Voice lessons: a wonderful gift!  All my life I wanted voice lessons.  Various choir directors gave general directions, but having a personal coach was beyond my reach.  Now, in China, late in my life, I have lessons from a professional voice teacher.  She has little English, and I have even less Chinese.  How can she teach me?  She plays some notes on the piano and tells me to sing.  Then she stops, mimics what I have done and says, “This, NO.”   Then she does what she wants me to do and says, “This, YES.”

Then she will go to her computer translator program, type something in and then tell me something.  Here is what she has told me so far: Yawn.  While yawn, sigh.  While yawn and sigh, hum.  Speak naturally.  voice open.  throat open.  relax. voice must be stable.

Singing — a great gift of the spirit.  I love having the training to help me keep on singing, because, you know, it’s a happiness thing.