Great stuff !
I had such fun today when teaching one of my lady pupils. She is an afficianado of lighter music, and has taught me a great deal of repertoire over the years she has had lessons. I would be fibbing if I said I had always been a fan of 'popular' music, and I have singing friends who would take me to task if I tried to pretend!
P is singing one of the Carmen Jones arias, absolutely musically faithful to Bizet, but with wonderfully Hispanic lyrics, and a sense of the Spanish Quarter in New York. 'Carmen' is such a realistic opera anyway, that the push to the modern 'Carmen Jones ' version takes only a small step of one's imagination! P loves the show, the genre and the style, and she is a marvel at putting over the song.
I love the reality of lyrics like '...I should have had a sweetie pie....', and talk about the 'cafe on the corner...'. It just bubbles with life and humour, whilst never losing the 'verismo' of the original show.
In complete contrast, a lady came for her first lesson. Nervous and lacking in confidence, it is so important to put such scared humanity at their ease in about 3 minutes flat. Only when a 'newbie' feels relaxed and believes I am not going to laugh at their attempts, or turf them out the door with a humiliating humph, can she or he actually begin to make any noise at all!
I watched this charming lady relax, her shoulders dropping by what seemed about 150 metres. She began to feel a little pleased with the small, but sweet sound she was making. Another soul won over, and able to experience the physical pleasure of singing - something I wish everyone could feel.
That's my mission.
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