PSYCHOLOGY TEACHING AND LEARNING

Although a teacher of singing should be able to demonstrate the correct solution of a problem, this is not always possible. This is particularly true of women teaching male singers with changed voices how to sing in the high voice mechanism. Many women teachers of singing state that they do not know how to teach men how to sing in the high voice, particularly the approach through the falsetto quality. There is in female voices no quality comparable to falsetto, which can be used for demonstration purposes, to afford at least a better understanding of how to change from the falsetto quality to what sounds like a continuation of the lower and middle voice qualities. Teachers of singing should know not only what to teach to reach the goals,49

As an alternative to participation in a class in the teaching of singing, the teacher is dependent upon his ability to listen creatively (see Chapter VII on psycho-physiological approach) and to solve problems not covered by his past experience as a singer or as a teacher. His ability to find answers to these problems will be dependent upon his insight into how the vocal mech¬anism works. He should also have a reasonable ability to demonstrate what but also be able to recognize the quality of a good performance. This is not too difficult to judge in many respects. Good quality, clear diction, ease of production, convincing interpretative power, good breath control, fine music¬ianship — these qualities are usually quite obvious. In order to understand what is going on technically, a teacher must literally be able to "see with his ears."

This involves knowing how the vocal mechanism works. The first principle of guidance is to make certain that a student has a clear understanding of the goals or objectives to be reached. The most im¬portant goal in the study of singing is normal resonance quality. The whole dynamic process of correct vocal production is dependent on this quality; in other words, clear diction, agility, dynamic control, range development, breath support and control, interpretation and good vocal condition, are all dependent upon normal resonance quality. The ultimate goal is the vocal ability to sing the song literature for one's particular type of voice, musically and interpretatively.

Learning how to sing maybe said to be a modification of behavior through experiences in singing. The progress of a student in learning how to sing will be dependent upon how the teacher is able to direct him into meaningful experiences as a basis for learning. If left to himself the student seeks im¬mediate progress, and usually tries the first method he stumbles on. Learn¬ing how to sing correctly, however, is not just a matter of learning quickly. It involves co-ordinating and integrating the processes of respiration, phona-tion, articulation, and resonation into a particular pattern of vocal product¬ion, all of which takes time. It is, in the final analysis, a matter of learning the act of singing as a whole, in contrast to learning to perfect each process through the use of limited exercises.