Voice Studio Handbook

Adam Walton3/26/2013

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Contents

Review of Literature....................................................................................................................................2

Voice Technique......................................................................................................................................2

Voice Science...........................................................................................................................................3

Voice Teaching.........................................................................................................................................5

Philosophical Assumptions..........................................................................................................................8

The University..........................................................................................................................................8

The Music Program..................................................................................................................................8

My Students............................................................................................................................................9

Objectives..................................................................................................................................................10

Course Description....................................................................................................................................12

Sample 50-Minute Lesson Plan..................................................................................................................13

Topics and Repertoire...............................................................................................................................15

Italian:....................................................................................................................................................15

German:.................................................................................................................................................16

French:...................................................................................................................................................16

English:..................................................................................................................................................17

Duets:....................................................................................................................................................17

Sample Students........................................................................................................................................19

Student #1 – Emily.................................................................................................................................19

Student #2 – Amelia..............................................................................................................................23

Observations.............................................................................................................................................25

Observation #1– Costanza Cuccaro teaching Jessica.............................................................................25

Observation #2 – Brian Horne teaching Ben..........................................................................................26

Observation #3 – Mary Ann Hart teaching Jordan.................................................................................28

Observation #4 – Andreas Poulimenos teaching Connor.......................................................................30

Observation #5 – Costanza Cuccaro teaching Shannon.........................................................................31

Bibliography...............................................................................................................................................33

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Review of Literature

Singing is an odd thing. The actual scientific process of singing has never been as well

understood as it is today, but a good technical understanding of the voice does not necessarily translate

into an ability to sing. In fact, many of the best singers demonstrate a distinct lack of understanding of

the scientific processes at work in the voice. Many of the more recent books on singing have focused on

the anatomy and physiology of the voice almost to a fault, while many of the old texts virtually ignore

the science of singing. While a knowledge of how the voice works is not prerequisite to singing well, it is

an essential characteristic for a teacher or student in a University setting. Thus I will attempt to include

in this review a wide selection of books which focus both on the science of singing and the technique of

singing. The Literature on classical singing falls broadly into three important categories: books on voice

technique, books on voice science, and books on voice teaching. Most books have a healthy amount of

overlap, I have placed them into categories based on their strengths. I will cover some of the most

influential texts from each of the three categories, describing the material covered and my impressions

of the source, and its usefulness as a resource.

Voice TechniqueRichard Miller is arguably the most influential pedagogue in recent years. He has written dozens

of books and articles, many of which are important, but I find that most of his work is summed up in the

book The Structure of Singing1. This book, like many others, dances back and forth between singing

technique and voice science. He gives very solid technical advice, along with exercises which can be used

to develop the skills which he describes. One of the real treasures in the book is the wealth of hand-

drawn illustrations of the anatomical structures involved in singing. I have only one major quibble with

Miller: he lacks clarity in describing the concept of appoggio. If you ask virtually any competent voice

1 Richard Miller, The Structure of Singing: System and Art of Vocal Technique (New York: Schirmer, 1986), pageNr.

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teacher, most claim to teach appoggio and can describe something of how it applies to the breath.

Unfortunately, Miller is not nearly so clear about appoggio and its meaning. He applies the term freely

to breathing, resonance, and muscular interactions in the singing process. Appoggio has become a

buzzword which everyone believes in but which lacks a coherent definition in the source material.

Regardless of that relatively minor fault, this book (and by extension Miller’s entire body of work) still

stands as one of the gold standards for technique and vocal function.

Another invaluable source exists as a collaboration of sorts between three master pedagogues

over several hundred years. Agricola’s Introduction to the Art of Singing2 is like a Russian nesting doll of

singing technique. In its original form it existed as a work by Tosi on singing. Agricola translated and re-

worked that text and added his own commentary and explanations of concepts. Finally in recent years

Julianne Baird took Agricola’s work and gave it the same treatment that Agricola gave to Tosi’s work.

Baird translated the whole document into English and imparted much of her considerable knowledge to

the work in the form of frequent footnotes and commentary. Thus on a given topic you might have

Tosi’s original statements expounded upon by Agricola and then further illuminated and explained by

Baird. The final product can be complex at times, but it is a work that is bursting with useful and

interesting information.

Voice ScienceVoice science has been steadily becoming more popular since Garcia first invented the

laryngoscope in 1854. In recent years it seems that there has been an explosion of information and

theories concerning vocal production. While a knowledge of voice science is not necessarily important

for a performer, as an academic it is important to be able to read, understand, and converse about

recent research and ideas in voice science. With that in mind, there are several books and articles which

come to mind as being seminal works in the field.

2 Julianne C. Baird (Editor), John Butt (Editor) Johann Friedrich Agricola, Introduction to the Art of Singing by Johann Friedrich Agricola (n.p.: Cambridge University Press, 2006).

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A basic primer on voice science comes from Titze’s article “The Human Instrument.”3 He takes

the time to describe basic structures of the voice and how they function. He is very particular in

explaining exactly how the voice is able to produce such a loud and robust sound from such a

comparatively small apparatus. This source would be potentially useful as a primer in a vocal pedagogy

class where the students come in with little experience in voice science.

