Voices of AOTOS
Volume One, June 2024
Welcome
Louisa Morgan Editor editor@aotos.org.uk
Welcome to the inaugural edition of Voices of AOTOS. This online publication was inspired by the invitation to members of the Association of Teachers of Singing (AOTOS) to submit abstracts for short presentations at the summer conference in 2023. This was such a wonderful way to feature the research and expertise within our membership, that I wanted a way to celebrate this further. There are so many members with a huge wealth of knowledge to share, and I hope this publication will be a way to give voice to that knowledge and provide a platform for deeper discussions about the teaching of singing. If you are interested in publishing an article in Voices of AOTOS, please get in touch.
From the Chair
In Summer 2023, AOTOS organised a unique two-day conference in London – Global Connections: the Wisdom Among Us – bringing together AOTOS, the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and the British Voice Association. As part of this event I launched a new initiative – a call for abstracts – which was designed to provide members with a new platform to share their expertise with the wider membership. We subsequently welcomed six speakers to present on a subject of their choosing, and this was followed by three more at the Autumn Conference 2023.
I was delighted when our editor, Louisa Morgan, suggested that we publish extended versions of each abstract in this new publication: Voices of AOTOS.
We hope that this will be become a regular fixture in our publishing cycle and I hope that you enjoy reading it.
Edwin Pitt Mansfield AOTOS Chair, 2022–2024
Working with Neurodivergent People in 1:1 Singing Lessons – Miriam Allan pp. 4–13
Addressing the Popular Music gap in secondary school singing – Joanna Sear pp.14–19
The Optimistic Singing Student. Building resilience and facilitating growth – Richard Edgar-Wilson, pp. 20–28
Review: The Simple Science of Singing – Dr Clare Griffel pp. 29–30
Working with Neurodivergent People in 1:1 Singing Lessons
‘WISDOM AMONGST US’ CONFERENCE, June 2023
Miriam Allan
Despite working as a singing teacher for nearly 25 years, it was not until two of my own children were diagnosed as Autistic with ADHD that I began to consider how my increased awareness of neurodivergence might benefit my teaching. Not long after my first offspring’s diagnosis, I noticed I was using strategies designed for neurodivergent people in my teaching practice. Then I deliberately started to use these strategies when teaching and the results have been extraordinary. Students are achieving beyond their initial or developed sense of perceived potential. I’ve had unprecedented student retention. And my studio is a very happy place with students eagerly attending, even those who suffer from anxiety.
Who are the neurodivergent? For the purposes of this article, I’m mostly referring to autistic people; those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and cooccurring disorders including Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Pathological Demand Avoidance and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Neurodivergent people are found in every cohort.
A lot of people think that the neurodiverse “spectrum” looks a little like this:
Something linear. Less autistic to more autistic. I’d argue that the spectrum is a little more nuanced and complex than this.
Something, perhaps, like …
It’s very likely, given that I have two children who are autistic and have ADHD, that whilst they have the same diagnoses they might look like this:
Completely different. This is the case with our students.
Now, the questions arise: what if the student doesn’t have a diagnosis? What if the school doesn’t give me access to their learning support profile? What if the student or their parents are ashamed of their child’s diagnosis and don’t tell me? Or what if a student is worried I won’t take them on if I know about their additional needs?
Students do not need a diagnosis to benefit from the strategies outlined here. After all, personalising each student’s lessons can only lead to better outcomes for both the neurodivergent and neurotypical student.
We are all working within a structure, a framework. We might be in schools, universities, conservatoires, county music services or in our private studios. Professionals, young people, enthusiastic amateurs.
This framework will have rules, safeguarding procedures, curriculum and so forth. There will be a time frame - 30, 45, 60 mins.
And of course there will be goals and expectations around outcomes. Not all of these expectations are coming from the student.
How did you learn to be a singing teacher?
The vast majority of us were not taught to be teaching practitioners - rather, we were taught to be singers. As you are reading this, I imagine that was broadly quite successful! We are therefore, all coming from a position of bias. That’s no bad thing, but it warrants realisation and awareness. For within that personal bias we can discover a great deal about our teaching and how we can open it further to be more inclusive.
For example, where do you stand/sit to teach? I’m almost always sitting at a piano, even when teaching on Zoom! Every singing teacher I have ever had, including the non-pianists have always sat at a piano. I’d never given it any thought. Where do you expect your students to stand or sit? Is it essential that student stand? Having a student stand next to me, in a collegiate style could allow them to participate fully rather than a student needing to stand opposite me, adversarial style. Releasing a student from enforced eye contact may allow them to take in a great deal more information and relieve their anxiety.
Within our personal teaching bias and the structures and frameworks within which we are operating, we are going to need to embrace three concepts:
Flexibility. Innovation. Creativity.
Flexibility: I often say to my students that they need flexible strength within their technique. It’s the same for teachers. We can have hopes or tactics, but we need to find flexibility within our practices which embrace the difference in each of our students.
Innovation: working within your framework and structure. How can you innovate?
Creativity: because strategies wear out and not all strategies work for every individual: if you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person. No two people are the same. Creativity also keeps us intellectually stimulated and vital as practitioners.
