TEACHING THE SINGING ACTOR AND THE

ACTING SINGER: INVITING THE MUSICAL

THEATRE APPROACH AND STUDENT INTO THE

CLASSICAL VOICE STUDIO

A Disquisition
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty
of the
North Dakota State University
of Agricultural and Applied Science

By

Katherine Lee Noone

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS

Major Department:
Music

December 2007

Fargo, North Dakota

 UMI Number: 3306463

INFORMATION TO USERS

The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy
submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and
photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper
alignment can adversely affect reproduction.
In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript
and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized
copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion.

UMI
UMI Microform 3306463
Copyright 2008 by ProQuest LLC.
All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against
unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.

ProQuest LLC
789 E. Eisenhower Parkway
PO Box 1346
Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346
 North Dakota State University
Graduate School

Title

TEACHING THE SINGING ACTOR AND THF. AP.TTNft R T w m -

INVITING THE MUSICAL THEATRE APRROACH AND STUDENT INTO

THE CLASSICAL VOICE STUDIO

By

KATHERINE NOONE

The Supervisory Committee certifies that this disquisition complies with North Dakota
State University's regulations and meets the accepted standards for the degree of

DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS

SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE:

Jirmnia Sub^p

Approved by Department Chair:

Date Signature
 ABSTRACT

Noone, Katherine Lee; D.M.A.; Department of Music, College of Arts, Humanities, and
Social Sciences; North Dakota State University; December 2007. Teaching the Singing
Actor and the Acting Singer: Inviting the Musical Theatre Approach and Student into the
Classical Voice Studio. Major Professor: Dr. Virginia Sublett.

This thesis discusses the benefits incurred when classical voice teachers invite musical

theatre students and musical theatre pedagogical tenets into the classical voice studio. A

rationale and philosophy as to why these actions would prove beneficial is provided as well

as a brief history of the evolution of American musical theatre from its beginnings in the

operatic forms of Europe. A suggested methodology to be utilized in the classical voice

studio supplements the findings.

iii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT iii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION: THE CONVERGENCE OF FOUR HUNDRED

YEARS OF SINGING NOW KNOCKING AT THE CLASSICAL VOICE
STUDIO DOOR 1

CHAPTER II. EUROPEAN TRADITIONS AND THE NEW WORLD: EUROPEAN

ANTECEDENTS OF MODERN AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE 4

CHAPTER III. THE SINGING ACTOR AND THE ACTING SINGER IN THE
CLASSICAL VOICE STUDIO 14

CHAPTER IV. COMPARING THE TECHNIQUES: PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY

AND STYLE 32

CHAPTER V. ADDRESSING THE OBSTACLES: VOCAL HEALTH AND

QUALITY LITERATURE 45

CHAPTER VI. PUTTING IT TOGETHER: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS 60

REFERENCES CITED 63

APPENDIX. A SUGGESTED METHODOLOGY FOR SONG INTERPRETATION

FOR BOTH CLASSICAL AND MUSICAL THEATRE LITERATURE 68

iv
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION: THE CONVERGENCE OF FOUR HUNDRED

YEARS OF SINGING NOW KNOCKING AT THE CLASSICAL
VOICE STUDIO DOOR

The formal discipline of teaching a student to sing enables the singer to improve.

This pertains equally to the earliest voice teachers of the Italian bel canto schools of the

seventeenth century to the present-day voice instructors. Furthermore, both students and

instructors should share the common goal of a beautiful and meaningful performance

regardless of genre and style.

Although, in the past, voice students were likely to be familiar primarily with

classical models, today's students are more likely to be acquainted with the tonal

preferences of popular and contemporary commercial music:

Never has the college or university voice professor faced such challenges in
the education of young, intelligent, and vocally well endowed singers, most
of whom have rarely or never heard classical singing. This trend follows
suit with the statistics for our society as a whole. In fact, only two percent
of Americans listen to and/or attend classical music concerts, and only about
one percent listen to opera.1

Today, the prevalence of media and entertainment as well as the development and

popularity of musical theatre in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have an impact on

everyone associated with a singer's performance. The singer, that singer's voice teacher,

and the audience member who attends the singer's performance are all affected.

1. Darlene Wiley and Larisa Montanaro, "Some Thoughts on Tonal Image," Journal of Singing 63
(November/December 2006): 170.

1
 It has often been difficult for students to find voice teachers who teach the musical

theatre style, and until recently there was no established tradition of musical theatre

pedagogy. Without an established tradition of pedagogy together with teachers who can

properly train aspiring singers in the musical theatre genre, these singers are likely to

suffer. If they are fortunate, these young singers may find a voice teacher who is skilled in

this genre, or at least locate a vocal coach who may advise them on what literature to sing.

If not, students may have been incorporated into the world of classical music that eclipses

musical theatre priorities.

In addition, aspiring students of classical vocal music suddenly face a world of

competition requiring different skills and attributes than did prior generations of singers.

These include an attractive physical appearance, natural physical expressiveness, and the

ability to portray character and motivation like a consummate actor. Classical voice

teachers are not expected to educate both types of aspiring singers in all of these skills.

However, when voice teachers invite musical theatre students and musical theatre's tenets

into the classical voice studio, both students and teachers have much to gain. If this

happens, these musical theatre students will grow vocally in several ways. Their overall

technique will improve by studying posture, breath support, and vocal freedom gained in

the bel canto style of singing and they will achieve a mastery of challenging classical and

musical theatre literature.

By utilizing musical theatre literature and performance practice styles with students,

classical voice teachers may also benefit. Teachers may experience an increase in

awareness of musical theatre vocal literature and perhaps hone their skills as performance

2
coaches. Furthermore, when classical voice teachers are open to a musical theatre

approach to singing, they may increase their knowledge of the different ways the registers

function in belt, mix, and head voice singing for musical theatre. Finally, classical voice

teachers may pass on much of this knowledge to their traditional classical voice students.

These students may benefit from the ability to incorporate motivation and acting techniques

into classical literature, an increased exposure to repertoire which could make them more

marketable, and a deeper understanding of vocal pedagogy and registration.

Several factors exist in formulating the conscious pedagogical choices of classical

voice teachers today. The historical context of the classical art form of singing versus the

popular form of singing, the role of technology and its impact on vocal performers, and the

attitudes, preferences and traditions of the classical vocal teaching profession all play a

role. The crux of why current classical voice teachers in the academic and private setting

instruct in their own desired methodology is due to this amalgamation of pedagogical

influences. Each of these influences will be examined in order to suggest the enhancement

gained when musical theatre students and elements of the musical theatre genre are

incorporated into the classical voice studio.

3
 CHAPTER II

EUROPEAN TRADITIONS AND THE NEW WORLD:

EUROPEAN ANTECEDENTS
OF MODERN AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE

The genealogy of modern American musical theatre is an amalgamation of all styles

of vocal performance that have come before. These include classical, popular and

informal. Because of this, it is most beneficial for vocal students who aspire to be

successful in this field to be adept at as many singing styles as possible. Just as teachers of

a classical voice students should know the history of opera, so should teachers of musical

theatre voice students be familiar with the origins of American musical theatre. This

knowledge enables voice teachers to fully understand how these various musical forms

came to be incorporated into the musical and singing styles of this genre.

Classical vocal pedagogy dates back to the early Italian singing masters of the

seventeenth century. Today, the desired tonal qualities associated with this singing style

still prevail as the standard approach to classical singing. However, pedagogy of the

musical theatre voice is a relatively new and undiscovered field. This is due in part to the

historical roots of each of the two genres. Whereas classical singing has been legitimized

as a discipline in the genres of art song and opera for four hundred years, musical theatre

singing, having always existed as popular, rather than "high art" singing, is only now

becoming a discipline in its own right. The separate, yet intertwined evolutions of opera

and musical theatre have resulted in the individually distinct singing styles of each, both

out of practicality and of conscious attitudes and preferences. Briefly examining the

4
development of these genres in a comparative chronological context may give insight into

these singing styles.

Modern American musical theatre is generally accepted to have its roots in the

comic musical performances of Europe. European immigrants brought their knowledge

and preferences for art, architecture, musical theatre, and dance from their native countries

in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Among the forms of music and theatre with

which they would have been familiar were opera, operetta, ballad opera, French comic

opera, and the pasticcio. The style and structure of each of these genres provide insight

into the evolution of American musical theatre.

Opera is defined as a dramatic theatre piece with continuous music as the dominant

artistic feature.1 This genre originated in the early seventeenth-century with a small group

of scientists, philosophers, and musicians in Italy. The Florentine Camerata were

profoundly interested in the art forms of ancient Greece. For approximately the next two

hundred and fifty years opera was entirely sung, and its form comprised alternating

sections of aria and recitative. The aria sections generally served to convey the emotional

state of the character at the moment, and they often served to showcase the technical

prowess of the singer. The recitative functioned to further the plot of the story. As opera

developed, the distinction between recitative and aria began to blur until by the mid-

nineteenth century, recitative had entirely disappeared.

Comic opera differs from the more serious operatic forms. This is due mainly to its

humorous plots and characters based on common everyday people. These characters stood

in contrast to serious opera characters who were "uncommon," often royalty or

1. Richard Kislan, The Musical: A Look at the American Musical Theater (Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall, 1995), 13.

5
mythological beings. American musical theatre had its beginnings in comic opera,

therefore this discussion will examine the specific components of this form of the genre.

Italy and France had their own interpretation of comic opera. Italy's version of this

genre was opera buffa. This art form grew directly from the plots and stock characters of

commedia dell'arte and combined itself with the grandness of opera seria, which was

considered the "high art music" of the day. Whereas many of the heroic roles in early

Italian opera and opera seria were portrayed by castrati, as were some of the female roles,

the opera buffa introduced the full spectrum of voices. The basso buffo came to play a

central role in the opera buffa's plot. Although the Italian, Michelangelo Faggioli was the

preeminent composer of early opera buffa, it was the Austrian, Wolfgang Amadeus

Mozart, who musically validated opera's less serious form. His opera buffa, Le Nozze di

Figaro, along with Gioacchino Rossini's 77 barbiere di Siviglia and Gaetano Donizetti's

Don Pasquale are excellent examples of classic opera buffa.

France called its version of comic opera opera bouffe. This is today more

accurately classified as operetta rather than opera Operetta differed from opera, in that it

its plots and topical references often reflected contemporary society. Operetta also

prominently featured dialogue and this made it more dependent than opera upon a strong

libretto. Because of the topical, politically and socially satirical libretti of early operettas,

words and music were equally important.2 This is what distinguishes operetta from grand

opera, and what lead to the increasing popularity of such musical entertainment.3

The comic forms of Italian and French opera and operetta influenced other

European national vocal genres, which incorporated the native countries' own unique

2. Denny Martin Flinn, Musical! A Grand Tour (New York: Schirmer, 1997), 61.
3. Flinn, 61.

6
musical traditions into its comic offerings. The following genres are either classified as

operetta or may be considered a sub-genre of this form. The German Singspiel, the

Austrian operetta, the English ballad opera, the Italian intermezzo, the nineteenth century

English operetta, and the pasticcio can all be retrospectively gathered into sub-genre of

operetta. Each of these further detail the progression towards modern American musical

theatre.

The French composers Herve (also known as Florimond Ronger) and Jacques

Offenbach are associated most closely with opera bouffe. In the mid-nineteenth century,

Offenbach and other composers began to expand the size and length of the comic, satirical,

musical entertainments that were so successful with audiences.4 Of note are Offenbach's

collaborators on Orphee aux Enfers, Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy. These two men

are credited with being the first legitimate librettists of musical theatre. They also provided

the libretto for Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus (1874), the cornerstone of Viennese

operetta.

