Letter from Boston Singing Lessons By MASAKO YAMADA	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
歌の練習 小さいころからピアノを通して音楽とかかわっていた雅子さんですが、意外にも歌うことがあまり得意ではありません。声量はあっても、音程を取るのが苦手なのです。自分の好きな歌を歌ってみたいと思っていた雅子さんは、初心者向けの声楽クラスを見つけ、気の合う先生のもとで練習を始めることになりました…。

Although I like to think of myself as a serious amateur piano player, by no means am I an all-around musician. In spite of my almost 20 years of musical activity, including time spent as the pianist of my high school chorus club, my singing voice surely contributes to local noise pollution.

The sounds that my vocal chords produce are actually quite loud and penetrating — but this is all for the worse considering that my tone is nasal and horn-like. Although my musical training has enabled me to identify pitches fairly decently, I can't seem to stay on key when I try to replicate the notes that I hear.

Of course, my lack of ability hasn't prevented me from appreciating vocal music. If anything, I've always been envious of people who can manipulate their voices freely. There is something extremely personal and moving about using one's body as a musical instrument.

As a pianist, I can get away with crouching behind a large instrument and avoiding eye contact with audience members, but singers must face the crowd while performing. The fact that the art is centered around words also adds a whole new dimension that doesn't exist in instrumental music.

I decided to sign up for singing lessons at the New England Conservatory because I want to participate in this beautiful art, not just be a witness to it. I'd been toying with the idea for a while. But I kept on putting off signing up for lessons either because of the high cost of private study, or because of my mistaken notion that true beginner classes don't exist for adults.

Fortunately, I saw a description for group lessons in the NEC Continuing Education catalog that sounded ideal: The cost was reasonable, and the catalog made it clear that the lessons were geared toward beginners.

The description said we would be learning elementary exercises for the first several weeks before venturing into singing music of our choosing — in front of the entire class!!

Of course, I was thrilled at the idea of learning basic breathing techniques, relaxation exercises, posture and the like, but being able to sing personal favorites was what really attracted me. I've never really liked opera, and I would have expected a conservatory to stick to teaching classical music. However, this class would clearly allow me to belt out my favorite radio tunes.

When I went to my first class, I was in for a surprise. My "group lesson" consisted of only one other student. I was further surprised to learn that the conservatory would not be canceling the class due to low enrollment. I'd essentially be getting private lessons at group lesson rates. I immediately liked my teacher, too.

He emphasized that basic singing skills can help improve any kind of music, and he didn't seem to harbor any snobbish thoughts against pop, rock or Broadway. I also liked that he was used to teaching adult students. Indeed, he told us that he prefers to teach mature students over 18. This is a refreshing and, I think, rare attitude in a conservatory, where many teachers seem to want to avoid teaching amateur adults because they are "unreceptive," "not committed," or simply "hopeless."

We talked about our goals dur ing the first class. It was clear that neither my classmate nor I expected much more than being able to enjoy singing. My classmate had taken some singing lessons before, but she was a beginning musician and couldn't even read notes. I was in the opposite situation. It was clear that our teacher didn't expect either of us to be a hidden Jessye Norman, and he was very supportive and encouraging.

For instance, while we warbled our first notes, he told us that we were singing "nice and loud." I normally don't like empty flattery, but I would have been very upset if he had not found something good to say about my voice, since it sounded terrible to me.

After two weeks, we still haven't gotten to the point of singing any real melodies, but I'm already secretly selecting the songs that I want to be able to sing by the end of the semester.

Shukan ST: Oct. 29, 1999

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