Judgement
Image description: a black and white picture shows a couple pointing and viewing art in an art gallery. Below is the title Judgement.
I’ve realised my love for travel and food is linked to my nosiness to know and understand people, and why I really enjoy my job working with lots of different musicians and pupils.
When we travel, I enjoy figuring out these unique puzzle pieces. Every part of the journey gives away more clues, from the internet research before, to the airport and security queues.
What could be better than seeing how another ‘tribe’ of people describe themselves through the art they make, and the art they value? And all the arts count in this endeavour, tv, music, books, adverts, all helping to build a picture.
And so we found ourselves in an art gallery, happy to be welcomed into its smooth polished floors and air-conditioned rooms. A serene refuge from the hot, bustling, dusty streets for at least a quiet few hours with occasional benches to admire the art.
I used to visit galleries and treat every picture with equal time, trying to give it time and allowing it to speak to me, but now I’m much less patient and probably less pretentious! I’m happy to waft around and only stop at the pieces that really grab my attention for some reason. I let my gut reaction guide me, turning off any preconceived ideas of good and bad, not reading names, and choosing my personal favourites from the visit because they are unusual, because they capture a feeling or emotion like a forgotten summers day, describing an anxious wait, translating sunlight and shadows into oil paint.
At this particular gallery it seemed like there was one of almost every ‘famous’ historical painter you have ever studied at school. Some were recognisable and almost familiar in style, and some were not. As though ‘from the school of’ or ‘influenced by’ might lead you to stop longer and consider its’ merit. The paintings I might have tried to give more time to because of who they were by rather than how they made me feel. But the truth was many of the big names were not my favourites, and many were instantly forgettable. Their famous name might make you stop, but the painting was not particularly moving or descriptive.
It made me wonder if these great well-known names had any idea these pictures would one day be displayed in an art gallery as a prized possession? Were they sketches? Or maybe they hated them and didn’t get around to painting over it. Would they be horrified to know some of these made it out of the back of the cupboard? I read an account recently about an artist who regularly reconsidered a painting she was working on and painted over it. She chose to scrap hours of work because it wasn’t going the way she wanted, to the consternation of others who had watched the artwork being created.
We don’t just make good art. We make art, and sometimes it is judged to be good, and sometimes it is not.
“Don’t think about making art, just get it done.
Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it.
While they are deciding, make even more art.”
In music -and singing- we are too often perfectionists who are judged harshly for less than perfect performances by not only ourselves but others. There is an old saying that ‘you are only as good as your last performance’ which is frankly ridiculous!
Our bodies and minds fluctuate with hormones, life drama, energy levels, illness and so on. So why are we not as good at accepting that these things happen and affect our art sometimes? Why are we aiming for perfection if it is unachievable?
If we restrict ourselves to only making ‘perfect art’ when our bodies and minds are truly ready or cooperative, how often would we perform? Would this be helpful to our artistry or enjoyment? Is good art achieved in a perfect environment?
I remind myself to be kind, and teach my pupils to be kind. We sing best free of the idea of ‘perfect’. The act of making art should not be done under the restrictions of deciding whether or not it is any good, but with the freedom and vibrancy released from creation for the point of communicating emotion and stories. These are the pieces of art that I find most move me, and the artists who I admire on the concert and opera platform.
A perfect performance technically and environmentally is not necessarily the one that moves me or that I wish to experience again. Lets all aim to be kinder.
What do I need for my lesson?
Whether a seasoned regular or coming for your very first lesson, here are a few things you might want to bring or think about to attend your lesson, and to get the most out of the experience.
Music
What have you been studying/learning? Bring that, and bring a second copy to share with your teacher/pianist.
Any music you are performing with your choir, church solos, stage shows. Even if you don’t plan to sing it, it may become relevant for technical or performance reasons.
A pencil
Whether working digitally or with paper music, bring a pencil to make notes and mark your music.
A notebook, or recorder to record the lesson if agreed with your teacher
Either are fine with me, but it makes sense to be able to write down broader technical and performance ideas for your practise later.
An open mind
This is your time to work on your goals - so to help you do this fully come ready to play, work, experiment, and learn. Put aside the everyday distractions for now and enjoy this time to concentrate on your voice and performance.
“You do get better at even the things you’re terrible at, if you practice.”
Before the lesson
What you wear
Think about wearing something you are comfortable in, that allows you to move and work physically. We will be doing stretches, and sometimes use weights/pilates bands and other equipment as part of our work together.
Food and drink
Make sure you have eaten and drunk enough before the lesson to feel comfortable standing and working physically. If you wish to drink water during the lesson, lay it out to bring with you. By personal preference, I prefer not to drink while singing, but I don’t mind if you do.