Germany's Singspiel is classified as an opera with spoken dialogue that usually

contains a comic plot. Mozart's Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail is an example of this form.

The Viennese operetta was influenced by the German Singspiel and, as previously stated,

the French opera bouffe. When Austrian composer Johann Strauss II used the concert

waltz in his operetta, Die Fledermaus, he opened up possibilities as exciting as George M.

Cohan did when he replaced waltz with ragtime nearly a half century later.5 The operettas

of the "waltz-king," as Strauss was known, easily matched the popularity of many of the

French comic operas by Offenbach.

4. Flinn, 60.
5. Flinn, 63.

7
 The music of Offenbach and Strauss was often based on infectious rhythms, or

specific dances, that were currently popular. As dance is an important component in

American musical theatre, the following excerpt perhaps provides insight into the

popularity of dance and its place in this genre. "The waltz, a dance in three-quarter time,

descended from a traditional German dance called the Ldndler, which had a libidinous

effect on the dancers and audiences at the time."6 An English traveler in 1799 described

what he saw on the continent:

The dancers grasped the long dress of their partners so that it would not drag
and be trodden upon, and lifted it high, holding them in this cloak which
brought both bodies under one cover, as closely as possible against them and
in this way the whirling continued in the most indecent positions; the
supporting hand lay firmly on the breasts, at each movement making lustful
pressures, the girls went wild and looked as if they would drop. When
waltzing on the darker side of the room there were bolder embraces and
kisses.7

One of American musical theatre's most renowned musicals, Rodgers and

Hammerstein's The Sound of Music, devotes a scene to this particular dance. Although the

ballet in French grand opera also had some influence on the infusion of dance into musical

theatre, it is easier to trace its origins to movements like the waltz trend in Austria.

It was customary in eighteenth century England to apply the term opera broadly to

almost any dramatic work with dialogue and music. Included among these was the

somewhat inaccurately named "ballad opera," which shares many common attributes with

the pasticcio and operetta. In place of the recitative, ballad opera used spoken dialogue. Its

composers often utilized popular ballads, airs and folk songs of the day, and wrote new

lyrics to accompany them. The effect of familiar and simple melodies on the audience

listening to a ballad opera for the first time was direct, immediate, and emotional.
6. Flinn, 62.
7. Flinn 63.

8
Furthermore, the music in a ballad opera was not allowed to dominate the text. This was in

contrast to traditional eighteenth century opera, which contained long passages of florid,

ornamental cadenzas and Olympian, idealized plots that little relevance to the audiences'

everyday lives. A prominent musical example of a ballad opera at this time was John

Gay's The Beggar's Opera in 1728. It set the standard in form and style for all ballad

opera and proved to be the single most popular theatrical work in eighteenth-century

England. The libretto was of primary importance in this work even as the musical score

expanded from its original size. Its satirical theme of all classes of people truly being the

same at their core proved to be a central theme in future musical theatre libretti. The

dominance of the libretto in musical theatre is one of the principal distinctions between it

and opera.

Another sub-genre of operetta is the intermezzo. These short, light-hearted operas

were often inserted between the three lengthy acts of eighteenth century opera seria. A

popular intermezzo/operetta is Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona, which

debuted in 1733. Its content, like that of The Beggar's Opera, was humorous and

contained common stock characters familiar to contemporary society. Both the ballad

opera and intermezzi were popular in the eighteenth century and were a reaction to serious,

dramatic, and lengthy operas.

Just as England began this new trend of operetta with The Beggar's Opera, it

continued this legacy nearly a century and a half later. Perhaps the most significant

predecessors of American musical theatre are the works of the nineteenth century

lyricist/composer team W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Their work helped defined

comic operetta as it is known today, and was so wildly popular in England that it pushed

9
Italian opera off the London stage and French operetta out of the West End. In Gilbert and

Sullivan's operettas, the satiric nature of the text laid the rhythmic and harmonic

groundwork for the music. The fact that Gilbert, like Gay, wrote the story as well as the

lyrics also ensured a natural continuity between songs and texts.8 Although the English

comic operetta was similar to the Austrian operetta and the French opera bouffe, it

emphasized comedy over romance and sentimentality. This trait proved significant in the

early shaping of the American art form.

A final antecedent to musical theatre is the pasticcio (or pastiche). It is defined as a

dramatic work for which the writer, producer, or arranger selected existing music from the

compositions of famous composers to win over the audience with a distinguished and

popular musical program.9 The pasticcio's lesser-known musical theatre forms of burletta,

shadow shows, pantomimes, and masques all featured popular music loosely tied together

in a light-hearted plot. These forms adapted to become the minstrel shows, burlesque,

vaudeville, and the spectacular and intimate revues of nineteenth century American musical

theatre.

The eclectic pasticcio, England's ballad opera, the comic and lively opera bouffe of

France, the romantic plots and evocative dances of the Austrian operetta, the spoken

dialogue of the German Singspiel, and the satirical, hilarious Gilbert and Sullivan operettas

of late nineteenth century England were all antecedents of American music theatre. Each

had its impact on the style and structure of musical theatre productions in America.

For the duration of the eighteenth century, the predominantly upper-class American

audience supported a musical theatre that was European in origin, form, and style.10
8. Flinn, 75.
9. Kislan, 16.
10. Kislan, 16.

10
However, this changed as immigrants flocked to the new country throughout the nineteenth

century. As the century progressed, theatre responded to the people's desire to concentrate

on the American present and not on the European past. While the imported European

operettas were still in fashion, Americans also wanted their theatre to be direct, easily

understood, humorous, light-hearted, without pretense, and above all, their own. The

second half of the nineteenth century showed that both European and the newer popular

American style productions could coexist:

It is interesting to note that, on the basis of a numerical count, audience taste

seemed to be about equally divided between the "serious" and the
"popular": records show that between 1855 and 1900 the New York theater
offered 83 operettas - most of which were European - and 72 musicals -
mostly homegrown.11

The plots of musicals began to evolve at the turn of the twentieth century with the

subject matter becoming more plausible and familiar to the audiences. The traditional

absurdity of the earlier forms with broad comedy and pasteboard characters gave way to

more identifiable roles and settings. In addition, the European binary song form expanded

into an AABA structure that audiences preferred. This was due to its repetition of the

"catchy" melody, a release or relief with the B section, and the aural comfort of returning

to the A.

In 1927, an important milestone in the history of the American musical was

reached with Jerome Kern's Show Boat. Audiences could relate to this first book-musical

with its combination of memorable tunes in the newer song form and plausible plot. The

end of the 1920's, then, was a kind of turning point, with Show Boat a crucial link between

past and future:12

11. Brooks Atkinson, The American Musical Theater: A Consideration by Lehman Engel (New York:
Macmillan, 1967), 28.
12. Atkinson, 39.

11
 About the time of Show Boat, a general, if unorganized, move in the
direction of integrated musicals, with fresh music and lyrics and books that
could involve audiences, was becoming discernible in the work of others.
This trend could be found in the shows of Gershwin and Youmans and in
the subsequent works of Rodgers and Hart, Berlin, Porter and Schwartz and
Dietz.13

Even though the European-based American operettas were still flourishing and

would peak in their popularity in the mid 1920s, the American musical forms had an

impact on the libretti of these early operettas:

These late examples of American operetta comprise the very highest

achievement of the transplanted European heritage. The music excelled that
of earlier operetta created in this country, and the books, although too easily
traced to their Viennese models, were nevertheless less complicated, with
plots more humanly identifiable.14

Another pivotal factor in the development of the American musical is the revue.

With its roots based in the minstrel shows, pantomimes, and variety shows of the previous

century, the revue laid the groundwork for the contemporary musical by the nature of its

form. Because the revue is an amalgamation of songs and skits from several different

composers, producers were eager to "try out" a new composer's song without risking the

entire production. Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, and Cole Porter all

composed for revues before they offered their own full-fledged musicals some ten to

twenty years later. Conversely, contemporary European operettas were entirely composed

by one composer.

As the Roaring Twenties ended and the Great Depression settled in, the American

public tired of the spectacle and silliness of the revue. The demise of the revue resulted in

the creation of its antithesis; a much smaller show with a more plausible plot and realistic,
13. Atkinson, 38.
14. Atkinson, 38.

12
believable characters. The libretto, or "book" as it came to be known, became increasingly

important to the educated and somewhat economically hardened American public. With

Rodgers and Hart's PalJoey in 1940, the book, with its realistic, imperfect characters,

established itself as the foundation and cornerstone of the modern American musical. The

two-dimensional "Prince Charmings" and "damsels in distress" of operetta's past gave way

to complex, realistic men such as the deviant Billy Bigelow in Rodgers and Hammerstein's

Carousel (1945) and strong-willed, self-confident women such as Annie Oakley in Berlin's

Annie Get Your Gun (1946). Composers continued to write catchy tunes that were

integrated into the musical. Now, along with the realistic character-driven book, the

formula for the American musical was finally realized.

Finally, with a codified definition of the American musical, it is easier to

understand how the musical and its styles of singing came to be. The vast array of sources

that have come to define this genre have all had an impact on how musical theatre singers

choose to sing each song. Professional voice teachers are needed to provide the necessary

guidance for the task of choosing how to perform each song in a healthy, appropriate, and

meaningful manner.

13
 CHAPTER III

THE SINGING ACTOR AND THE ACTING SINGER

IN THE CLASSICAL VOICE STUDIO

The twentieth century brought about vast and numerous advancements and

inventions in the fields of medicine, science and technology. Specifically, technology had

a profound impact on the performing arts. Entirely new media were created such as motion

pictures, radio, television, and recorded music. Additionally, these four media introduced

the microphone to vocal performance. All had an unprecedented effect on both singing

actors and acting singers. The intimacy and immediacy conferred by these media and their

associated technologies allowed for a more natural acting style and awakened the public to

a wider variety of entertainment than had ever been previously available. With this variety

came new challenges of performance practice. As audiences became more aware of the

dramatic and vocal subtleties and "closeness" of movies and television, they began to

demand these elements to a much greater extent in the live art forms of opera and musical

theatre:

The cry for a more believable, more theatrical kind of opera and for a more
attractive, complete opera performer began as a murmur in the fifties, grew
in volume during the sixties, and became a full-throated aria, a part of the
standard repertory in discussing opera production, in the seventies. For the
first time in history, young opera singers have been informed during their
training that there is a new and special importance attached to their ability to
act.1

As the twentieth century unfolded and the twenty-first century dawned, it became

increasingly evident that much more would be expected of the singing performer in both

1. H. Wesley Balk, Performing Power: A New Approach for the Singer-Actor (Minneapolis, MN:
University of Minnesota Press, 1985), 273.

14
the musical theatre and the classical vocal genre. Today, the public expects and demands

excellence in the areas of physical appearance, acting abilities, and vocal prowess from the

operatic stage as well as the musical theatre stage. If musical theatre performers are to

receive the optimum vocal training that is both healthy and stylistically correct to meet

these challenges, there necessarily will be new expectations of classical voice teachers

whose task it is to train these singers.

The advent and sustained popularity of modern American musical theatre has

created a need for capable and talented singers, who can perform in its various styles.

During the first part of the twentieth century, classically trained singers were commonly

used as leads for musical theatre productions. From the 1920's through the 1940's, when

the microphone was still in its infancy and musicals such as Show Boat, Pal Joey and

Oklahoma were being written and performed, the music was still linked harmonically,

rhythmically, and formally to opera and operetta. This logically demanded a vocal quality

that was similar to its classical counterparts and that could carry in a theatrical house

without amplification. However, the microphone opened up new worlds of expressive and

dramatic possibilities to singers that had never before been possible. Classical singers had

always honed the technique of shaping their resonators in order to achieve maximum

acoustical power. Through sound reinforcement it suddenly became unnecessary for

singers to create so much sound on stage, and the desired musical theatre and popular vocal

quality could remain more nasally focused and somewhat brighter than in classical singing

without audibility concerns. The use of subtle, speech-like nuances such as soft sighs or a

breathy quality were also becoming standard through the use of amplification. These

qualities allowed the realism of average people conversing or singing in real life.