William Vennard’s Singing: the Mechanism and the Technic4 is a bit older. It has been nearly fifty

years since it was published, but even today few books can rival it for an accurate and comprehensive

treatment of the mechanism by which we produce vocal sound. Of course there are some areas where

recent research has shed additional light (such as the way various pressure systems in the vocal tract

interact with the adduction of the vocal folds), but in such cases Vennard is clear in his book that (at

least when his book was written) more research is needed to understand certain phenomena.

Regardless, this book remains tremendously useful. The anatomical illustrations there are incredibly

useful, and even today compare very favorably with those found in other books.

The book that has supplanted Vennard as the go-to resource for voice science is Ralph

Appelman’s The Science of Vocal Pedagogy.5 This book is not an easy read. It is enormously detailed and

contains accurate and precise explanations for virtually all vocal phenomena that occur when singing in

a classical style. The difficulties presented by the writing style (which can be a bit ponderous) explain

why it is rarely used these days as a textbook for vocal pedagogy classes. It is still an invaluable resource

for all voice teachers. There are few questions that can’t be answered by consulting this book.

If you are looking for a vocal pedagogy textbook, the current popular choice is McCoy’s Your

Voice: an Inside View.6 This book is very easy to read and represents some of the latest advances in our

3 Ingo Titze, “The Human Instrument,” Scientific American no. 298 (2008): 94-101.4 William Vennard, Singing: the Mechanism and the Technic, 5th ed. (n.p.: Carl Fischer, 1968).5 D. Ralph Appelman, The Science of Vocal Pedagogy: Theory and Application (Bloomington: Indiana

University Press, 1986).6 Scott J McCoy and Lucinda Halstead, Your Voice: an Inside View, Second Edition (n.p.: Inside View Press,

2012).

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understanding of the voice. It is particularly useful for teaching a class because of the huge volume of

multimedia aids which are included with the book. You can find graphics and illustrations that show the

parts of the anatomy as they are in motion. There are also good explanations of the physics of singing.

McCoy has even included recordings of students singing and demonstrating various concepts and

techniques which are discussed in the texts. It’s a book on voice science for our modern technological

world.

Voice TeachingFinally there are a dozens of sources which focus more on teaching people how to sing than

exploring how to sing yourself or how singing works. The book that I most frequently consult in my own

teaching is Alderson’s Complete Handbook of Voice Training.7 This book offers some technical

explanations which don’t always square with modern voice science, so they’re probably best ignored.

The real treasure of the book is how it treats various vocal problems. It will frequently describe in detail

a vocal fault (such as breathiness in a young female voice) and then give a list of specific exercises which

will address that problem. Alderson even includes several metaphors which can be used to describe the

proper technique to the student, with possible benefits and drawbacks to each metaphor. So while

some of the scientific explanations may not be the best, this book is a first-rate resource for new and old

teachers.

Singing teachers often disagree with each other even on basic issues. Sometimes the

disagreements are legitimate and sometimes they simply represent differing ideas about terminology.

Either way these differing ideas are masterfully elaborated in the series of articles “Voice Teachers on

Voice”8 by Gollobin and White. The authors asked a series of technical and teaching questions to eight

influential teachers and offered their responses to these questions. The responses from the teachers are

7 Richard Alderson, Complete Handbook of Voice Training (West Nyack, N.Y.: Parker Publishing Company, 1979).

8 Laurie Brooks Gollobin and Harvey White, “Voice Teachers On Voice, Part 1,” Music Educators Journal 64, no. 4 (December 1977): 40-51.

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insightful and enlightening. In particular it is helpful to see how differently some of the teachers

approach voice and talk about singing. All of them have had good success with students, so the apparent

differences are not necessarily indicative of the quality of instruction that the teachers are offering.

Rather we get to see a variety of approaches and a variety of ideas on each subject. Every teacher is sure

to find something in these articles that will resonate with their own teaching.

There are two more books that both deal with vocal technique as a series of problems and how

to address them. First, McKinney’s The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults9 treats these things

much as a medical doctor might. Each fault is presented along with symptoms. Possible causes are

discussed and ideas for correction are given. It is a thoroughly rational and scientific approach which

may not appeal to all readers, but if you are ever stumped on what to do with a student, this book may

very well save the day.

The last book I will discuss is by an author already mentioned: Richard Miller. It seems

appropriate that he should bookend this small review of literature on the voice because of the

tremendous influence he has exerted on modern vocal pedagogy. In his book Solutions for Singers10

Miller offers a series of hypothetical questions and his responses. The questions are perhaps a little

contrived, but the information that he gives is incredibly useful. With his characteristic warmth and

clarity, Miller describes singing in clear, useful terms and gives his ideas for teaching them.

No voice teacher’s library would be complete without good references on voice technique, voice

science, and voice teaching. I have covered some of the resources that I consider to be most important.

These sources are the ones that have most heavily influenced me, and which I will bring to bear in my

own voice studio.

9 James C. McKinney, The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults: a Manual for Teachers of Singing and for Choir Directors (with Accompanying Cd of Sample Vocal Faults) (Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Pr Inc, 2005).

10 Richard Miller, Solutions for Singers: Tools for Performers and Teachers (New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 2004).

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Philosophical Assumptions

The University This handbook is intended for a voice studio at an accredited, four-year college or university.

