Humanising Language Teaching
Year 2; Issue 3; May 2000

"One More Time"

Elayne Phillips Joehl, Switzerland

Once in a while a magical teacher appears.

They say that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. And if that student also happens to be a teacher, then the student may be somewhat particular in the choice of the teacher ! And sometimes things just happen quite by chance.

Happy accidents. And such a one is Michael Stein. New York, Jewish, grandparents from the Ukraine, a gifted pianist, singer and teacher. For twenty years he had earned his living in Manhattan, coaching and accompanying Broadway Musical stars and Opera singers. Then he fell in love. And fate brought him and his Swiss wife to the small historic town of Berne. As soon as his Steinway grand arrived from New York, he began giving singing lessons privately. Word got around. He was not only a superb pianist, but also a sensitive accompanist and a gifted teacher. Soon he was much in demand. A Musical Singing Course was announced. Participants (maximum number 12) were to bring two songs of their own choice. We were to have a two hour master class each evening for a week culminating in a public concert. My curiosity was aroused. So were my fears. Speaking in public is one thing, singing quite another! And a public concert after only 10 hours! On the morning of the first day of the course, a close member of my family died at a very young age. I could not go. I was numb with shock. Then something told me I had to go. I arrived early, before anyone else. Michael was there setting up the room. I went up to him. We shook hands and I knew instantly I could trust him. I explained the situation briefly and asked him if he would forgive me for not singing today, maybe tomorrow. "Fine, tomorrow will be fine". After I sang my song the next day, he said, "Very pretty, but it's not your song. Come and see me tomorrow before the class." That was my first private class with Michael.

Leaving my shoes outside I enter a bare and silent room, grey carpet, black Steinway grand, white walls. No pictures, not a plant, NOTHING to distract. Concentration is total. It begins the moment I step inside, speak the words of the song I have chosen, make them my own and present them as a gift to the listener I choose. Then the notes and the melody, the rhythm and the flow, one more time, one more time, one more time.

Michael's secrets?................ PASSION;- he is in love with music. It is his life.
TOTAL FOCUS. The singer and the song are the only things that matter in the world.
NEVERENDING PATIENCE;- coupled with calm and reassurance.
HUMOUR AND ENJOYMENT;- How can you learn without them?
COMPLETE BELIEF; that you (like everyone else) can sing. Confidence is everything. POSTIVE ATTITUDE; there is never a negative word, never a reproach, never a hint of a 'could do better'.
AND DISCIPLINE! Each lesson is recorded, for daily practice in the privacy of your own home, each musical phrase reiterated, each word of praise repeated, repeated, repeated.
And you learn with the rhythms, the mind, and the body, and the emotions, all sharing the excitement of the learning curve.

I knew he was the only person who could make my dream true, the dream of putting on a musical with our drama group, our 'non-singing' drama group. And he did. Transforming them into singers of rare quality, people with a new spring in their step, and all this over a period of no more than 30 rehearsals, with his gentle insistence and smiles, his "one more time, just one more time, and just one more time."