Sonya's* Story
I am sorry that I have been such a stranger for the past year. It has been a very busy time for me; however, I have thought of you all often and have been so grateful for my experience at The Listening Centre! Wow, it has made a huge difference! I have such a profoundly improved kinesthetic awareness of my body, which is a key factor in producing a pure, free and natural sound. I have always had a natural instrument; however, there was something disconnected keeping me from finding my True Voice. I believe that my therapy at The Listening Centre unlocked the door that has set me on the way to truly finding the voice God gave me! To be honest I thought this whole thing sounded a little cooky at first, but now I am truly convinced it is a wonderful and promising treatment. It hasn’t been an end-all, cure-all revelation; however, I believe it has been a key player in unlocking my natural instrument in a way we hadn’t been able to get to. It also makes a huge difference when you have a teacher who is willing to take the time and patience to study and experiment every avenue of your voice with you!! We have spent the last year doing nothing but studying and training!!! Now, we are getting ready to get back into the performing aspect of things and I truly believe people will be amazed at the difference in my instrument. Thank you Paul for all of your help! Please give my love to Sophie and all of the staff. You are all a wonderful team of people! I may see if I can schedule a boost sometime later this year. It was great to hear from you and I’ll try to do much better at keeping in touch. I wish you all the very best! Thank you again for everything.
In November, 1998, “Sonya’s” voice teacher wrote the following:
Dear Paul, Thank you for the opportunity for “Sonya” and me to visit with you last October 20th in Vancouver, B.C. it was very informative as was your excellent lecture that evening at the N.A.T.S. Chapter meeting. As we discussed, I will note changes that I observe in “Sonya” as she continues her voice study following her sessions at The Listening Centre. We had three lessons after the first session.
Noticeable changes are:
* Posture: She has improved body alignment. Before the first session there was a twist of the upper and lower torso in opposite directions while singing. There has been remarkable change
* Breathing: There is better and more natural diaphragmatic/abdominal action with better management
* Range: There is already more ease in production of tone both to upper and lower ranges.
* Tone quality: She has a much better sense of her “real” singing voice
* Speaking: She has had a rather severe glottal stroke at vowel words, a habit that has been difficult to eradicate. The glottal stroke occurs less frequently.
* Rhythm: Her perception and application are beginning to be easier to understand.
* ADD diagnosis: The diagnosis as a severe case has begun to show real improvement.
In January, 2000, her voice teacher was again in touch, saying: My work with “Sonya” has been ongoing and at times intense. There are obstacles to overcome and she is working on them. In all there is good progress since our last correspondence. At the present time, a little over a year later from the two sessions, there is one major observation that is very clear. Her kinesthetic sense has remarkably improved.
* The names in this story have been changed at the request of the writer