This University will have a large enough music program to have at least one full orchestra.

There will be at least one building on campus dedicated to the Music School, or shared between

the music and theater departments.

o This building will have at least one large performance space suitable for a main-stage

opera and one smaller venue suitable for recitals and more intimate performances.

The Music Program The Music School is accredited as well as the University.

I expect the music school to put on at least one fully staged and orchestrated opera production

per year. (Typically in the Fall semester).

I also expect that in the semester which doesn’t have an opera production that there will be

some other type of performance opportunity for the students (i.e. opera scenes or a smaller

production with piano accompaniment).

This music school will mainly service undergraduate students. There may be some graduate

students, but they will not be the main focus of the school.

o Corollary to that, talented undergraduate students can have a reasonable chance to get

both small and large roles in main-stage operas.

All vocal performance undergraduates will be expected to put on a junior and a senior voice

recital in order to graduate.

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o The junior recital will be shorter (20-25 minutes of music) and have more strict

requirements for language and time periods.

o The senior recital will be longer (45-50 minutes of music) and offer the student slightly

more flexibility.

My Students I will have a studio of 12 to 18 students.

The students will all be working towards degrees in music.

The bulk of my students will be undergraduate music performance majors, who are required to

take eight semesters of voice lessons.

A smaller portion of my students will be undergraduate music education majors, who are

required to take four semesters of lessons.

Graduate students will make up the smallest group in my studio.

All of my students will expect that my training will prepare them for a professional career in

music, whether performing, teaching, or some auxiliary capacity.

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Objectives

1. Students will learn basic and advanced vocal techniques appropriate to their age and skill level.

Good posture

Freedom from various nervous tics and destructive habitual movements

Low, suspended breath

Flow phonation (as opposed to pressed or breathy phonation)

Chiaroscuro resonance

Proper articulation and pronunciation

Ability to easily navigate passages of challenging coloratura based on their voice type.

Sustained, uninterrupted legato line

Smooth, even vibrato

Publicly accessible range of at least 2 octaves

2. Performance majors will become comfortable working in the four major languages of opera:

Italian, German, French, and English.

3. Non-performance majors will mainly work in their native language, but they will do some work

in other languages as their needs and interests dictate.

4. Students will develop a familiarity with major classical composers and works from the 1500’s to

the present.

5. Students will learn to sing effectively both as soloists and in group settings.

6. Students will hone their performance and interpretational skills.

Stage movement and gestures

Dealing with performance anxiety

Creating and becoming a character

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Textual analysis and interpretation

7. Students will gain a basic understanding of music theory.

8. Students will participate in several public performances every semester.

9. Students will present at a minimum the required recitals for their degree.

10. Students will become familiar with the basics of vocal pedagogy.

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Course Description

This course represents the skills portion of your degree. While most other college courses are

primarily concerned with knowledge, voice lessons are primarily concerned with your ability to actually

do the things that you study. As such, attendance and practice are the two most important factors in

your grade.

We will meet once a week for fifty minutes in my office. You are expected to come with your

music prepared. You should have some ideas of what you want to work on in the lesson, in particular I

am interested in exercises or musical passages that are giving you trouble. You are also responsible to

hire a competent accompanist. They are only required for the second half of the lesson. As an aside, I

expect you to be professional in your relationship with you pianist and pay them promptly and regularly.

I expect you to think about the music that you are singing. You are required to find or do a

translation of all of the pieces that you are working on, and we will occasionally take time to discuss the

meaning of the poetry in the song, the techniques that the poet and composer use to convey their

meaning, and what we can bring to the table for our interpretation of the piece.

Performance majors will learn eight songs every semester, two in each major language. Non-

performance majors are required to learn at least six songs every semester. Everyone is required to

memorize four of these. In addition, everyone will learn at least one duet each year with another

member of the studio. These requirements may be changed or amended during semesters when you

have a recital or an opera role.

Finally, I want you to stop by if you have any questions during the week between lessons. I’m

happy to take a few minutes with you if it will help you in your progression.

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Sample 50-Minute Lesson Plan

0-5 – Student arrives, we talk about upcoming performances or events, how life is going, just general

chit-chat. I think this is important because it establishes a relationship with students that allows them to

exist in my studio as a person and an individual. I think having a friendly and honest relationship with

students allows them to be more open to what you have to teach them. Of course as you develop a real

relationship with your students, there is also a need to protect both them and you, so I have a pretty

strict policy about not touching my students.

5-20 – We work exercises and skill drills. I am a huge believer in drills and exercises as a way to develop

the voice, so students will get 15 or 20 exercises, most of which they will be expected to do every day.

During lesson times we will work through some of those exercises, correcting and vocal faults that

appear in the exercises and helping students with their technique in navigating this exercises (a sample

list of exercises can be found in the pages following the lesson plan).

20-25 –Work on some small passages that have been giving the student trouble. Ideally they would

identify some of these trouble spots during their practice that week.

25 – Accompanist arrives.

25-30 – Student will sing through some of their repertoire without interruption from me.

30-45 – Work on the student’s repertoire for the semester. Specifically we will work on trouble spots in

the songs that they just sang through. In addition, we can work on any songs that they are assigned, as

well as opera roles and recital repertoire.