If we embrace these three things we can make Reasonable Adaptations. It’s likely that anyone who works in a school or university has heard this term, also known as reasonable adjustments. Adaptations to “standard” practice can take many forms and these adaptations can make the world of difference to a neurodivergent student - take as an example the positioning in the room of the student and teacher mentioned before.
Strategies for Embracing Difference
First and foremost: reduce anxiety. I fundamentally misunderstood anxiety until I had my own autistic children. I had always thought anxiety happened to you - that it was a trauma based experience. For most neurodivergent people, anxiety is their default state. It’s often deep and constant. Aim to reduce anxiety in your lessons, wherever possible to promote learning by making adaptations.
What might that look like?
not expecting or demanding eye contact in lessons. teaching performance skills without direct eye contact. (Looking near, not at the audience/examiner/panel whilst performing.)
alternative positioning in the studio (next to you, not in front of you) freedom to move - deliberate, big movements; permitted fidgeting (small movements)
toys! Giving students toys with which to fidget can provide them with freedom and bring ease. For those who need them, they will be well utilised. For those who don’t, it provides a moment of whimsy.
Make the invisible visual
By its very definition, neurodiversity means thinking differently. We, as the teacher, might know how the warm up pattern goes, or the technical exercise is meant to sound. We might know how the lesson will be structured. Some students will need the invisible to be visual. This might include a visual timetable of the lesson: first a warm up, then sight-reading, exam pieces, followed by aural and finally a cool down.
Neurodivergent people may not have a solid understanding of the passing of timeparticularly autistic children. Making time visual might also help. Using a time timer or explaining how long something will take can also reduce anxiety. Counting down, backwards, can often help, for then they know how long to go.
Sensory Seeking
Is your student a sensory seeker? Are they looking for input to help them manage their output (anxiety) or to help them learn as they’re kinaesthetic learners? Sensory behaviours and adaptations can allow a neurodivergent student to take in a huge amount of information. Something as simple as Blu-tak is a useful tool.
Another sensory adaptation is movement. Movements do not need to be big to be enough to reduce anxiety. Some students can benefit from being allowed to move around the room as they sing, or throw a small ball/beanbag. It can also promote memorising and provide distraction from perfectionism.
Sensory Avoidance
Conversely, is the student needing to reduce sensory input? Is the environment of the studio too busy? Are you giving too much information? Are there too many bright lights - this might be why they find performing uncomfortable. Lights can be sensorially overwhelming and block a neurodivergent person’s thinking. Sound can also be hugely overwhelming. Is it possible to use ear defenders or headphones to make it slightly less confronting? Do they need just one book on the music stand at any one time? Do not underestimate the power of smell! A change in piano polish or a freshly bleached floor can overwhelm and destabilise a lesson.
Neurodiversity takes many forms and as many as are sensory seekers are sensory avoiders – those who are overwhelmed by too much noise/lights etc. You might also have a student who has been a sensory seeker who, next lesson, is a sensory avoider. They might have a trigger that needs gentle investigation. The removal or addition of a sensory experience may help them learn.
Executive Function
This is a major area of importance for neurodivergent people.
My autistic daughter really struggles with tidying her room. She looks at the messy room and sees the overwhelming number of objects and just panics
I look at it and break it down into smaller tasks, often completing like things together: picking up all the dirty clothes for the washing basket. Rubbish into the bin. Recycling into a bag. Lego in the drawers. Put away clean clothes. Make the bed etc.
This is an example of how I use executive function – breaking down “tidying a room” into smaller, manageable and achievable goals. As singing teachers, we use executive function all the time in 1:1 singing lessons. We break down rhythms, texts, melodies, harmonies. We add or remove elements. We even break down words into their constituent syllables, vowels and consonants. We see it as a whole without having to think about separate parts. Neurodivergent people may not have this ability and you will need to provide the executive function, which will break it down into much smaller parts. SMART goals are useful here: Small, Manageable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.
Understanding the passing of time is not always available to a neurodivergent student so using timers might be handy – just like when you tidy a room.
Working Memory
Hand in hand with executive function is working memory. Asking a student to bring in that concept you were working on 10 minutes ago – perhaps a technique – can result in a blank look! This is working memory. To us it is recent and obvious. To them there might have been a fly in the room, or a funny noise next door, or the light flickered or a phone rang or you mentioned Schubert and they were trying to remember how to spell his name, and then there was the thing with the page which wouldn’t turn and then they can’t remember where they sat on the bus to get to the lesson … Their working memory is not your working memory and you might benefit from bringing them back to the concept and assume nothing.
Movement Breaks
Movement breaks are one of my favourite strategies, providing teachers with another chance to educate. Some students will really struggle to stay focused for the duration of the lesson and especially younger students can benefit from movement breaks. This could look different for each student. But movement breaks can provide an opportunity to educate another concept - for example moving on the beat rather than just clapping ; can you talk about performance skills whilst throwing and catching a ball or little bean bag. Is this the opportunity to act out the story of their piece or embody their operatic character?
Site Visits for Exams, Auditions, Performances
This is another top anxiety reduction strategy. Wherever possible, let the student see, feel, smell, sing in the room for their performance or their exam. If not, try using the visualisation strategy – placing themselves in the room in their mind’s eye. At least they will have a feeling for the space which may make it easier for them to access their full potential in the crucial moment.
