Defying Gravity or Defying Reason: What is "Appropriate" Repertoire for Young Voice Students?

When I was in middle school, I wanted to play the Mendelssohn violin concerto.

Although I was a very reasonably advanced violinist for my age, my teacher at the time basically said, "That’s great, and you can, someday, but your technique just isn't there yet."

Even as a sulky teenager with a complicated relationship with the violin, I accepted this and understood it. I did not feel "gate-kept" at all. 

Instead, I worked on other pieces that were more appropriate for the level I was at. Some of them I liked, and others I didn’t. But I did all of them anyway, because I trusted my teacher and knew she had my best interests at heart. 

I also practiced “boring” stuff like scales and etudes, even though I didn’t want to, because I was told that they were the building blocks of good intonation and technique - which is another thing that my teacher was, of course, right about.

Fast forward several years, to when I began teaching my own violin students: I told them the same things - that we would work on scales, exercises, etudes, and pieces that would help them refine their technique and become good musicians. Some students griped about them, as I did when I was their age, but they did it anyway, and guess what - many of them excelled. 

Concurrently, I’d started teaching voice lessons, too.  Voice was what I considered my “main instrument,” after all, having studied it in college.  As a teacher of both instruments, it was interesting to observe the differences in students’ expectations for their lessons, particularly in the repertoire arena.  My violin students were content (or, at least, content-ish) to play whatever pieces I would assign based on their skill level as well as various technical objectives, but my voice students would easily become bored and de-motivated if they were asked to sing music they “didn’t like.”

This issue has persisted all of these years with my voice students - particularly middle-school-age and younger.  And with the “greatest hits” of contemporary musical theater becoming more and more difficult to sing with seemingly every new show that hits the Broadway stage, I have had dozens of middle and high schoolers who want to sing pieces from these shows that are far too heavy a lift for them - think shows like Wicked, Dear Evan Hansen, Beetlejuice, Hadestown, etc.

The debates among voice teachers who face this issue with their students are interesting to watch.  These days, you’ll see a range of answers, from “absolutely not” to “why not let them sing it in lessons, just for fun” to “let them sing it, because otherwise you’re gate-keeping their favorite music from them.”

I’m sorry - gate-keeping??

How is it gate-keeping to explain to a student that a particular song might not be a good fit for their voices yet? 

Or that we believe that it won’t, at this time, help them achieve their stated goals?

Trust me - I get why young students want to sing these big, dramatic, contemporary musical theater songs. They are exciting songs sung by often relatable characters. The belt sounds made by the mature singers on the OBC recordings are rooted in raw, deeply-rooted emotion - something that appeals to tweens and teens who are perhaps experiencing big, complicated emotions themselves for the first time. And I think it's a good thing that they want to listen to their musical theater favorites on repeat, rather than some of the... well, less savory musical content that's out there.

And yes, I understand that we, as voice teachers, can't control how kids use their voices outside of lessons. 

But when they're in our studios, isn't the goal to teach them how to use their voices sustainably, and guide them toward repertoire choices that will help them build the skills that are necessary for them to achieve their goals?

Isn't it our job to tell them that we understand why they want to sing the proverbial "Defying Gravity," but we feel that, for right now, it's better if we explore some of the many similar options in the musical theater genre that are a more appropriate fit for the student's current instrument?

And, in a more general sense - is it really necessary for young voice students to sing only music that they love? Shouldn't we be telling young students, especially if they are serious about studying music long-term, that they may, with some frequency, have to sing music that they don't necessarily care for? That sometimes, studying music doesn't necessarily feel "fun?" 

I feel like this is one of those many dichotomous things between singing culture and instrumental culture, especially when we're talking about young students.  (I’ve written about another such dichotomy - the emphasis on good intonation - here.)  Kids who play instruments understand that they are developing a skill, and that it takes work and discipline to get good at it. 

And yes - instrumental teachers also do their best to make the lessons enjoyable, and fold in "fun" music that the student wants to play (music from their favorite movies, video games, pop artists, Disney, holiday music, etc.). But in my experience, both as a student and a teacher, the expectation that the student's lesson material will consist primarily of music to help them learn and grow, and not just music that they "like," is clearly communicated and understood. 

Furthermore, in all of my ten years of teaching violin, none of the students ever quit because they "didn't like the music" we did in lessons.  

But when it comes to kids who take singing lessons, there seems to be a much higher level of importance placed on the student "liking" every song that they sing, and keeping the lessons as “fun” and “enjoyable” as possible. God forbid that you suggest a song they don't really care for, or that they've never heard of before. 