15
Audiences easily comprehended this style of communication, and the result was a

believable, authentic, and intimate drama. Gradually, musical theatre began favoring this

technology over natural acoustics. Since opera and other genres of classical singing have

not followed the route of electronic amplification, the scope of vocal pedagogy now needs

to encompass the vocal production demands of both acoustic and amplified singing

together with the accompanying varieties of dramatic communication.

The performance expectations placed upon singing actors were also affected by the

advent of film and television. Although recordings were available, the average person was

now exposed to a complete simulation of a live performance. This increased exposure

created preferences among audience members and brought to the surface a more spirited,

competitive atmosphere among both aspiring and veteran performers. Performers of many

genres were more likely to be compared with one another. Furthermore, with the camera's

ability to zoom in on faces and narrow the audience's view of performers, a proverbial

magnifying glass was placed on the performer's physical characteristics. Physical

appearance, together with entertaining performances, became expected in all forms of live

theatre. Because of what the public saw on television and in movie theatres, it expected

similar visual and dramatic qualities when paying for a seat at a live performance.

The musical Camelot serves as an example of the impact that television had on live

musical theatre. For three months, Camelot ran on Broadway in New York City to mixed

reviews. The formidable acting ability of Richard Burton, who played King Arthur, was

initially not very successful at fulfilling the desired dramatic and musical expectations of

audiences and critics. Even the quality singing of Julie Andrews as Guenevere and Robert

Goulet as Lancelot could not overcome the obvious average singing ability of Richard

16
Burton in the large, acoustic halls of Broadway. Then Ed Sullivan, television's iconic

variety show host, invited the Broadway cast to sing a few numbers from the show on his

television program, The Ed Sullivan Show. The camera's ability to zoom in on Burton and,

thus, allow the audience to see Burton's dramatic facial expressions, together with those of

other primary characters in the show, proved fruitful. The next day, the ailing Broadway

show suddenly had patrons lined up around the block. The show was a hit.2 It is clear that,

once the audience could see Burton's acting "up close," it was more than willing to show its

approval. This instance is a testament to the importance that acting and believability play

on the success of musical theatre stage productions, but also the dramatic clarity that can be

portrayed through the television medium.

However, unlike the specific role of King Arthur, to be successful in most roles in

musical theatre, the performer must be able to sing and act equally well. Therefore, to

increase one's chances at success in today's musical theatre business, one must be able to

sing, act, and even dance in other words, be a true triple threat. This being the case, who

will teach aspiring singing actors to incorporate a solid, healthy, and beautiful vocal

technique that also fully encompasses the dramatic projection of each word and where will

they receive this training?

Colleges and universities offering music degrees universally require their vocal

music majors to study applied voice together with other voice related courses. However,

the typical core curriculum does not require acting courses. Similarly, the student who

pursues a degree in theatre will focus on acting, but applied voice likely will not be a part

of their core areas of study. The natural and obvious connection between these two

2. Gene Lees, Inventing Champagne: The Worlds ofLerner andLoewe (New York: St. Martin's Press,
1990),202.

17
disciplines is clear, but only recently have some universities provided a degree option for

students wishing to pursue a career in musical theatre with requisite training in both acting

and singing.

Many singers taking voice lessons today are doing so either because of a strong

interest in musical theatre, or because they hope to eventually make a living on the musical

theatre stage. Barbara Doscher quotes Friedrich Brodnitz in her text, The Functional Unity

ofSinging:

Eight out of 10 students that any singing teacher has in the studio will not
wind up on the opera stage, or on the concert. In some form, she or he will
be in musicals... The profession of teaching of singing should develop ideas
on how one can deal with students like them.3

However, there are few classical voice teachers who specialize in the pedagogy of musical

theatre or the larger genre of contemporary commercial music with which musical theatre

is associated. Jeanette LoVetri, a respected classical and non-classical voice teacher, notes

the popularity of this genre:

Today, contemporary commercial music has become a multibillion dollar

business and is well on its way to becoming the dominant force on
Broadway. Ironically, however, there are few places where one can go to
learn to sing, teach, and adjudicate contemporary commercial music. Even
though the vast majority of people who make money from singing do so in
some style of contemporary commercial music, the pedagogy is rooted in
classical voice technique.4

Because of this, more and more students are demanding education in this field, and

universities across the country are responding:

Statistics reveal the number of college and universities offering degrees in

musical theatre singing has increased dramatically. Students pursuing these
degrees often outnumber those students pursuing classical voice
performance degrees.5

3. Friedrich S. Brodnitz, "Hormones and the Singing Voice," NATS Bulletin 28 (1971): 16-17.
4. Jeannette LoVetri, "Who" s Minding the Store?" Journal ofSinging 59 (March/April 2003): 345.

18
Rachel Lebon agrees:

More universities are beginning to address the needs of aspiring singers who
wish to perform in idioms outside the classical tradition as they pursue
careers in the professional music world.6

As Karen Hall notes, this major, although popular, is still in its relative infancy with regard

to curriculum and qualified faculty to teach it:

Although more schools are offering a music theater degree, most of the
voice teachers available to teach these students are classically trained. It is
doubtful many of these singing teachers, if any, have a degree in music
theater, since it has been offered only since the 1970's. At the same time,
there are few formal courses in music theater pedagogy.7

Jeannette LoVetri concurs with this statement:

In addition, although there are over sixty colleges and universities offering
majors and degrees in musical theatre, and several offering programs in jazz,
few have teachers who understand or are able to teach contemporary
commercial music vocal technique.8

These programs continue to evolve as more and more students, faculty and administrators

begin to recognize their importance.

Many American universities operate with a traditional model: classical voice

teachers teaching classical voice to all types of singers. Often these universities employ

classical repertoire requirements that form part of a student's core curriculum. Regardless

of the specific institution or given situation, individual teachers are likely to decide at some

point whether or not to teach a student of musical theatre. If the decision is made to teach

these students, voice teachers must then decide what to teach and what pedagogy applies.

Aspiring singing actors in the field of musical theatre are in need of sound tutelage

5. Karen Hall, "Music Theater and Classical Singing: at Odds Personally and Professionally," Journal
of Singing 63 (May/June 2007): 570.
6. Rachel Lebon, The Professional Vocalist: A Handbookfor Commercial Singers and Teachers
(Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1999), x.
7. Hall, 570.
8. LoVetri, 345.

19
in both pedagogy and literature but may not find any flexibility in requirements, as LoVetri

states:

Singers who want to study voice but don't want to learn classical art songs
and arias are forced to do so anyway because no other kind of vocal training
is available at most institutions of higher learning.9

Classical literature can be an excellent training tool for both sound technique and

expansion of repertoire knowledge, but the student of musical theatre also needs to have

exposure to and facility in musical theatre literature as well. Often these students' options

are either to take lessons from a voice teacher of classical music with little background and

familiarity with the students' chosen genre, or to work with a coach in the theatre

department (if one is available or provided) who helps them perform their songs. The

coach may often have an extensive background in acting, vocal coaching, or piano, but will

likely have less understanding of the physiology of the voice than that of a classically

trained voice teacher.

Another scenario is the situation where perhaps a classical teacher will not accept a

musical theatre student for several reasons. This teacher may cite an unfamiliarity with this

type of music, that musical theatre tone quality is not acceptable or healthy, or because of a

belief that the student will refuse to acknowledge that classical pedagogy and literature

must be learned for proper technique. All of these explanations are legitimate and

reasonable but offer little recourse for the musical theatre student in search of tutelage.

Classical voice teachers are sometimes willing to invite musical theatre students

into the studio. These teachers may need to understand that their own preferred tonal

models and singing styles may not be ideal for musical theatre students. Rachel Lebon

9. LoVetri, 346.

20
offers this warning to voice teachers who take on a new, and perhaps unfamiliar, voice

student:

The voice teacher inadvertently brings some preconceptions and weak

practices to the voice studio as well [as the student], and these should be
recognized in order to maintain objectivity These may include:
1. The inability to acknowledge personal preferences and
prejudices regarding different vocal qualities.
2. The inability to recognize differences in physical responses,
while relating to one's own proprioceptive sensations. These
may radically differ from those experienced by the student.
3. The tendency to pass along methods of one's own voice
teachers exclusively, while ignoring alternative pedagogical
approaches.
4. The avoidance of any vocal demonstration, or failure to use
demonstration judiciously as a pedagogical tool.10

Teachers often will require that students learn classical literature. This is not

necessarily an unwise decision since being able to sing correctly with a healthy tone

production in as many musical genres as possible will only make the singer more versatile,

and therefore, more marketable. However, since most voice teacher's backgrounds are in

classical music, it stands to reason that their breadth of knowledge of musical theatre

literature will not be as broad as it is in their primary genre. This may result in a selection

of songs for students that is rather limited. It may also result in only more traditional or

"legit" musical theatre songs, such as those in the Rodgers and Hammerstein era, being

explored and sung in a classical style. These legit songs require a tonal quality that is

similar to that of classical singing. Songs that require belt singing may be avoided for

concerns regarding vocal health. Contemporary musical theatre literature (songs composed

since 1970) also may be avoided. These songs often contain a range that requires chest

voice dominant singing, some belting, and some legit singing all within the same piece.

10. Lebon, 82.

21
 Classical voice teachers likely will be most familiar with traditional vocal pedagogy

resulting in the bel canto sound. They will often be less familiar with the quality sought in

the musical theatre profession, dislike the quality if known, or believe that extreme care

must be taken in singing in this style in order not to harm the voice.

Even if classical voice teachers are receptive to the idea of teaching musical theatre

students in their studio, there has been until recently little reference information to which

they could turn. There are numerous well-respected books and journals detailing virtually

every aspect of the study of classical singing. Beginning with William Vennard's Singing:

The Mechanism and Technic published in 1967, there have been at least thirty-five such

books published on the study of classical vocal pedagogy. Books like Richard Miller's

The Structure of Singing: System and Art in Vocal Technique and Oren Brown's Discover

Your Voice are widely used as the primary texts in vocal pedagogy classes on university

campuses across America. This number does not include many more books published for

the intended use of teaching class voice, which may include chapters on the subject of

vocal pedagogy. However, very little published work exists in textbook form on the study

of musical theatre singing. One is fortunate to find even a mention of the belt voice, a

pillar of musical theatre singing, in any of the leading and aforementioned materials.

Neither Vennard, Miller nor Brown directly discuss how to utilize the voice properly when

singing musical theatre repertoire.

It is important to add that instruction on the teaching of musical theatre is not the

purpose of these publications, and that this author does not find fault with such helpful and

informative resources. They are mentioned only because the teachers of classical singing

are unable to discover answers to questions they may have regarding musical theatre

22
pedagogy in these publications. Whereas these texts contain scientific and substantiated

facts on efficient, healthy vocal production and vocal formants relating to proper technique

for classical singing, there is no such comparable resource for musical theatre pedagogy.

However, the research on musical theatre pedagogy is beginning to materialize in such

prominent journals as The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Journal of

Singing and more recent musical theatre publications such as The Professional Vocalist by

Rachel Lebon and On Singing on Stage by David Craig. One is also able to locate a few

paragraphs and sometimes a chapter in traditional vocal pedagogy texts that are more

recently published such as Barbara Doscher's The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice

and Clifton Ware's Basics of Vocal Pedagogy. These sources contain definitions of the

belt voice and registration related to musical theatre, but most contend that there is a great

deal of interpretation and sometimes confusion on the part of voice teachers, singers, and

even pedagogues in the subject area.