Visualisation
For the purposes of both learning and preparing a student for performance, visualisation can be a powerful tool. It could also be a nice way of introducing a quiet moment where we remove a sense /element (sight) and relax. It can be a potent tool to assist in the overcoming of injury or anxiety. Visualising can be so helpful when memorising songs or a role. Imagining the performance or exam space, if you’re not able to conduct a site visit, can aid the student in their preparation.
Practising
Once again, I’m going to get you to check your bias and ask yourself how often do you use the word “lazy”?! Student achievements and attainment is linked to practice right?! Truly, this depends on a lot. As mentioned previously, executive function is an issue for most neurodivergent students. You may need to break it way down into very clear, very small elements.
A lot of autistic people will need a very clear structure - they’ll struggle without it. Within your safeguarding framework, can you provide some supporting materials to assist practise? For example, can you make a sound file or voice note for aural learners with their practice schedule on it? Or create a visual or pictorial timetable, not dissimilar perhaps to the visual timetable you use in the lesson.
Those with ADHD often struggle with task initiation – so helping them find a way to get started might be most useful.
People with demand avoidance profiles might very much need to be encouraged to experiment rather than practice. Telling them what to do will not get you very far!
And finally, as long as we are seeing some sort of development, growth and, most importantly, joy in these lessons, we have to see that as success. For some students, just getting in the room with us is a huge achievement in it itself.
This is by no means a comprehensive guide! However, I hope you find some of these strategies useful for your students and that they enhance learning.
Bibliography
Autism Education Trust (2023). Competency Framework. https://www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-01/SchoolCompetency-Framework_T-HUB-Sc-Mt.pdf
Lee, Ling-Yu Liza (2006) Music therapy enhances attention span and promotes language ability in young special needs children. ISME Proceedings, 2006. Pg 34-45. Found at: https://www.isme.org/sites/default/files/documents/20062008+SpecialEd+Proceedings.pdf#page=41
Reece, A. (2015). The Interaction between Music and Language in Learning and Recall in children with Autism Spectrum Condition. Doctoral Thesis, University of Roehampton.
https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/425333/Reece_Adam.pdf
Wang, L., Pfordresher, P. Q, Jiang C., and Fang, L. (2021) Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder are Impaired in Absolute but not Relative pitch and duration matching in speech and song imitation. Autism Research, INSAR. Found at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aur.2569
Other articles of interest: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/professional-practice/music-therapy https://www.additudemag.com/music-therapy-for-adhd-how-rhythm-builds-focus/ https://scips.worc.ac.uk/subjects-and-disabilities/music-music_adhd/ https://psychcentral.com/adhd/vocal-stimming-adhd https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2020.00757/
Biography
Miriam Allan, a distinguished soprano and accomplished singing teacher, has left an indelible mark on the world of classical music. With a career spanning international stages, her exquisite voice has graced renowned venues, from the Royal Albert Hall to the Sydney Opera House. Miriam's artistry extends beyond performance; she has become a sought-after singing teacher, imparting her expertise to aspiring vocalists. Miriam Allan's commitment to nurturing the next generation of singers endeavours to ensure the continuity of her passion for vocal excellence, embracing neurodivergence and individuality. She teaches at Christ’s College Cambridge, St George’s School Windsor Castle and privately.
Addressing the Popular Music gap in secondary school singing
‘MIND THE GAP’ CONFERENCE, October 2023
Joanna Sear
Popular Music (PM) genres like rock, pop, R&B, soul and reggae - also known under the umbrella term Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) in the USA and Australia (Lovetri, 2002; Bartlett and Naismith, 2020) - have formed a central part of youth culture for many decades and are now the dominant musical genres in terms of global audience consumption (IFPI, 2021). This cultural shift has led to a demand for Popular Music to form a larger part of mainstream school music learning in the West (Green, 2002; Kratus, 2007; Hargreaves and Marshall, 2003; Woody, 2007). Indeed, the inclusion of PM in school music programmes has been deemed vital to maintaining curricular engagement with the subject (Miksza, 2013; Davis, 2015; Bosacki et al, 2006; Wright, 2008).
As the cultural landscape around this has developed, so the number of students wishing to study PM singing at secondary schools and colleges has increased (Hargreaves and Marshall, 2003; Woody, 2007). Here in the UK, students can now enter graded exams in these styles offered by organisations such as Rockschool (RSL), LCM and Trinity Rock and Pop, and study them as part of tertiary degree courses offered by institutions like RNCM, WaterBear, Leeds Conservatoire, BIMM, ICMP and others.
Conversely, the vast majority of singing teachers at secondary school level are likely to have been trained in the Western Classical style of singing due to the current lack of an academic base for Popular Music vocal pedagogy (Bartlett and Naismith, 2020; Sear, 2023; Wilson, 2003). PM singing styles differ fundamentally from Classical singing styles in terms of aesthetics and culture (Chandler, 2014; Green, 2002; Hughes, 2014; Wigginton, 2010). There is a growing consensus that ‘ … trying to impose Classical technique onto contemporary styles can result in a potentially harmful somatic “argument” between inappropriate technique and the sound ideal the singer is trying to reproduce’ (Scearce, 2016, p. 160) and may potentially pose vocal health risks for the student (Hughes, 2014; Wigginton, 2010). It is true that, in recent years, some teachers may have been trained in Musical Theatre singing styles (Cox, 2020; Thomaidis, 2019) but, whilst there is some ‘crossover’ between the two genres, stylistic norms and performance practicalities differ hugely between the Musical Theatre and Popular Music industries (Edwards and Hoch, 2018).
