From boomers to zoomers – bridging the tech gap in singing lessons
In part 14 of her AOTOS Keynote, Dr Gillyanne Kayes talks about the accelerated tech revolution and what effect that has on younger singers, and older singing teachers!
“I’ve got to confess as a baby boomer. I struggle with tech. I didn’t learn to use a computer till I was 40
A problem we are facing right now is that we are 24/7 ‘on’ and there is a constant onslaught of information out there on the interweb. Now the area I want to cover is how that tech onslaught can lead us to be in a position where, again, true expertise is devalued, and it also puts our clients in the position where they don’t know how to sift the information.
On request last year we ran a whole training session for our Cohort22 on ‘stuff we’ve seen on Instagram’
As the materials were coming in, we were frankly dismayed – why were they bothering with this stuff? Surely, they knew it was nonsense or whatever, at best reductive.
“Our students watch it”, they said – and if someone has 40K followers, who do you think they are going to believe?
Fair point!
So if your students come into class asking if they can do ‘that Cheryl Porter exercise that’s going viral right now’ – let them bring it in. Listen to it – get them to try it out
What do they think it’s for?
How could they adapt it?
Get them to think critically, What would it be like slower, faster, can they make up different phonemes to go with it?
What sort of song would it be useful for? Go and find that song.
Don’t discard – they’re going to watch this stuff anyway
Engage, appraise, teach critical thinking.”
Gillyanne’s Further Reflections
A particular challenge of the current decade is that, with multiple formats for staying in contact, it is sometimes impossible to switch off. And that doesn’t help our mental or physical well-being!
I wonder how many of us get a WhatsApp, SMS or Instagram message from a colleague or client after hours? Personally I find myself checking emails and other message systems very soon after waking up. It’s all too easy to reply just to ‘get it out of the way’. If I am not careful, I am feeling grumpy before my day has even started. And if we as adults find this difficult, it is even more of a challenge for children and teenagers.
Dr Ayan Panja in his podcast Saving Lives in Slow Motion asks us to consider that the smartphone has led to a form of addiction https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/smart-phones-the-hidden-addiction-that-affects-us-all/id1573742958?i=1000654213846. Well worth a listen and his podcast show notes are always excellent.
On the flip side, the tech revolution gave us Zoom and other meeting platforms that enabled many of us to continue working during the pandemic and to open out both our personal and professional meetings to a much wider audience. So we really can connect globally. Numerous apps allow us to download backing tracks, change their speed, key and even remove the vocal from YouTube performances so that our students can literally sing to that iconic performance by (for example) Ella Fitzgerald. Check out the Moises app
Then there’s the use of AI in helping us refine and shape our ideas for promoting ourselves and what we do – anything from helping us write a newsletter or blog, to creating an image and post for social media, to writing copy for our websites. The idea is to learn how to use these tools purposefully. It takes a bit of practice. A side benefit is that by training yourself and, for example ChatGPT, to do its job to fit you, you will be able to spot material that is purely AI generated by its tone and often generic content.
Do you find it a challenge to keep up with the tech revolution or do you surf the wave easily?
Do you explore and encourage the use of viral vocal exercises or do you ban them from your studio?
How would you get your students to think critically about online voice training?
Click here for part 13 of Gillyanne’s AOTOS Keynote – The Impact of Social Censorship on Singing Education and Song Choices
Click here for part 15 of Gillyanne’s AOTOS Keynote – Connecting Through Song: The role of singing leadership in public health
If you’re eager to understand more about what we can do to assist our students when they’re dysregulated, click here for our new online 2-hour Pop-up course with Franka Van Essen Creating a safe space: insights from polyvagal theory for vocal professionals
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And feel free to contact Gillyanne for a Discovery call to find out more about our next Accreditation cohort here
