Vocal coach Bertha's unchained melody<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
There are many adjectives to describe the rather complicated
\npersonality of singing guru Bertha, but let's start with \"moody\".<\/p>\n
Run a few feeling-out questions her way, even the basic one
\nlike when she started as a voice coach, and you get a shrugged,
\n\"I don't know, I just did\".<\/p>\n
Must singers take voice coaching lessons?<\/p>\n
\"I don't know. If they want to. But if they're not in the
\nmood, then don't\".<\/p>\n
Any benefit at all from vocal rehearsals?<\/p>\n
\"I don't know, I didn't ask them to come.\"<\/p>\n
After the bit of verbal tap-dancing, Bertha opened up to
\nreveal her frustration with all the rules governing life.<\/p>\n
\"Who said it's a must? Why can't my daughter use her left
\nhand? Didn't God create the left hand too? Aren't we using the
\nleft hand to play the piano? There are just too many doctrines
\nthat I don't understand,\" she said, referring to the Eastern
\ndesignation of the left hand as \"unclean\".<\/p>\n
She owned up to being a typically moody artist, but said she
\nwas n the right place to vent.<\/p>\n
\"I'm an Indonesian, I can afford to be moody, unlike people in
\nthe northern hemisphere who have to be prepared for each season.
\nToo many rules there, even about eating. I eat whenever I want,\"
\nsaid Bertha, who is married to a British man.<\/p>\n
Blunt she may be, but she is not rude. In fact, there is an
\nupfront decency in her behavior, because she believes in treating
\npeople -- her inspiration and teachers in life -- with dignity.<\/p>\n
Bertha (real name Etta Herawati) has forged a reputation as a
\nleading singing coach, with a motley group of clients: children,
\ntop singers honing their skills, expatriates, as well as
\ngovernment officials and their spouses with dreams of singing on
\nkey.<\/p>\n
More recently, she has become known as one of the advisers to
\nthe contestants in the phenomenally successful star search show
\nAkademi Fantasi Indosiar (AFI). With the tearful departure of
\neach contestant (now household names in their own right), Bertha
\nwas often on hand to offer them a comforting word and send them
\non their way.<\/p>\n
Bertha said she was not impressed with the demand for her
\nservices, saying she does not have much to offer. She does in
\nfact, possess a deep, resonant voice similar to that of Ella
\nFitzgerald's.<\/p>\n
\"If people look for me, I'll teach them. But that's only
\nlimited to breathing technique,\" said the owner of Talenta Svara
\nBertha vocal course.<\/p>\n
Perhaps it is her warm personal style that touches people and
\nkeeps them coming back. There is no strict teacher-student
\nrelationship, but Bertha will be there to ask you what you need,
\nto talk and offer advice when need be.<\/p>\n
\"Jakarta is a stressful city. After enduring traffic jams and
\nall, I can't tell people to go straight up there and sing.
\nThey'll die! So, we talk first, drink, eat, then we sing. Maybe
\nthe time is shorter, but people will sing with all their heart,
\nand that's better,\" she said.<\/p>\n
On meeting mediocre but stargazing students, she will not
\nrudely burst their bubble but instead return their revved up
\n\"gear\" to neutral.<\/p>\n
\"I'll talk to them gently, because they are human beings with
\nsouls. I never stop people or order them to stop doing things,
\nbecause I would never accept that either. It's more meaningful to
\nrespect people, then they will understand.\"<\/p>\n
With no formal musical education background, Bertha said her
\nteaching career was God's way to provide her with a living to buy
\nfood and feed her nine-month-old baby, Jasmine Malaeka McCarthy.<\/p>\n
Born in Jakarta and raised in Malang, East Java, Bertha
\nstarted her career as a journalist for the Malang daily Suara
\nIndonesia, often performing on stage in her free time.<\/p>\n
She sang all types of music -- from rock to keroncong (a
\nPortuguese-inflected local genre) and dangdut (a hybrid of Arab
\nand Indian influences), although she now mostly sticks to jazz
\n\"for its agility\".<\/p>\n
After winning several singing festivals, Bertha arrived in the
\ncapital in 1996 with little money to support herself.<\/p>\n
\"I had to sleep at bus terminals, under the bridge, until I
\nfound a hotel and slept in the lobby. Of course, they kicked me
\nout,\" she laughed.<\/p>\n
She credits the tough times with molding her into a stronger
\nperson, someone who is patient and easy going (\"I don't even lock
\nmy house\") in dealing with what life throws her way. \"I had
\ndifficult times in my life. I experienced physical abuse, but I
\nwas all right. Never think of it as a suffering,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She came to the attention of the local jazz community, meeting
\ntop musicians like Indra Lesmana and Dwiki Dharmawan, with the
\nlatter convincing her to teach.<\/p>\n
The inevitable million dollar question: What makes a good
\nsinger?<\/p>\n
\"There's no such thing as a perfect singer. Singing is a
\nmatter of sounding good. Sing what you feel and feel what you
\nsing. Let God take care of the money. Singing is about heart,
\nwhich is moved by God. It's that simple.\"<\/p>\n
Being a good entertainer is a different matter, however,
\nrequiring people to keep abreast of what is going on around them
\nand know how to read others.<\/p>\n
\"Everyone can sing, actually. But people still stick to
\ncertain standards, the Western ones. The good ones are always
\nblack singers or Mariah Carey. Everyone bows to money, power,
\neverything that comes from the West. We have no dignity anymore
\nas a nation.\"<\/p>\n
Pandering to the powers-that-be applies to the local music
\nscene, with some notable singers resorting to cheap, vulgar acts
\nto reap rich but short-lived rewards.<\/p>\n
\"Singing is about entertaining people, it's honorable. Be a
\nsmart entertainer, use your brain and heart. If you're just using
\nyour brain, then doing the drill dance and getting Rp 40 million,
\nit's enough for you,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not being judgmental, I'm just saying what I see. Let's
\nstay aware. The responsibility of an entertainer is bigger than
\njust singing. Don't just hang out at the malls without knowing
\nwhat's going on in society. The struggle and pain (entailed in
\nbeing successful) will end up being nostalgia.\"<\/p>\n
These are the points that she taught the young participants of
\nAFI, which she admitted to thinking was only an attention-
\ngrabbing sensational show at its outset.<\/p>\n
She was surprised by its success, and left feeling a bit
\nuneasy by the hysterical reaction of the fans to their favorites.<\/p>\n
\"I think the success is due to the hard work of the team. The
\nvision is clear. Everyone has their own role.\"<\/p>\n
Bertha considers that she is contributing her knowledge to the
\ncareers of the young people, not setting out to create a star
\nbecause the criteria is unpredictable. It's especially true now
\nthat the recording industry is no longer a healthy place to be,
\nwith manufactured products rolling off the assembly line instead
\nof diverse acts that complement each other.<\/p>\n
\"That's why I no longer have the ambition to be a recording
\nartist. Everything is so commercial right now. I don't capitalize
\non my teaching. I don't have brochures, I don't set a fee. Don't
\nhave any money? Join a charity class. It's free.\"<\/p>\n
So, does she still want to continue teaching?<\/p>\n
\"I don't know. Perhaps 10 minutes from now I'll get hit by a
\ncar and die. I have no idea. I don't own anything. I don't know,\"
\nshe said with a shrug.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/vocal-coach-berthas-unchained-melody-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}