I know that lots of folks watch American Idol, and on the surface, the premise is a good one. Certainly there is a mass of untapped, talented singers across the country – any single one of whom could be a star if only given the chance. It hearkens back to the early days of rock ‘n’ roll where stories of instant, overnight success came from simply having a 45 played on the local radio station. Additionally, in this present world of auto-tuned, wanna-be pop stars, at least the Idol contestants have to show they can identify and duplicate correct pitch. Praise be!

Hey… love ya, mean it, baby, be here all week, and-a one-a, and-a two-a… Agh! And then you wake up in a cold sweat, shaking from the dream that puts your lead singer home with the flu, and you having to cover the gig sounding like Larry the Lounge Lizard. Where does this idea that voice lessons are going to turn you into a Larry come from? I haven’t the foggiest, but I do think that the perception of what a voice lesson is has a lot to do with it.