45-50 – Wrap up the lesson, give any final comments on what they have done that day, discuss goals for

the coming week and make sure they know what I expect to hear in their lesson next week.

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This represents a standard lesson format that I use, but it is quite flexible. For example, if I have

a student just coming off of a cold or some other type of illness, then I will likely cut the lesson a little

short and focus the bulk of the work on exercises rather than repertoire. In such cases, I would be sure

to remind the student of various health practices that will help keep their voice in good shape.

Depending on the severity of the illness, it is entirely possible that we would not need an accompanist

that week and that we would just spend a little time on exercises and end early.

On the other hand, if the student has a recital or major performance coming up, I would reverse

that pattern. The accompanist would be invited to come early if possible, the student would be expected

to come already fully warmed up, and we would spend virtually the entire lesson on polishing

repertoire.

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Topics and Repertoire

There are a variety of sources from which students can get music. I am particularly fond of imslp

to find older works. Regardless, there is value in owning your own copies of some basic repertoire. With

that in mind, I require that all students have at least one anthology of music for each major language. As

new anthologies are always being released, I will update the recommendations every few years if a

better anthology comes out. In addition, I strongly encourage each student to have a good French,

German, and Italian dictionary with IPA pronunciations.

Below I have listed suggested anthologies and some of the representative songs from each that I would

commonly assign, particularly to younger singers. These are not intended to be a proscribed course of

study for all of my students. Rather, these are songs that I feel are good for a range of ages and levels

which might be encountered in a university setting.

Italian:24 Italian Songs and Arias

- Per la gloria d’adorarvi - Bononcini

- Alma del core - Caldara

- Vittoria, mio core – Carissimi

- Vergin, tutto amor - Durante

- Caro mio ben - Giordani

- Nel cor più non mi sento - Paisiello

Also Acceptable: 26 or 28 Italian Songs and Arias, Gateway to Italian Art Songs, Arie Antiche, and La flora

: arie &c. antiche Italiane

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German:Gateway to German Lieder

- An die Musik - Schubert

- Lachen und Weinen - Schubert

- Widmung - Schumann

- Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen - Schumann

- Du bist vie eine Blume - Liszt

- Liebst du um Schönheit - C. Schumann

- Sapphische Ode - Brahms

- Wie Melodien zieht es mir - Brahms

- Auch kleine Dinge - Wolf

Also acceptable: The Lieder Anthology

French:The French Song Anthology

- Mandoline - Debussy

- Chanson triste - Duparc

- Après un rêve - Fauré

- Lydia - Fauré

- À Chloris - Hahn

- Si mes vers avaient des ailes - Hahn

- Madrigal - d’Indy

- Fleur desséchée - Viardot

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Also Acceptable: Favorite French Art Songs

English:I have found English art song anthologies to be less essential than other anthologies in my own study.

Nevertheless for convenience I will recommend Art Song in English.

- Weep you no more (Quilter)

- Bright is the ring of words (Vaughan Williams)

- Spring (Argento)

- The Salley Gardens (Britten)

- At the River (Copland)

- It was a lover and his lass (Finzi)

- Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair (Foster/Rorem)

Also Acceptable: 15 American Art Songs (supplemented with some specific British songs)

Duets:Here is a small selection of beautiful duets that work well for younger voices.

- Soccorretemi per pieta - Anon.

- Pietoso nume arcier – Bononcini

- Chi d'Amor tra le catene - Bononcini

- Mio diletto - Cavalli

- O mio core - Cavalli

- I bevitori - Donizetti

- Invano t’adoro - Paer

- Un palpito mi sento - Pucitta

- T’intendo, si, mio cuor – Asioli

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- F. Mendelssohn, op 63

o Ich wollt', meine Lieb' ergösse sich

o Abschiedslied der Zugvögel

o Gruß

o Herbstlied

o Volkslied

o Maiglöckchen und die Blümelein

- Arcadian Duets - Handel

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Sample Students

Many instruments have what we often call the “standard repertoire.” I don’t believe this to be the case with the voice. Because of the way the voice develops and the lateness that vocalists begin their training compared to most instrumentalists, it is virtually impossible to assign specific repertoire to specific ages corresponding with the level in college (i.e. all freshman sopranos lean these pieces, and junior baritones learn these other pieces, etc.). The diversity of each vocal instrument demands that repertoire selection be individualized to each student.

With that in mind, I’ve created three imaginary students who represent groups a voice teacher might encounter at any university. The repertoire I assign each student is broken down by semester, along with some of my reasoning for the decisions. These are not meant to be proscriptive in nature, but descriptive possibilities of where one might go in the training of a young student.

Student #1 – EmilyEmily is a young soprano entering the voice program as a freshman. She is a talented and perky young soprano and comes from the area. She is physically slight. Based on her singing and her looks I would expect her to develop in a soubrette. She had several years of voice lessons in high school and has a reasonable grasp on the basics of singing, though she has a few bad habits and at present her facility in coloratura passages is limited. Her Italian is good and her French is passable, but her teacher in high school wasn’t very comfortable with German, so the only German song that she knows is An die Musik which she learned for auditions.

