"If I cannot fly, let me sing..."

STEPHEN SONDHEIM

In 2018, the music industry requires versatile, flexible yet highly trained artists; equally comfortable with a classical aria as they are with the contemporary trends of pop, jazz and music theatre. 

For young singers, it is often a challenge to find confidence in their own voice yet also perform the music they enjoy. 

At Music Minds, we aim to address this challenge, prioritising healthy vocal development for young individuals in an engaging and nurturing environment. We are dedicated towards maintaining the independence and agency of each individual’s natural voice, focusing on ease and quality of sound through the application of strong vocal technique and collaborative goal-setting.

Our vocal pedagogy is responsive to the needs of the students by helping them set appropriate goals of exams and performances, furthering development and intrinsic motivation.

Vocal pedagogy for the modern artist

Students from age ten and up explore the mechanics of their voice, with particular attention paid to the challenges of adolescent voice change. We develop student awareness of vocal anatomy and physiology to articulate and nurture awareness of the vocal changes and challenges of maturation.

Music Minds works with all types of students, including absolute beginners, senior students completing performance examinations and young adults wanting to improve their singing voice. The one-on-one sessions allow for an individualised approach which provides the fundamentals of classical technique, focusing on posture and breath support to produce an easy, open sound with legato line and supported tone. These are applied through appropriate exercises and vocalises suitable for each individual student towards nurturing all registers (head, chest, mix, falsetto).

From here, singers are encouraged to explore a variety of styles through their technique including classical, contemporary, jazz, pop and music theatre to improve their flexibility as unique artists. They begin by exploring musical styles of interest and are challenged in other less familiar genres in a fun and supportive environment. 

Lessons also incorporate musicianship and sight-singing to develop the whole artist, employing elements of the Kodàly method to encourage pitch accuracy, internalisation and memorisation.

Lessons at a glance

• Tailored to suit individual learning style, interests and abilities

• Strong classical technical foundation incorporating posture, breathing, placement and vocal line

• Sight-reading, scales and exercises to build vocal agility, flexibility, range and timbre

• Stylistic differences carefully explored and compared so students feel comfortable using their voice in a variety of musical settings

• Musical interpretation and textual meaning, helping students to become independent and artistic thinkers in performance

• Goal-oriented focus for student success, including options for graded certificate exams (AMEB or Trinity Guildhall syllabi)

• Support for VCE Music Performance programs and external performance opportunities

• Technology resources such as GarageBand and Cadenza Music Tool (Queen's University, The Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance - Concordia University, The Royal Conservatory)

Why do we sing?

Singing is an expression of who we are as people - each with our individual and unique vocal instrument. Research has shown a strong correlation between choral participation and extra-musical benefits in socialisation, academia and identity construction (Bennetts, 2013). In particular this may benefit the challenging adolescent transition for males as they navigate pressures from society, peers and adults to discover their authentic self.

As a choral educator and vocal specialist I am a passionate advocate for singing throughout the adolescent years. This in part was developed from my own choral experience at school and with organisations such as the Australian National Choral Association, Victorian Opera and Starbound Musical Theatre. 

The two videos below underpin some of the reasons why singing is a crucial part of my musical classroom and approach to teaching. The first, focused on imminent American choral composer Eric Whitacre, explores the intrinsic connectedness experienced through song; whilst the second, a rehearsal video from The Greatest Showman (2017) demonstrates the collaborative joy that can be experienced in singing together.

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Music Minds offers 30 minute, 45 minute and 60 minute individual lessons. For more information, contact us or email at musicminds@iinet.net.au.

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