A vocal instructor should know what goal his or her student is pursuing. How is the student going to put his new skill to use? Does he want to become a singer? Or a vocal instructor? Does he just want to become familiar with music and avaz and then be the judge of this or that singer? Or perhaps he wants to relax by utilizing this new skill?

The student must have the talent for this form of art. He must have a good voice. He who wants to become a vocal instructor doesn’t necessarily have to have a strong or clear voice. A good voice that does not irritate the ear suffices.

The late Karimi, for instance, didn’t have a very strong voice, but he was a capable instructor. A strong voice and high technique are not requirements for the student who wants to become familiar with avaz music. The one who is seeking avaz for relaxation purposes is usually not a regular student. He is done with learning once he is relaxed. Or at least that has been my experience. Yet, all the foregoing cases demand one basic element: sensitive ears that are more vital as compared with a strong larynx. Sensitive ears means ears that can grasp every sound correctly and repeat the same or something close to it, to be able to imitate an animal’s voice, know the musical notes and be able to repeat them.

Sensitive ears is, fortunately, very common among eastern nations, especially Iranians. Lets consider a rectangle as a means to measure the capability of the ear. For eastern peoples, the greater portion of the rectangle is full and among Iranians, the entire geometrical shape is full. But at the same time, I believe that if a voice is not harsh and the owner of that voice has sensitive ears as well, he can train that voice to become a pleasant one.

The larynx too is like the rest of our body parts. The vocal cords must be exercised, as a result of which, they will become strong. Needless to say that the exercise must suit the vocal cords. Training the larynx is the same as exercising the vocal cords.

Mr. Foroutan has sensitive ears. Of course, this was not the first time that he was coming in for vocal training. He had studied with me for about a year long ago. He wanted to learn music for his theater and cinema jobs. In fact, he wanted to develop his larynx, which wasn’t so bad either. I wasn’t displeased with him. In the film Red, a guitarist played the music and sang ‘I’m I Love’. I called Mr. Foroutan and asked him why he hadn’t sung the song himself. His reply was that he lacked the necessary self-confidence.

He came in again for this film by Mr. Pourahmad. This time he has the self-confidence. If he takes his voice seriously and works on it, he can be a good vocalist. Not only that, but he can be even better than most of the present pop singers. The tone of his voice is nice. He has the feelings to put into it as well. I even joked with him once that if he ever decides to give up acting for any reason, he can be a good singer and that all he has to do is train his voice.

I remember that he loved cinema. He is from a good family and loves acting. His motive is neither money nor fame. He is an affectionate young man and very humble too. He was punctual and consistent for his music lessons.

Mr. Pourahmad had told us which songs he wanted for this film and we worked on those. He came in for practice several times. These sessions seemed to have encouraged him to continue, but he was too busy to continue. Yet, he mentioned regularly that he intends to follow up on avaz practices. He even wanted to learn to play an instrument, but knows that it would require putting in time. Obviously, playing an instrument is not a prerequisite for vocal training, but it helps. However, to give vocal training, the instructor must know how to play an instrument.

The ring in his voice is inherent. And the training that he has undergone has developed that ring. In general, ever voice has its own features. An experienced instructor can develop these features to maturity through practice. Actually, that is the core of a vocal trainer’s work: discovering the peculiarities of a voice and developing them. Mohammad-Reza Foroutan is a successful case in point.

In the course of our training sessions, we discovered where those features lye in his voice and focused on them. I had found the place in his voice where it revealed the best quality. An instructor must find out the scale of a student’s voice. I managed to do so and hence worked on that scale and ring. Had I failed to do so, I would have put pressure on his voice and larynx and the result would not have been this warm and pleasant voice.