Did you ever wish you could be a fly on the wall, hearing what some of the most famous teachers in the United States have to say about the voice?
Whether you are a seasoned singer looking for freshly-articulated ideas on topics ranging from breath support to resonance, a teacher searching for a new way to approach that special student, or a prospective studio member trying to figure out which top teacher might best compliment your previous work, I have a resource for you. Just released by Scarecrow Press, Elizabeth Blades-Zeller’s A Spectrum of Voices: Prominent American Voice Teachers Discuss the Teaching of Singing has much to offer to singers and teachers at every stage of their careers.
Blades-Zeller sought recommendations for “exemplary teachers of applied voice, teaching in the United States” from various resources (including the entire voice faculty at 14 highly regarded voice departments, as well as all of the officers and regional governors of NATS). She omitted any teacher not receiving three or more endorsements, and thus narrowed the list of 257 names down to the top 30 teachers. She pursued interviews with the names generated, and this book is the result of the 20 interviews that took place.
The impressive roster of noted pedagogues included Edward Baird, Oren Brown, Lindsey Christiansen, Barbara Doscher, Helen Hodam, Cynthia Hoffmann, Barbara Honn, Marvin Keenze, William McIver, Richard Miller, Shirlee Emmons, Laura Brooks Rice and Leslie Guinn, to name a few. Although there were notable omissions—and asking working singers might have rectified this—the teachers selected shared a wealth of knowledge and information well-worth reading.
The topics focus primarily on vocal technique, including sections on posture, breathing and support, tonal resonance, diction, registration, unification, and tension. Each one of these topics is introduced with a unified voice, commonly held “vocal ideals” that all of the teachers were looking to foster in their students. This is then developed with long quotes from the teachers, filled with technical discussions from some and evocative imagery from others.
These interviews are at the heart of the book, and these long excerpts are what make this volume so valuable.
Richard Miller, for example, summed up the multi-faced role of the pedagogue: “It is the job of the teacher to diagnose and prescribe what will free the singer, physically, acoustically, and psychologically, so that the mind and the spirit can discover its own resources.”
The confluence of these various aspects for Laura Brooks Rice means: “A lesson can be a time of self-discovery through exploration of one’s own vocal obstacles.”
Somehow, hearing vocal truths discussed so eloquently can be a balm for the soul (as well as an inspiring challenge). The detailed technical comments given here were also thought-provoking.
“There is a real difference between pronouncing the vowel and placing the vowel, says Cynthia Hoffmann. “I tend to go for the former, pronouncing.”
Barbara Doscher also attributes careful attention to vowels (and the use of vowel charts) as the way she finally learned (at age 60!) to sing high notes along with a reliable pianissimo.
Helen Swank’s comments on breath were equally persuasive. “As they go down into the lower voice (‘chest voice’) they need to learn how to utilize air flow. It’s keeping it in a resonant tube, instead of blowing. As long as they can keep a resonant tube going, they’ll have a little easier time getting across either passaggio.”
The teachers here range from very “technical” to more “image-based” comments, as a wide spectrum along that continuum obviously exists. I wish that Blades-Zeller had done less editing here, because not all of the teachers address each issue. Perhaps this avoided a sense of repetitiveness, but it also silenced some voices I was longing to hear.
Some additional ideas that I’m still replaying include William McIver’s words as he stresses the importance of carefully framing this difficult work. “I attempt to eliminate the word ‘don’t’ in my teaching. It gets students to thinking about something positive that they can do rather than something that they are trying to avoid.”
Marvin Keenze adds: “I listen to see if there is an instrument of some character. I want to know something about the singer from the sound of their voice and from their communication of the music and poetry. I look for a certain assurance in the presentation that shows me that this singer has a confidence and a joy in singing.”
Many of the pedagogues stress the importance of keeping this joy, along with imagination and other “life affirming” qualities, at the forefront of our work, and here one appreciates the positive power of music.
The way these teachers work in the studio is equally intriguing. The teachers share what they listen for in a student audition, logistics (such as how they structure their first lesson), and what they recommend that singers do to augment their vocal study outside of the practice room.
In general, the respondents agree with Cynthia Hoffman’s idea that students need to learn to practice more effectively. She encourages healthy self-study by asking “a student to vocalize for me as if I weren’t there. You find interesting things. I think it’s a nice way of working. First of all, they’re in charge, but you’re also helping them facilitate what they’re doing. At the same time, you’re giving them feedback.”
Perhaps we’d all practice more efficiently imagining a monitor with us.
I was inspired by some of the pedagogues’ teaching philosophies and goals—but hearing about the specifics of each individual’s approach to problem solving, along with teaching the “intangibles” of musical and emotional expression was more interesting to me. The sections concerning the teachers’ personal work were most revealing of all. Carefully reading the interviewees’ professional training and biographies is a must. Discovering whom these teachers studied with—along with what aspects of this instruction they try to incorporate into their own teaching—perhaps yields the most information to those really trying to get a sense of each individual teacher. For me, this section was a fitting close. It eloquently illustrated a major theme of the book: the idea that vocal teaching is an aural tradition best preserved by generously sharing your art with others.
A Spectrum of Voices: prominent American Voice Teachers Discuss the Teaching of Singing was published in 2002 by Scarecrow Press, Inc. 4720 Boston Way, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.scarecrowpress.com
