#vocalist problems

It’s been a while... hey... how are you? Let me tell you how I am.... I am stressed. Audition season is always so scary and tends to leave me with the sense that everything is up in the air. It is all uncertain you keep asking your self “do I stay with safe or do I take the risk” and that’s terrifying. I know I’m usually a happier blog but during this time I think it’s important for us to all be a bit honest and human. Opera is not all memes and fun it’s deeply personally. When we audition and sing we are holding out our hearts with the realization that someone could crush it. It’s the most vulnerable feeling. I think as performers we don’t talk about this aspect of the craft and I want to SO for the next week please feel free to submit an audition story! It can be anonymous it can be funny it can be personal thoughts about auditioning or opera anything. I only ask that there is no insulting others or profanity because I don’t like that to be put out there. I’m not saying it can’t be negative but it can’t bring others down! Thank you all and I hope we can start a dialogue!

People from my university have been sharing this article along with personal stories of abuse within their studios. I believe that this is an extremely important topic that all musicians should discuss. What does a good teacher look like? Why does your teacher do certain things or act in certain ways? I have personally experienced the “cult following” studio and know how damaging it can be not only to your growth vocally but also psychologically. This article goes beyond discussing teachers that never have anything good to say about your voice and discusses manipulation and dysfunction within a studio. I also found the questions for teachers at the bottom very interesting and convicting when I considered their application within the studio I am part of.