Year 1 – FallI have to walk a line between giving her repertoire that is simple enough that I can spend most of my time ironing out some of her technical issues (breath and posture in particular) and repertoire that is interesting and challenging enough that she will like it. I also need to get her started singing German right away so that she can catch up on that language. Finally, because of her experience with previous voice lessons, she is quite familiar with many of the 24 Italian Songs and Arias and is interested in working on different repertoire.

Linden Lea – Vaughan WilliamsWhen I have sung my songs – CharlesÀ Chloris – HahnSi mes vers avaient des ailes – HahnOmbra cara, amorosa – TraettaChi vuol comprar – JommelliStändchen – SchubertDie Taubenpost – Schubert

Duet: Chi d'Amor tra le catene – Bononcini

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Year 1 – WinterAfter several months working together, Emily has a pretty good grasp of my basic exercises. Communication is more fluid as she has become accustomed to the language that I tend to use when talking about singing, and as I have gotten a better idea of what kinds of images and explanations seem to “click” with her.

Loveliest of Trees – DukeSure on this Shining Night – BarberLe colibri – ChaussonLe charme – ChaussonL’ho perduta, me meschina – MozartAmarilli, mia bella – CacciniDie Einsame – SchubertHeimliches Lieben – Schubert

Year 2 – FallEmily was away for the summer, but she continued to work with her old teacher. She’s gotten a little sloppy about some of the technical issues we were working with, but she got back in to shape quickly. After a year of daily coloratura work she’s developed some facility with faster passages, so I’ve decided to give her some more difficult coloratura to work with. Her German is still weak, but it is improving.

The Shooting of his Dear – BrittenSally Gardens – BrittenChanson Triste – DuparcLamento – DuparcCanzonetta Spagnuola – RossiniLa Promessa – RossiniWidmung – SchumannLiebst du um Schönheit – C. Schumann

Duet: Ich wollt meine Liebe ergösse sich – Mendelssohn

Year 2 – WinterLast semester was quite successful for Emily. She did well with her songs and I’m pleased with her progress. This semester I just want to build on the foundation we’ve been developing.

Never weather-beaten sail – CampionEvening Hymn – PurcellClaire de lune – FauréNotre amour – FauréAll’ombra di sospetto – VivaldiBelle rose porporine – CacciniDu Ring an meinem Finger – SchumannEr, der Herrlichste von allen – Schumann

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Year 3 – FallThis year is when Emily has to give a junior recital. It’s something to keep in mind this semester so that we can pick repertoire that she might be able to use on her recital. She is also getting to the point where she could get an opera role for the next year as she will be a senior, so that’s something to keep in mind as well.

Excerpts from Prayers from the Ark – KirkAprès un rève – FauréChanson d’avril – BizetAscende Laeta – VivaldiQuel sguardo sdegnosetto – MonteverdiLachen und Weinen – SchubertLied der Mignon – Schubert

Duet: Volkslied – Mendelssohn

Year 3 – WinterThis semester Emily has to give a Junior recital. It’s not a particularly long recital (20 minutes of music), but rather than have her learn completely new repertoire, we’ve decided to use a mixture of new repertoire and pieces from last semester that we carried over. In addition we are working on an audition aria for the opera next year.

Early in the Morning – RoremPippa’s Song – RoremJe te veux – SatieAprès un rève – FauréDeh vieni, non tardar – MozartAscende Laeta – VivaldiLachen und Weinen – SchubertLied der Mignon – Schubert

Year 4 – FallEmily was lucky enough to get the role of Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. Because of that, I will require substantially less repertoire during this semester. The repertoire that I do require will be looking toward a senior recital in the Winter. The bulk of lessons until the opera will be devoted to exercises, coaching and working on the opera, and vocal health type things. After the opera, we will continue working on audition and recital repertoire. We need to make sure that she has a good set of songs for graduate school auditions. Most of those songs will come from either her junior recital or her upcoming senior recital.

Le Nozze di Figaro – MozartBut you do not know this Man – BolcomAch, ich fühl’s – Mozart

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Duet: Chiome d’oro – Monteverdi

Year 4 – WinterEmily scheduled a recital for the end of the semester. Unfortunately between the opera last semester and various graduate school audtions this semester, she was too busy and didn’t feel prepared to give the recital. We’ve rescheduled it to the summer so that she can still graduate in time to attend her chosen graduate school.

On this Island, Op. 11 – BrittenNuit d’étoiles – DebussyZephyr – DebussyAimons-nous et dormons – DebussyPierrot – DebussyAuch kleine Dinge – WolfMir ward gesagt – WolfAh,mai non cessate – DonaudyAmor mi tiene in pugno – DonaudyO bei nidi d’amore – DonaudyPerduta ho la speranza – Donaudy

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Student #2 – Amelia

As a counterpoint to Emily, my other imaginary student is Amelia. She is a Music Education major from out of state. She is already a sophomore in school and is transferring to the music education major having been previously majoring in elementary education. Amelia is intelligent and capable, though she is not as confident a performer as Emily. Amelia has never taken formal voice lessons, but has moderate choral experience. She sang frequently in choirs in high school and has also been active in the University choral program. She has limited interest in foreign language because most of her focus lies in teaching music to children and young adults. She also really enjoys musicals, and I’m amenable to her studying some musical theater selections. As a music education major I only work with her for two years instead of four like a performance major, so my focus will mainly be building a good solid technique which she will be able to maintain and monitor with daily exercises. In addition, I would like her to become at least competent at public performance.

