Tools, Not Rules!
In IVA, we learn various best practices for creating tools and exercises, creating workflows for different vocal tendencies, and also organizing the process of applying vocal technique to songs. These best practices work for many singers, and we use them because they’re typically effective and efficient.
But as we always say in IVA, these are TOOLS, NOT RULES.
When do we deviate from best practices, and why? Here are a few reasons why we might choose tools and lesson plans or workflows that are outside of the IVA best practices for that particular tendency:
It’s not working at all, or not working fast enough
Singer changed tendency or is alternating different tendencies
Selected or prioritized the wrong tendency
Singer did much better than expected and can now be challenged more
Singer is showing resistance to the tool
Singer cannot access the vowel/consonant/unfinished sound
The tools don’t match the singer’s aesthetic goals
There are physiological conditions to be considered
Instructor wants to try something else
Here’s a helpful framework:
INITIAL ASSESSMENT = LESSON GOAL + PLAN
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT = LESSON EXECUTION + FLOW
Your initial lesson goal and lesson plan will be determined by the discovery and initial assessment.
But your ongoing lesson execution and flow will be determined by an ongoing process of assessment, which happens at every exercise.
At every vocal exercise, song application, and check-in with the student, you need to be assessing their vocal quality, musicality, demeanor, and observed experiences.
This continuous assessment gives you the information that you need to guide your student effectively at every stage in the lesson.
Guiding questions for continuous assessment
Download this worksheet for a list of guiding questions that can help you continuously assess the singer’s voice as you are teaching. You may not ask all of these questions at all times, but this framework will help focus your attention and build your capacity for analysis and detailed observation. It will also help you grow in your ability to communicate your reasoning behind your tool choices.
Observation and analysis
Try observing the lesson below and see if you can spot where the teacher may have modified the lesson plan from the IVA best practices. Use the worksheet to take notes, and try to analyze what led the teacher to make their tool choices as they did.
Student profile:
Male, tenor, early 30s
Lifelong singer, has been receiving regular vocal instruction off and on for approximately 4 years
Sings professionally, repertoire is mostly golden age (Frank Sinatra, etc.)
History of vocal fold paresis, previously had an implant which has since been removed; now fully recovered
Struggles with feeling weightiness in the voice; wants to develop better connection
Tendency: weighty in the first passage, with a secondary tendency of gradual flip in the second passage
“BEST PRACTICES” WORKFLOW
(Source: Pull/Weighty Lesson Plans 500 Keynote)
Discover head – intonate/glide hooty sound, upper range
Hooty “FOO” - Hooty “WEE”
Pharyngeal/edgy “NG” - “MM” - “NAY”
Develop head – repeat head voice notes, bring head register lower
1D “FOO” - 1D “WEE” - 1DR “WEE"
Pharyngeal 1D “NAY” - 1DR “NAY”
Start in chest, find head – start in chest and aim for head, connection or even flip is acceptable
1.5 “FOO”, “GOO”, “GEE”, 1R “GEE”
Pharyngeal 1R “NAY” - 1.5 “NAY”
In this second video, the teacher modifies the lesson plan even further. What were they hearing in the student’s voice that led to the tool choices they made? Would you have done it the same way, or would you have chosen different tools? Why?
Try using this same system of continuous assessment as you observe other teachers in their private lessons. Practice being mindful of how the singer’s voice is responding to each exercise, and give yourself some time to think about how you might address each change. Pre-recorded lessons are a good place to start as you are getting used to this level of observation and analysis. As you increase in your ability to hear and interpret your observations, you can try practicing the same process in real-time lesson observations.