Using the Body, Breath Voice (BBV) Model

The Body, Breath, Voice Model is an approach my singing teacher introduced to me, and it has proven to be an effective way to begin any voice lesson or practice. It is easy to remember using the simple mnemonic ‘BBV’. Mnemonics are a helpful tool, as “they provide a structure that aids memory by organising information into more manageable and meaningful forms” (Bellezza, 1981), and for this reason I like to use them with my students. This model is something I would give to every student in their first lesson, as it contains key foundational information for learning how to sing.

The benefit of using this model is that it encourages students to think of singing as a holistic, body-centred activity. It helps them understand the importance of warming up the body and the breath before the voice, and highlights how singing engages the entire body and key muscle groups. As John Williams (2019, p.145) explains, “Musical performance, like athletic performance, involves prolonged, highly controlled and sometimes forceful activity. The demands this makes on the body can vary, but in all cases they combine speed, strength and dedication.”

In the video below, I explain to Jamie, during his first singing lesson, how important this model is and why. I also provide him with a handout containing the key information to take away after the lesson. It is important that students understand why they are being asked to do certain exercises so that they can take ownership of their learning, rather than simply following instructions.

I guide Jamie through a series of simple exercises, beginning with warming up the ‘Body’ by opening space around the diaphragm through gentle stretching. I then move on to the ‘Breath’ element, introducing basic breathwork exercises to help him connect his breath to his body. Throughout the lesson, I use a ‘copy me’ teaching approach. I find this particularly effective in a first lesson, as it helps the student feel more confident when engaging in unfamiliar activities, and ensures they do not feel isolated. It also allows them to visually understand what is being asked of them, which is especially important at this early stage. Additionally, this approach helps me identify the student’s preferred learning style—whether visual, aural, or kinaesthetic.

Evaluation of my First Lesson with Jamie

1. Checking in with Jamie and asking him questions such as ‘can you feel the engagement there with the muscles in the waist?’ when doing breath excersises helped me to understand whether they were working for him and if he was understanding the tasks I was setting and allowing him to say if it wasn’t working, helps with the student-teacher relationship and allowed him to feel more comfortable to speak on his needs.
2. I used assessment methods by checking if his in breath was noisy which can result in constriction of the larynx which can be potentially harmful (Williams, 2019)
3. Explaining how to expand his body with breath by getting him to imagine his stomach and back as expanding like a balloon. This helps spark imagination and uses a method that doesn’t rely heavily on using technical language, which can overwhelm a student in their first lesson. I did however, speak a little on the soft pallette and making space in the jaw. Upon reflection, this may have been terms I could introduce later on in our lessons, but he seemed to understand well.
4. Using the ‘Copy me’ strategy seemed to work very well for him as although I was also explaining what to do, for example in the breathing excersises, he could also watch my body and the way my belly expanded and tightened, so that he could copy it more effectively. However as Criss (2008) states, some may criticise this method, saying that it could be seen to ‘stifle creativity’, however he further states that when students ‘imitate’ they ‘feel and experience’, which I completely agree with, as it solidifies kinaesthetic methods of teaching and occasional use of this method can be preferred over always using verbal instruction. Furthermore, consciously relaxing my body in the parts I wanted him to, and using a relaxed speaking voice which influences his behaviour through two way mirroring (Williams, 2019)
5. In terms of fostering Jamie’s enthusiasm as a beginner, I would like to have potentially included more things to encourage him. For example, words of affirmation such as ‘yes that’s a great posture’ or ‘it looks like you have really understood what I meant about breathing in like a balloon expanding’.  I think this could’ve helped him further with his motivation and enthusiasm to return to the lesson

Planning my Second Lesson with Jamie

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Business Skills: Contracting and Fees

Fees

In order to come up with a fair, reasonable and sufficient hourly rate, I decided to research what teachers are charging per hour in Leeds on average, as prices can vary from city to city and I will be based solely in Leeds. It is important to factor in that I will be teaching from my own home in an appropriate, well-equipped, separate room designated for vocal lessons. For this reason I did not have to factor in travel fees. I also found it necessary to consider my qualifications. I will be doing vocal lessons as a postgraduate classical singer from Leeds Conservatoire. I believe that this will be well respected and highly regarded by potential clients looking to start vocal lessons with me, but I also have to pay regard to the fact I will not have had much experience when beginning to teach. Due to this, I knew I could not charge the same as someone who, for example, has been teaching for many years and has experience with teaching many different types of people of all ages and backgrounds. However, I found that it is important not to undersell myself, due to the fact I do have many years of experience with classical singing, have myself engaged in 10 years of 1 to 1 Classical Vocal Lessons, and have taught students in the past, showing that I am not completely without experience. I am also assuming here that I have gained appropriate licenses to be a self-employed vocal teacher and also DBS checks where needed.

Accelerated Learning with Rosita

To help Rosita learn the piece quicker, I decided to use accelerated learning techniques. I used the four stages to aid me as a teacher with this which are: Stimulation, Amplification, Learning and Understanding, and Transferring and Effecting.

1. Firstly, to stimulate her learning I used motivational words and phrases throughout the lesson such as ‘Well done, that seemed to have worked really well for you’ and also explaining to her how we can help her struggles with keeping to the rhythm of the piece by helping her understand it in simpler ways by breaking it down and using multi sensory learning, so that she felt her needs are at the centre of the lesson and that her needs will be met.
2. Secondly, for amplification, I used multiple strategies to help with the same thing. In this lesson I used multi sensory learning to help her with the rhythm and pulse of the piece, by going through the same phrase but asking her to firstly swaying and stamping her feet to to the pulse, and and clicking at the end of ech bar, then clapping out the rhythm, and then lastly through sight, by looking at the score and breaking up the pieces into sections. This helps accelerate the learning as using different strategies to teach the same thing helps memory and retention.
3. Thirdly, I used learning and understanding throughout by explaining to her what we were doing at each stage of the lesson, and using creative images for her to understand better such as ‘can you sing this phrase again but imagine you are on a rollercoaster going smoothly up and down with it’.
4. And lastly, for transferring and effecting, I reiterated what we did in the lesson in stages so that she can practice it at home and explained to her and physically showed her practice methods to do at home so that she feels clear and confident to do it alone.

Evaluation of my Lesson with Rosita

Overall, I think this section of the lesson with Rosita was good. Through watching her during the lesson, I could assess how she was understanding what I was teaching and see how helpful the multi-sensory learning was for her. She also affirmed this. Although she didn’t always step in time, she seemed to gain a good understanding of the pulse of the piece, and by the end of the lesson she sang it alongside with me pretty much perfectly, showing her improvement in her understanding of the rhythm over the course of the lesson. In future lessons, I would maybe have asked her to sing the piece again whilst I played it on the piano alongside her, in order to give her the confidence to perform the song alone without me singing. It would also help me to further to assess how well acquainted she was with the song. Furthermore, in the video you can tell that I do not fully know the words of the piece, although I know the notes well. In future, I would make sure to know the pieces off by heart when teaching my students so that I can confidently help them with the language of the piece, especially as it is in Italian, and the pronunciation and understanding of the words is a key element of teaching classical singing to students.

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