Year 1 – FallWhen I first work with students, I don’t really like to sing anything too up-tempo. I find that fast songs can mask technical deficiencies overmuch. I give them fast exercises to do, but slow and moderate songs. For Amelia, I’ve chosen to give her songs from a variety of time periods and styles. I’m trying to get an idea of what type of song she’ll take to, what types of texts and melodies appeal to her. In addition, I don’t want to do too many complex or difficult songs. I want her to be able to pick most of the songs up quickly at this point so that we can focus on establishing good habits of posture and breathing in her solo singing.

The Water is Wide – Trad.Shenandoah – Trad.He Plays the Violin – EdwardsTell Me Lovely Shepherd – BoyceArise Sweet Messenger of the Morn - ArneSpring Sorrow – Ireland

Duet: My Dearest, My Fairest - Purcell

Year 1 – WinterAgain I’ve mostly given her slow songs, but I’ve given her a few that move. Honestly the Copland pieces are probably a stretch at this point, but I want to give her some room to grow and see how she does. She did well the first semester, but she probably got a little bored with the number of simple songs I had her singing.

At the River – CoplandChing a Ring Chaw - CoplandCome Again! Sweet Love Doth Now Invite – DowlandSorrow stay – DowlandLinden Lea – Vaughan WilliamsThe Sky Above the Roof – Vaughan Williams

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Year 2 – FallAmelia’s technique is becoming more solid this year. She is developing a smoother range from top to bottom, and I want her to actually use some of the coloratura that she sings in exercises in some of her songs so I’ve given her some Purcell. She’s also demonstrated an affinity for more literary songs, so she’ll hopefully take to the Shakespeare. Because I’m asking a lot of her with the two Purcell songs, we’ve also decided to do two musical theater songs that she likes.

Wouldn’t It Be Loverly? – LoeweI Could Have Danced All Night – LoeweCome Away Death – QuilterLove’s Philosophy – QuilterNot all my joys – PurcellI love and I must – Purcell

Duet: If I Loved You – Rogers and Hammerstein

Year 2 – WinterI feel like we’ve made some good progress in the last few semesters, but if Amelia doesn’t keep practicing it’s likely that her voice and technique will backslide again. Many of the things that we’ve been working on in lessons are still somewhat new to her. They haven’t become habit yet so she still has to make a regular conscious effort to maintain them. Again, I’ve tried to select songs that Amelia will find attractive. With a student who you have for such a short time, and whose main focus is not professional performing, I don’t think it is as necessary to use our short time on teaching and learning languages. On the other hand if I were dealing with a student who had some interest in languages, or who expected to conduct a choir where they might need those languages, then I am happy to mix those in.

Sure on this Shining Night - BarberThe Simple Joys of Maidenhood - LoeweThe Last Rose of Summer – Trad.Loveliest of Trees – DukeBells in the Rain – DukeThe Bird – Duke

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Observations

Observation #1– Costanza Cuccaro teaching JessicaJessica is a graduate student, getting towards the end of her Master’s degree. She looks to be in

her early to mid-twenties and sings soubrette repertoire (i.e. zerlina or despina). She is currently in the midst of an opera run, having done a performance of an opera the previous weekend, with some touch up rehearsals this week and more performances coming up this weekend and next week. She appears to be vocally healthy, but is just generally fatigued.

1:30 – Lesson Start

Talk about life, business, how things are going, scholarships, financial aid for next year, upcoming auditions and cattle calls, here over spring break?, lesson swaps, vocal hygiene, etc.

1:39 Start Exercises

[li ah] 5 6 4 5 3 4 2 3 1 Performed while alternating the syllables with a decrescendo on the

descent. Middle voice only. Slow and sliding, relax jaw, rhythm is rubato.

[u i] 5 4 3 2 1 Performed slowly with both vowels sounding on each pitch.

[ju] 1 3 5 3 1 Basically the whole exercise is done on a sustained [u]. The [j] is just for the onset.

Can do two or three of these in a row in the ascent with a seasoned singer (i.e. G and G# then breathe).

1 3 5 8 10 12 11 9 7 5 4 2 1 Sung relatively quickly with the indicated vowel changes.

[ju - a - u]

Waved arms up over head to imply that the voice lifted up and over the high notes.

[ma] 1 123 345 567 789 987 765 543 321

This exercise is not for beginners. This is the basic version, and they also did a more advanced version given after this. It’s very staccato and bouncy all the way up. Here is the advanced version It breaks into smooth, fast coloratura at the end.

1 123 345 567 789 10 9 8 7 8 7 6 5 6 5 4 3 4 3 2 1

[ju - a]

At this point 2:10 and they decided to end early because of Jessica’s fatigue and her upcoming performances that weekend. I liked this lesson because it was sensitive to the needs of the student. In addition I got some good exercised to add to my arsenal when teaching girls.

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Observation #2 – Brian Horne teaching BenBen is an young tenor. He entered the MTNA competition recently and won the first and second

rounds. He is headed to the finals soon (this week I believe) so this lesson is focused on tuning up his repertoire for the competition.