Another controversial issue lies in the fact that many classical voice teachers and

singers have been taught that singing in other than the classical or bel canto style can and

most likely will be vocally unhealthy for the long term. Recently, scientific experiments

have been undertaken in order to study this possibility. As this area of research is still in its

infancy, the results are inconclusive. More will be discussed on this matter in a later

chapter. However, some classical teachers are beginning to realize and embrace the idea of

teaching the musical theatre style. Norman Spivey, coordinator of the voice area at

Pennsylvania State University School of Music, discusses his venture into learning about,

performing in, and eventually teaching musical theatre after a career of classical singing:

With the current, growing interest in the teaching and the pedagogy of non-
classical singing styles, those of us who have taken more traditional,

23
 classical career paths, and who now want to embrace the teaching of
contemporary commercial music, find ourselves in need of additional
information and training.11

He goes on to say of his experiences with NATS musical theatre workshops, such as

"Music Theatre and the Belt Voice," (Miami, January 2000), and "Music Theatre and the

Belt Voice - II," (New York, January 2001):

Through these events I got to know many of the leaders in this field and
became more aware of the issues and training associated with musical
theatre singing. I realized, of course, that my classical training, stage
experiences, and study of traditional pedagogy were useful tools when
working with any population of voice students - they just weren't the
complete set of tools I needed to work effectively with musical theatre
students.12

Unfortunately, the number of classical voice teachers who embrace the quest for

knowledge of musical theatre pedagogy is still not proportionate to the demand of aspiring

musical theatre singers who desire quality teaching. All of this leaves the aspiring singing

actor with a less than adequate vocal education with which to enter the competitive musical

theatre business. These singers of musical theatre continue to appear at classical voice

teacher's doorsteps in need of technique for their desired art form every day.

Awareness of current trends in our western music culture will aid voice teachers as

the issue of the deficit of instruction for aspiring performers in musical theatre is brought

more to the forefront of their consciousness. Not only may it be wise to invite the singing

actor into the classical voice studio, but many of the main tenets of this genre may also

prove beneficial to the acting singer.

11. Norman Spivey, "Teaching Music Theatre Singing: One Teacher's Journey," Journal of Singing 62,
(November/December 2005): 200.
12. Spivey, 200-201.

24
 Teaching another to sing is both a science and an art. In order to teach voice

effectively to a student, most classical voice teachers today would agree that it is necessary

to understand the biological facts of how the body produces tone, and what physical

adjustments can be made in order to improve that tone. They also are aware that eliciting

an improved tone can be achieved through imagery, the use of terminology, and through

visual and oral demonstration. Classical voice teachers already know they must possess the

skills to utilize these methods. However, teaching the technique of singing in the studio is

only one half of the equation. Richard Miller, one of the most widely respected vocal

pedagogues of the day, points this out:

Knowing how the singing instrument works, and knowing how to get it to
work consistently, is the sum of technical knowledge. That is why a
systematic approach to vocal technique is the most successful route to
artistic singing. System and art conjoin to produce the professional sounds
of the singing voice.13

What is interesting in Miller's observation is the inclusion of the artistic element of

the performance. He speaks of the art, the intangible expression that truly makes a

performance authentic and moving. This concept, which casting director Arnold Mungioli

terms "lyric interpretation," may be defined as the artist expressing the word (either spoken

or sung) in a manner that is honest, real, and meaningful to the audience. Whereas

classical singing values this interpretation as one element in performing artistically,

musical theatre values it above all else.

Furthermore, simply to sing technically and beautifully is not enough, according to

Miller, but is the necessary route the singer must take in order to be artistic. He continues

to state the importance of unifying both aspects of performing:

13. Richard Miller, The Structure of Singing: System and Art in Vocal Technique (New York: Firmer
Books, 1986), xvi.

25
 Recognizing the need to balance technical proficiency and artistic impulse,
every rehearsal and practice session should be arranged so that an even
alteration exists between that which remains a challenge technically and
artistically, and that which is comfortably secure. More explicitly, not only
must the two pillars - technique and artistry - be kept in balance, but the
most facile and the most elusive aspects of both should be part of the daily
routine.14

To summarize his point, Miller ends his chapter entitled "Coordinating Technique and

Communication" with the following: "Technique is of no value except as it makes

communication possible."15

In searching for a definitive qualifier of vocal beauty or aesthetics, Clifton Ware

quotes Willi Apel as saying, "Musical [vocal] aesthetics is the study of the relationship of

music [singing] to the human senses and intellect (Apel 1969, p. 14)." He continues this

thought with his own ideas of how beautiful singing is not confined to a certain tonal

quality but must also include the emotional responses of its audience:

Giving attention to both the sensations (emotive powers) and intellectual

aspects of music [singing] allows for more latitude in interpreting peoples'
responses to specific compositions and individual singers.16

Barbara Doscher, in her text, The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice, seems to

concur with Miller and Ware:

Regardless of the instrument, certain muscular actions and acoustical laws

must be mastered before more subjective areas of expressivity, aesthetics,
and musicality can be achieved.17

Even though she touts the importance of technique, Doscher couches it in the context of a

means to the artistic end. Unfortunately, Miller's second pillar, artistic expression, may be

14. Miller, 197.

15. Miller, 204.
16. Clifton Ware, Basics of Vocal Pedagogy (Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1998), 4.
17. Barbara Doscher, The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice, 2nd ed. (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow
Press, 1994), xii.

26
the pillar put aside by many classical voice teachers for later attention. Perhaps this occurs

for a variety of reasons. Traditions, the instructions teachers receive in their own voice

lessons, their own personal preferences, lack of time, and perhaps their lack of formalized

instruction in acting are all possible reasons as to why artistry and interpretation are

approached with secondary importance.

Robert Edwin, a leading authority on non-classical pedagogy who writes a regular

column in The NATS Journal of Singing, has much to say about the necessity of classical

voice teachers continuing to expand their pedagogical horizons to include musical theatre

into their studio. Three of his ten pedagogical new millennium resolutions pertain to

musical theatre and popular song and encourage this:

#3 of 10. I WILL TRY TO SAY THE WORD "BELTING" WITHOUT

MAKING A FACE.

Belting is finally being recognized as a legitimate style of singing. It can be

taught and sung correctly, healthily and artistically. Yes, there are
nightmare stories of belters who have wrecked their voices. However, they
take their place next to nightmare stories of opera singers who wrecked their
voices. Good technique and bad technique exist in both disciplines.

#7 of 10. I WILL UPDATE MY DEFINITION OF MUSICAL THEATER.

I continue to hear from my colleagues the phrase, "healthy Broadway

singing." When pressed for an explanation, what they seem to mean is
classical-like singing that doesn't include chest voice-dominant styles such
as rock, or pop, gospel, or rhythm and blues. They claim to teach Broadway
songs, but only include repertoire from soprano or mezzo roles such as
"Sarah" in Guys and Dolls, or "Mother Abbess" in Sound of Music.
Broadway is Kiss Me Kate, but it is also Rent and Jekyll and Hyde and
Footloose and Annie Get Your Gun and... Let's be a bit more inclusive and
acknowledge the healthy belters in musical theatre as well as the healthy
sopranos.

27
 #9 of 10. I WILL TRY AND LISTEN TO ONE SONG IN EVERY
MAJOR STYLE OF SINGING.

Given the multitude of offerings in classical vocal repertoire, let alone

contemporary commercial music, perhaps this could be a long-range project.
...don't leave out folk, jazz, rap, ska, grunge, hip hop, metal and world...
and realize how many teaching opportunities there are for us.18

Although the last resolution does not specifically suggest musical theater, it does encourage

classical voice teachers to expand their repertoire, if only because these genres exist and

singers who sing in these genres need instruction.

The other two resolutions promote the inclusion of all types of singing within the

musical theater repertoire; traditional legit, contemporary legit, traditional belt and

contemporary belt. As is evident by the inclusion of these two proposals in this article,

Edwin believes that classical voice teachers have been slow to accept and incorporate this

music and its pedagogy into their studios. Whether or not these reasons are well founded

will be discussed in a later chapter.

It is not only a lone author of a particular column in the NATS Journal of Singing

who encourages this development and philosophical awakening. NATS, the primary

organization of classical academic and private voice teachers in the United States,

recognizes this changing climate. This is evident in several ways, including its

presentation and sponsorship of musical theatre workshops such as "Music Theater and the

Belt Voice-I, II, and III."

In addition, Roy Delp, president of NATS from 1999 to 2002, began the 2001

May/June issue of the Journal of Singing with an article entitled, "Now that the belt voice

has become legitimate..." In this article he discusses the incredible popularity of the

18. Robert Edwin, "Pedagogical New Millennium Resolutions," Journal of Singing 61

(September/October 2001): 63-65.

28
aforementioned NATS Musical Theatre workshops as shown in the diversity and quantity

of registrants and poses the following question to all teachers of singing: "Should voice

teachers methods of teaching singing respond to the current performance styles, or should

current styles of performance evolve from their methods of teaching?" He compared the

curriculum of most of the country's music schools with that of comparable programs in the

other arts, noting that:

In schools of theatre, dance, and visual arts, most students seem to receive
much more training and exposure to art forms that are not only
contemporary but also commercial than do most of our voice students. It is
often the case in music schools that if there is training in musical theatre or
other commercial styles, it is taught outside the basic Bachelor of Music
performance curriculum or within its own isolated program. Many junior
and senior voice recitals include little or no music outside the realm of what
is considered "classical" or "legitimate" singing. At the same time, outside
the walls of our academic institutions where the large majority of our NATS
membership teaches, these stylistic limitations do not exist. Moreover, it
could be said that if one considered all forms of singing that one might hear
in our world today, only a small percentage of it is being taught to the
majority of the voice students in most of our music schools.19

It is important to note that unlike their fellow actors and dancers at the university level,

singers at this age contend with voices that have not fully matured. This may be one

possibility as to why classical voice teachers are hesitant to explore literature that is not

irrefutably healthy. Although teachers should always utilize caution when working with a

student in less familiar territory, they may also be wise to explore this particular genre with

the willing student. Barbara Doscher concurs:

It is not suggested that teachers abdicate their ethical responsibilities to

advocate a healthy vocal technique. It is suggested that our profession has a
responsibility to all singers, not just to those whose aesthetic preference we
agree with.20

19. Roy Delp, "Now That the Belt Voice has Become Legitimate...," Journal of Singing 57 (May/June
2001): 1.
20. Doscher, 191.

29
 It is clear that Doscher and Delp would encourage professional voice teachers to

explore teaching healthy singing in all styles.

Finally, classical voice teachers can enhance their students' performance of both

classical and musical theatre literature if they adopt a philosophy and methodology that the

musical theatre profession demands: every performance should be realistic, natural and

meaningful. This author believes this is what is meant by authentic lyric interpretation in

performance, an important tenet of musical theatre style:

Although he can also be an entertainer, when he so chooses, the singing

actor by distinction gives primacy to the song, especially to the text of the
song. He views himself as a character in a play; the song is the play. The
singing actor accordingly transforms himself in response to the role he has
accepted, and he does this in his own particular way. He adapts his
personality so that it is consistent with the content and the character of the
song. He minimizes personal affections and idiosyncrasies and stresses
rather the truth of expression that the song evokes in him.21

Not to do this leaves the music somehow incomplete, the singer seemingly to be

insincere, and perhaps most importantly, the audience unfulfilled. H. Wesley Balk says

this when referring to opera, perhaps the grandest form of musical theatre:

It [opera] is the essence of high emotional situations: people are forever

dying, loving, hating, agonizing, rhapsodizing, and generally tearing a
passion to tatters. This emotional intensity is opera's greatest strength and,
as we are reminded in thousands of cartoons, its greatest weakness. For
intense emotional situations enacted without total commitment can appear
ludicrous, boring, and all the other pejoratives with which unfulfilled opera
is favored by the world at large.22

To achieve a realistic, natural, and meaningful performance is not easy. Classical

voice teachers may have many reasons as to why this goal isn't always a priority in the

studio. One such explanation involves the priorities of voice teachers:

21. Oscar Kosarin, The Singing Actor - How to Be a Success in Musical Theatre and Nightclubs
(Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1983), 3-4.
22. Balk, xv.

