Fairynne's Interview

Interviewee: Collegiate voice student of Professor Fairynne Rogers

Date and approximate length of interview: 04/28/2024, 40 minutes

Interview questions:

1. Tell me about your disability(s) and when you were diagnosed.

2. How has accessing resources been at the collegiate level?

3. What are the biggest supports you need? Academically? Attitudinally? Musically?

4. What are some of the barriers that you feel exist when taking voice lessons?

5. What is something everyone should know coming out of this interview?

6. Is there anything else about you or your disability that you would like to share that we haven’t covered?

The focus of my project is examining the standard private voice lesson format at the collegiate level and identifying barriers that exist for neurodivergent students. This student was diagnosed with ADHD early on in life, so that was a large portion of our discussion. Something that continually came up was the guilt response that the student experiences as a result of their disability. They expressed the need for constant reminders, but those reminders can often be a distraction to those around them. For example, one solution that they had thought of was to set multiple alarms, but when those alarms go off, they feel as if it is a disturbance to those around them. On the other hand, if they do not set alarms, they forget about something, inevitably causing them to forget something that they were supposed to do. For this student, one of those things is the 15-minute coaching time that they get with a pianist each week. Even though the pianist had emailed them earlier that day, they forgot when the time came. They expressed guilt for forgetting because they truly wanted to be there - it just was something their brain had skipped over. Because voice lessons are primarily a participation grade, they worry about their grade in the class due to missing coaching sessions with the pianist.

The student also expressed frustration with the memorization and foreign language requirements that are built into this particular university’s voice lesson policies. Memorization of a song in English is difficult enough due to the way that this student’s brain functions, so it is nearly impossible for them to memorize a song in a foreign language and perform it for a jury at the end of each semester. This led to a discussion of their learning style, and how difficult it is for them to independently practice. We only meet for 30 minutes a week, and the student mentioned that they learn material the best when they are consistently exposed to it. This is partially why the foreign language requirement is so difficult, let alone the fact that they need to also learn an additional two pieces for their jury at the end of each semester. They expressed a need to utilize music for their foreign language piece during their jury at the end of each semester rather than sing that piece from memory. This need is important because the juries are often used as a “measure of success,” and the student continually feels like they fail due to forgetting the words of the foreign language piece that they are required to sing.

In addition to ADHD, this student has a diagnosed tic disorder. A major need that they expressed is the need to move during performances. They talked about how tics are not optional - they need to happen. Tapping a foot or rocking from side to side can often be a sign of nervousness and is discouraged in performance practice. The student tries so desperately to stay still while performing, but the build-up of energy causes them severe distress while performing because their brain diverts energy to holding back a tic rather than remembering words. They said they sometimes feel pain in trying to hold back a tic, which is something one tends to avoid while singing. The need to move is important to them so that they can feel at ease with their body and perform without the feeling of judgment and scrutiny.

I have a few initial ideas to address these needs through their weekly lessons. In regards to the constant reminders, the student might benefit from a practice plan: first scheduling time each week for three 20-minute practice sessions and being given three 20-minute practice session guides that detail how each 20-minute time slot should be spent. The tangible outcome of this would be preparedness for their weekly lessons, piano coachings, and end-of-semester performances. For the memorization requirement, my first step is to appeal to the head of the music department for permission for this student to utilize music for their foreign language piece during their jury. Apart from this, we have chosen a very, very short foreign language piece this semester, and I have the student repeat the text each week in their lesson. I am taking a more syllable-note relationship this semester rather than a word-meaning relationship to see if this helps the student fulfill the requirement imposed by the university. Finally, I have simply given the student permission to move however they need. The remainder falls to me to begin a conversation with my colleagues and members of the music department about the decision I have made and to back it up with research.

Resources that I will need to explore are specific intersections of research into ADHD in the vocal studio and general information on tic disorders. I am more familiar with ADHD, but I am not as familiar with tic disorders - therefore, I will be looking into general information and establishing a base knowledge before delving specifically into research on tic disorders and music.