Welcome to the final installment of my three-part series exploring my professional roles!
Today, I’ll discuss the connection between being an educational engineer and a classical singer. How might these seemingly unrelated professions intersect?
The Digital Side of Classical Music
Indeed, digital materials might not directly assist in the artistic aspects of classical singing. While I’ve created e-learning materials for musicology (such as reading references or becoming an opera heroine in serious games), these only indirectly support vocal expression. So, is there no connection between musicians and digital technology?
Musicians as “Mini Engineers”
Actually, many musicians are small-scale “engineers” themselves! While top-tier singers can focus solely on their art with managers handling everything else, most singers, especially students and young professionals, face numerous digital tasks.
For instance, when organizing a concert, we need to design our own flyers and arrange scores using computer software. And since the pandemic, most auditions initially require audio or video submissions. While simple recordings are acceptable (and too much editing is taboo!), imagine submitting a smartphone recording with distorted sound and a 15-second delay before the performance begins (meaning it hasn’t been properly trimmed). Such technical oversights could cost you an otherwise successful audition.
While professional services are ideal for these tasks, regularly outsourcing can become quite expensive. Consequently, basic digital skills have become essential for musicians.
From Personal Experience to Professional Support
As an engineer, I want to help musicians develop these necessary digital skills. I remember when I was a music student (around 2018), I couldn’t even do simple trimming and always had to ask friends for help. However, once understood, these tasks aren’t particularly difficult and can be quickly mastered.
Instead of handling the digital work for musicians, I want to teach them how to do it themselves. This aligns with one of my roles as an educational engineer – teaching digital device usage to professionals. Understanding that neither professionals nor musicians are digital experts, I focus on teaching accessible tools that can produce reasonable results.
My unique position as both an engineer and musician offers significant advantages – I understand artists’ concerns and perfectionism from firsthand experience. While other engineers could teach these skills, my background allows me to bridge the technical and artistic worlds effectively.
Looking Forward: Where All Paths Meet
As I’ve explored throughout this series, my roles as a language teacher, educational engineer, and classical singer are deeply interconnected, forming an integral part of who I am.
Remember the photos at the top of this page? While I’m simply wearing different outer layers – a jacket here, a shawl there – each creates a distinctly different impression. Similarly, my professional roles are like these outer layers: while the core essence remains the same, each role allows me to express and contribute in uniquely different ways. Just as changing outerwear can transform an entire look, each professional role brings out different aspects of my capabilities while remaining true to my fundamental identity.
Thank you for joining me on this journey through my professional paths. Whether you’re interested in language teaching, educational technology, or classical music – or perhaps all three – I look forward to potential future collaborations with you, where we might bring these different worlds together in exciting new ways.