Warm-up
You may wish to have a short vocalise or warm-up before you arrive, check in with your voice and see how it feels today, if you are experiencing anything different you can bring this up at the start of the lesson. This might also include feeling if you have any tension.
Lastly, a little reassurance. I am human, I have made many mistakes, I have sometimes found practise hard to fit into life or had other things going on that make work/life tricky. Please feel free to let me know of anything that might affect our session together that you think I should know about. I fit around you and your needs.
I do not expect that every pupil arrives a perfect and finished product - that simply isn’t real life! Sometimes the best lessons are the ones that happen responding to the voice and singer as they turn up that day. So please don’t worry that you feel you should have done x, y, or z. Hopefully all teachers feel this way and should be understanding!
No Limits
Blisterleaf- or Anemone vesicatoria, a dainty plant with the hidden ability to burn with its toxic oil, a skill it uses to protect itself
Don’t limit yourself.
It’s so easy to apologise or make excuses as to why we think we aren’t good enough - but does this help us improve?
I have a rule in my teaching room that we aim never to make negative comments about our voice or our singing as these can make it very difficult for us to achieve our goals. Our negativity holds us back, our apologies begin our session on the back-foot with the suggestion we will fail. The mere suggestion that we are not good enough will infiltrate our ability to achieve, and possibly succeed in areas that are new to us.
How many times have you told people you are doing something but that you aren’t very good? It’s a particularly British thing I’m overly guilty of!
“If I were not able to separate the art from the artists, I think I would limit myself a great deal, and life wouldn’t be nearly as interesting.”
Jessye Norman
In the world of learning, we have to be brave. We have to put ourselves through the experience of admitting we know little, and learn more.
We have to play and experiment without fear of judgement or failure.
This process is done with the aid of books, online research, published papers from experts, film and recordings, and of course, teachers.
A good teacher will be willing you on. They will set you challenges to help you succeed. Some of those challenges will lead you to better ability and understanding, and some will count as experiments that did not work out, maybe just not yet.
In nature - where I often like to take inspiration - plants do not limit themselves. They develop and adapt and try according to their surroundings. They succeed in all sorts of places. Sometimes this might not work, but every so often it will and leads to the development of the plant in a new way.
If you are a gardener you may be familiar with this already - we have all tried to plant something and watched it fail, only to watch nature self-seed and thrive in an area that every textbook tells you should not work! Some of the healthiest plants are the weeds growing in an unlikely place, growing without fear of failure. Their success unaware of the ‘rules’.
We need that experimental and positive attitude when learning to bring about our new skills.
Have you ever been set a new piece by your teacher and found unexpected success?… Hold on to those moments as you continue onwards!
autumn
Sink into autumn with my listening playlist, full of autumn inspired music from the world of classical music.
What’s your favourite season? I know a lot of people would say autumn (or ‘fall’ in the US). Would it surprise you to I love every season and the changes between them?… sad to see the previous season go, and to welcome the return of the new season like an old friend.
There are many depictions of the seasons in art and music, so I thought I would add a few here and link it to a youtube playlist for you to explore more.
Feel free to add your favourite pieces in the comments section below if I’ve missed something out! You’ll see I’ve included a range of instruments/emsembles/styles/periods and I hope a few that you enjoy exploring for the first time as I have.
1 Chant d’automne, Faure
Sung by soprano Mary Bevan, accompanied by Joseph Middleton
2 Four Seasons, Autumn, 3rd Movement Allegro, Vivaldi
Played by Voices of Music, with solo baroque violin from Carla Moore
3 ‘October - Autumn Song’ from The Seasons, Tchaikovsky
Solo piano Olga Scheps
4 ‘Now the Leaves are Falling Fast’, from On This Island, Benjamin Britten
Sung by Peter Pears, Accompanied by Benjamin Britten
5 ‘September’ from Das Jahr, Fanny Hensel (Fanny Mendelssohn)
Solo piano Diana Sahakyan
6 ‘The Fall of the Leaf’, Imogen Holst
Solo cello Amily Airhart
7 ‘September’ from Vier Letzte Lieder, Richard Strauss
Sung by Renee Fleming, at the Proms, in 2001
8 The Seasons: 1. Autumn, Thea Musgrave
Solo clarinet Concerto played by Victoria Soames Samek, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Conducted by Thea Musgrave
9 Pensee D’automne, Massenet
Sung by Huguette Tourangeau, Accompanied by Richard Bonynge
10 Autumn Gardens, Einojuhani Rautavaara
Played by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy
Classical music to chill, spook, and haunt!