That voice teacher is harmless…. She/he only works with children.
“Those voice teachers are harmless. They only work with children.”
This was what someone said to us one day. Our reply:
“That’s even worse.”
Many people express discomfort when hearing “mature” song lyrics sung by young children.
“Sexy” words are of course at the top of the shudder-inducing list, and lyrics about violence, death, psychological pain and suicide sung by children are also cause for chagrin in adults, although sometimes that uneasiness is followed by a general “what are you going to do?” attitude, accompanied by sighing and eye-rolling.
But there are choices. Parents who are concerned can learn that the world is full of beautiful music. They can learn that children don’t have to sing either nursery songs and church anthems or “Wake Up Call” and “Stupid Hoe” (or, for that matter, “Nessun Dorma”), and that the “popular” standardized crap that is mass-marketed to children is NOT the only “wholesome” alternative to adult “inappropriate” music.
Now let’s talk about the singing itself.
Forgetting about the lyrics for a moment, what about when children sing with the same vocal mistakes as grown-up singers?
It seems that most people are so used to hearing adult singers create artificial timbre, yell, strain, go off key, tighten the throat and so on, that they forget that singing does not have to be that way. The cheering and standing ovations on the “got talent” variety shows demonstrate that many audiences mistake violence for passion, and they applaud and shout when a pop singer screams out a note.
It’s maybe even better if the singer holds that strained note for what seems to be a long time, and bending over and grimacing in pain is a plus.
And when a nine-year-old does the same thing? Well, audiences seem to be thrilled.
Children today who watch these performances quickly associate “music”, not with listening to live music, not with wonderful rhythms and melodies and harmonies, not with exploring acoustical sounds, and making their OWN music, but with being “seen” on social media and becoming “known”.
They learn that it is all about performing, “sounding like” their favorite star of the moment, getting up on that stage.
Today, it is not unusual to see and hear children as young as three years old already straining their voices in imitation of unbalanced adult singers, while the grown-ups in their lives cheer them on.
And the children have “voice lessons”.
The majority of vocal instructors who work with children attempt to enhance and develop their voices, which really just means a great deal of emphasis on Sound, instead of insisting that a child’s voice remain natural, and instead of teaching children that their voices are perfect exactly as they are.
The children therefore end up going away from the natural balance they were born with, and they are highly praised for their great “improvement”.
Speak to any number of singers who are suffering with nodules, polyps, hemorrhaged vocal chords and so forth, and you may learn that their vocal problems began soon after their first voice lessons, often when they were still children.
Volume. Everyone’s number one obsession.
It’s Big, Loud Sound all the way. Singers, even tiny, little children, must have it from the very first day they begin singing.
If they don’t have it, tricks must be employed to make sure they get it as soon as possible.
Singers are musical artists and, like all musicians, they must strive for delicate nuance, phrasing and perfect intonation. LOUD is not an artistic expression, but when children imitate adult jazz, rock or pop singers at full-throttle, all nuance, phrasing and intonation go out the window, and the wide-spread jaw-dropping gasps that occur, with predictable cries of “Astonishing” “Brilliant!” “Outstanding!” “Amazing!” tell us where people’s minds are today.
It isn’t always only about volume, of course, although being “heard above all of the others” seems to be at the top of the list of things that vocal instructors teach their children. Unfortunately, many voice teachers also presume that “sounding mature” is praise-worthy, along with sounding very similar to some star or other, insert name here. We need to recognize what children’s natural voices actually sound like and to realize that children, if left alone and encouraged to not imitate adults, could teach us a thing or two about breathing and about the natural use of the voice.
A fresh and youthful voice in old age is a sign of vocal health, and is the result of correct, balanced use of the voice.
On the other hand, sounding like 40 at age 10 is not good.
NO child should sound like an adult. That is not a virtue, it is a deformity.
When a child imitates an “opera” singer, (whatever that is supposed to mean), the floodgates open:
“…made me cry” “The voice of an angel!” “Wow, where did she get the adult pipes to sing that way?” “What a deep, bass voice, it’s hard to believe he is only 13,” says the public in response to a child parroting an unhealthy adult singer, complete with lowered larynx, distorted words, wobbling jaw and fluttering vibrato.
And our hearts break just a little bit more.
Talented children are usually excellent imitators. Children are so flexible that they may not immediately show obvious outward signs of vocal strain, but today’s adult singers are mostly terrible vocal role models and are often caricatures themselves, and children can be exacting in their mimicry of nasality, throatiness, tongue and jaw tension, vocal fry, breathiness, singing flat, neck straining and so on.
It might take expert skills of observation to be able to hear and see the more subtle signs of vocal imbalance in children, but we are convinced that anyone who is willing to stop and pay attention will admit that seeing children copy these (“grown up”) vocal defects is doubly grotesque.
Even if children can often get away with distorting their voices (until… they can’t anymore).
“Where did all that sound come from?”, adults squeal delightedly.
“How can such a little thing have such a BIG voice?”
The ignorance is staggering.
Lisa Paglin, Marianna Brilla
NewVoice Studio Brilla-Paglin
Saturday, February 18, 2017©
https://www.newvoicestudio-brilla-paglin.com/
