Benvenuto, everyone!
Today I had my first voice lesson with Brianna Carswell, a transgender woman with little singing expierience. Finding a starting point for someone relatively alien to the world of classical voice can be a daunting task, but I hope this can lend some insight.
I spoke to Dr. Sarah Wee, professor of voice Pedagogy at Troy University, about where I should start training someone with no formal training and no prior experience in vocal technique.
Once I knew where to start, that first step seemed much more obvious to me. Being able to match pitch is essential to match pitch. I had heard Brianna sing before, and I was actually unsure if she could match pitch, so I definitely needed some help proceeding.
Dr. Wee helped me devise a simple test to evaluate Brianna’s pitch matching capabilities. I assigned Brianna with the task of determining her favorite song to sing along to in a casual setting, and she brought me a song she said she felt fit her voice well and that she sings with some confidence.
She sang along with the acoustic version of “Simple Man” by Shinedown. Singing under the music gave Brianna the confidence to sing out more than she would have had it been a capella, and I found that she can, in fact, match pitch.
Her lower register was more developed, so she had an easier time matching the lower notes, but the recognition of the pitches was certainly there. She noted later that she had never been taught to sing falsetto, which might be something we can work toward over the course of training.
There’s a reason this gives me so much confidence. According to Classiclfm.com, only about 5% of the population is truly tone deaf. For those who have some trouble hearing and repeating notes, the best way to see if a singer can match pitch is to have them listen to and repeat tones made using the human voice. Most people can hear a voice easier than they can a piano or other instrument.
Now that I know she can match pitch, I know I can effectively train her voice and technique. I’m excited to continue working with Brianna and see her journey with me through the human voice.
Cantare!
