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au

Process over Product

By Dr Daniel K. Robinson
(2014)

When I look back across some of my more memorable ar s c experiences Im struck by what my memories recall. More o en than not my recollec on of these events focuses on the experiences leading up to the event, not the event itself. For example when I think back to the music theatre produc ons I have been involved with I have trouble recalling each and every one of the performances;butIcaneasilyrememberthefunnythingsthathappenedduringrehearsals.Icanrecall conversa ons that were had with fellow thespians in the green room. I remember the laughs we had when yours truly tried to coordinate his two le feet for a complicated choreography (well it was complicated for me!). And it is with fondness that I observe, in hindsight, my overall development as an ar st throughout the rehearsal schedules and the season proper. Even as a taskorientated person I dont nd myself celebra ng the product. My greatest sense of nostalgia is found in the process; and the people who engagedintheprocesswithme. IwasrstexposedtotheconceptofProcessoverProduct during the late nine es when I had the good fortune to work with a small team of actors from Willow Creek Community Church (USA). Their en re ar s c drivewasfocusedontheexperienceandnottheoutcome.Thiswonderfulgroupofmaturear stshad learnt the art of enjoying the journey; they constantly stopped to smell the roses. Observing and experiencingthisrsthandhadandcon nuestohavea profoundimpactonmyar s cprac ce;both as an ar st and as an educator. The applica on of this orienta on causes me to ac vely assess the reason for my art (message), the manner in which I produce my art (means) and the ways by which I assessmyart(measure).Allowmetoexplain

TheMessage
Im not revealing any secrets when I write that we live in a consumeris c society. Each day we are bombarded by adver sing that encourages us to mindlessly consume. In a recent Time Magazine ar cle tled The Art of Being Mindful the author, Kate Pickert (2014) describes her experience of mindfully ea ng a single raisin. Having looked closely at the raisin Pickert places the wrinkled gem in her mouth and slowly consumes the small piece of dried fruit. Once she has swallowed the raisin she declares, Im ea ng a raisin. But for the rst me in my life, Im doing it dierently. Im doing it mindfully. Despite the countless raisins Pickert has consumed in her life me this is a whole new experienceforPickert.Allowmetodrawaconnec ontotheexpressionofvocalart.Howo endowe choose a song to sing or learn a song we have been given simply with the aim of learning the melody and remembering the lyrics? I would venture far too o en. Our innate need to singintune and not forgetthewordscauseustomissthewholepointofsinging:communica on.
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Ofcourseweneedtohittherightnotesandsingthecorrectlyricsbutthisshouldntbethefocus.Take a step back from the song you are learning. Whats the big picture? Engage with the process of the songwriter. What is he/she trying to communicate? How have they cra ed the melody? Each melody has a message and it is your job as the singer to ensure the message is heard. How does the lyric empower the melody and vice versa? Singing has never been, and never will be about perfect notes! Singing is about communica on. When we engage with the process, pu ng our productfocus to the side, the communica on gains clarity and our message is subsequently received by the audience with lessambiguity.

TheMeans
The inuence of process over product is also observed in my approach to learning and teaching. The Concise Oxford English Dic onary (2008) denes means as, an ac on or system by whicharesultisachieved(p.885).Simply,whenwetalkabout the means we are discussing the journey, not the des na on. My approach to ar s c (and vocal) development is derived from the sustainability that is most o en achieved when an ar st chooses the long path. I o en say to my students, Dont circumnavigatethejourney,ithastoomuchtoteachyou!Thiscanbeahardpilltoswallowintodays fastpaced society; a society that is hellbent on desecra ng the ageold truth of delayed gra ca on. JeremyBegbie(2008)writes,
as we have seen, the postmodern self, a descendent of the roman c self, is perhaps most clearly seen in the contemporary consumer of music, for whom music (in ee ng and evernew forms) becomes, above all, a means to sa sfy the desire for immediate sensual s mula on and, through the very act of consump on,ameanstoestablishingatleastaminimalsenseofiden ty.(pp.268269)

