What makes a good music teacher? I’ll tell you from my own experience what made my own teachers extraordinary and influential.
I’ll begin with a ‘prelude’ of what brought me to having piano lessons in the first place. As a young kid, I attended the small village church choir, all girls. It wasn’t very sophisticated and didn’t even include harmony of any kind. Unison singing was so boring to me, that I sang harmony by ear. The director asked where that sound was coming from. I was shy, but spoke up then, and it seemed to be an important moment for my future musical life.
Shortly after that, upon returning from summer camp, I discovered an antique pump organ in our home. I jumped on it and played ‘The First Noel’. My mother announced “You can play by ear”, and decided to send me to piano lessons, although all I had to practice on was this old pump organ, until a few years later when I finally received a real upright piano.
My first teacher, Bev Bachalo, was wonderful, kind and full of humor. She basically taught popular music from the ground up, with a smattering of classical, but nothing really official in this regard. This was the perfect starting place for me, as it encouraged my growing love of contemporary music of the times, with a hint of the more ‘serious’ stuff to come. It was a real balance in my formative years. I think that this approach for any young beginner can reveal a fine indication of which direction they might be headed, avoiding alienation.
Frances Funk (great name) introduced me to the classical world via the Royal Conservatory of Music, with its proper schedule and competitions. I didn’t have to start at the very beginning, as I’d had enough of a grounding. She was also very kind and humorous. At this point, I’d already become obsessed with learning the top forty by ear. I taped them off the AM radio with my cassette recorder. Each week I’d have a new one to play for Mrs. Funk, which she’d request at the end of the formal classical lesson. This atypical encouragement was so valuable in those years of my greatest passion.
After high school graduation, when I moved to the big city, I auditioned to be taught by the most respected piano teacher in Winnipeg (though I can’t recall her name). My dream at the time was to become a concert pianist. She instead recommended that I go for jazz lessons with Wally Meyers. I wasn’t with him for very long, but this again was a turning point. He introduced me to complex chords, voicings and improvisation.
The next logical step was jazz college (Grant MacEwan, Edmonton, AB). I became completely engrossed in this world. The most influential teacher there was Sam Lancaster. His subject was ear training. He introduced an ingenious natural progression that became ever more complex, while at the same time instilling a sense of the magical. For example, one of his assignments was to take a cartoon book, about a circle searching for its missing piece. The adventures of this circle was the basis of a soundtrack we were to write. Mine included a Bb vacuum cleaner. I was the only one in the class to complete this assignment. I guess I saw the creative potential that it inspired.
Then I became professional, joining a jazz/ pop, then a rock band.
Later on, after being a pro for many years, I embarked on a voyage of vocal discovery with the guidance of Don Campbell. This is documented in the free eBook on this site, so I won’t go into detail in this blog post, apart from saying that he is true genius, coaxing the deepest revelations. The ultimate one being that there are no right and wrong answers when it comes to one’s own experience.
Now, what I would say about selecting a teacher, whether it’s for instrumental or vocal study, consider:
* Do they understand your basic leanings, tendencies and current level of ability?
* Do they approach you as an individual or do they ‘stick to the book’ when it comes to exercises, etc.?
* Do they encourage you to explore other related areas of study or do they insist that only they have the ‘right’ method?
* Do they understand anatomy and body function well enough as it applies to your discipline?
* Do they keep up with the changing times, or do they rely on old institutionalized ideas?
We are all unique in the seeds of our talents, and would be wise to choose carefully those who would be our mentors.
CommentThough the term improvisation by itself simply means making up the music as you go along, there are many systems around it, culturally and historically.
I’d like to present a few of them here, both instrumental and vocally based.
A great video series was made back in 1992 about this topic. You can view parts 1 and 3 here. (Note that parts 2 and 4 are not here, contrary to what is written underneath the 2 videos).
Part 1
Douglas Ewart at Haynes School in Chinatown, Chicago; improvisation in Mozart with Robert Levin, piano and the Academy of Ancient Music with Christopher Hogwood; John Zorn and Cobra; improvisation in religious and devotional music and communities with: Naji Hakim – organ improvisations in Paris; Gaelic psalm singing on the Scottish Isles of Harris and Lewis; and Indian singing with Pundit Hanuman Misra.