Consequently, these approaches alone do not adequately prepare these students for PM exams and auditions and may potentially impair their future career options at tertiary level and beyond (Larson, 2019; Sear, 2023; Wigginton, 2010). In practice, this sadly also means that a great many of them currently end up being self-taught, leaving them vulnerable to poor technique and vocal health issues (Scearce, 2016; Reinhert, 2019; Bartlett and Naismith, 2020).
This situation has created a notable gap in appropriate pedagogy for students wanting to learn those singing styles at secondary level and raises ethical questions about the quality of teaching standards experienced at this crucial stage of a Popular Music singer’s education. This gap is also at odds with the UK government’s National Music Plan for Education, which states that all children and young people:
“… (should) experience a broad musical culture in schools and education settings, accessing high- quality curricular and co-curricular music, and progressing into appropriate qualifications …”
“ … have opportunities to progress their musical interests and talents, and routes into a variety of music careers …”
“ … are supported by a skilled and dynamic workforce” (NPME, 2022).
Whilst there is currently very little particular guidance in academic literature as to how a teenage PM singer should be trained, it has been suggested that key tenets may be inferred from general pedagogical literature on the subject (Sear, 2023). At the very least, singing teachers should specifically appraise their PM students of the following:
The need for efficient microphone technique and knowhow (Edwards, 2014; Chandler, 2014; Wilson, 2003; Edwin, 2001; Titze, 2015; Hughes 2014)
The necessity of effective sound monitoring for vocal health and efficiency and protection against hearing damage (Humphreys, 2019)
The role of studio technology and treatments in audio production: Students should understand what common studio effects such as reverb, compression and pitch correction software sound like and how they are used, to avoid unrealistic expectations of what their own ‘acoustic’ voice should/could sound like (Cafaro and Arneson, 2020; Hughes, 2014; Edwards, 2014).
Given the exponential growth in the Popular Music education sector, not learning to teach these styles may also limit valuable opportunities for diversification amongst singing teachers (Bartlett and Naismith, 2020). Studies have shown that many Classically trained teachers feel insecure about the changing musical landscape in schools and unprepared when it comes to teaching PM styles (Turton and Durrant, 2002; Larson, 2019; Morrison, 2007; Stavrou and O'Connell, 2022).
The author believes this status quo creates an unfair situation for students and teachers alike and needs to change if we are to fulfil both the training needs of the contemporary singer and the continuing career security of singing teachers. Better standards of teacher training in this area must be introduced if this is to be achieved (Wright, 2008; Larson, 2019). A rationale based on both practical experience and academic research is proposed, using greater data from the on-the-ground experience of PM singers, teachers and industry personnel such as studio and live sound technicians in order to learn what is most needed in modern PM voice pedagogy (Sear, 2023). Ideally, an open dialogue between voice teachers from different backgrounds and mutual respect of each other’s professions should exist (Larson, 2019; McPhail, 2013) so that we may all learn from one another.
References
Bartlett, I. and Naismith, M.L. (2020). “An Investigation of Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Voice Pedagogy: A Class of its Own?”, NATS Journal of Singing, 76(3): pp. 273–282.
Bosacki, S., Francis-Murray, N., Pollon, D.E. and Elliott, A. (2006). ‘‘Sounds good to me’: Canadian children's perceptions of popular music.” Music Education Research, 8(3): pp. 369–385.
Cafaro, A. and Arneson, C. (2020). Audio Technology: A Tool for Teachers and Singers, NATS Journal of Singing, 76(3), pp. 311–315.
Chandler, Kim. (2014). Teaching Popular Music Styles. In Harrison, S.D. and O'Bryan, J. eds. 2014. Teaching Singing in the 21st Century, pp. 35–51. Springer.
Cox, D. (2020). In the room where it happens: teaching musical theatre and contemporary and commercial music (CCM) singing (Doctoral dissertation, University of Southern Queensland).
Davis, S. (2015). Children, popular music, and identity. In The child as musician: A handbook of musical development, McPherson, G. ed., 2015: pp. 265–283. Oxford University Press.
Edwards, Matthew (2014). So You Want To Sing Rock ‘N’ Roll – A Guide For Professionals, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group Inc, Maryland, USA
Edwards, M. and Hoch, M. (2018). CCM versus Music Theater: A Comparison, NATS Journal of Singing, 75(2).
Edwin, R. (2001) Working with "Mike", NATS Journal of Singing, 58(2), pp. 171–172. Green, L. (2002). How popular musicians learn: A way ahead for music education. Routledge.
Hargreaves, David J. and Marshall, Nigel A. (2003). Developing identities in music education. Music Education Research, 5(3).