Begbie is sugges ng that it is our search for iden ty and our relentless pursuit of signicance that causes us to se le for the underdeveloped product. The audiences need for immediate gra ca on can have a nega ve bearing on our produc on of art. Who doesnt want to hear the audiences applause at the end of a performance? Accolade and the sense of arma on that comes from an apprecia veaudienceisagoodthing,butitsanevenbe erthingifonecandevelopanar s ccareer thatislledwithcon nuouspraise;notmomentarys mula on. Manyofushaveheardtheoldproverb,Ifyougiveamanashhellfeedhisfamilyforanight.Teach a man to sh and hell feed his family for a life me. So too it is with the developing singer. The focus of high quality singing lessons should not be rstandforemost on learning songs. The 21st century facts are that most people can learn melody and lyrics in the comfort of their own homes using technologies like YouTube and PlaySta on. The purists might respond by saying that a second set of ears are needed to pick up on small inaccuracies. Granted, but it is only the purist that hears these small inaccuracies. The general public simply dont hear them or care about them in most contexts. Dont believe mewander down to your local pub/club and observe the lessthan perfect band and their morethan apprecia ve audience. Before you relegate me to your ar s c blacklist let me state
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that I am all for excellence in art; regardless of genre. I want my students singing accurate notes and remembering their lyrics, but I dont believe the best way to achieve excellence is by merely learning songs. My job as a singing voice specialist is to teach people to sing. This means that I must empower my studentswiththetoolsandskillsrequiredforgoodsinging.Yes,learningsongsisapartoftheprocess, butitcomesa erIvespentagoodpor onofthelessonworkingontechnique.Icanhearsomeofmy readers sighing a great big, BORING. Perhaps, but the reality is if you always do what youve always done youll always get what youve always got. Unless you teach the voice a be er way, it will always sing certain notes on certain vowels at/sharp/ ght/etc. I urge you to consider the means by which you are developing as a singer. Forego the immediacy of the small crowds handclapping. Dont just learnsongslearntosing!

TheMeasure
If great singing is about communica on then the measure of great singing is whether or not the communica on is clearly received. No ce that our yards ck of success does not include how many people received the communica on. We live in an age where the measure of a performers worth is o en gauged by how many bo oms that performer can put on seats (i.e. how many ckets are sold). The cult of celebrity is rife in western culture. The impact of this societal fascina on is perhaps best observed in the delinea on drawn between singers and nonsingers; with the class of nonsingers being the vast majority of the popula on. I truly believe that it is the birth right of every human being to sing. This ethos in turn causes me to ignore and disregard the no on that most people cant and shouldntsing.Italsorequiresmetoremoveanymeasurethatmightqualifyapersontosingornotto sing. To say that a person shouldnt communicate throughsingingbecausetheydonthavealovelyvoiceis likesayingthatsamepersonshouldntrunbecausethey dont have a lovely gait. A person who walks can most certainly run, and a person who talks can most certainly sing. Clearly, not every person who runs will become an Olympian. And not every person who sings will become a celebrity. Again, our measure is not the des na on, but the means by which we travel to the des na on; process over product. As a singing teacher I nd it helpful to orientate to the individual students hopes and dreams. Some students do arrive in my studio wan ng to make singing their career. Some students simply want to enjoy their singing to the fullest by feeling condent in the way their instrument creates sound. Regardless, it is my job as a singing teacher to help each voice achieve its fullest poten al. That is the measure. At this point we must be careful not to fall into old primary school mindsets that measure our poten al against anothers. We must do our utmost to focus on what our own anatomy will aord us and enjoy the ac vitynonetheless.
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Finally, without seeking to nominate the obvious, the vocal ar st who focuses on the process nearly always develops a superior product. Whether it is through rened tuning or be er breath management, consistent tone or enhanced vocal health, the singer who has given themselves to the journey and all its lessons generally derives a product that is dependably sustainable. This is the consummate winwin. Yes, it is the high road. Yes, it does require more work. But the rewards are far moresa sfyingandfulllinginthelongrun. Singingisoneoflifesfreegi s.Youhavebeencreatedwithallyouneedtogivemelodicexpressionto yourfeelings,thoughtsandviews.Iencourageyoutonotse leformodernsocietysliewhichsuggests that only a select few can partake in this wondrous pas me. Each of us has a message, each of us has themeansandeachofushasthemeasuretoplaceprocessoverproduct. Who is Dr Daniel K. Robinson?
Daniel is a freelance artist and educator. In 2011 Daniel completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Queensland Conservatorium Grif ith University. He has served as National Vice President (200911) and National Secretary for the Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing (200611) and was awarded the ANATS National Certi icate of Recognition for service to the profession in 2012. Daniel is the principal Singing Voice Specialist for Djarts (www.djarts.com.au) and presents workshops and seminars to church singers across Australia and abroad. He and his wife Jodie have three children and live in Brisbane, Queensland Australia.

References

Begbie,J.(2008).Resoundingtruth:Christianwisdomintheworldofmusic.London,UK:Societyfor PromotingChristianKnowledge. Pickert,K.(2014,February3).Theartofbeingmindful.Time,183,3238. Soanes,C.,&Stevenson,A.(Eds.).(2008)Conciseoxfordenglishdictionary(11th,Reviseded.).New York,NY:OxfordUniversityPress.

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