Part 3
Concentrating on jazz based and free improvisation. With Max Roach at the Harlem School of the Arts; Butch Morris conducting (with, among others, Shelley Hirsch); Sang-Won Park and Korean music; Max Eastley’s sound sculptures; Derek Bailey (solo and fleetingly with Phil Wachsmann, Steve Noble and Alex Ward); Steve Noble and Alex Ward duo; Nashville musicians including Buddy Emmons; Eugene Chadbourne.
Of particular interest to me are the sections on:
- Part 1 @ 35:44: the 17th century Gaelic improvised psalm singing that still goes on in the Scottish Hebrides. Chrissy Smith says- “The notes are not so important as that singing comes from the heart, and the sincerity of the music is what counts, not so much the music really but of the words, when one sings from the heart you might just draw an octave a bit longer, someone might add a twiddling to it, maybe because they are carried away with the feeling of it…”
-Part 1 @ 41:30 Rajasthan singing with Pundit Hanuman Misra
-Part 3 @ 12:58 Butch Morris and his ‘Conduction’ form of improvisational conducting.
-Part 3 @ 23:25 Sang Won Park and his Korean ensemble- 2000 year old shamanic originated collective improvisation with instruments and vocals
Conduction is practiced by Christine Duncan, from Toronto. For a great example, check her CD, The Element Choir, with 51 improvising voices.
The huge scope of gypsy music might surprise you. It has been largely improvised, and totally enmeshed in the life style of nomadic Romani people from many lands. I highly recommend the 1993 documentary film ‘Latcho Drom‘, which begins in Rajasthan and continues westward all the way to Spain.
Please also check the work of Walter Thompson, who developed something similar to what Butch Morris started. He created universal conducting gestures to indicate musical ideas for the musicians to respond to. It’s called Soundpainting.
CommentToday’s blog is a report on my bizarre experience of being invited to the Polyphonic Singing Festival in Albania in 2008. I was the furthest away of all foreigners (British Columbia, Canada). The others were a small older group from Greece and Tenores di Bitti from Sardinia.
All the other singers were Albanian choirs, representing several variations of the national singing form- UNESCO proclaimed “masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity”, otherwise known as Shqiptar-Iso-polyphony. You can learn more from this video.
What was fairly strange for these folks was the presence of a solo singer. How could a single person be singing polyphonically? As soon as they heard my overtone singing, there were audible bursts of ‘Aha!’ Now they understood that I was splitting my voice into 2 separate controlled pitches, moving in counterpoint.
Strangeness…well it abounded, firstly due to the location of this festival. It took place on a high hilltop, in a 3rd century BC amphitheater setting (the ancient ruins of Bylis). Most of the seating had eroded away.
Another odd element of my participation was due to there being no electricity. They would have been perfectly fine with all the rest of the singers, but my act required electricity/ amplification for my computer, keyboard and mic. They had to go and find the necessary equipment, a sound engineer and a generator (very noisy) to haul up there. I don’t think that they generally have a lot of experience with audio gear. Many of the Albanian choirs, deciding to take advantage of this new-found technology, had certain members almost screeching into the mics, creating a lot of distortion in the inadequate outdoor speaker system.
I was supposed to perform on the first evening. I’d asked for an 88 key electric keyboard that had a reasonable piano sound, as the 49 key one I brought with me was just for the looping and various effects. They found something, though it was less than 88 keys, with very complex looking controls. I had no time to figure out how to get a piano sound out of it.
So there I was, waiting to set up and get some kind of sound check with an engineer who spoke no English. It was worrisome that time was getting on, and the crowd was already large. The master of ceremonies proceeded to announce my name to start my performance when none of the set up had even begun. Panic setting in, I explained from the wings that it was impossible to go on.
The next day, I was able to communicate just enough with the engineer to make the sound work, in time for the afternoon concert. This was reasonably successful, and ensured that later that evening, things would go smoothly for the finale.
The most rewarding part of this whole journey was getting to hang with (and jam with) the Tenores di Bitti from Sardinia. They are a quartet of men performing a one thousand year old tradition of vocals which include rich overtones sung together rhythmically in immaculate precision. You can learn more about it at their official site.
You can watch a video mash-up of me performing in the Albania festival here.
How does one sustain a meaningful and effective relationship with a choir?
That could be any kind of choir, from community to professional, pop, gospel, classical, jazz, etc.
For one thing, having an obvious love of singing.
Next, a love of singing with others. This is also rather obvious, but choir membership can be broken down into a few different motivations:
* The social aspect, the idea of getting together once a week or so for rehearsals, then maybe going for a beer later.