Hughes, D. (2014). Contemporary vocal artistry in popular culture musics: Perceptions, observations and lived experiences. In Harrison, S.D. and O'Bryan, J. eds. 2014. Teaching Singing in the 21st Century, pp. 287–301. Springer.
Humphreys, Gary (2019.) Quiet please: reducing occupational exposure to harmful noise, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 97(10), pp. 650–652.
Kratus, J. (2007). Music Education at the Tipping Point. Music Educators Journal, 94(2): pp. 42–48.
Larson, R. (2019). Popular music in higher education. College Music Symposium, 59(2): pp. 1–14. College Music Society.
LoVetri, J. 2002. Contemporary commercial music: More than one way to use the vocal tract. NATS Journal of Singing, 58(3): pp. 249–252.
McPhail, G. (2013). The canon or the kids: Teachers and the recontextualisation of classical and popular music in the secondary school curriculum. Research Studies in Music Education, 35(1), pp. 7–20.
Miksza, P. (2013). The future of music education: Continuing the dialogue about curricular reform. Music Educators Journal, 99(4): pp. 45–50.
Morrison, S. (2007). Examining Teachers’ Attitudes towards the Use of Popular Music in Formal Music Education. The Phenomenon of Singing, 6, pp. 152–161.
Reinhert, K. (2019). Singers in Higher Education: Teaching Popular Music Vocalists, In The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music Education: Perspectives and Practices, pp. 127–140. Bloomsbury Press.
Scearce, Leda (2016) Manual of singing voice rehabilitation: A practical approach to vocal health and wellness, Plural Publishing
Sear, J. (2023). Modern vocal pedagogy: Investigating a potential curricular framework for training popular music singing teachers. Journal of Popular Music Education, Intellect Publishing Ltd.
Stavrou, N.E. and O'Connell, L. (2022). Music teachers at the crossroads: navigating the curriculum as plan and lived. Music Education Research, 24(2), pp. 166–179.
Thomaidis, K. (2019). What is new in voice training?. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 10(3), pp. 295–302.
Titze, I.R. (2015) Training the electronic (microphone) singer, NATS Journal of Singing, 71(5), p.601.
Turton, A. and Durrant, C. (2002). A study of adults' attitudes, perceptions and reflections on their singing experience in secondary school: Some implications for music education. British Journal of Music Education, 19(1): pp. 31–48.
Wigginton, J. R. (2010). When “proper” is dead wrong: How traditional methods fail aspiring artists. NATS Journal of Singing, 66(4): pp. 447–50.
Wilson, P. (2003). Sinful modern music: Science and the contemporary commercial singer. Australian Voice, 9, pp. 12–16.
Woody, R.H. (2007). Popular music in school: Remixing the issues. Music Educators Journal, 93(4): pp. 32–37.
Wright, R. (2008). Kicking the habitus: Power, culture and pedagogy in the secondary school music curriculum. Music Education Research, 10(3): pp. 389–402.
Web References
IFPI report 2021: https://www.ifpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IFPI-Engagingwith-Music-report.pdf
NPME 2022: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-power-of-music-tochange-lives-a-national-plan-for-music-education
Biography
www.popupvocaltraining.co.uk
Jo has been singing rock, pop and soul music all her life. She joined her first professional working band at age 21 and has been behind a microphone ever since, singing lead and backing vocals in a wide variety of rock, soul and blues bands, working as a session singer and taking part in many stage productions, including several at the London Palladium. Her current band is Soul Enforcement Bureau, an 8piece professional soul band.
She has been a teacher of CCM singing styles exclusively for over 17 years, working both privately and within secondary and dance schools. She has trained extensively in many different areas of voice study, including the Estill Model, advanced anatomy and voice acoustics, and has taught a wide range of students, from amateurs to professionals. She completed her MA in Voice Pedagogy with Distinction in April 2021 and is a passionate advocate of the importance of training more rock/pop teachers and conducting more contemporary voice research. Her final dissertation project - a research-based curriculum outline for training Popular Music singing teachers - has recently been published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Popular Music Education. Jo began PhD study at the Royal Northern College of Music in September 2023 on the institution’s Music Education pathway. She is a member of APME, AOTOS and the British Voice Association and has presented for the BVA on several occasions.
The Optimistic Singing Student. Building resilience and facilitating growth
‘WISDOM AMONGST US’ CONFERENCE, June 2023
Richard Edgar-Wilson
This article was sparked by a conversation with my daughter, who researches canine behaviour and olfaction, particularly the way dogs’ noses can help save lives and the environment. She told me that their dogs are sometimes categorised as “optimistic” or “pessimistic” (Mendel et al., 2010; Starling et al., 2014) and, perhaps not surprisingly, the optimistic dogs often flourish (de Castro, 2020). This got me thinking: what if I categorised my singing students as optimists or pessimists too? Those who enter a lesson thinking that they might improve, or those certain that nothing I say can make the slightest difference. How might I better work with all my students, but particularly those who find optimism challenging?
Firstly, we should define what is meant by optimism. Some equate optimism with happiness, or they use it to mean a general positivity about life. Psychologists often use more restricted definitions that talk about beliefs rather than emotions (Segerstrom, 2011), and those who study personality refer to something called dispositional optimism, “the generalized, relatively stable tendency to expect good outcomes across important life domains” (Scheier & Carver, 2018). The focus of this article is on exploring this definition of optimism as a personality trait.
