The Twelve Steps for Wayward Singers
We admitted that we were powerless over our voice—that our singing had been become unmanageable and we had never learned to trill and sing messa di voce.
Came to believe that a Higher Placement could restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of an Old Italian School singing master.
Made a searching and fearless vocal inventory of ourselves.
Admitted to our voice teacher, and to ourselves, and to another student of vocal wisdom the exact nature of our technical flaws.
Were entirely ready to work patiently with our voice teacher to remove all the defects in our singing and learn how to listen.
Humbly asked our voice teacher to show us how to remove our vocal inadequacies.
Made a list of all persons who's ears we had harmed with our caterwauling, and became willing to make amends to them.
Made direct amends to such listeners whenever possible, except when to do so would mean injuring their ears and artistic sensibilities even further.
Continued to take personal inventory, and when we sang badly, promptly admit it.
Sought through study and practice to improve our conscious contact with historic recordings and the teachings of García, Lamperti, Nava, Trivulzi, Sangiovanni and Vannucinni as we understand them, praying only for knowledge of their teachings and its power to make us sing like gods.
Having had a vocal awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other wayward singers and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
