Teaching Singing In The 21st Century

This volume brings together a group of leading international researchers and practitioners in voice pedagogy alongside emerging academics and practitioners. Encompassing research across voice science and pedagogy, this innovative collection transcends genre boundaries and provides new knowledge about vocal styles and approaches from classical and musical theatre to contemporary commercial music. The work is sure to be valuable in tertiary institutions, schools and community music associations, suitable for use by private studio teachers, and will appeal to choral leaders and music educators interested in vocal pedagogy. “I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I am confident it will help bring all aspects of vocal pedagogy firmly into the 21st century. Refreshingly, many different areas of pedagogy are included in the text so we can all work together to more fully understand the singing voice. Up to the moment research is included along with an exploration of the evolving contemporary styles of singing. Further, areas regarding teaching and curriculum in higher education are also reviewed. All in all, this text a crucial addition to a professional's vocal library.” Jeanne Goffi-Fynn, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA.

Choral Pedagogy, Third Edition, is the ideal text for voice teachers, choral conductors, church musicians, and professional and amateur singers who wish to develop strategies for lifelong singing. It concisely and clearly presents the principles of voice pedagogy from the perspective of both conducting and voice science in a user-friendly fashion, including helpful charts and simple anatomic diagrams. In addition, it offers teaching methods from history and philosophy, medical and voice science, and pedagogical concepts from active musical experts. Special attention is given to the needs of amateur singers and conductors. Topics covered include choral diction, posture and seating, rehearsal practices, and matters of vocal health. For the third edition, the authors have completely revised the text, updating the medical information and expanding the exercises. They have also added three new chapters: A chapter entitled "Singing in the 21st Century" that considers the vocal/choral demands of the choral repertoire being written in this century.A chapter on teaching young boys to sing written by Vic Oakes, the conductor of the Chattanooga Boys Choir.A chapter entitled "The Value of Lifelong Singing." With its updates and additions, Choral Pedagogy, Third Edition, is a valuable resource for students of choral conducting, music education, church music, and choral singing.

The vast majority of singers with a degree in performance are un- or under-employed in their field. Despite the fact that talented singers are discovered every day, there are far too few jobs in the field of classical music to accommodate all of them, a problem evidenced by regular reports of opera companies and symphony orchestras closing their doors. Young classical singers, particularly recent graduates of music programs, need not only artistic ability, but also intelligence and an acute business sense to navigate the world of professional singing. In The 21st-Century Singer: Making the Leap from the University into the World , author Susan Mohini Kane has created a user-friendly guide for these recent graduates. Kane combines the benefits of an instructional manual with those of a self-reflective workbook to provide emerging classical singers with both practical and inspirational advice. She begins with a section on self-evaluation, allowing readers to define what motivates their desire to sing professionally and reflect on their passions, before moving on to career advice. In the sections that follow, Kane presents a variety of career paths, such as singing, teaching, and consulting-realistic alternatives to the rise to stardom as an "overnight sensation" that so few will experience-and provides the reader with the tools to develop a concrete plan for whichever path they decide to pursue. Other sections offer instruction on how to develop support systems, train oneself holistically, and take advantage of the newest technological resources available for professional self-promotion. With its dual emphasis on artistic motivation and modern-day business sense, The 21st-Century Singer will prove an essential text for anyone pursuing a professional singing career.

The human singing voice holds immense power - to convey mood, emotion, and identity in songs, provide music's undeniable "wow" moments, and communicate a pop song's meaning perhaps more than any other musical parameter. And unlike the other aspects of musical content - like harmony, form, melody, and rhythm, for which generations of scholars have formed sophisticated analyses - scholarly approaches to vocal delivery remain grossly underdeveloped. An exciting and much-needed new approach, A Blaze of Light in Every Word presents a systematic and encompassing conceptual model for analyzing vocal delivery. Author Victoria Malawey focuses on three overlapping areas of inquiry - pitch, prosody, and quality - while drawing on research from music theory and pedagogy as well as gender studies and philosophy to situates the sonic and material aspects of vocal delivery among broader cultural, philosophical, and anthropological approaches to voice. Malawey develops a much-needed and innovative set of analytical tools through in-depth analyses of popular song recordings in genres spanning from hip hop to death metal. A Blaze of Light in Every Word brings new clarity to the relationship between the voice's sonic content and its greater signification, helping us understand the complexity and uniqueness of singing voices.

This concise book critically examines the intersection of power, privilege, and classical music in higher education through an extensive study of the experiences, training, and background of teachers of musical theatre singing. Mapping the divides within the voice pedagogy field, it shows how despite the growth of non-classical programmes, the teaching of vocal music in the United States continues to be structurally dominated by Western classical music. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and observations of practicing instructors, the author argues that current voice pedagogy training’s classical-centred approach fails to prepare instructors to teach the range of vocal styles needed in the contemporary musical theatre profession. Combining a critical review of existing practices with proposals for change, this book sheds light on a key problem in voice pedagogy today. Based on field research and drawing on both Shulman’s signature pedagogies theory and Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, capitals, practice, and field, this book will be useful for scholars, researchers, and practitioners of voice pedagogy, higher music education, performance education, cultural studies, music, musical theatre, and theatre studies.

In The 21st Century Voice: Contemporary and Traditional Extra-Normal Voice, Michael Edward Edgerton considers contemporary vocal techniques within an advanced acoustic and anatomical framework. Throughout, he proposes new directions for vocal exploration. Much more than a treatise on twentieth-century vocal science and study, The 21st Century Voice explores experimental methods of sound production, offering a systematic series of approaches and methods for assessing, engaging, and, in some instances, overcoming the assumed limits of vocal singing.

Young classical singers, particularly recent graduates of music programs, need not only considerable artistic ability but also intelligence and an acute business sense to navigate the world of professional singing. In this book, author Susan Mohini Kane has created a user-friendly guide for these recent graduates. Kane combines the benefits of an instructional manual with those of a self-reflective workbook to provide emerging classical singers with both practical and inspirational advice.

Commercial and Popular Music in Higher Education brings together working examples of pedagogy in emerging areas of popular and commercial music to offer practical insights and provide a theoretical framework for today’s music educators. Written by a diverse group of experts, the eight chapters address a range of contemporary contexts, including digital instrument ensembles, digital audio workstations, hip hop courses, pop vocal performance, rock bands, studio production, and more. Considering both the challenges and the benefits of integrating commercial and popular music into teaching, the contributors explore how doing so can enhance student learning. The authors show how a constructivist approach to music pedagogy enables student-led, real-world learning in higher education, and consider how diversity, equity, and inclusion intersect with teaching popular music performance. Compiling experiences and expert resources, this book provides a vital framework for all instructors teaching commercial and popular music.