An individual’s level of dispositional optimism is shaped by two beliefs: expecting good future events versus anticipating bad ones (Segerstrom, 2011). If you strongly think that good things are going to happen to you and that bad things won't, you are very optimistic. But if you strongly believe bad things are going to happen to you and good things won’t, then you are very pessimistic. As Figure 1 shows, most people –around 80% – are somewhat to very optimistic. But does this translate to the singing studio? If so, how can we bolster the confidence of most of our students who believe that good things might happen with their singing? And how do we work with the 1 in 5 who think the opposite, to support them to grow and be the best they can be?
Figure 1. A pie chart showing the spread of people from “very pessimistic” to “very optimistic”, in Segerstrom (2011).
We know that optimism (or more specifically the absence of pessimism; Scheier et al., 2021)) is correlated with positive outcomes. Numerous studies have shown that optimism leads to better health, such as reducing the occurrence of coronary heart disease and stroke, limiting the progression of HIV, even boosting birth weight and gestational age (Kim et al., 2011; Kubzansky et al., 2001; Rasmussen et al., 2009; Scheier & Carver, 2018; Scheier et al., 2021). Bluntly put, optimists are less likely to die prematurely. Optimism also builds resilience (Gómez Molinero et al., 2018; Maheshwari & Jutta, 2020; Segovia et al., 2012; Shatte et al., 1999), and it does this because optimists believe their goals are achievable. As described by Scheier and Carver (1993), “People who see desired outcomes as attainable continue to strive for those outcomes, even when progress is slow or difficult… Thus people's expectancies provide a basis for engaging in one of two very different classes of behaviour: continued striving versus giving up”.
Optimism empowers us to try again, for when outcomes appear out of reach, people may remove themselves from the process and give up, and we see this with our singing students all the time. A pessimist tends to internalise disappointments and rejections, making them seem more permanent than they really are. This outlook exaggerates the negative, often overshadowing the positive. Pessimistic thinking makes it harder to navigate setbacks whereas optimists see disappointments as fleeting circumstances that will change (Gavin, n.d.).
Optimism is not about just seeing the bright side of a situation or expecting good things in the future, it’s also a way of interpreting past events. As described in Gavin (n.d.): “When something good happens, optimists think about what they did to make the situation turn out so well. They see their abilities as permanent, stable parts of themselves. They think of how this good thing can lead to other good things. When things don't go as expected, it's the reverse. Optimists don't blame themselves. They see setbacks as temporary… Because they don't view setbacks as personal failings, optimists are able to bounce back from disappointment better than pessimists.”
In short, optimism increases motivation and effort whereas pessimism decreases them. And this makes perfect sense. What's the point of putting a lot of effort towards a future that isn’t going to work out anyway? Singers who believe they’ll succeed are more willing to put in the hours practicing and building their craft than those who don’t think they’ll be able to sing their piece or achieve whatever goals they have set themselves. It seems better for them to withhold effort, even if it all ends in disappointment.
But what if you're not an optimist? What if you find it hard to imagine yourself being able to sing your song from memory or perform successfully in public? Research finds that the portion of optimism that is inherited is only about 25 to 35%, which is lower than for most other personality characteristics (Segerstrom, 2011). So, although there are heritable elements (Fox et al., 2015; Schulman et al., 1993), and socio-economic factors mustn’t be ignored (Schutte et al., 1996), pessimism can be a habit, and like the other vocal or physical habits that we encounter in the studio it can be changed. As highlighted by Seligman (2006), “One of the most significant findings in psychology in the last twenty years is that individuals can choose the way they think”. Optimism can be learned (Seligman 1990; 2007), and as teachers, part of our job is to facilitate optimism in our students.
We are probably far more critical of our own behaviour than we are of anyone else’s (see Green & Gallwey, 1987 for “self-interference”). Psychologists suggest that we assess some aspect of our performance about 300-400 times a day (Paulson, 2010) –and I’m pretty sure its way more often for us singers! Previous research suggests that about 80% of these judgements will be negative and only about 20% positive. “However publicly we present ourselves as 95% effective and only admit to making an occasional mistake to appear human” (Paulson, 2010).
Consequently, we often portray ourselves unfavourably when we contrast our private knowledge of ourselves with how others perceive us.
We may fear that people will uncover the “truth” and withhold their approval (almost the definition of imposter syndrome), and herein lies the contradiction inherent in teaching: the teacher is trying to uncover what isn't working at precisely the same time as the student is trying to avoid discovery, disguising their weaknesses to appear better than they are.
As teachers we are often treading a very thin line, addressing complacency without destroying confidence and optimism. The implication is that when students are so preoccupied with their faults, to counterbalance their own 80% negative feedback of themselves, we need a 4-1 positive to negative feedback ratio just to be perceived as being supportive (Paulson, 2010). We must tell the truth about the obstacles that students face otherwise they cannot grow, but we also need to inspire them to take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead. We must enable our students to forgive themselves, to make room for mistakes and to learn from them: to be selfcritical without mentally damaging themselves. For some, striving for perfection may prove a fatal flaw. Particularly in classical performance a misplaced perception exists that there is some form of ideal standard in music, whereas (to quote the dancer and choreographer Martha Graham), “No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching” (De Mille, 1991). Living comfortably in that paradox is part of what it means to be a musician.