I have seen this mentality A TON.  The most egregious example of it was when I taught voice lessons at an after-school performing arts center for a couple years, where most of the students viewed their lessons as karaoke hour, and not a place to learn how to sing. 

If I had known this was the culture there, I wouldn't have taken the job. During the interview process, the studio owner had stressed to me, multiple times, that she wanted the kids to learn good vocal technique. But after I was hired, I was told that the lessons had to be as "fun" as possible, and to let kids sing pretty much whatever they (or, in some cases, their parents) wanted, as long as the content was age-appropriate.  As a result, I had nine-year-olds who wanted to belt like Alicia Keys, ten-year-olds who wanted to sing “Defying Gravity,” and middle schoolers who wanted to sing “She Used to Be Mine.”  (That last one is a big yikes.)

A lot of teachers will let the students sing these pieces, and show them ways to do it that will be safe for their current instruments.  Most middle schoolers can’t belt an E5, for example - a vocal demand that has become increasingly common in contemporary musical theater.  Young students usually haven’t even learned how to mix up there yet.  But they could sing that E5 in head voice.  It won’t sound like the Broadway recording, but if you’re just doing it for fun in lessons, then what’s the harm, right?

Well, there is no objective harm in that - that is true.  But if you've worked with kid singers for longer than approximately five minutes, you know it is basically impossible to get them to do this consistently.  Their heart’s desire is to sound just like the Broadway recording, and they will often revert to whatever unsustainable habits they’ve been using in order to sound like the mature, adult, professional singers they’ve been listening to on repeat.  Even if they can do it “safely” while working with you in the studio, you know they’re just going to go home and sing along to the recording in the vocally unsustainable way they always have, forgetting everything you just told them.

So, ultimately, it’s not fulfilling for them, because it doesn’t sound the way they want it to (because it physically can’t, yet), and it’s really not a good use of your time as the teacher, because you could have used that lesson to work with them on pieces that would make it much easier for good technical habits to stick, thereby helping them to reach the point at which they maybe could sing these difficult songs sooner.

I understand the push for "student-centered learning" in voice lessons. There were certainly times in my childhood when I wanted to quit violin because the music was too hard or I hated practicing or didn't like the piece I’d been assigned, etc. I think it is good to give students choice and agency, within a framework. I think it is good that we listen to their input and create spaces where they feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and observations with us.

But when it comes to young students, they don't know what they don't know about their instruments' capabilities and limitations. And it is up to the voice teacher to help them learn and navigate them. 

It would be absurd for an instrumental teacher to entertain a student's desire to play a piece in lessons that they literally do not have the technique or musical skill to play, as was the case with the Mendelssohn violin concerto when I was in middle school. So why is it different in kids' voice lessons? 

It would be absurd for a college voice teacher to give the green light to a first-year singer who wanted to sing Der Hölle Rache, or something by Wagner. So why is it okay to let tweens and teens sing whatever they want, even if their voices aren't ready for it?

We are not "gate-keeping" when we tell a student, "I understand why you want to sing this song, but it's not a good fit for your voice right now. Let's explore some other options." In other words, saying "No" is not only not gate-keeping - it is your job as a voice teacher, just as it would be for any other adult who is responsible for the child's learning and development in other areas. 

I don't work with young students much anymore. The vast majority of my current students are avocational adults who take voice lessons because they love to sing, appreciate that it is a skill, and want to get better at it - even though they have no professional performing aspirations. Ironically, I find the "student-centered learning" approach works much better with adults, who are self-aware, who know how to manage their emotions, and who can speak articulately about their feelings, challenges, and observations in regards to their singing. They understand that building any skill requires work and discipline, and, sometimes, singing a piece or two that isn't their favorite. They also often have a much more accurate gauge of their abilities, and if they aren't sure if a piece is a good fit for them, they'll ask - and be truly open to my honest answer.

I know that we can't always expect this level of engagement, awareness, or maturity from children, but I think it's teachers' (and parents') jobs to help them build it. And sometimes that means they need to be told "no." 

Instead of acquiescing to their requests to sing songs like "Defying Gravity" in lessons, use these pieces as a listening exercise. Listen to the recordings with them and talk to them about what the singers are doing to make those sounds. Show them how it relates to the technical things the student might be working on right now. Agree with them that it's a great song. And tell them that it's possible they could sing it - one day.