[Vocals and First-Year Students] 26. Voices Beyond Efficiency

*This content was translated by AI.

Recently, the scene in my lesson room has become increasingly compact.

Completing an entire song is now a rare occurrence. Just as shorts and reels have become part of daily life, vocal lessons now mostly focus on the essential 1–2 minutes or highlight sections.

Even practical music entrance exams require captivating the judges' ears within roughly one minute. It seems we are all swept up in the massive current of an era that demands "quick and fast results."

Because intuitive results must be produced in a short time, the training process has naturally changed. Songs are quickly customized to suit each student's unique characteristics. Since the vocal range where each person's most attractive tone emerges—their "golden voice"—varies, once the initial song selection is made, we adjust the key and refine details as if fitting a garment with basting stitches.

This process proceeds very efficiently and mechanically. Using MIDI programs or transposition applications allows for rapid work. Precisely produced MRs are excellent tools for mastering accurate rhythm and groove. They are fast and efficient. I, too, actively utilize such methods.

However, a small variable that occurred during a recent lesson once again made me deeply realize that efficiency does not always guarantee the best results.

One of yesterday's students had not practiced at all for a week due to family schedules. Typically, in such situations, students cancel lessons on the day itself with excuses like a sore throat or feeling unwell. Yet, I was grateful for this student's attitude in coming to the lesson room despite being completely unprepared.

To prepare for such variables, I always have spare lesson programs ready. This serves as a guideline when students cannot use their voices due to sudden colds or when they have not practiced at all. Yesterday, we conducted melody copying and sketching processes together in real time with the student in the lesson room.

We set up the key at an average male pitch, sat before a piano instead of using MR, and slowly guided through the melody while providing chord accompaniment. Normally, copying and melody practice are homework that students must complete on their own at home as a primary task.

However, by going through this process together in real time, the student's weaknesses or areas of difficulty became clearly visible. This student took unusually long to grasp the melody rhythm in a 6/8-time song. We discovered they were only accustomed to 4/4-time songs. As a trainer, this was an unexpected discovery.

What was even more impressive was the depth of sound.

After explaining the basics of 6/8 time and practicing parts, while singing slowly to the acoustic piano sound, the student began producing "the highest quality sound" they had never made before. I could hear their unique, raw, and charming tone that I had never heard when singing along with MR. By slowing down the tempo and flexibly adjusting the pace, I was able to perceive not only this student's vocal color but also their mood and musical aura.

I fundamentally prefer efficient systems. I favor pads over sheet music and typing over handwriting. Nevertheless, yesterday in the lesson room, I experienced firsthand why Montblanc fountain pens still exist in the digital age—the irreplaceable charm of that tactile feel.

In a world where everything flows quickly like shorts, and fast fittings and mechanical training have become the norm, sometimes we need time to step away from the machine's speed and return to a single piano.

It was a moment when I felt the joy of finding musical leadership by singing with one's own breath and pace atop an acoustic instrument, free from timekeeping constraints.

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*This content was translated by AI.