30
 Personalities from diverse backgrounds in the opera profession, by
proclaiming the supremacy of the voice over the ideal of the total integrated
performance, have frequently slowed the progress of training complete
performers.23

Another acknowledges that time is always of the essence in the voice studio, and

that there rarely seems enough time to teach and explain everything necessary. However,

the concept of bringing the song to life with natural physical expression should be as much

a priority as other concepts in the classical voice studio.

If classical voice teachers do not embrace these tenets, it is likely that the following

will occur. The musical theatre student may improve on common concepts inherent to all

singing, such as breath management and freedom in the tone, but may come away less

well-equipped than necessary. Specifically, musical theatre students may know little

practical literature for their profession. They may have a limited understanding of how the

voice should function when singing in the many types of literature that their profession

demands. They may also find themselves in the possession of few, if any, tools with which

to portray a moving and realistic performance while singing musical theatre literature.

Likewise, classical voice students also will come away with solid technique and beautiful

tone. However, they may have a limited understanding of how to incorporate the second

pillar (of which Miller speaks) in order to portray a moving and realistic performance

appropriate to today's classical vocal stage.

23. Daniel Helfgot and William O. Beeman, The Third Line: The Opera Performer as Interpreter (New
York: Schirmer Books, 1993), ix.

31
 CHAPTER IV

COMPARING THE TECHNIQUES:

PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY AND STYLE

The style of music used in musical theatre as well as the preferences of its audience

influenced the type of tone quality desired, just as it did in opera and other classical genres.

A tone quality that utilized the fully coordinated vocal instrument and practically served

the logistics of being heard in a large concert hall began to emerge within the classical

vocal genres in early seventeenth century Europe. This preferred style of singing came to

be known as bel canto. However, the term is somewhat nebulous, as its definition has

changed since its inception. The Harvard Dictionary of Music defines the classical style of

bel canto singing as follows: "The Italian vocal technique of the eighteenth century, with

its emphasis on beauty of sound and brilliance of performance rather than dramatic

expression or romantic emotion."1 Many people in the current vocal pedagogy community

would take issue with this definition. Dramatic expression formed the basis of early opera

as far back as Caccini, and it is highly prized today.

The desired vocal quality of the musical theatre genre is much more difficult to

define in a single term, as it does not seek a specific quality rooted in acoustics or vocal

coordination. Rather, it aims to present an honest and realistic portrayal of the character

and what the character is feeling at any given moment. Rachel Lebon, currently an

associate professor of Jazz Voice at the University of Miami, states that one of the main

objectives of musical theatre singing is "to be able to project the voice and demonstrate

1. Willi Apel, Harvard Dictionary of Music (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1960), 82.

32
sufficient control and flexibility to accommodate the vocal needs of a broad range of songs

and characters."2

However, these are only two, perhaps simple definitions or explanations of both

genre's tonal goals. To comprehend fully the tonal goals of each field and identify the

similarities and differences between them, a more in depth exploration into the specifics of

each is necessary.

Initially, it may prove useful to gather general perceptions of desired tonal quality

by professionals of each genre as they comment on their own field as well as on their

perceptions of the other. First, Rachel Lebon comments:

In singing within the context of musical theatre, the ultimate objective is to

express a character through song. Hence, the vocal quality employed, stage
demeanor assumed, and attitude conveyed are all focused toward that end.3

Gillyanne Kayes, a leading practitioner of pioneering new vocal techniques for all genres

of singing in London's West End, has this to say:

Classical singers are trained to sing beautifully. Their instrument must be

so well honed that, even when they are portraying angry or sad, the sound is
still in the larger context of beautiful singing. In very broad terms, this is
what we mean by 'bel canto'. Within this context there are certain
requirements of good classical singing that have developed to meet the
demands of the music that is sung by classical singers and the houses they
perform in. Actors are working in a very different environment. Our
musical theatre writers are not writing classical music, so it doesn't make
sense to sing this music classically. Musical theatre singing must be more
direct, accessible in the sense of portraying reality, and able to portray
greater dramatic contrast using both broad and subtle strokes. You need not
always sound beautiful if you are singing musical theatre, and that doesn't
mean you will be hurting your voice either.4

Norman Spivey comments that realism is of primary importance in musical theatre. "The

honesty and communication comes first and needs to be the same in the lyric as in the
2. Lebon, 107-108.
3. Lebon, 107.
4. Gillyanne Kayes, Singing and the Actor (London: A & C Black, 2000), xi.

33
patter."5 Rachel Lebon notes that "sounding trained" is considered a weakness in musical

theatre circles:

This often-repeated criticism confounds some educators, but it refers to the

tendency of some university-trained vocalists to defer exclusively to the
voice and project beauty of tone as the only performance priority. While
good technique and the ability to sing freely are essential, the pristine
operatic vocal quality, vowel modification, and seamless legato
characteristic of classical and operatic singing does not translate well to the
clipped patter and belt tunes, nor to some conversational ballads.6

Conversely, classical pedagogues like Richard Miller have very different tonal goals for

their students:

Freedom of function in singing ought to count heavily in determining which

vocal sounds are most pleasing. The highest possible degree of physical
freedom may well be the best indicator of the reliability of aesthetic
judgment on the singing voice.7

Meribeth Bunch provides a more physical description:

As already indicated, the most favorable conditions of the pharynx for

optimum vocal quality are an elevated soft palate, comfortably low larynx,
relaxed tongue, and a sense of balance rather than tension in the neck and
chest.8

Clifton Ware describes desired classical vocal quality in somewhat more scientific terms:

Simply put, the more harmonics generated by an instrument, the richer and
more brilliant the tone; also, the more strength in the harmonics, the fuller
the tone. Thus, beautiful vocal tone is the combined vocal result of the
vocal-fold vibration and the way the glottal tone is shaped as it travels
through the vocal tract.9

Many classical voice teachers do not think highly of the tonal qualities of non-classical

music. It is likely that these opinions are rooted in concerns about vocal health and

5. Spivey, 201.
6. Lebon, 109.
7. Miller, xix-xx.
8. Meribeth Bunch, Dynamics of the Singing Voice, 4th ed. (New York: Springer-Verlag/Wien, 1997),
102.
9. Ware, 135.

34
inadequate vocal coordination. Ware continues as he first defines "pop music" and then

comments on the simplicity of popular vocal music as compared to its classical

counterpart:

Popular music idioms require less skill-training and development than

classical music, thus the majority of people will always prefer the simpler,
more easily accessible art forms to the more sophisticated. Analogies might
be drawn in comparing such popular art forms as comic books, cartoon
drawings, and rock lyrics/music to the classical counterparts of novels,
paintings, and poetry-based art songs.10

Ware continues in his condemnation of popular music:

Some forms of popular music exemplify aesthetic characteristics similar to

animal figurines, black velvet background paintings, and other such tacky
decorations some folks use to "beautify" their homes. Such visual art
objects are analogous in quality and substance to much pop music heard
today.11

Conversely, Seth Riggs, an accomplished and well-respected voice teacher with famous

popular and musical theatre singers, offers his opinion:

Teachers (classical academic) should stop putting themselves in ivory

towers and acting as if there were nothing else but opera, nothing else but
musical theatre, or nothing else but popular music! A voice teacher must try
to impress upon his pupils, actually insist, that they sing in an uncluttered,
easy manner throughout their entire range - and be able to sing anything!
Students must be given repertoire in all areas of vocal music, traditional and
popular.12

As is evident in these excerpts, the rhetoric on both sides is somewhat fierce. It seems that

very different qualities are desired by those who sing and teach classical music than by

those who sing and teach musical theatre. These two objectives seem at first to be at odds

with one another. It may be helpful specifically to define the qualities that are desired in

10. Ware, 5.
11. Ware, 7.
12. Seth Riggs, Singingfor the Stars: A Complete Program for Training Your Voice (Van Nuys, CA:
Alfred Publishing Co., 1998), 82.

35
both classical and musical theatre singing in order to determine whether or not there is

common ground that can be beneficial to singers in each genre.

Each of the widely accepted tenets of classical singing, such as posture, breath and

support, phonation, registration, resonation, articulation, and coordination, exist for the

primary purpose of achieving the most beautiful vocal quality possible. Whereas the

definition of "most beautiful" may always be subject to interpretation, the teachers and

students of classical singing have come to recognize several consistent and desirable

qualities. James C. McKinney lists eight qualities of good vocal sound:

1. freely produced
2. pleasant to listen to
3. loud enough to be heard easily
4. rich, ringing and resonant
5. energy flows smoothly from note to note
6. consistently produced
7. vibrant, dynamic, and alive

8. flexibly expressive13

John Glenn Paton and Van Christy offer the following tonal goals for students of classical

singing in their text:

1. Audibility. You would like people to be able to hear you easily in a
fairly large room without a microphone.
2. Resonance. A quality of "ring" in the voice results from strong
overtones, particularly certain ones at a very high pitch that affect the
human ear pleasantly.
3. Clarity. We prefer a clear tone with no extra noises (for instance,
breathiness) that interfere with the overtones.
4. Intelligibility. This is clarity of consonant and vowel formation.
5. Pure Intonation. Good musicianship requires the ability to start,
continue, and stop a tone on pitch, without sliding up or down
unintentionally.
6. Dynamic variety. Musical expression requires the ability to sing softer
and louder, with smooth changes from one level to another.
7. Color variety. Dramatic expression requires an ability to change vocal
tone color (timbre), with "bright" tones (stronger high partials) and
13. James C. McKinney, The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults: A Manualfor Teachers of
Singing andfor Choir Directors, rev. ed. (Nashville, TN: Genevox Music Group, 1994), 77.

36
 "dark" tones (weaker high partials) and other qualities produced in
response to your imagination and feelings.
8. Vibrato. A well-produced voice is capable of regular, gentle pulsations
that enliven the tone.
9. Range. A professional singer is expected to sing two octaves (15 scale
tones) or more with comfort and good quality, in addition to weaker
tones below and above that range.
10. Ease/freedom. Good singing takes both mental and physical effort, but
the audience wants the singer to look, as well as sound, comfortable.14

Clearly, these refer to the quality desired for bel canto singing, a classical style that has

been prevalent in most western European and North American vocal training. The term

"bel canto," although literally translated as "beautiful singing," is a term that is not without

its various meanings due to its transformation throughout the centuries. Generally bel

canto refers to the Italian vocal style of the eighteenth and early nineteenth-centuries, the

qualities of which include perfect legato production throughout the range, the use of a light

tone in the higher registers and agile and flexible delivery.15 However, it was first

associated with the work and teachings of Giulo Caccini (1545-1618). In the forward of Le

Nuove Musiche (1602), the first book of solo songs of its kind, Caccini pointed out that the

communication of emotion was at the root of the principles used in his vocal compositions

and the technique needed to sing them:

Of primary importance to this style were both the 'start' [onset] of the sound,
and a variety of timbres in which to accomplish every emotion of the human
condition.16

Bel canto's expressive potential was demonstrated by the audience's response to the singer:

14. John Glenn Paton and Van Christy, Foundations in Singing, 8th ed. (Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2006),
17.
15. Stanley Sadie, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed. vol 2.
(Macmillan, Washington, D.C.: Grove's Dictionaries of Music, 2001), 161.
16. Lucie Manen, Bel Canto: The Teaching of the Classical Italian Song Schools, Its Decline and
Restoration (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1987), 18.

