don’t have money saved in the bank for that. So, what can I do?
First, I called my husband. He said “If you want to feel sorry for yourself, come home now. Otherwise, just get up and do what you can.” That, of course (as he well knew), kicked in my contrarian side and I got off my duff & went & practiced. As for the travel situation, I am asking everyone I know if they have any frequent flyer miles they are willing to use to purchase me a ticket.
Every time I find something new that works for me in my own practice, I try it out on my students. Here’s my latest – the BOSU ball. It’s basically an exercise ball cut in half (& on a sturdy platform – you can turn it
BOSU in the Voice Studio
over and stand on the flat part, too). But, just standing on the thing works your core muscles. A MUST for singers. I’ve been using the BOSU to really work on my core muscles (needed after 2 C-sections!) and had a brainstorm that I wanted one of my students to use it.
This student is a high school student, but will likely develop into a dramatic soprano of great strength & power. The thing about those voices is that they REALLY need a lot of control as they are often called upon to have great subtlety as well as great power. So, I’ve called upon the BOSU to help her activate her core muscles. It’s helped a LOT and she’s really happy with the results (although sore at the end of the lesson.
Other tricks I’ve utilized lately in my studio to help my students:
Posted 10 months, 1 week ago at 11:51 pm. 1 comment
Yes, I admit it. I watch American Idol. My husband got me hooked in Season 5, and now I don’t miss it (thank goodness for the DVR!). I find it mesmerizing and, for those who pay attention & know a bit about the business, a great insight into the marathon that is the professional music business.
What is required of the contestants and the constant grind is just amazing. Right now, the final four who are in are all artists that I think are amazing – musically and vocally gifted. I hope that they all have spectacular careers. I love, especially, that Adam Lambert is proving to be such a strong contestant. He shows that a strong background in performance and musical study can really help you to succeed in any business – even the machine that is American Idol.
Posted 10 months, 2 weeks ago at 5:09 pm. 3 comments
After reading Chris Brogan’s post today, “Confidence and the Next Move,” I thought I’d write about how I’m putting myself out there in the next month. I’m working on brand new arias and will be presenting them in two venues within the next month. Since coming back from Italy last summer, I’ve tried to figure out if I’m happy not pursuing a vocal career or if I really NEED to do it. I do. I don’t want to be gone 9 months out of the year, but I DO want to be the person who is known as extremely good and who will do her best.
I’m going to New York on May 20th. My teacher really wanted me to do the Giulio Gari Foundation competition, because he was her teacher. I will make it 3 weeks under the age deadline. I didn’t think I’d be able to afford to go, but I’ve been able to reschedule my students (it’s graduation week anyway), have family help take care of my daughters and my sister bought my ticket. I’d asked if she had any frequent flyer miles with which to purchase me a ticket, but she ended up paying for one for me. THANK YOU! I’m presenting 2 brand new arias – “Augusta’s Aria” from Ballad of Baby Doe and “Solo un pianto” from Medea. Then, I have 2 older arias “Smanie implacabili” and “Nobles seigneurs, salut!.”
Posted 10 months, 2 weeks ago at 1:58 pm. 1 comment
Ah, the never-ending quest for organization of our desks. Or our computers! There is a “new” program out there (it’s been around for several years, but is now really taking off) called BumpTop. It is a 3D virtual desktop for your computer that just overlays your current Windows desktop & allows you to organize information in a more intuitive way. For those, like me, who like to pile, it’s PERFECT!!
Have you always hated to manually organize your files into separate folders? Haven’t you wished you could sort by TYPE of program rather than name? What about an easy way to search through all those icons cluttering your desktop? BumpTop does this.
I ran across BumpTop a few weeks ago when I noticed a tweet on Twitter saying that Mashable (follow @mashable for really good tech news!) was giving away 200 free copies of the pro version (the basic version is free! Pro is only $29.99). A 3D desktop where I can organize quickly & easily with just one mouse movement? I thought it sounded intriguing enough that I entered – and I won a copy!! Interested in this? Well, they’ve created a YouTube video that shows it off.
