Voice Pedagogy for Whole Humans
Chicago College of Performing Arts
Roosevelt University
(And online!)
Here’s the sitch:
Sometimes our voice students struggle even when we offer every tool, tip, trick, and hack in the book. They seem untrusting, or unwilling, and can’t engage in the process of learning to get where they say they want to go. Sometimes we try everything we can think of and still can’t seem to help them progress. Or worse, they quit lessons without telling us why.
The good news:
This kind of student behavior isn’t mysterious; it’s actually pretty predictable and easy to navigate with the right skillset. Voice Pedagogy for Whole Humans will help you understand why your students resist what you offer them, and how to get them on board while also giving you less work. We’ll get to the heart of teaching, relating to your students, and empowering them to achieve what they set out to do.
If you’d rather see your students empowered than pushed or pigeon-holed, you’re in the right place.
If you’d rather feel ease and lightness when you’re teaching and not like you’re pulling teeth every week, then you’re in the right place.
If you’d rather not spend lesson time mentally skimming through your entire toolbox for the right way to adjust a student’s technique (or maybe can’t even imagine a world in which that isn’t your job), then you are in the right place.
You’ve already collected the exercises, diagrams, gadgets, certificates, and knowledge of how the voice works. But how do humans work?
Why do some students just not get it? Why do some students seem like they don’t care to learn no matter what tools you offer them?
–
What if you’re not offering the wrong tool? What if it’s just your teaching?
We are ready to take that path with you.
Teachers need practice, too. Between each session, connect with colleagues and presenters to work through new concepts. We love a mock lesson!
Embrace your own resistance. This way of thinking about voice pedagogy is still relatively new in our industry.
It’s ok if it feels weird.
Teaching requires that you see your students and yourself as whole humans.
Teaching is just as vulnerable as learning, and your limits and boundaries are just as important. You are not an empty bucket into which your students dump their insecurities. You are an artistic, communicative, smart, caring, whole human.
Ways to embody whole human pedagogy:
- Create a space where you and your students feel comfortably present in your creativity and growth.
- Confidently honor your limits and boundaries while teaching your students to do the same for themselves.
- Celebrate all the facets of your students’ growth in ways that are meaningful and motivating for them.
Pedagogy is invitation, reflection, and compassionate connection.
All the anatomy knowledge in the world does not make you a good voice teacher.
But how to ask a juicy question and get your students to teach themselves—
THAT is whole human pedagogy.
Teach them by facilitating their personal process and progress and the science of singing is almost unnecessary.
Voice Pedagogy for Whole Humans
is unlike any other voice pedagogy conference or training program out there.
You might need time to just sit and let it all sink in. You might need a buddy to process out loud with. You might need to hear from other folks that this is different than how we were taught.
Voice Pedagogy for Whole Humans is Unique:
There are no overlapping sessions because we know you’ll want to be part of all of them. No need to decipher anyone else’s notes on the sessions you missed.
There are generous breaks between sessions to give you time to process and internalize what you’re learning about your students and yourself.
There will be a dedicated virtual host to facilitate discussions during and after every live-stream session. Attending virtually does not mean you’ll be attending alone.
You can start practicing and implementing new concepts immediately by working with a CCPA or Voice Lab student in a mini-lesson between sessions (also available for virtual attendees!).
Session topics include:
On Being A Whole Human: Cultivating belonging for yourself within your own voice studio
Entry to Exit: Whole Human Pedagogy through the entire student journey
So that…: Reimagining goals, evaluations, and auditions for singers
Transformational Voice Teaching: Coaching and skill-building as a joint path to great voice pedagogy
Whole Human Leadership: Teaching, working, and guiding from your values
Mini-lessons and feedback: Sign up to work with a sample voice student and implement new pedagogy tools with feedback from the presenters
Happy Hour and other Shenanigans: Share stories, challenges, and successes with fellow attendees between every session and at the end of each day
Singing While Human: Voice Lab students and faculty present an unconventional concert experience
You absolutely could...
Do an entire literature review of education and motivation resources like the book 'Ungrading', edited by Susan D. Blum or all of Dr. Shannon Coates's work because she is amazing.
Redesign your own evaluation, jury, and audition forms from scratch.
Continue aligning your student’s goals with what you hope they will want to accomplish, and then watch them stumble and struggle—or worse, give up.
Fall down that spiral of self-doubt and harmful self-talk every time a student doesn’t make the final call-back, places 5th in the competition, or bombs their opening night.
Push through by unnecessarily blaming yourself for any of the scenarios listed above.
Or, you could...
Soak up all the research and experience of the presenters, and then go devour the suggested reading list (if you want to).
Confidently change course to ensure students receive transparent, equitable evaluations and opportunities for growth.
Learn to release the importance of your students’ outcomes as a reflection of your quality and capabilities as a teacher. You’re doing enough.
Help students identify their own desired outcomes, why those outcomes are important to them, and what they need from you in a support role.
Get clear on your responsibilities and point all of that imagination and energy toward teaching better.
I don’t teach in academia, is this still relevant for me?
Yep! Want to reduce your mental/emotional load and have more reliable student attendance? Step up your pedagogy and start teaching more effectively, then watch your students and your studio thrive.
If I’m travelling to Chicago, where should I stay?
We’re compiling resources for where to stay, eat, and soak up the Chicago vibes. We want you to be comfy, and to help you spend your travel bucks at businesses owned and run by folks in marginalized communities.
I only teach in academia, is this still relevant for me?
Yes. Get in here, professor friend. Higher ed in voice performance and pedagogy has a long way to go to catch up to other industries in terms of how we teach. Be an innovator, a rebel, a pedagogue.
I’m Canadian, is this Thanksgiving weekend?
Yes, it is, love. We know you might not be able to join us in person, so we are committed to making the virtual and asynchronous experience as delectable as possible.
What’s the registration fee?
$375 (same price for in person or virtual)
Early bird registration is $250 until April 30
Installment options are available, too!
We'll see you there!
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