Pat Pat, "Good dog!"

Pavlov trained his dog to respond to the sound of a bell.

And now I am being trained to produce the sound of a bell.

"Dog training is teaching a response to commands, or the performance of actions not necessarily natural to the dog...Dog training is defined as the purposeful changing of a dog's behavior.

Operant conditioning is a form of learning in which an individual's behavior is modified by its consequences...Positive Reinforcement occurs when a behavior is strengthened by producing some desirable consequence; negative reinforcement occurs when a behavior is strengthened by avoiding some undesirable consequence...

Typical positive reinforcement events will satisfy some physiological or psychological need, so it can be food, a game, or a demonstration of affection. Different dogs will find different things reinforcing." (Wikipedia)

I resolve to practise my singing regularly.  Surprise!  Practice helps.

I double my lesson time, from thirty minutes to one hour each week.

My teacher, Rohan, starts talking about a "bell-like quality" that he wants me to strive for.

I start to make progress, but it's not linear.  It's a jagged, zig-zag path, in which sudden breakthroughs occur, followed by periods of consolidation.

My jaw has always been very tight.  When I reach for a difficult note, I tend to clench my jaw, and it also juts forward, as if I am driving with it.  Holding on tight is possibly a survival instinct, but it does not help with the sound.  It is better (but difficult) to relax into the note and open up.  This has always been a puzzle to me, but one day my jaw simply drops open.  Instead of behaving like a solid mechanical hinge, the connector suddenly feels gelatinous.  I can let my lower jaw fall, instead of pulling it open.

I begin to isolate and control the small muscles in my mouth and throat.  I experience the sensation of vocal cords coming together; feel what it's like to lift the palate.  It's not the lips that make the vowels; they are shaped within the cavities inside the mouth.  I feel what it's like to breathe low and create the support I need to sustain the higher notes.  I start to connect this low breathing with placement of sound in the forehead.

I also acquire additional resources, which give me things to do between lessons.  I purchase an online vocal training program (which works surprisingly well), and a book called "Hear It and Sing It" by Judy Niemack.  This book provides me with a recorded warm-up routine in which I can "sing along with Judy".  The rest of the book is devoted to improvisational exercises based on a selection of jazz scales.  These are great for developing a "jazz ear" and vocal flexibility.

It dawns on me that during my lessons, Rohan does not simply listen to me - he also watches what I am doing.  In the lounge room where I practise there is a big mirror.  I being to watch myself as I sing.  I can immediately see if my neck is tightening and how wide my mouth is open.

Finally, I realize that I'm just like a dog having obedience training.  Whenever Rohan hears me produce a sound that is remotely like a "bell" he will stop me and deliver praise.  It's like patting a dog when it fetches a stick.  I start to recognize the sound he's looking for, reflect on how I made it, and try to replicate it.