This month I'm going to explore the subject of time and the singer. Time is something we all feel is too short. 'So little time, so much to do.' Yet things supposedly happen 'in their time.' There are groups in the business world who get handsome fees to provide 'time management' for companies. Everywhere we go there are clocks, schedules, time tables, appointments and commitments that absorb our time.

'Time is money' -the business world is built on sayings like that, and the music business is no exception. In this industry, an act must be broken in at the right time, in enough time, to get there on time so it is timely enough to be ahead of its time, yet right in with the times!?! Get my point? No wonder people like Billy Joel write songs about pressure!

Now, what does this have to do with us? Well, just about everything. As with many of my articles, this topic was prompted by what has been happening in my studio and with my students. Many of my students seem to be anxious and frustrated about the amount of time they have to accomplish all of their goals. And to make matters more frustrating I have to remind them that the training of a singer -that is, a singer reaching towards the highest development of his or her talent -takes a long time.

Not many people know just how long it really takes to train a voice properly. There is so much pressure in every other aspect of our lives to get things done quickly, that this seems to be out of step with the rest of the world. According to the National Association of Singing Teachers, it takes seven to nine years for a voice to set before you can begin the advanced work that is necessary to polish and perfect your talent. Rock singers aim for a more unpolished sound, so that time period can be shortened, but it still takes a few years before you can call yourself trained. It takes this time to develop a steady, predictable, reliable technique.

Times have radically changed with regards to the training of singers. It used to be that a maestro would select several worthy students to train. These students would then move in with the teacher, their families paying to support both them and the maestro who had control of the students' lives, giving them day-long vocal training and setting up a rigid discipline for living. This was believed to be the only way the profound and complicated task of becoming a vocalist could be achieved.

Well, today this situation is practically non-existent. Instead, teachers now have studios, such as mine, and students come for half hour, forty-five minute, or hour lessons once a week. They vocalize a little, learn an exercise for the next week and they're gone. The rest of the time they must assume the retraining for a year before they begin to see how much work is really involved.

Actually, a lot of my time is spent coaching my students in organizing their lives so they have enought time for a decent lunch hour, a routine time to practice and decent nights' sleep. This seems to be an old-fashioned art that is struggling to survive in our automated age. Let's face it, we are not living in a disciplined society. We have more freedom of choice than has ever been known to society. While some people flourish under those conditions, most of us are just too lazy. We need to be shown how to take care of our bodies, practice lessons, learn songs, organize the band, book gigs, rehearse and at the same time work a day job to pay the rent!

Often my students ask, "Well, how long is this going to take?!" Many of them have upcoming gigs or showcases or they are going into the studio soon and they want to learn quickly so they can sound their best. While I appreciate the attitude, I'm sorry to say that you can't rush Mother Nature. The voice you woke up with this morning is what you have to work with, and what you bring into the studio is all I have to go on. Of course if you are well fed, well rested and well exercised, you are providing a far more fertile atmosphere than if you are drinking at Aunt Susie's birthday party!

Your desire to achieve success in your work and satisfaction in your craft should provide the necessary discipline. Someone who makes time for exercise, who watches their nutritional intake, who vocalizes every day has time on their side. A good teacher provides theory and practice and lots of support and encouragement. Together you can achieve a complex, but very special, goal.

You must be willing to work, plain and simple. And you must be willing to remove whatever blocks you might have to achieving your goals. Everything else will fall into place all in good time.

See you next month.