One of many singers’ most prevalent pessimistic thoughts is the fear of failure – that you will forget your words, run out of breath, crack on a note, or even that people will laugh at you when you sing, and your life will be ruined. This fear of failure has a strong association with shame, something that develops in infancy, and which can colour people's thinking their whole lives (Schore, 1998). Better not to even attempt that solo, enter that music competition, or audition for that choir. The student’s first step is to recognise that such thoughts are indeed pessimistic: there is usually no evidence that the feared outcome will happen (Johnson et al., 1994; LaFreniere & Newman, 2020). Sometimes re-framing a past performance that went “wrong” can be helpful. Every day we tell ourselves stories: we fashion a narrative for our existence, so if I lose my keys I say to myself “Oh, they must have slipped out of my pocket”, or “perhaps they’re in that coat I was wearing yesterday”. We do the same every time we sing: “I can’t do this piece, it’s got a high A in it”, or “I really messed up last time I sang in public so I’m not doing that again”. But what if we reframe the narrative? What if we approach challenges with optimism and instead say, “with some work, I can probably manage that A as when I warm up, I am always going higher than that”, or “I had a headache the day I had that embarrassing performance – I probably won’t next time, so I shouldn’t worry that the same thing will happen again.” Fear of failure can be the lock that keeps success outside.
Optimism and pessimism can impact risks of mental health concerns such as depression. As Abramson et al. (2000) say, “the way that people interpret or explain events in their lives… importantly affects their vulnerability to depression.
Pessimists think negative consequences will follow from a negative life event, and it’s their fault when bad things happen – there’s something fundamentally wrong with them.” Optimists on the other hand “tend to attribute negative events to unstable and specific causes… and don't feel that a flaw in themselves is the cause.” Optimistic people are more likely than pessimists to remain hopeful when confronting negative life events and are thus less likely to develop episodes of depression. Why should this matter to us as singing teachers? After all, we're not primarily counsellors or mental health experts. Well, many of my students are adolescents, teenagers, young adults and young professionals, aged between 11-28. One study (conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic) found that while rates of clinical depression are relatively level at about 2% from ages 11-15, they increase dramatically to 17% at age 18, and rise slightly again to 18% at age 21 (Hankin et al., 1998).
Singing teachers are privileged to interact regularly with young people on a one-toone basis. Encouraging an optimistic cognitive style could help protect adolescents and young adults from this surge of depression, as research has shown that even when optimism is illusory, it can provide protection from depression (Abramson et al., 2000).
We know that when it comes to listening to music, people often turn to sad music (particularly after a negative life event) to help them cope, to work through their emotions, and to distance themselves from past experiences (Eerola et al., 2015; Van den Tol & Edwards, 2013). Listening to sad music is expected to provide strength and offer solace. However, a Dutch study (ter Bogt et al., 2021) shows that adolescents who are insecure about themselves cannot buffer their negative thoughts by listening to sad music that may reflect how they are feeling: in other words, listening to sad music makes them sadder.
What about the singing of sad songs? Should we be mindful of the repertoire that we are sharing with our young singers who may be prone to a pessimistic self-image or world view? For these students ought we be suggesting music that is uplifting, invigorating, or comforting? While we do not have direct research to answer this question, it is worth considering optimism and pessimism when proposing repertoire.
Many students will mirror our behaviour, but it’s not enough just for us to be optimistic. Our challenge is to make optimism contagious and, as Terry Paulson (2010) has said, “that means becoming a cheerleader, champion, communicator, challenger, change agent and comic.” Some strategies for fostering optimism might include:
Being transparent about your own mistakes and failings
Systematic reflection: encourage your student to learn from both their successes and failures (Ellis et al., 2014)
If you’re not making mistakes you’re not learning
Feedback is not blame
Always find things to praise
Set achievable goals
Foster courage
Use the rehearsal studio of the mind: using the imagination positively in mental rehearsal
Practice does not make perfect – practice makes permanent
You’re not a failure when you are ill
A simple question that seeks affirmative rather than negative answers is “What’s working for you?” (Paulson, 2010)
In summary, as Segerstrom (2011) says: “the pessimistic student deals with difficulty by ruminating, withdrawing, disengaging and eventually underachieving. The optimistic student deals with difficulty by setting goals, planning, engaging and eventually reaping the rewards”. We want our students to be optimistic because optimism breeds resilience and leads to success, but the essential difference is “not between positivity and negativity but between trying harder and trying less” (Segerstrom, 2011). The more we can enable our students to keep trying, the more they will grow as singers – and the more fulfilled we will be as teachers.