37
 The extraordinary power and effectiveness of this manner of singing is
shown by the reaction of the audience, who now shared the emotions that
the singer was expressing in accordance with the composer's intentions.17

It is clear that Caccini emphasized the importance of this "communication" in performing,

and may be one of the earliest supporters of lyric interpretation. As the art form developed

in Italy, and spread through western Europe and the Americas, bel canto singers were

expected not only to sing musical phrases in every timbre but also to show their mastery of

florid singing in ihepassaggi and scales and in their improvisations of the reprise or da

capo section:18

This highly accomplished art became possible during the seventeenth

century with the development of monody and opera. With this change, solo
singers, accompanied by a single instrument or an orchestra, now achieved
supremacy over instrumentalists.19

As larger orchestras began to replace single instrument accompaniment, chamber

ensembles, and smaller orchestras of the Baroque period, singers encountered new

challenges in being audible:

But they in turn were then impelled to rival the greater compass and
dexterity of instrumentalists. In consequence they eventually succeeded in
increasing their range, both upwards and downwards, to a span of three
octaves; and, above all, they achieved a mastery of coloratura which made
classical Italian singing famous everywhere as an insurpassable
accomplishment.20

Author Earl William Jones supports this assertion:

But this efficiency began as a performance necessity as recital halls grew

less intimate and formal audiences larger. Then too, singers had to compete
with the increasing tonal capabilities of instruments evolving at a

17. Manen, 19.

18. Manen, 20.
19. Manen, 20.
20. Manen, 20-21.

38
 technological rate, while voices remained as voices were when someone
first blew across a hollow reed.21

Thus, it seems that the ideal bel canto singer had to be a master of flawless, virtuostic

technique while simultaneously connecting with the emotion of music and texts in a way

that gives life to the sound and moves the listener. Lucie Manen describes what the early

Italian composers and singers sought:

The extraordinary power and effectiveness of classical Italian singing

consists in the aura of psychic energy released through the brilliance of Bel
Canto singing, within which public and artists alike feel themselves drawn
together as one by the events taking place on stage.22

Jones supports this assertion:

Every singer knows, or must learn before singing well, that there must be a
seamless fusing of mechanical efficiency and authentic pathos with an
intentional expressiveness...this is what is meant by Bel Canto.23

More recently, definitions of bel canto in respected sources such as the Harvard

Dictionary of Music and the most recently published edition of The New Grove

Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians focus on a narrower facet of this style and seem to

discount, if not eliminate, the importance of emotion in the performance. To recall again

the Harvard Dictionary of Music definition of bel canto:

The Italian vocal technique of the eighteenth century, with its emphasis on
beauty of sound and brilliance of performance rather than dramatic
expression or romantic emotion.24

21. Earl William Jones, Sound, Self and Song: Essays on the Teaching of Singing (Metuchen, NJ:
Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1989), 195.
22. Manen, 21.
23. Jones, 23.
24. Apel, 82.

39
The New Grove Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians states: "A style of singing that

emphasized beauty of tone in the delivery of highly florid music."25 It seems that this

connection to the dramatic emotion of bel canto singing weakened throughout the

centuries, as is evident in today's classical vocal pedagogy texts. While each of the

following widely-used pedagogy texts Richard Miller's The Structure of Singing: System

and Art in Vocal Technique, William Vennard's Singing: The Mechanism and Technic,

James McKinney's The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults, Barbara Doscher's The

Functional Unity of the Singing Voice, Oren Brown's Discover Your Voice, Clifton Ware's

Basics of Vocal Pedagogy and Meribeth Bunch's Dynamics of the Singing Voice claim

that it is essential to the overall quality of the performance, only Bunch devotes more than

a chapter to the realization of natural and meaningful performance practice. Both Miller

and Doscher tout the importance of this artistry but offer little explanation on how to go

about achieving. Vennard and McKinney do not address it at all. Brown and Ware offer

some excellent advice and strategies on acting through a song, which is a crucial aspect of

a singer's art, but both do so in under fifteen pages, seemingly placing its importance at a

lower priority in the overall process of becoming a singer. Given the recent rise in

technologically supported voice science, it is not necessarily surprising that many teachers

concentrate heavily on the physical aspects of vocal technique. However, classical voice

teachers now have the opportunity not only to utilize the technical knowledge now

available but also to synthesize this with the artistically-driven roots of bel canto singing.

In doing so, beautiful technical singing combined with effective acting can occur resulting

in the most moving complete performance.

25. Sadie, 161.

40
 Because the curricula of many current bachelor of music vocal performance

degrees do not require acting courses, the classical voice studio is likely to be the only

source of cohesive instruction for a singing actor. If the original definition of bel canto,

which includes the component of expressiveness and connection with the audience is to be

restored, perhaps the voice studio is the natural place for this to happen. Coming from a

musical theatre perspective, David Craig asserts the importance of an holistic education.

"If I had my way, the first day a singer sings a scale, he or she would have an acting class

scheduled."26 It is true that singers may, on their own, choose to cultivate this course of

study, but pointing out and even advising this in the voice studio invariably will increase a

singer's chances of success. Simply stated, this gives classical voice teachers an additional

opportunity to make a significant difference in the marketability of their students.

Exploring the objectives or tonal goals of musical theatre is more ambiguous.

There is no technique such as bel canto in which all musical theatre performers have been

schooled or have sought in their studies of performing and singing. The aspiring musical

theatre performer's pursuit to becoming a professional likely is quite convoluted, which

plays a role in the singer's initial capabilities. If students have a singing background, they

may not have been taught to act while singing. Conversely, students may have an acting

perspective but are unfamiliar with the discipline of singing. At some point it is necessary

for someone to share what musical theatre professors, clinicians and others knowledgeable

in the field see as important objectives for singing on the musical theatre stage. Jeannette

LoVetri offers this description of goals in musical theatre singing:

A Broadway performer must be able to generate a variety of register and

resonance (vowel sound) qualities at widely ranging decibel levels while

26. David Craig, On Performing (New York: McGraw Hill, 1987), 91.

41
 still maintaining control over pitch and duration, all the while articulating
consonants crisply and communicating the emotional message of the text.
If there is no consistent singer's formant, no smooth legato, no evenness of
tone, no enhanced resonance, it really doesn't matter.27

Simply stated, but perhaps not so simply achieved, a singer's tonal goals in musical theatre

are to sound like the character's voice, in the character's emotional state, at the moment the

performer is singing. It is not important to create a prescribed sound with the larynx in a

certain position, the soft palate lifted, the jaw comfortably lowered, or any of the other

physical attributes that accompany fine classical singing. Because musical theatre singers

may perform a variety of different roles, they must be able to use their voices effectively

and exercise a healthy production in order to be marketable and successful.

The character roles in musical theatre, not unlike the classical Fach system,

determine the general quality of the character's voice. The era in which the musical was

written also may be a factor in this quality. Generally, the first American musicals such as

Show Boat, Pal Joey, and Oklahoma, contained characters and music that possess or

require a more traditional or legitimate ("legit") type of singing quality. However,

flourishing within the same time period as these musicals or shortly thereafter, musicals

such as Annie Get Your Gun and Guys and Dolls premiered and featured several characters

that possessed a brasher and brighter tone quality known as "belt." Later, more

contemporary musicals that were influenced by pop culture such as Grease, Hair, Jesus

Christ Superstar, and Godspell required an edgier and more raw sound that could emulate

its pop derivation. More recently, musicals like Martin Guerre, Sweeney Todd, and The

Phantom of the Opera have returned to a more operatic style, and the singers performing in

27. Jeannette LoVetri, "Contemporary Commercial Music: More Than One Way to Use the Vocal
Tract," Journal of Singing 58 (January/February 2002): 250.

42
these musicals must have the ability to sing classically, even more so than in "legit"

musicals. All of these varying musicals require that styles and characters "perform"

vocally with great versatility and agility. In addition, the importance of conveying the

character's emotions can not be overstated.

So, how do the tonal goals of each genre compare? Is there a common ground upon

which singers and teachers from both disciplines can unite or learn from one another? It

seems clear that in re-examining McKinney's eight tonal goals for the classical singer,

Paton and Christy's tonal goals in Foundations in Singing, or the original definition of bel

canto as Caccini and the early Italian composers defined it, there is indeed crossover.

General freedom, clarity, range, vibrancy, expressivity, intelligibility, and color and

dynamic variety are all extremely necessary for the success of musical theatre singers in

virtually all types characters, roles, and styles they will encounter in their career.

Of course, there are several qualities that do not apply to the musical theatre singer.

These include audibility (no longer a dominant issue due to microphones), pleasant timbre

(due to the nature of the character), vibrato (dependent on the meaning of the word),

resonance (similar to vibrato), and consistency (musical theatre singers sing inconsistently

on purpose from one character to another in order to create believabiliry). However, the

eight tonal goals they have in common are primary directions in which classical voice

teachers can educate the aspiring musical theatre singer.

Furthermore, the original definition of bel canto dovetails easily into musical

theatre's main objective. "Of primary importance to this style were both the 'start' of the

sound, and a variety of timbres in which to accomplish every emotion of the human

condition." By recalling Caccini's definition of bel canto, one can easily see how classical

43
singers can benefit from what musical theatre singers strive to do in their work and the

classical singing teacher can facilitate excellence in both styles.

44
 CHAPTER V

ADDRESSING THE OBSTACLES:

VOCAL HEALTH AND QUALITY LITERATURE

There are many suppositions as to why some voice teachers are hesitant to embrace

musical theatre in the voice studio. Perhaps it is because of the aforementioned differing

primary goals of classical and musical theatre tone qualities. In addition, the theories

published by musical theatre pedagogues regarding vocal health are sometimes ambiguous

and even contradictory. Even with the advent of modern instruments for anatomical

research, the results of this research are not entirely conclusive. Finally, it is also possible

that some voice teachers perceive that high quality, challenging musical theatre literature is

sometimes difficult to obtain. It is important to recognize and validate these concerns and

to address each accordingly.

Roy Delp surmises the two reasons classical voice teachers are reticent to allow the

musical theatre student, literature, or approach into their studio are their concern for vocal

health and doubts about the quality of the literature:

I have found two commonly used reasons for this conservative approach:
the judgment that most contemporary commercial vocal music is artistically
inferior to the "classical" or "legitimate" forms and that singing such music
is often hazardous to a singer's vocal health.1

He continues to say how these two issues were broached at "Music Theatre and the Belt

Voice-II," a symposium sponsored by the National Association of Teachers of Singing in

2000. First, with regard to literature:

1. Delp, 2.

45
 Both of these issues were addressed at the New York workshop in a direct
manner. Clinicians stated quite bluntly that it is true that some of the music
being sung on Broadway or in commercial recording studios is not of high
quality. At the same time, they pointed out that there is the use of belt voice
and other popular styles of singing in excellent new works and in the
revivals of old works being formed today.2

Second, the belt voice:

The second issue is that of vocal health. The clinicians demonstrated that belt
voice can be used in a manner that does not damage the singing voice. Of
course, everyone acknowledged that just as there is some poor, unhealthy
singing in music theater and other related styles, one can hear bad singing in
opera houses as well.3

Delp's comments on these two issues provide insight into the two main obstacles that might

prevent most classical voice teachers from welcoming the musical theatre student and

approach into their studios. The issue of vocal health and, more specifically, the vocal

health of the student while utilizing the belt voice, is paramount in many classical voice

teachers' minds.

