My name is Moran Cohen Talmor, and I am from Israel. I am a vocalist and songwriter, and I have been teaching voice for 11 years. In my 39 years of life, I have practiced martial arts, hydrotherapy, Rei-ki, Qui-gong, Alexander technique, and swimming. And so, it is only natural that I have always been interested in voice production approaches that are based on bodywork. My life was changed five years ago when I had the privilege to meet Ms. Jeanie LoVetri. I took her SVW™ courses levels 1, 2 and 3, and since then have become 100% a SVW™ teacher. In the following years, Jeanie has been a mentor, and a professional as much as a spiritual inspiration to me. I try my best to come to America every year to deepen my understanding of her work.
After practicing Jeanie`s method for 5 years, and daily witnessing the powerful impact it has on people`s voices, I felt a deep calling to step up to the next level, and start creating voice pedagogy in Israel that is based on the LoVetri Method.
Jeanie was of course incredibly supportive. She spent so much time and effort guiding me both before and throughout the process, asking me all the right questions, and giving profoundly detailed answers to mine. I wasn`t alone in this, and so, my first 3 months journey as the leader of a “teacher`s course” has begun.
8 of the 11 students who enrolled my course I hadn’t known previously. They did not know me either, and had never seen my work. I had no idea what to expect; who am I going to meet? What is their base of knowledge? How do they sing? How do they teach? Will they like me? Will they trust me?
One thing I know for certain: a student that attends a voice class in the Somatic Voicework™ method, with a SVW™ teacher feels immediate change in his or her voice production after 40 minutes or less. She/he will always feel free, light and powerful at the same time, happy, connected and content. SO I decided to be on the safe side: on the first lesson, I chose to demonstrate my work. I gave a full class to a new person who had not worked with me before, and asked the students to write in their notebooks what they saw and what they heard. I introduced the work to them. By reading their answers I had the chance to get to know them a little bit.
Their impressions of the class were interesting. 90% of them were stunned by two main factors: one was that I talked only in a positive manner to the student, did not criticize her, and never told her all that was “wrong” with her, and two, that I managed to “solve” all of her “breathing issues” without any breathing exercises – just voice work. After that class I felt that I gained their trust, and was ready to start with the real deal.
During the course, we learned about the respiratory system and the way it functions. A good friend who is a wonderful speech pathologist gave a guest lecture about the structural mechanism and the functioning of the larynx. We learned how to listen for function, and how to isolate the two main registers. We learned about the vocal tract, and covered some possible voice issues.
Much of the teaching had to do with the humane approach that Jeanie promotes in her teaching, and the full responsibility that teachers have to take over the class. This was new to most of the students, as most teachers come with a bunch of exercises, but don’t really know how to listen to the impact that those exercises might or should have on the throat. LoVetri `s Method encourages its teachers to be present 100% of the time. This was not an easy concept for some of my students to deal with. I think it is quite demanding for some people.
The teacher`s course was not a formal SVW™ course, and of course I was not eligible to qualify anyone for anything, but I did want to represent Jeanie well. I felt it was my main purpose to deliver the spirit of her teaching as much as her professional attitude. My main challenge was to present my method without dismissing the methods of some of my students (although sometimes it was really absurd…), and I cannot wait for the next courses just to get better at that.
The last lesson was similar to the first lesson. I met a different woman, and worked with her while the students had to write again what they saw and what they heard. Then we compared their impressions from this class to the first one. It was then that they realized how much they had learned. They could almost analyze the process by themselves.
I am thrilled to be constantly hearing reports that many of the participants have been receiving more and more new students in their private studios since taking the course, and that they see wonderful results. I am completely overwhelmed by this experience, and I cannot wait for the next course.
Here are some of the
participants` feedback:
“My name is Roy, I have been studying classical singing for almost 10 years before stumbling unintentionally upon Moran`s doorstep. After one lesson, already wanted to know the voice in the way she helped me discover. Shortly after, I joined Moran`s course of voice teaching fundamentals which was the most eye opening and practical study in this field I ever encountered. I am thankful for this opportunity, and feel safe to pass on this teaching to my students, and be supervised and mentored by her.”
“My name is Tamar. I have been studying voice with various teachers in various styles for many years. I am a professional singer, and I teach voice. I always have been very interested in the voice functioning, mechanism, and had so many open questions. So I felt that this course came to me at the perfect time. The course was wonderful. Moran is a great teacher. She made all of us in the group feel safe, so we could connect to each other and open up in front of each other during the work. Her passion for her work is contagious, and it helped me clear all the “noises” in my head and just focus on the teaching. I am looking forward to practice all this knowledge in my studio.