References
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de Castro, A. C. V., Fuchs, D., Morello, G. M., Pastur, S., de Sousa, L., & Olsson, I. A. S. (2020). Does training method matter? Evidence for the negative impact of aversivebased methods on companion dog welfare. Plos one, 15(12), e0225023
De Mille, A. (1991). Martha: The Life and Work of Martha Graham. Random House
Eerola, T., Vuoskoski, J. K., Peltola, H. R., Putkinen, V., & Schäfer, K. (2018). An integrative review of the enjoyment of sadness associated with music. Physics of Life Reviews, 25, 100–121
Ellis, S., Carette, B., Anseel, F., & Lievens, F. (2014). Systematic reflection: Implications for learning from failures and successes. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(1), 67–72
Fox, E., Booth, C., & Pluess, M. (2015). The heritability and genetics of optimism, spirituality and meaning in life. Genetics of psychological well-being. The role of heritability and genetics in positive psychology, 132–145
Gavin, M. L. (n.d.). Optimism. Retrieved 12.26.23 from https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/optimism.html
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Green, B. & Gallwey, W. T. (1987). The Inner Game of Music. Pan Macmillan
Hankin, B. L., Abramson, L. Y., Moffitt, T. E., Silva, P. A., McGee, R., & Angell, K. E. (1998). Development of depression from preadolescence to young adulthood: emerging gender differences in a 10-year longitudinal study. Journal of abnormal psychology, 107(1), 128
Johnson, R. C., Edman, J. L., Danko, G. P., & Darvill, T. J. (1994). How often do bad things happen? Reported and predicted frequencies. European Journal of Psychological Assessment
Kim, E. S., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2011). Dispositional optimism protects older adults from stroke: the Health and Retirement Study. Stroke, 42(10), 2855–2859
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LaFreniere, L. S., & Newman, M. G. (2020). Exposing worry’s deceit: Percentage of untrue worries in generalized anxiety disorder treatment. Behavior Therapy, 51(3), 413–423
Maheshwari, A., & Jutta, M. V. (2020, October 26). Study of relationship between optimism and resilience in the times of COVID-19 among university students https://doi.org/10.25215/0603.051
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Paulson, T. L. (2010). The optimism advantage: 50 simple truths to transform your attitudes and actions into results. John Wiley & Sons
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Biography
Richard Edgar-Wilson is a classical tenor who has worked at ENO, Garsington, Norwegian Opera, Scottish Opera and La Scala, Milan. He has made over fifty solo recordings including Messiah, Mozart Requiem, Stradella San Giovanni Battista (winner of a Gramophone Award), Die Schöne Müllerin, Winter Words, and On Wenlock Edge.
Much in demand as a singing teacher, vocal coach and adjudicator, Richard teaches at Cambridge University and with the National Youth Choir. He has given masterclasses in Austria, America and Singapore, and at the Britten-Pears School, Dartington and Benslow. He has been Treasurer of the British Voice Association and has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Suffolk.
www.richardedgar-wilson.com
Review: The Simple Science of Singing
by Christopher Goldsack
Reviewed
by Dr Clare Griffel
A book of this kind is very welcome, bringing together as it does both the physics and the anatomy of singing, informed by what is clearly a great deal of musical and teaching experience. Christopher Goldsack taught physics before becoming a successful singer and teacher of singing, and on the evidence of his writing here he must have been an excellent science teacher. He has a gift for illuminating even the trickiest of scientific concepts by imagery and analogies to which everyone will be able to relate.
Of course, the science is not simple – a fact acknowledged on the cover of the book, which reads ‘The (not so) Simple Science of Singing’. And there are parts of the book which those with less mathematical background will undoubtedly find challenging. However, the author helpfully signposts those sections, pointing out material which can be skipped over without losing track of the overall argument. Terms such as ‘linear and nonlinear models’ might also be unfamiliar to some readers, but it isn’t essential to know in detail what such terms mean in order to follow the explanations. The author’s readable, not-too-formal style also helps.
The book begins with a discussion of sound and the behaviour of sound waves, moves on to physiological processes of breathing and phonation, and brings the two aspects together through sections on resonance, words, life changes in the voice, resonance, vibrancy and control, changes in the voice through life, and finishing with an interesting chapter titled ‘So why is the science of singing so unintuitive?’. Throughout, the discussion is not restricted to classical singing, but includes coverage of aspects such as belt.
It’s hard to do justice in a short review to all the topics covered, but sections which I found particularly interesting included the discussions of registers and of formants –I found the explanation of the latter in terms of the spectrum of resonances in the vocal tract much the most helpful that I have come across. (Full disclosure: in my non-singing life I am a professional mathematician, so I do have a taste for proper scientific explanations!).
I have a few minor reservations: as is almost inevitable in a first printing, the book contains a number of misprints, one or two of which might be confusing for readers. And I would have welcomed the inclusion of an index.
One of the most attractive features of the book is the author’s acknowledgment that science is not the whole story, and that what singers experience is also important. A couple of quotes will make this clear: ‘I would rather be taught by someone who only knew what really good singing feels like than someone who only knows the science’. And – wise words these – ‘limiting oneself to evidence-only based teaching for fear of getting things wrong is not the answer’.
So who would benefit from reading this book? I think it will be of particular value to the increasing numbers of people who are pursuing formal qualifications in vocal pedagogy. But I believe anyone who would like to have a clearer understanding of the science underpinning our art, and of what exactly is going on as we listen to our pupils, would gain a lot from reading it – I certainly did.
