Fairynne Blog 3

Decide: Blog

Who: Voice Student

Date of activity implementation: 4/21/24

Date of feedback: 4/24/24

Need: The student expressed a need for dedicated time and space to process, so the activity was designed to give them that time and space to reflect on the semester as a whole, including previous activities, and provide their input on how to move forward.

When most people hear the word “jury,” they think of a group of people in a courtroom deciding whether someone is innocent or guilty. When a collegiate musician hears the word “jury,” there’s usually a look of panic and a feeling of anxiety that is associated with that word. You see, finals exist for private lessons at the collegiate level - they are just called juries. Why? I don’t know. It just is. This process varies from school to school about who is required to give a jury and what exactly is required, but the basic format for vocal juries is this: 

1. You are assigned a time to sing - usually an 8-10 minute slot.

2. You fill out a sheet ahead of time detailing the pieces that you have worked on through the semester that you will be presenting to the panel - usually 3-4 selections.

   1. The panel usually consists of all of the voice teachers in the department.

   2. The sheet also includes space for the panel to write comments and some kind of grading/ranking system.

3. You enter the room and are allowed to choose your first piece to sing from those listed on your sheet.

4. As you are singing, the panel writes comments and determines how well you do based on what they think.

5. The panel then chooses another of your listed selections for you to sing and continue writing comments.

6. Once you are finished with the two pieces, you will be free to go. The panel then finishes their comments and grades you based on your performance.

So, if you are around a vocalist during jury time, now you know why they are a little bit more wound up than usual. Is there a rubric for grading? No. It’s all relatively subjective, which is one of the scariest parts of giving a jury. For some, jury anxiety goes away after a few semesters, but for others, it remains a terrifying aspect. This third activity was designed with the jury in mind and was intended to give the student intentional time and space to reflect on their jury and previous activities, as well as allowing them to provide their input on how to move forward.

Something that I noticed for this particular student is that none of the panel commented on the student’s movement. This was really encouraging to the student and I, and it affirms that we are on the right path forward. In every other jury that this student has given while they have worked with me, there was at least one comment about excessive use of movement. I expected some comment or another, but to both of our surprise, nothing was mentioned at all in regards to movement. In the form, I asked the question, “Do you have any other thoughts/observations regarding the movement aspect in performance?” The student wrote that they “felt less trapped in their body,” and that was a huge win for them! 

I used a mix of yes or no questions and short answers on the form. I was hoping that the student would expand more in the short-answer portions of the form since they have expressed to me that they are external processers, however, they kept their answers pretty minimal. Maybe they felt that it was a little bit repetitive, since we had been talking about many of these things throughout the semester quite often. Regardless, I was able to confirm how the student had felt about this semester and give them the space to go into more detail if they wished to. Looking back, I wish I would have added a few more questions that dealt with internal self-talk and workload balance, because those are both important aspects that need to be considered for the overall wellbeing of the student. 

I believe in student voice and choice in the collegiate lesson space, so one question I made sure to ask was “What are some goals that you have for next semester?” The student stated, “Better memorization, and more structure to the movements in my songs, like a dance.” The memorization aspect is something that we have been working on for a while now, and that will require some further research on my end. I want to look into studies to find out whether this student’s disability is shown to have a large effect on the ability to memorize, especially in a foreign language. However, I was struck by their though of structured movements like a dance. This is such a beautiful way to think about movement in performance. Knowing that the student is interested in something structured like that makes me want to explore songs that evoke dancing. Maybe tying the movements to the words or music will also help with memory…

So, now what? Implementation earlier in the semester. We will begin working together again in September, so we will continue what we have discovered this semester. I will be implementing the practice log from the very beginning, allowing the student to build intentional practice time into their weekly routine. We will continue to explore movement in performance, which might help to address the memorization piece of the puzzle. One thing is for certain - the student has expressed that they feel safe, supported, and accepted in their lessons, and that is the most important thing of all.