I have heard again that there are many who are “against” certifying teachers of singing. I find this very interesting. Why should they care? Shouldn’t they care that teachers of singing are NOT certified and that anyone, regardless of who they are or what they know, can teach singing and not be stopped? Shouldn’t they have been up in arms all this time, protesting the utter lack of standards in a profession that has steadfastly refused to set them for two hundred years? Shouldn’t they have been organizing to get the profession into the 21st Century long before the 21st Century arrived?
Those who attend my courses must attend all course hours. They must pass a basic test. They must sing. It’s a course that requires that the teachers do the sounds, not just read about them. It requires the participants to understand basic anatomy and physiology, voice science, vocal hygiene, and vocal production. It requires the participants to understand the terminology used in the music industry and in research and pedagogy. It does not use any “made up by Jeanie” words or definitions. It requires the participants to become conversant with all styles of CCM, not just the ones they like. There are other requirements as well. And, when they finish the course, they leave with a piece of paper that says they know my work (Somatic Voicework⢠The LoVetri Method). That’s all it says.
If you are “against” certification, and you object to the things I’ve just written, then, clearly, you have no interest in the advancement of the profession. No one will stop you from objecting to certification but then, why should anyone listen to you unless you have something better to offer? As my work stands on its own merit, with or without anyone’s challenges to the validity of its certifications, and has the support of some of the most recognized vocal pedagogues, voice scientists, laryngologists and speech pathology experts in the world — challenges to its credibility are undaunting. Let those who would repudiate certification first take a look at who is certifying and what is being certified and then, instead of resisting the spread of genuine, valid information, let them stand up for standards, improvements and changes in the profession at large.