11:20 There were a few little things that needed the teacher’s attention, so the lesson started just a tiny bit late, but there was virtually no talking at the beginning, they just started right in on exercises.

[a] 3 2 1 repeated three times in successively lower octaves (two in falsetto, last in chest voice)

Lip Buzz 1 5 1 the straight into [o] 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1

Few comments from the teacher during these warm ups, just quick through them.

1 3 5 3 1 3 5 3 1 Staccato on [o] then switching to [a] on the second one

Horne asked for “more space” on the [a].

One note smear between [Ɛ] and [a] at the bottom of the range

[a] 5 – 5 – 5 – 5 – 5 4 3 2 1 Medium tempo

“narrow as you go down, narrow aperture, even vowel” Lots of rocking in his hips from the student as he warms up.

3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 One breath, quick to the 1, same notes repeated (not different octaves)

[i - e - a]

Same as above but 5 4 3 2 1

They got a little more chatty at this point. Horne related a story about a movie (socially, not to illustrate a point).

5 – 5 – 5 4 3 2 1 [a], performed a little more slowly, falsetto on the first two, then real voice on the final descent. “The falsetto is fine, but when you sing the modal register the tongue keeps pulling away.”

Quick ascent from 1 – 9 – 1 [i e a o u o a e i] modified to [i e a - a e i] in the high.

11:38 Asked student if he has a plan or if he just wants to go straight through. Horne says he for sure wants to hear “Here I Stand,” but not the start with that. They decided to start with “À Chloris.”

Has student look up at one rhythm thing the student did wrong. Also has student do a fuller decrescendo on a note at the end before moving on.

Horne tells student to start acting sooner in the intro.

Corrects a few small pronunciation things.

11:44 “Here I Stand”

Talk about a few vocal things but mainly addressed gestures, sharper steps

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“keep chin down, tongue is better.”

Has student to a knee bend on high.

11:53 “At Day Close, November”

“Watch final consonants, don’t be mushy.” Not much work done on this one.

11:56 “Thou Shalt Break Them”

This will be the first song

“Don’t let it spread on high”

The kid has nice coloratura

Horne wants the freedom of vibrato in coloratura. He says it needs to be there even if you can’t hear a “vibratory cycle.”

Don’t get too much portamento

12:02 “Wenn du nur”

No real comments on this from Horne

12:04 French song, missed title

Stopped after a few notes to fix first note, technique and pronunciation

It looks like Horne has all the music up on his computer. I like that to a point. It can be good but you have to be careful not to get tied to it.

He suggest having the kid take a lot of time between songs if they ask for “Una Furtive Lagrima”

12:09 “Una Furtive Lagrima”

“Don’t let ‘suoi’ get too dark”

Don’t lose vibrato at the beginning of first B section

On the high [o] be one degree away from [æ]

Portamento up

Not too much [r] on cutoff

This was an interesting lesson because of the strange situation. Dr. Horne was mostly tweaking things because the heavy lifting had already been done with these songs. To some degree I don’t think Dr. Horne looks at his students as much as I do when I teach, but that’s mainly an issue of style not substance. I also like that he’s willing to let a song go by with few comments if there wasn’t much wrong with it. That’s the mark of a comfortable teacher.

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Observation #3 – Mary Ann Hart teaching JordanJordan is a peppy young soprano. She is a typical soubrette in voice and personality. I believe

she’s only a sophomore so she’s still quite young, which is evident in the color and weight in her voice.

1:27 Hart had some sort of minor fire to put out so the lesson started quite late, but they went long to make up for that. A little chatting about life, but not much.

1:28 Start with some high sighs and some vocalization on [ŋ] just exploring and stretching voice.

5 4 3 2 1 [bi di bi di bi]

1 2 3 4 5 – 5 – 5 4 3 2 1 [si] to [a] at the top and coming down

More sighs after this.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on [i]

Let’s get [i] tall at the top. “No forehead wrinkles.” “One for the cameras,” or “one for power” or “snarl” etc. were also instructions on successive repetitions.

5 4 3 2 1 [njƐŋ]

1 3 5 8 trill 5 3 1 [u] to [a] on the trill and descent

Princess sound, very floaty. Nice job, good girl. Stiller in body. Ears over shoulders. Hart constantly gives small corrections and encouragement.

8 5 3 8 5 3 8 5 3 1 Lots and lots of vowels and vowel combinations used, some with hand over mouth then moved. Channel inner snarl.

1:36 What are we going to hear? Hart’s phone rang a few times. Chat about a performance that Jordan saw on Youtube.

“Sally Gardens”

Hart uses big arm gestures over head during Jordan singing. New song and Hart sang along a bit to help with rhythms. Hart prompted with [I] for some high vowel modifications. She’s constantly involved and engaged.

Jordan said what she noticed wrong in her singing. Hard discussed technique in terms of the emotion and feeling of the song. “4ths are weird.” Used “magic wand” (a brass player’s tool to practice buzzing in a mouthpiece) to imagine focusing the sound through the hole in the middle.

“One the tree”

Line demonstrated and mimicked. Sung on an [ŋ]. “Send it back” while gesturing toward space behind the upper back of head. “Make beautiful thoughts,” “sing beautifully.”