Much rhetoric surrounds the possibility of healthy belt voice singing. Lisa S.

Popeil, a voice teacher and researcher of non-classical styles of singing, says this:

Though belting is, historically, the dominant form of sung vocal expression
(from the first yells of cavemen to the musical theater singers of today), the
ascent of the European Bel Canto tradition has brought into question the
artistic validity, healthfulness, and even aesthetic value of this powerful use
of the voice.4

There are pedagogues and voice teachers who contend that no matter what the training,

belting will produce vocal pathologies and is therefore unhealthy. Miller contends that

"Although the lyric soprano may be able to carry the chest mixture above the E flat4 pivotal
2. Delp, 2.
3.Delp,2.
4. Lisa S. Popeil, "Comparing Belt and Classical Techniques Using MRI and Video-Fluoroscopy,"
Journal of Singing 56 (November/December 1999): 27.

46
point, she should rarely do so, for reasons of vocal health."5 Bunch similarly states:

"Singing in a heavy voice in too high a range creates vocal strain, muscle fatigue and,

ultimately may lead to the formation of nodules on the vocal folds."6

There are also pedagogues who believe the research that states, with proper

instruction, belting is not damaging to the voice and is a vital necessity in many singers'

repertoire that can no longer be avoided. Burdick comments:

Belting need not lead to vocal problems if muscle groups are properly
balanced without undue pressure and frontal resonance is maintained.
Students must be monitored carefully for practice and performance habits.7

Popeil offers this technical opinion:

Safe, yet powerful belting seems to benefit from a system that encourages
laryngeal lowering, a sense of pharyngeal widening, the sensation of the
"laryngeal lean" which results in a speech-like sound to the top of the range,
lack of constriction in true and false cords, balanced and ever-shifting
register changes using laryngeal sensations of thyro-arytenoid and cricoid-
thyroid muscle activity, and extremely strong abdominal breath support.8

Edwin acknowledges the existence of unhealthy belting, but advocates the utilization of

healthy belting in many singers:

Although it is true that some singers experience problems with belting, and
other singers actually cause damage to their singing systems by belting, it
remains a viable and healthy singing technique for a majority of singers.9

Delp points out what clinicians at the "Music Theatre and Belt Voice - II" reported: "The

clinicians demonstrated that belt voice can be used in a manner that does not damage the

5. Miller, 142.
6. Bunch, 79.
7. Barbara Burdick, "Vocal Techniques for Musical Theatre," Journal of Singing 61 (January/February
2005): 265.
8. Popeil, 29.
9. Robert Edwin, "The Singing Teacher as Advocate," Journal of Singing 61 (September/October 2004):
80.

47
singing voice."10 Because of these differences in expert opinion, it is important to examine

the recent scientific research in this area.

When the Italian masters of voice began teaching in the bel canto style in the

seventeenth century, it was impossible for them to know how the voice actually functioned.

Medical technology of the time was not developed enough to allow this. Therefore, these

teachers of singing relied upon proprioception, or how they personally perceived the voice

functioning by how it physically felt when singing. This is how the terms of "chest" and

"head" voice registers came into being. When singing in the lower register with specific

muscles vibrating at a certain frequency, the physical sensation is felt in the throat or chest

region and was, therefore, simply called the "chest voice." Likewise, when higher pitches

are sung and the vocal folds are stretched thinner and longer, the sensation is that of

buzzing or ringing in the masque, thus, the label "head voice" singing. However, the

twentieth century has brought about great advancements in vocal science that allow the

function of the voice to be detected using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), video-

fluoroscopy, video-laryngoscopy, electromyography (EMG), and electroglottography

(EGG). In the past quarter century, a vast amount of research has been done in this field

for a variety of reasons. One quest has been to determine whether the belt voice, or even a

belt voice mix, is indeed harmful to the vocal health of a singer.

It may be helpful to define the term "belt voice," as it often carries several

definitions. Robert Edwin notes:

One of the major problems in defining belt is that the term belting covers an
enormous amount of vocal territory, far more than its counter term,

10. Delp, 2.

48
 legitimate, or "legit" in Broadway shorthand.11

It is also important to note that the belt voice is mainly associated with the female voice.

Generally, male musical theatre singers rarely leave their modal voice when singing and

may color or brighten their uppermost pitches without altering the musculature of the

larynx intrinsically or extrinsically:

The male belt is not a different mode of production, with significant

differences in physiology, but is produced by resonance balancing toward
the bright, especially in the upper range.12

Although controversy still surrounds the definition of the belt voice, in the

scientific sense, belting seems to be generally understood to involve the dominant use of

the thryoarytenoid muscle, accompanied by a long closed phase of the vibratory cycle,

reduced air flow, absence of vibrato, and higher laryngeal position. Several other

pedagogues offer their definitions of belting; Jo Estill, a pioneer in belt voice research,

presented the following at the Ninth Symposium on Care of the Professional Voice in 1980:

1) a very high energy level

2) a higher level of vocalis activity than for any other singing mode
3) higher activity in the extrinsic muscles than for any other singing mode
4) soft dynamic level not possible
5) no mixing or coloring with other singing modes13

Laryngologist Van Lawrence sets forth the following physical parameters:

1) modal or speaking voice register extended upward

2) relatively high amplitudes
3) tongue base elevated
4) larynx elevated
5) narrow pharyngeal diameter
6) closed ventricular spaces
11. Robert Edwin, "Belting: Bel Canto or Brutto Canto?" Journal ofSinging 59 (September/October
2002):67.
12. Burdick,261.
13. Quoted in Doscher, 189.

49
 7) epiglottis tilted over the larynx14

Although these two lists contain characteristics that may function synergistically they are

not entirely synonymous. Another pedagogue, Jan Sullivan, offers this definition:

Belting is highly energized and achieved by altering laryngeal position and

vowel posture slightly from the classical norm to create a sound with a tonal
balance emphasizing the upper partials. Employing resonance factors in this
manner avoids register violation in achieving the clarion sound required.15

Sullivan agrees with Estill on the required amount of energy but focuses her definition on

the resonance factors of belt voice singing. Utilizing a chest voice dominant (more

thyroarytenoid than cricothyroid) production while still engaging a portion of head voice

(cricothyroid muscle) is called a belt/mix tone. Edwin notes:

For example, there is the belting of the aforementioned Kate Smith, a

belt/mix tone that, while chest voice dominant, includes a significant amount
of the cricothyroid (head voice) influence. Other female singers that use this
style of belting include Barbra Streisand, Liz Callaway and Linda Eder.16

Edwin's assertions about the belt/mix production seem to contradict Estill's earlier research,

which states that no mixing or coloring of any other singing modes is truly considered

belting. How much the thyroarytenoid muscle is engaged and whether or not belting is

simply the chest voice carried upward are questions that many voice teachers ask when

determining if belt voice is being used. There seem to be two camps of pedagogues with

opposing views about whether incorporating the mixed tone into the belt voice still

qualifies as belt voice. Doscher suggests that belting cannot be mixed with other qualities.

Edwin disagrees, stating that it is essential to the health of the instrument:

Although belters will have a much longer closed phase of the vibratory cycle
than classical singers and will sing with thyroarytenoid-dominant vocal fold
14. Quoted in Doscher, 189.
15. Quoted in Burdick, 268.
16. Edwin, "Belting: Bel Canto or Brutto Canto?," 67.

50
 activity in a higher laryngeal position, they will still need to produce some
form of mix for their belt to be vocally healthy, enduring and efficient...
Finding the correct mix of muscle activity so that the vocal system is
balanced and not overstressed is the most critical task of voice teacher and
student.17

Miller seems to support this concept of mix in ascending passages with regard to the

lengthening of the cricothyroid (head voice muscle). He states that belt is produced by:

...keeping the mass of the vocal folds as found in the lower range, while
making those pitches in the ascending scale that require vocal fold
lengthening and diminution.18

Straight belt, as it is sometimes called, predominantly utilizes the thyroarytenoid muscle in

its production. The amount of thyroarytenoid activity seems to be one of the determining

factors in the scientific understanding of the term "belt":

Singers who may use more of their thyroarytenoid (chest voice) muscles in
their voice production include Liza Minelli, Georgia Brown, and Bernadette
Peters.19

More controversy and confusion arises when voice teachers mistakenly identify

belting as extended chest voice. Comparing and contrasting various descriptions of the

chest voice and the belt voice may prove beneficial.

Vennard describes the characteristics of the heavy mechanism (chest voice) as

including a relaxed vocalis with little longitudinal tension in the lowest tones. These

pitches are "comparatively loud and rich in harmonic partials." The glottis opens "rather

widely" for each vibration.20 Burdick also supports this: "The vocal tract is marked by a

relatively low larynx and pharyngeal space, the opposite of the high larynx and narrow

17. Robert Edwin, "Belting 101," Journal of Singing 55 (September/October 1998): 53.
18. Burdick, 264.
19. Edwin, "Belting: Bel Canto or Brutto Canto?," 67.
20. William Vennard, Singing; The Mechanism and the Technique, 5th ed. (New York: Carl Fischer,
Inc.,1968), 66.

51
pharyngeal space for belt."21 Sheila Allen includes a very specific, and therefore helpful,

definition of the chest voice:

Chest voice, or "heavy mechanism," may be characterized briefly as the

register in which the thyroarytenoids predominate; the pattern of vibration is
determined by the body of the vocal folds. In this pattern, the vocal folds
are thick, the glottis opens from the bottom to top in a wave-like motion of
large amplitude, the glottal opening is relatively large, and the closure phase
is relatively long. These large amplitude waves and the lack of significant
cricothyroid-thyroarytenoid antagonism cause little resistance to the breath
stream. By contrast, in head voice, or "light mechanism," the cricothyroids
become the predominant muscles, thinning and lengthening the vocal folds
as pitch rises.22

Allen's description of the predominant use of the thick thyroarytenoid musculature and

long closed phase of the vibratory cycle in the chest voice coincides with many of the

aforementioned pedagogues' descriptions of the similar musculature utilized in the belt

voice. However, confusion arises when some think that this musculature should simply be

carried up the scale without concern for the lengthening of the vocalis brought about by the

cricothyroid muscle:

Confusing the forced sound of register violation with the acoustically

oriented clarion production of belting described by Jan Sullivan, such
singers make exclusive use of the heavy musculature of chest voice with
disastrous results - their range is limited, stamina is lacking, and
hyperfunction leads to pathological vocal conditions.23

It is clear that each pedagogue describes belt voice singing somewhat differently.

Even though it is possible to contend that these characteristics could be employed and

function well together, no single definition yet exists on which all pedagogues can agree.

Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why many classical voice teachers are hesitant to

embrace this undefined singing technique.

21.Burdick,262.
22. Sheila Allen, "Female Chest Voice," Journal of Singing 60 (January/February 2004): 268.
23. Allen, 268.

52
 Many musical theatre pedagogues offer vocalises and vocal techniques in order to

ensure that vocal damage will not occur. Doscher suggests that singers utilizing the belt

voice should use a high degree of nasal resonance. Edwin emphasizes the importance of a

balance between the thyroarytenoids (the "closers") and the cricothyroids (the

"stretchers"):24

At issue is the percentage of tensing versus lengthening. The classical mix

will favor the lengthening while the belt mix will favor the tensing. Once
again, it is important to state that belting is not chest voice singing. Singers
in any vocal style who fail to integrate the vocal fold "stretchers" and
"closers" certainly risk ruining their voices.25

Estill favors using a "twangy, brassy and nasal (implying forward)" sound in order to

achieve a healthy belt. Burdick prefers resonance building, which involves adjusting the

timbre of a balanced registration toward the bright in order to teach the concept and

physical sensation of belting's narrow pharyngeal space and elevated larynx.26 Colla

proposes that female belters need "laryngeal coordination of chest and head registers"27 as

the center of their technique and defines belt as:

...a specialized tone color used by pop and Broadway singers which is
distinguished by exaggerated use of the forward or nasal resonators of the
singer combined with less emphasis on a lift in the soft palate.28

Colla addresses the belt specifically by focusing on the effect that the lowered soft palate

has on both a narrower pharyngeal position and a tendency toward nasal resonance.

