WHY WOMEN CAN'T TEACH MEN HOW TO SING REAL OPERA

Political correctness dictates to all of us what we must believe. This conditioning starts at an early age, dictating our thoughts and actions for our entire life. If you were triggered by the title of this article and are already in disagreement with its premise, it is likely due to this conditioning. In this article I am going to directly confront the reality of this subject. I invite you to read on with an open mind in this analysis of what is both a fascinating and complex vocal subject. 


THE REASON

The reason women are not effective teachers of men is due to something called kinaesthetic empathy. 

  

KINAESTHETIC EMPATHY 

Kinaesthetic empathy is the miraculous ability to understand how another person is feeling when they are performing a physical activity. It is essentially a type of sixth sense. This ability is extremely important for a singing teacher because it leads to higher understanding in regards to how a singer produces a certain sound. Women are equally capable of having kinaesthetic empathy as men, and women are also capable of teaching singing as well as men. But that is not what this article is about; the intention of this article is not to evaluate the effectiveness of women teaching singing. The intention of this article is to evaluate the effectiveness of women teaching men.

 

THE PROBLEM

A female teacher is severely disadvantaged when teaching a man. Problems arise out of the differences in her own experience of sound making and that of a much heavier voice. The lack of her ability to feel what a male singer is feeling restricts the female teacher from understanding how the sound is actually being made. These misunderstandings are particularly true of the male covered sound.

Women’s vocal cords are in general lighter and smaller than men’s. Their registration is also constructed in a very different way. Women only use their chest voice in the very lowest portion of their range. They do not cover their chest voices in the upper part of their range in the way a dramatic tenor does. Resultingly, they do not understand how it feels to make these sounds, which in turn leads to misunderstandings about how these sounds are produced. The heavier the male voice the greater the problem. A woman teaching a leggiero tenor is not so problematic, however a woman teaching a heldentenor or a Verdian baritone is extremely problematic. 

 

THE MISUNDERSTANDING 

Women’s inability to empathise with the male covered sound normally involves underestimating the energy that is required. The male full voice in the head (la voce piena in testa) involves greater antagonistic engagement of the TA muscle (thyroidarytenoid), which is responsible for chest voice function. This involvement means that the male vocal cords are vibrating with greater mass in the upper portions of the voice. This additional mass requires a much greater involvement of energy. The male covered sound is an unnatural and forced sound which is often misunderstood; women in general cannot relate to this sound as they have no experience of having done it themselves. Resultingly, they are unable to instruct the student to force the sound in the correct way.  

 

THE REAL ISSUE

The problem is not about one gender being unable to teach the other.  The problem actually relates to a teacher being unable to empathise with the sensations experienced by a student who has a voice which is vastly different. A female teacher who is a lyric coloratura will have very little understanding of how it feels for a dramatic tenor to sing the full voice in the head. As a result, the teaching will be ineffective. If however this same student decides to sing as a counter tenor his vocalism will be understood on an empathetic level by the same teacher, which allows the teaching to become effective. 

 

CAN MEN KINAESTHETICALLY EMPATHISE WITH WOMEN

The simple answer is yes, for two reasons: 

1) Men did not always have their adult voices; they have experience of sound making in their pre-pubescent voices as children

2) Men can sing in falsetto. This lighter mechanism gives them experiences which are similar to those experienced by a woman during singing. 

Both of these experiences allow men to empathise with how a woman feels during vocalisation, thereforekinaesthetic empathy is developed. 

It may seem unfair to many. It may offend their sense of equality. We are taught that women can do anything as well as men. But nature dictates the experiences both genders have in regard to vocalising. For those readers who struggle with accepting this I would remind you that it is not a lack of ability, but rather an inherent disadvantage of not having the opportunity to experience vocalisation in a similar way to an adult male. This inability in experience is the only reason women are less effective in this regard. In a similar way, men are disadvantaged in their ability to understand the experience of childbirth. These things are dictated by nature and we cannot change them. 

 

ARE THERE EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE? 

The answer is yes. Some people can understand how other people are feeling and are doing what they are doing even though they have never experienced it themselves. This exception however requires genius level understanding and is extremely rare. The same is true for a person who has never sung becoming an effective teacher; it is possible but extremely unlikely. 

 

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU? 

If you are a male singer who has a female teacher and you have been unable to find your full head voice this is likely the cause of your problems. I would recommend you consider seeking instruction from a male teacher who can demonstrate these sounds for you and help you find the development you require. Developing your high notes will change your singing and possibly your life. Many singers have failed to have a career for lack of this development. You should not suffer for the sake of political correctness. Likewise, if you are a female teacher who has male students that are struggling with their higher register I would encourage you to consider this problem as the possible cause. 

 

FINAL WORD

For many, this reality will be too difficult to confront. People often choose to believe what they want to believe. For these people it will be easier to call me a misogynist and report me to the PC brigade. Cancel culture is not something that I fear as I run a private studio without affiliations. This independence allows me to speak the truth.  By contrast, 99% of teachers are not free of these affiliations. Teachers in this situation are not free to express this view as doing so would create problems and jeopardise their livelihood. This censorship which stems out of political correctness is the only reason why this view is not more commonly expressed

 

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Copyright Brett Goulding 2020

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