The Singer's Companion

Sharon L. Stohrer

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780415976978
• eBook ISBN: 9781317958161
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Music

"The Singer's Companion" provides both beginning and advanced students of singing with a basic, reliable, and readable introduction to the many issues focusing on training and maintaining a healthy voice. It covers all the fundamental issues faced by vocalists in all styles of music, including how to find a good teacher, work with a score, audition, and perform. Stohrer has written an essential text for students of singing, offering up-to-date, accurate, and accessible information that will be invaluable to singers and their teachers.

1

GETTING STARTED

HOW TO FIND A GOOD VOICE TEACHER

FINDING A GOOD VOICE TEACHER is not as mysterious or difficult as it may seem at first glance. It is similar to the process of finding a good tutor or hair stylist or car mechanic: ask around. If a friend is studying voice and you hear improvement in your friend’s singing and he or she seems to like their teacher—that may be someone to check out. You might also attend theatrical productions, voice recitals, or oratorio concerts that feature soloists. When there are voices that strike you as particularly beautiful and expressive, try to discover the names of the singers’ teachers. Local colleges, universities, and conservatories are all worth investigating, because many offer lessons for the general public given by faculty or graduate students. Do not necessarily rule out famous voice teachers, because they may enjoy working with beginning students. By the same token, contrary to what you will see in the publicity for most colleges and universities, many of the best teachers are not big time performers. Some high school music departments keep lists of good local voice teachers—it may be worth a phone call. Local music stores are also an excellent resource for finding a voice teacher who is right for you.

While searching, give some thought to the kind of teaching you most enjoy. There are various teaching styles, and some might suit you and your progress better than others. Are you shy and introverted, needing a gregarious personality to draw you out and encourage you? Are you a perfectionist, hard on yourself, in need of someone warm and reassuring? Or do you respond best to someone who demands a great deal and reserves praise for the greatest effort? It would be wise to find out about teaching style and personality when asking people for teacher recommendations.

Most voice teachers are hardworking, pleasant people with high standards of conduct—but not all. One of the difficulties in the singing profession is that the instrument—that is, the voice—is out of view and internal. Most of the muscles used cannot be seen and many of the coordinations involved in singing are involuntary and brought about by imagery and concepts. All of this lends a cloak of mysteriousness to singing behind which some people can hide. Many of those people can sing beautifully themselves but cannot explain how they sing to others. Their own performing career is over and they teach to have income and involvement. There are others who teach with just a modicum of vocal knowledge, unaware of the harm they may be causing. And there are true charlatans, waiting to profit from innocent people. So how do you avoid these people? There are several ways to check out a teacher and several signs of trouble that tell you to avoid him or her:

• Voice teachers who are members of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) must subscribe to a stringent code of ethics to be part of the organization. This does not guarantee that any given teacher is the one for you, but you can generally rest assured that NATS members will not engage in unethical behavior. You can look online at http://www.nats.org to read their code of ethics and to look for a teacher in your area.

• Voice teachers who are members of an academic community are also usually reliable. Unethical behavior does occur on campuses, but it is less likely than in the private studio.

• There are several Web sites worth visiting: http://www.private lessons.com; http://www.voiceteacher.com; http://www.classicalsinger.com; and so forth. However, their service is informational only—they make no claim about the instructors’ backgrounds or ethics.

• Generally, well-established teachers will be happy to spend a few minutes on the telephone with you answering your questions and explaining their approach. Often they will give a discounted or free initial consultation: a meeting to get acquainted, talk about goals and approaches, and have a mini-lesson. If the teacher you contact requires full payment for an initial lesson, that is no cause for alarm. What may be alarming is if the teacher requires that you sign up for several lessons or a given period of time when you first meet. Some teachers prefer that their students commit to several weeks or months and pay in advance. That is fine, once the two of you have met and decided that you work well together. Most worthwhile teachers will allow you to take an initial lesson while considering other teachers as well. The teacher should also be willing to give you a few names of current students along with contact information. Checking these references can be invaluable. Any reputable teacher will also be happy to talk about his or her own vocal background, including degrees earned and performance credits.

• Red flags can include teachers whose main selling point is that they have a recording studio and can help you make recordings and become famous, as well as people who gush about how talented you are and how they are certain they can make a career or a recording contract happen for you. Even the best voices take time to fully develop and no one can guarantee a contract or career. Avoid teachers who say that you must study with them, that they are the only ones who can help you, and want you to stay away from any other teachers or coaches. Lastly, steer clear of teachers who promise that if you study with them, they will help you get auditions for agents or other contacts. When you run into such a person, thank them for their time, and be on your way.

In calling for information on voice lessons, be honest about your goals and needs. If you want just a few months of lessons to prepare for an audition for a local community chorale, say so. Some teachers are fine with helping beginners with short-term goals. Others prefer to fill their studios with students who plan to study for at least a year or two.

Be sure to find out what the teacher’s fee is, whether the preference is for monthly payment (after an initial consultation), and whether there is an accompanist’s fee. Also ask about the teacher’s cancellation policy.

