Although I owned a copy of Richard Miller’s The Structure of Singing for some time, I never actually read it in its entirety. I found it to be very scientific, with a great deal of emphasis on acoustical studies and anatomical analysis. But I heard wonderful things from my peers about Miller’s workshop course–Joan Barber, from the AOL Teachers of Singing Board, had attended sessions at Belmont College near Nashville and said, “If you ever get a chance to take a workshop with this national treasure, please do so.”
I had some major misgivings before going. Miller was rumored to be intolerant of other approaches to the voice than his own, especially with regard to imagery. A large portion of my vocal training had been imagery-oriented–and I was also concerned that the workshop would feature all science with no attention to artistry. In short, I was afraid that it would be too scientific for me.
I soon realized my fears were unfounded. Miller is passionate about the subject of vocal pedagogy and compassionate in sharing that information with his students. There is no sense that he is protective of his methods–in fact, students are encouraged to videotape and/or audiotape all sessions. He does not dismiss other teachers’ methods, unless those methods are not scientifically correct. In his words–“You must know the physiology behind the art. All the ‘pink clouds’ in the world won’t help you move through the passaggio.”
Workshop sessions began with a half-hour of vocal exercises and, as the week progressed, were expanded to reflect an overview of the systematic vocal technique presented by Miller. Lectures also included anatomical discussions and illustrations; videos of students from Oberlin’s Vocal Arts Center, singing with a flexible fiber-optic camera showing their vocal folds in action; and spectrographic analyses of both beginning singers and the classic singers of the Golden Age. I’m still a technophobe, but the fiber-optics were fascinating to me. Spectrographic analysis–well, I have trouble reading maps, so it was difficult for me to follow.
The first four afternoons were designated as “The Application of Technique to Literature” (in other words, master classes). Participants signed up for master classes on Monday morning, and by noon of that day, every spot was taken. This was disappointing to many people and could have been handled better–perhaps with slots going to people who had registered in advance in writing instead of whoever got to the board fastest.
Some people were disappointed in the talent range of participants–one woman mentioned to me that she expected a higher quality of singer. For myself, I found the workshop population to be a very realistic reflection of the kinds of students that most of us can expect to see in our studios. After all, for every Met-bound tenor we teach, there will be 10 or 20 accountants whose goal is to sing at the local karaoke club!
All in all, I found the workshop to be extremely positive and an excellent opportunity to network with my peers. I had the chance to become aware of what I was already doing correctly–not only in my master class session with Miller but also in the daily vocalises and lectures, and in observing and talking with other students. More importantly, it made me realize that I could be singing and teaching even better.
Richard Miller’s 1986 book, The Structure of Singing, is known to many as “The Burgundy Bible.” Miller’s other books on vocal pedagogy include Training Tenor Voices (1993), On the Art of Singing (a collection of his Journal of Singing columns), and National Schools of Singing Revisited (1997 reissue). His new book, Training Soprano Voices, is due to be published within the next year. In addition to his position as professor of singing at the Oberlin Conservatory, he is a master clinician in the US, Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
