Confidence vs Realism

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Doing researches on internet once I found an article where I read:

“Teachers are kind, but demanding. I guess there’s a fine line between being encouraging and confidence building – and being realistic. We don’t want the girls to think there’s anything other than hard work ahead. Opera is a business.”

These were the words by Blanche Thebom, Co-Founder and Director of the opera training program for teenage girls at the San Francisco Girls Chorus.

It is indeed my opinion there’s a fine line. A teacher who tries to instill good energy, positive thoughts, self-confidence has also the delicate role of not to give false hope. Many questions raise here, once there are students who correspond better under though words and others who don’t know how to deal with that.

From my own experience I realized for years the importance of positive reinforcement and self-perception of each individual good characteristics. Voice is something not external to our body and so a negative and blunt remark can be almost as personal attack and not only a remark about the ability to manage the instrument. The feeling of lack of skills can cause frustration. On the other side it is really important to keep both feet on the ground and understand to what extend a compliment is 100% realistic or has a psychological effect to enhance the will to practice and work more and better, however aware of some gaps.

Singing is a subject which requires continuous process of refinement, without carelessness and with serious focus. There’s no gained perfection. It’s a permanent evolution, if nothing else because the body also suffers evolution and its natural changes over time.

I think it is important for us to realize who we have as vocal coach, which kind of incentive works for us and construct ourselves our critical and realistic view about our own voice.