You may find the right teacher for you at the first consultation or lesson. Or you may need to have several such meetings before a good match is found between teacher and student. Be patient and start the process early if you have auditions or other deadlines coming up. Some singers stay with one teacher their entire lives, others change frequently. For musical theatre and other popular styles of singing, you might find a teacher who can help you in both building a solid classical (legit) technique and in learning styles and techniques appropriate to popular music. This is often not the case, so many singers begin by working on classical technique for several years and then find a teacher who specializes in contemporary techniques.

WHAT GOES ON IN A VOICE LESSON?

At my first voice lesson I was absolutely flabbergasted! Accustomed to choral singing and conductors’ quick fixes, I assumed that gimmicks and tips would be the bulk of vocal training and I was totally unprepared for the natural, unfolding process of learning to sing. I could read music and had studied piano for years, but even that did not prepare me for the complex and very physical nature of singing. Allow me to take you through a typical voice lesson:

Generally, teachers will start a new student’s lesson by talking about posture and perhaps doing a few stretches. Usually this is followed by some breathing exercises. At this point, it would be wise to bring out recording equipment of some kind (audiocassette recorder, iPod and mic, etc.) and a notebook so that you can remember the exercises and repeat them in your practice sessions. After focusing on posture and breathing, it is time to warm up the voice. Most instructors begin with easy sighs or scales, to get the breath flowing. Then they add exercises to work on support, legato, agility, register blending, vowel unification, and range extension. Your teacher will most likely start you with just a few warm-ups and add others as time goes on. For any given purpose (e.g., support) there are many vocalizes and some may work better for you than others. Be sure to ask in what order you should practice the exercises because that may have technical implications. Your recording equipment will come in handy here and when you practice at home you might simply use material recorded during a voice lesson to warm-up.

After warming up the voice it is time to work on repertoire. Bring any solo vocal music you may have to your first lesson but be prepared to buy additional music. Students usually begin with simple, flowing pieces in English and Italian (see the next section of this chapter for suggestions). Inform your teacher if you are fluent in a language other than English. There are so many coordinations to learn, that it is best for the beginner to work within a known language. Italian is used for many reasons including purity of vowels and legato writing. Make sure you understand how to pronounce every word before you leave your lesson—ask your teacher to record the text for you. Also let your teacher know if you have auditions, performances, or other projects coming up, since those events may inform repertoire selection.

If your goal is musical theatre or some other popular style of music, you still might be asked to begin with classical selections. Contrary to some people’s fears, getting a classical or legit technique will not necessarily make you sound like an opera singer in other styles. If it is based on sound principles of efficient voice production, it will give you a solid, healthy foundation upon which to build (see the next section of this chapter for more information on this process).

After choosing material, your teacher (or the accompanist) will play a section of the piece and then you might vocalize it on a vowel. That is when your teacher can continue to focus on the technical issues introduced in the warm-ups. The instructor may require you to continue with the song on just a vowel so that you can focus on and attend to correct posture, relaxed jaw, deep and silent breaths, active support, and forwardtracking resonance. Patience is a virtue in the first few weeks of vocal study. Often singers work on just two or three very simple selections in order to focus on all the aspects just named. That can be difficult if the singer is accustomed to learning and performing a great deal of music in a choir. Just remember that you are starting a whole new way of singing and that numerous muscles are learning several new activities.

Using your recorder will help in your vocal progress. We hear ourselves largely through bones conducting the sound back to our ears. In fact, some researchers say that as much as 75 percent of what we hear is through this bone conduction. Because it distorts the sound, you would be wise to record your lessons and your practice sessions and listen carefully to the recording at least twice so that you can begin to bridge the gap between how your singing sounds to you and how it sounds to the rest of the world. This will also free you to focus on how the singing feels. While we do have to use our ears in order to be on pitch, the more we use our kinesthetic knowledge, the better. Focusing on the sensations of singing helps us to avoid strain and to grow technically. Since singing uses muscle coordinations that are out of view and some that are involuntary, it is vital to be able to memorize sensations and movements, in order to replicate in your own practice what goes on in the lesson. For many people, one of the greatest challenges of voice training is learning to live in our bodies. If that is the case with you, be sure to read the section on “Process Oriented Practicing” in chapter 2 for tips on increasing body awareness.

Before you leave the lesson, discuss how often and how long to practice and how your teacher would like you to approach each piece. Your instructor will most likely set goals and expectations for the following lesson, but if not, then please ask. Be sure that you understand what is expected of you, that all the concepts presented make sense to you, and that you have no questions about the music or the diction. In subsequent lessons you will be guided into greater understanding of the music, finer use of vocal technique, and deeper commitment to artistry.

SUGGESTIONS REGARDING REPERTOIRE

Your teacher will most likely assign two or three simple, flowing songs in English and perhaps a piece or two in Italian. It is prudent for the beginner to sing pieces that lie primarily mid-voice, with occasional forays into higher or lower parts of the range. Over time the instructor can use vocalizes to extend the range, and then add some songs that require the singer to utilize those pitches.