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“Spring Sorrow”

“It’s like you’re playing a string instrument.” More gesture and singing along. “Do a Julie Andrews imitation.” Very proper but not prissy. Hart touches her foreheard, more modeling. Sing using word [lIp]. Pointing up and down to place singing better.

“Endless Pleasure”

Jordan doesn’t know this one as well, so Hart sang along more. – new rep. Harts suggests listening to piece with orchestra and making note of what instruments you hear prominently in rests. Lots of intoning lines into held notes. Suspension – like sitting on an exercise ball, i.e. that “boing” factor. Put in a few trills and small ornaments for Jordan to learn as she keeps working on the song. “Do this song like you’ve already had some temporal pleasure…” Nice way of putting it to an undergrad.

2:20 talk about scholarships and summer classes etc. Upcoming master class and cattle calls. End lesson.

Professor Hart has a really good rapport with her students. I like how involved and engaged she is the student. Singing is a dynamic thing, and rather than addressing problems after the fact, she addresses them as they are happening, which gives the student more immediate feedback. I’m going to have to work on that in my own teaching.

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Observation #4 – Andreas Poulimenos teaching ConnorConnor is big in every sense of the word. He’s a young bass who sang Masetto in a recent

production of Don Giovanni. He says he’s a little tired today.

P. says “as you get more training, are we going to lose the Connor walk?” Says that Connor was cast as Masetto because he has a very distinctive walk. “We know it’s you as soon as you walk on stage” The walk is perfect for Masetto, and we don’t want to lose something like that.

5 4 3 2 1 [me] on each note.

Sing higher (in body)

1 3 5 7 [a] is the vowel and he’s supposed to turn on the 5.

Don’t push for head voice or you raise the larynx. It’s bland if you don’t make the turn. “There has to be a separation of church and state.” “Tuck your emotion under your support.”

“Se vuol ballare” doing for cattle calls. No pianist today.

Sings too fast to start, do it half tempo. Sings it again more slowly. “Don’t give up the energy you have when you sing it slowly.” “Catch the whip” on high notes. Get support in place before the high notes. Demonstrates high notes with a childs toy. The toy spins as you pull on the strings on either end, but it only spins when you get away from it.

Also checked an incorrect rhythm. “What’s up doc” turn, i.e. squilo on low, thread, “twang the hell out of it, but softly.” Analogy of a 4-bar taffee machine. Energy does one thing, resonance does another, and they spin in opposite directions.

“The Vagabond”

Ease of legato – karate kid, paint brush never leaves the fence. “The hand goes out [on high], don’t bring it back, put a thimble on it.” On the portamento in the last verse, “We should peel paint, once it’s fully twanged then pull on the bottom.”

Don’t tilt head up to sing to the third balcony. It will mess with your voice.

Lesson ends.

Dr.Poulimenos does two 30 minute lessons each week instead of one fifty minute lesson. His lessons are really something that needs to be video-taped to understand all that he’s saying. He teaches so much with gestures, images, and analogies that much of the brilliance of his teaching is lost when you just read about it.

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Observation #5 – Costanza Cuccaro teaching ShannonShannon is an experienced high soprano. She recently sang in Akhnaten which has about a

million high A’s and did a fantastic job, because that is her “favorite note to sing.

Lesson start, some chatting, but basically right to exercises.

[a e i o u ma me mi mo mu la le li lo lu] all on one not, pausing on the [a] vowels.

5 4 3 2 1 busy busy bee or [wi wi wi wi wi]

1 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

[mi ja] pause on the high notes, done quite fast to train coloratura.

8 6 7 5 6 4 5 3 4 2 3 1 2 7 1 [i a e a ] switching vowels each note back and forth.

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 [u i e a u i e a]

8 – 7 – 6 - 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 [a] each note is sung detached without exhaling the breath until the end. Then the patter is sung again but this time everything is a slow portamento.

1 8 – 8 1 [hu a pa u] up and down really fast. Just flip the note up there.

8 1 5 8 cresc. 1 5 8 Really any vowel works for this. The dynamics are what matters

mf p p p cresc. f f decresc. P

1 7 6 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 cresc. 2 7 5 4 2 1

mf decresc - p cresc. f decresc.

[ui] on each not of the initial descent then [a] after that with careful attention to dynamics.

1 3 5 8 10 12 11 9 7 5 4 2 1

Lots of variations in the vowels for this. Legato, staccato, once or twice on a breath, double staccato on each note.

8 1 8 7 7 7 8 All on [a]

Talk about an audition she has next week, short notice, what should she sing? What rep gets you hired right away?

- Queen of the Night- Una Voce- Olympia

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“Una voce poco fa”

Show good chest voice on low “no” on opening line. “Think [u] on the way up” on really high added note (I think it was an f).”It’s not aggressive, think charming.” Ridiculously good ornaments that I’ll have to ask for sometime.

“O mio babbino caro”

Don’t start too loud, be floaty. Take a moment on the high, but time can’t stop, conductors won’t let you do that. Loud is boring. “The healthiest forte comes from a piano.”

“A forse lui”

Newer piece, less polished. A few incorrect doublings on the Italian. Lots and lots of work on where to crescendo and descrescendo.

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