The Voice Culture – Details, episodes & analysis

Justin and Brian discuss the historical importance, and continuing relevance, of this basic exercise. In its many permutations it helps singers to improve and maintain vocal ability in the areas of expression, pitch, breath control, endurance, and flexibility. It's that good!

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“Well begun is half done”, said a famous dead Greek. In this episode, Brian and Justin chat about the onset in vocal pedagogy. How we begin a sound really determines what the sound of the voice is in the ensuing phonation. Manuel Garcia II’s ‘coup de glotte’ is discussed as well as Richard Miller’s ideas on onset. Breathy, glottal, and balanced onsets should be included in the technical package of every singer. Emotional coloration of the text should also be considered in the onset as well. The benefits of a balanced onset (intonation, vocal weight, and ear training) are also covered. 

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If we don’t have standards as teachers, who will? Brian and Justin discuss standards of vocalism and musical style and how teachers can serve students to develop standards in themselves. The holism of the voice and the demands of the style are sometimes in conflict, so finding agreement is an important part of voice training. The college audition process is discussed as well as issues touching individualism versus collectivism. Students should be on a steady diet of the best of singing in all styles of music. An objective list of standards for singing is covered as well. 

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What is the past of mastery in singing? How can we set expectations for the course of becoming a master of our craft? This launches a discussion on mastery and the ideas of George Leonard’s book “Mastery” and Seth Godin’s “The Practice.” Leonard and Godin have important ideas on how we can set psychological expectations as teachers for ourselves and for our students. Surprisingly, it’s our relationship to being on a plateau that sets our ability to undertake a Mastery path. Students will be on the plateau more than any other location. Keeping an eye for how our students react to that plateau can be an opportunity for us to teach patience, discipline, and perseverance. 

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Justin starts off chatting about the Vocal Course of Estelle Liebling, a famous teacher from the Garcia school who trained Beverly Sills and other great singers. Then Brian and Justin take on a deeper conversation on the usage of vocalise collections - specifically Marchesi, Panofka, and Concone. What are the benefits and snares of vocalise collections in the voice studio? Texts discussed are Panofka’s ABC, which sets the stage for more musical vocalises, Concone’s 30 Daily Exercises, Panofka’s Progressive Vocalises, Panofka’s 24 Vocalises, Rossini’s Gorgheggi e Solfeggi, Eduardo Marzo’s The Art of Vocalization, and Elio Battaglia’s latest volumes published by Ricordi. Brian discusses the 8-bar vocalises of Sieber. These vocalise collections can answer many questions that will show up in your classical vocal scores. Additionally, Ken Bozeman’s explorations on acoustics can be applied to these vocalises to explore changes on certain vowels. Their value also rests as a kind of repertoire that is free from the pressure to ‘’perform”, so they don’t carry negative emotional and vocal baggage as repertoire is wont to do. Consider vocalise books as recipe books, to be explored and discovered, not to be sung in sequential order. 

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How to screw up a vocalise! Brian and Justin explore ways that teachers and singers can flub an exercise, and how to go about rethinking the role exercise plays in voice training. A functionally oriented teacher will examine each exercise for its effect upon the voice, instead of running students through a litany of the same ‘pet exercises.’ Even the most seemingly safe exercises can be performed incorrectly and cause problems in the voice. Conscientiousness around the straw phonation and other SOVT (Semi occluded vocal tract) approaches are considered. Misinterpretation of the purpose of an exercise can cause all kinds of problems between teacher and student. 

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In a cultural milieu that seems to enforce conformity over individualism, how does the modern teacher go about ‘changing their mind’? Challenging one’s own beliefs in teaching can open new vistas and consolidate one’s pedagogy on an ongoing basis. Where are your beliefs rigid as a teacher? Do you know why? Discussion of belief about vocal placement is explored (a mare’s nest) as well as beliefs on breathing. There is definite merit in staying open to ideas that at first blush might be rejected outright. The example of Frederick Root and Manuel Garcia II, 19th-century pedagogues, are discussed for their open-minded teaching example. How can a teacher change their mind? Brian and Justin have some ideas. 

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Brian and Justin dive into Kari Ragan’s newest book, “A Systematic Approach to Voice: The Art of Studio Application.” The book is a great resource for the studio in the tradition of other practical application pedagogy texts. Getting a student to the sensation of singing using tools for kinesthetic awareness has a long historical tradition, echoed also in the work of Herbert Witherspoon as mentioned in this episode. We just have to be aware of when we might slip into the paradigm of ‘Dumbo’s feather.’  The second portion goes into even more of Witherspoon’s “Fads and Fancies” from his 1925 book, and Brian and Justin discuss what’s changed and what stayed the same. 

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POWER! No singer wants to train their voice to become smaller, but we have to watch out that power and volume often are abused in singing. This may often come from faulty impressions given to young singers from recordings and how studio engineers ‘mix’ the sound. Voice training has a place for loudness, but when is that? What did some historical authors say about the value of loudness? Perhaps we should engender the size of our spirit instead of the size of the voice. Cornelius Reid’s “Bel Canto,” Charles Lunn’s “Philosophy of Voice,” David C. Taylor’s “The Psychology of Singing,” and W. Henri Zay’s “Practical Psychology of Voice and of Life” are mentioned. 

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