Hi again,

Thanks Becky for the feedback. First time out of the gate, I certainly learned some things.

David, While I agree that those introductions are good, they take a lot of time. If you have 5 people, no big deal, if you have 20 people, it is 10 or 15 minutes of your workshop, and if it is 30 to 40 people - no way. I think it might be handled differently. Next time, I will ask questions such as, how many of you have or do sing in a performing band, how many are involved in song circles, how many sing classic folk, Irish, English, cajun. How many have taken voice lessons before. This will allow me to adjust the class appropriately, and will allow them to be "known" a bit, but it will take at most 5 minutes. And those straggling in, won't affect the pace of the workshop.

As for non-classical persuasion. One of the main points of the workshop was singing styles and how these differ from classical singing. I discussed the way folk and traditional singers sing with a much more closed mouth and throat than operatic singers. I discussed sung consonants and when I discussed these and problem vowels and such, I stressed that they might choose to use these sounds to create their particular traditional sound. For example, there were some bluegrass singers and I discussed how bluegrass singers will focus their voice high in their face producing a nasal and cutting a sound that would not be so appropriate or even pleasant sounding in other traditions, but is perfect for bluegrass.

I find it endlessly interesting to think about this stuff,and fun to pass on to others.

Claire