* You love the teamwork involved in a choir context, increasingly improving your interactive skills, which will reflect well in your resume.
* You do it for the joy of blending your voice successfully with others into a cohesive unit of sound, akin to an inner knowing that we are all one anyway, and this is one way to experience it.
* It might be a way of escaping certain other expectations from others that you would rather avoid.
* You do it in order to prove to the world that you are worthwhile.
* You hope to be carted away in a bus, train or plane to some exotic location for a tour, festival, competition or other adventure.
* You don’t feel like a good enough singer to make it as a solo, so choir is the next best option.
Some of these reasons may seem more noble or desirable than others, and that’s okay. I think it’s important to realize these things for oneself, even if silently.
Now, there are a number of behavioral patterns that effective members may emulate:
* Show up on time for rehearsals. Don’t leave early.
* Be prepared by studying your parts beforehand.
* Strive to memorize your parts so you are not glued to your score. If you absolutely must refer to the score, keep one eye on the conductor.
* Make it a priority in your life, so that it is not affected by trivial excuses for absence.
* Be sensitive to others, as we are all humans with all of our foibles.
* Be quiet while the conductor is addressing others and while they are singing their parts.
* When new members join, if you are confident in your part, help them to learn by supporting them with your strong voice standing next to them. Don’t resent this duty. Remember this is a team, and at times it requires actions different than simply learning your parts. In other words, don’t skip rehearsal because you think it might be boring.
* Respect the final decisions of the director. If your director welcomes suggestions, you are lucky.
* Remember that almost all choirs go through a birthing process. This could take months or even years. Be patient and notice progress. Even with setbacks, realize that there lies great potential. Your commitment will expedite rewarding results.
There is one last type of choir I’d like to mention, that is the ‘virtual choir‘, which does not require you to be in the same location. We are fortunate indeed to have this option in our lifetimes. It’s very cool. And it doesn’t involve so many of the above ‘rules’. Just follow the online instructions, and if you are accepted, you might go on to glory in the ethers.
Continue reading “Effective choir membership” »
CommentRemember the grand entrance of Shirley MacLaine at the Academy Awards, when she descended from the rafters in a space ship? She is well known for her firm spiritual beliefs in reincarnation. Her books are very courageous, if controversial collections of paranormal personal experiences and observations that leave much of the public rolling their eyes. Being fully aware of this reaction, she poked fun at herself. And ‘endeared’ so many more to her in the process.
So, here it is 2011. I’ve always been fond of aliens. And from my experience as an overtone singer over the past two decades, I’ve felt like one myself. Overtone singing has yet to enter the mainstream. Even the awareness of such a thing existing has moved at a snail’s pace. My hat goes off to the Mongolian throat singing national treasure Hosoo, who was brave enough to go on a German ‘who’s got talent’ competition. In his debut performance, the looks on the faces of the audience were priceless: dumbfounded, eyebrows furled, jaws dropping and general confusion. His presence in such a popular phenomenon as these talent shows was testament to his confidence and vision to present throat singing to the world at large. We in the overtone singing community applaud Hosoo for his bravery.
Hosoo (also known as Khosbayar, with his instrumental partner Zolzayar) did go on to the semi-finals, performing Amazing Grace and a pop tune (by one of the judges). That certainly was an effective way to cinch their admiration. Watch it here.
I can relate somewhat, given an experience from my past while I was living in Tokyo. This was around 1991. I had a small group of overtone singers that got together every once and a while to jam on a rooftop. Prime time TV news got wind of this and decided to do a spot on us. For a whole day they filmed us, carted us around the city to various locations, including a park and a ‘science salon’. Here they hooked us up with electrodes to analyze our brain waves while we sang overtones as opposed to simply relaxing. When the feature aired, we saw that they had added a few elements of their own, presumably because they knew their audience. As the cameras were approaching the doorway of the house where the singing could be heard coming from, they superimposed some typical Japanese sci-fi B movie animated graphics and ‘doo, doo, doo, doo’ menacing music. A bit later, they alternately compared the singing of one of the men with a Japanese transvestite singing comedian. All in good fun. I appreciated the whole fiasco for what it was. Remember, this was way back in 1991. It’s amazing they paid any attention whatsoever to a few overtone singers.
Speaking of aliens, I created a little video with this theme in mind- The Adventures of Samson: Alien Overtone Singer.
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