There are some excellent collections of vocal music available. Twenty-Six Italian Songs and Arias, edited by John Glen Paton and published by Alfred comes in two volumes: medium high and medium low. Both include a CD of accompaniments, information on the composers, background of each song, and translations. A good book of limited range, American folk-style songs is The Songs of John Jacob Niles published by G. Schirmer. It is available in two volumes: low voice and high voice. Joan Frey Boytim has edited a series of fine volumes published by G. Schirmer. Collected by voice type, they begin with Easy Songs for Beginning Singers, next The First Book of Solos, the First Book of Solos Part II, and then a collection with more challenges, The Second Book of Solos. Each volume has several selections in English, Italian, French, German, and Spanish along with sacred repertoire, folk song settings, and spirituals.

It is vitally important to be on the cautious side when choosing repertoire. You are learning a very physical art that must unfold slowly and organically. Just as you would not expect a runner to begin training with a five-mile run, nor should you expect to tackle difficult repertoire for at least several months, more likely for years. I have heard amazing stories of young, inexperienced students being assigned heavy operatic arias such as “Un bel di” from Puccini’s Madam Butterfly or “Vissi d’arte” from Puccini’s Tosca. (That is certainly a red flag that either the student misunderstands expectations or the teacher is not the right one for beginners.) Those arias belong to the “verismo” style of opera, requiring large, mature voices and reliable, secure technique. In my opinion, most beginning students of all ages should focus on singing songs, with judicious use of lighter arias. After several years of study, often in collegiate training, they can begin adding arias and gradually progress to the heavier material in their upper class and graduate years. Occasionally, a voice that is of large operatic proportions might be given a mid-weight aria as a stretch piece. However, under most circumstances, singing heavy material early on can easily damage the voice, perhaps irreparably.

For some of the information below, I am most grateful to my New York University colleagues Dianna Heldman and Michael Ricciardone:

As mentioned previously, students interested in musical theatre and other popular genres would be well served by beginning with classical songs. When it is time to add some musical theatre repertoire, there are some wonderful anthologies available. Hal Leonard publishes a collection by voice type entitled Musical Theatre Classics. Each volume includes background information on the shows and a CD of accompaniments. Hal Leonard also publishes a series called The Singer’s Musical Theatre Anthology. These volumes, edited by Richard Walters, are categorized by voice type and presented in their authentic settings. There are three volumes for each voice type and a book of duets. These two collections do not progress, as Boytim’s classical volumes do, from easier to more challenging material. The teacher and student need to be selective and informed before settling on particular repertoire.

It is especially good for the singer’s vocal development to begin the acquisition of musical theatre repertoire with songs written between 1940 and 1960, often referred to as “The Golden Age.” Rodgers and Hammerstein, in particular, wrote songs whose melodies can be compared with those of early Fauré and Schubert. The songs are lyrical, midrange, not too lengthy, and the treatment of the text is sensitive. After some time working with such material, one can carefully, and with guidance, begin to add more recent songs.

Just as a classical singer should not attempt to sing verismo opera until the technique is secure, the young musical theatre singer should not attempt later material by Sondheim, Schwartz, and their contemporaries, but rather stay with earlier songs. Later works by these composers are similar in their vocal demands to verismo opera—especially the ranges and the dramatic weight of the music. Therefore, be judicious in adding songs by modern composers, ask for help from your teacher, and be patient until your technique is quite advanced.

The songs written today for musical theatre require a dependable technique. Women need to be able to negotiate freely and easily among head voice, chest, and mixed registers. Men need to be comfortable using the upper parts of their range, negotiating transitions with ease. This facility with registers can take some time to develop. When your teacher feels that you can attempt some of this repertoire, be mindful of the fact that the singers you hear in recordings are often much older and certainly much more experienced than you are. Avoid imitating them and sing this music with your own voice.

STEPS IN LEARNING A SONG OR ARIA

Perhaps the most important suggestion is to take your time in learning music so that you do not learn it incorrectly, because once mistakes are learned, it is nearly impossible to unlearn them. Try using all the steps listed below. As you become more expert in learning your songs, you may find that some steps can be eliminated in learning some pieces, and you may make modifications to the process. Depending on the difficulty of the piece, this process may take a few hours or several days.

Enjoy the poetry of the song or the text of the aria. Especially if it is in older English or a foreign language, practice speaking it until it falls easily off the tongue. When it is in a foreign language, it is vital that you add a translation step to this process. Writing out the translation word-for-word on the sheet music will ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Getting Started
• 2 Practicing
• 3 Working with the Score
• 4 Health and Body Awareness
• 5 The Complete Singer/Musician
• 6 A Few Words about Technique
• 7 Performing
• 8 A Brief Look at Performance Anxiety
• 9 Auditioning
• 10 Singing as a Career or Avocation
• 11 Philosophy of Singing
• Resources
• Performance Anxiety: An Annotated Bibliography
• About the Author
• Index