Finally, Sullivan advocates a "split resonance" for belt utilizing a combination of "forward

24. Burdick, 265.

25. Edwin, "Belting 101," 54.
26. Burdick, 266.
27. Richard J. Colla, "To Belt Correctly or Not to Belt: That Should be the Question," The NATS Journal
45, (January/February 1989): 39.
28. Colla, 56.

53
mask resonance and forward speaking quality."29 Perhaps a combination of several

portions of these suggestions may be the most healthy approach for the voice while still

achieving the tone quality that the musical theatre belt requires. The belt/mix concept or

the similar concept of a combined percentage of head/chest singing that increases and

decreases respectively as one ascends and descends the scale may combat the unnecessary

lifting of the larynx. This also will allow the freedom on ascending pitches that

accompanies the tone when the head voice (cricothyroid employment) is present. This

dual engagement of the thyroarytenoid and the cricothyroid can function in tandem with

the increased nasal resonance that occurs above the laryngeal action. Additionally, an

increased level of breath energy may be utilized. In performing this combination, the

larynx remains in a relatively neutral position, and therefore the extrinsic muscles do not

pull up on the larynx, thus allowing the intrinsic muscles to move more freely. The

increased breath energy supports the intensity of the tone. Finally, the focusing of the

resonance in the nasopharynx does not hinder the freedom in the tone and can therefore be

incorporated without concern of unnecessary vocal tension. Incorporating these

pedagogical theories may prove useful when encountering the belt voice in the voice

studio.

Classical voice teachers have an opportunity to teach aspiring musical theatre

singers how to use their voices in a healthy manner. Year after year, professional music

theatre performers perform an average of eight shows a week and will likely encounter

roles that require great vocal stamina as well as both legit and belt voice qualities. The

classical voice teacher may easily instruct these students on proper breath support and
29. Jan Sullivan, "How to Teach the Belt/Pop Voice," The Journal of Research in Singing 13 (December
1989): 45.

54
freely produced, balanced legit singing. If the student does not have the innate talents or

musculature to simply know how to do employ the belt voice when needed, much like

Ethel Merman or Bernadette Peters, the classical voice studio is likely to be the only place

in which they may seek some guidance. Burdick offers this advice:

In this writer's experience, the belt voice can be taught in a healthy manner
if teachers understand the physiological and perceptual differences between
the belt and the chest voice, and learn techniques to produce it. The
longevity of many belters' careers attests to the fact that it is possible.30

Although there may still be much to gain in the scientific study of registration with

regard to the belt voice, it appears that there is a pressing need for proper tutelage for

singers trying to perform in this style. Studies show that singers who do not get this

training develop many vocal difficulties early on in their development. Burdick quotes

Miles and Hollien:

Singers who are not trained correctly or who cannot maintain the energy
needed for belt often exhibit vocal pathology. Early problems are
hoarseness, "a condition which closely precedes the development of vocal
nodules."31

Moreover, Lawrence found that in the patients he treated for issues related to belting, those

who had the greatest amount of vocal training had the least amount of vocal pathologies.32

Conversely, evidence to support this can also be found at the opposite end of the

pedagogical spectrum. Prominent New York laryngologist Dr. William Gould agrees that

untrained singers suffer the most damage.33

Therefore, the teaching of healthy singing technique to singers in all genres is

30. Burdick, 262.

31. Burdick, 264.
32. Burdick, 264.
33. Burdick, 264.

55
recommended. Burdick continues to encourage the importance of teaching both classical

and music theatre pedagogy:

However, the young singer must be guided in both classical and belt
techniques to balance the muscular synergy between the heavy and light
mechanisms without undue stress on the instrument. The belt voice provides
the greatest challenge.34

In the end, more research and discussion is necessary to determine several key

components of the belt voice. The term belt needs to be clearly defined and accepted

among the majority of voice teachers in both musical theatre and classical backgrounds. In

doing so, modern scientific instruments can determine the exact muscle engagement,

laryngeal position, pharyngeal space, and any other vocal tract components necessary in

producing this belt quality. Finally, many further experiments must be conducted with a

diverse compendium of singers to prove or disprove concretely any vocal pathologies

arising from this method of singing. It is not surprising at this point in the scientific study

of belting that some voice teachers completely discount any evidence citing it as being too

new and convoluted to be unequivocally substantiated. Conversely, some voice teachers

completely agree with the relatively few pedagogues and studies that exist. However, the

majority of voice teachers find themselves somewhere in the middle, unsure of what and

whom to believe and yet wanting to fulfill the needs of their students. To these teachers

the advice is to keep an open mind, proceed cautiously with the suggestions

aforementioned, and always incorporate one's own knowledge of vocal health and

pedagogy when teaching.

Considering the statements by clinicians' at the NATS Musical Theatre workshop in

34. Burdick, 262.

56
New York with regard to the quality of vocal literature in the musical theatre genre, there is

high quality literature and low quality literature in all genres. This is perhaps a qualifier

into allowing musical theatre music into the classical studio. In keeping with the focus of

incorporating the realistic emotional portrayal of the character while singing all types of

music, the student can utilize the high quality legitimate literature of the music theatre

genre as a means of doing so.

Young singers are often first exposed to pop music and then the music of musical

theatre before ever coming in contact with opera or other classical art song. Perhaps

unfortunately, but realistically speaking, young singers in modern America are not drawn

to the singing profession by a desire to sing the most beautifully and the most correctly, nor

are they drawn to sing the respected literature of Schubert, Debussy, Mozart, or Verdi.

They may consider the operatic sound pretentious and are completely unaware of the

literature of these formidable composers. Instead, they are likely enamored with the

"drama" and "spectacle" of singing. This may be due to geographical limitations, school

funding, or limited parental resources, or it may be that many students encounter classical

or operatic literature in a first hand experience only when they enter the undergraduate,

academic setting. Once familiar with this literature, these singers may then associate their

original interest in the drama and spectacle of singing with quality classical pieces and then

be more likely to cultivate a continuing desire to sing operatic arias, or similarly

challenging art songs:

Many classical voice students hunger to sing opera; it is larger than life, and
dramatically, emotionally, and vocally gratifying.35

35. Claudia Cantania. "Music Theater as Technical Tool and Pragmatic Business Choice for the Classical
Singer," Journal of Singing 61 (November/December 2004): 185.

57
However, most of these young singers do not yet possess the technical skills necessary to

perform these pieces appropriately:

They end up simply singing the notes without being able to add the nuance
or dramatic inflection that the musical styles demand. How many times
have we heard a promising young singer perform and aria where
"everything was there but the high note"?36

Therefore, utilizing good quality musical theatre literature can serve the student both

technically, dramatically, and developmentally:

Legitimate lyric music theater repertoire provides an easier and more

practical challenge that is vocally and dramatically possible for young
singers while they slowly and carefully grow into the classical repertoire.37

Students are likely to relate to the English language, the harmonic progressions and song

forms, and the more easily identifiable characters and plot synopses of musical theatre

literature simply because it is closer to them in time and familiarity than operatic and art

song literature. This does not mean that relating to music alone will automatically produce

a better sound, but when one is connected to the piece or character emotionally, one is

more likely to coordinate the technical process of singing naturally, together with the

dramatic portrayal of a character. Cantania continues: "I sincerely believe that the breath

on which the tone is founded moves more easily and more efficiently when one is

emotionally connected to the tone."38

In searching for high quality musical theatre literature for studio use, voice teachers

may employ the same set of standards they would in searching for high quality classical

literature. The First Book of Broadway Solos, the Joan Boytim series of lyric, legitimate

36. Cantania, 185.

37. Cantania, 185.
38. Cantania, 185.

58
music theatre solos for the four major voice types, is one example of an excellent resource

for high quality, musical theatre literature in one, comprehensive source.

Finally, singers today may eventually make their living singing in both the classical

and music theatre genres. Any exposure and sound tutelage in music theatre literature will

likely aid the student in navigating a more successful singing career. "The face of the

music business is changing, and the options for a young classical singer to make a living

with his art are limited."39 While the classical "pick up" choruses, and jobs in temple and

churches are getting fewer and far between, Broadway touring companies welcome the

classically trained singer:40

The touring companies that previously featured classical choral music are
now providing Broadway shows. The world of legitimately sung music
theater eagerly welcomes young singers who, because of their classical
training, are motivated and disciplined, as well as vocally and artistically
secure.41

In any city in America there are likely to be more opportunities to audition for a musical

than for an opera or a symphonic solo or chorus position. This is not to say that young

classical singers should not continue to seek out every option available to sing and perform

in classical venues. It is just to state the legitimacy of the musical theatre genre in modern

society, and that classical singers can work and grow vocally while participating in this

field. Classical voice teachers have an opportunity to encourage this growth in the

mentoring of their student's careers.

39.Cantania,186.
40. Cantania, 186.
41.Cantania, 186.

59
 CHAPTER VI

PUTTING IT TOGETHER: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Singers specializing in either musical theatre or classical literature have many

aspirations and goals in common. The respective icons in each of these genres, whether

they be performers on the Broadway stage, at the Metropolitan Opera, or in Carnegie Hall,

are worthy of examining in order to find commonalities at this level. If the two disciplines

should indeed remain independent, then it stands to reason that these iconic institutions

would display many more differences than similarities. However, in exploring what makes

them truly successful, not just the voice or the expression, we discover that performers such

as Luciano Pavarotti, Barbra Streisand, Renee Fleming, Bryn Terfel and Mandy Patinkin

collectively share many aspects of the performing singer's art. Oscar Kosarin, Professor of

Musical Theatre at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, suggests these common

attributes of successful singers in both genres:

1. A consistently high level of energy is maintained. Energy is most often

associated with strength or liveliness. However, these are the more
obvious manifestations. The good performer can whisper or be silent;
he can stand stock still and yet be brimming with energy. His power
comes from inner intensity and concentration.
2. There is a personal involvement with the text of the song. The
performer can let go of himself so that he seems to actually experience
the thought and feelings that the lyric expresses.
3. A heightened sense of "reality" is evoked. The performer presents a
carefully selected portion of "reality," rejects all unessential elements,
and brings to the audience only that which is relevant and interesting.
4. A strong sense of audience communication is established. The
performer is able to share his skills and talents with the audience and
sensitively responds to the feedback that he receives from the audience.

60
 5. The performer is perceived to be a unique individual. He has the
courage to show his true personality, thereby revealing the qualities that
make him different.1

Too often singers in either genre fail to explore the primary tenets of the other discipline.

This results in an incomplete performance. For classical singers, the overlooked

component may be the interpretation of "the word" through the study of acting, body

movement, and awareness. For the student of musical theatre, the oversight may be the

study of reading music, vocal technique, and vocal pedagogy:

The first stumbling block for many singing actors is their inability to
recognize consciously what they need to accomplish if they want to satisfy
themselves as well as their audiences. Many are unaware of the fact that
they are dealing with a mode of expression that involves a craft}

As previously stated, more institutions of higher learning are offering degrees in

music theatre every year across the country. Whether this is because the musical theatre

industry demands it, or more likely, that aspiring would-be musical theatre performers

crave instruction before trying to "make it big," a trend is emerging to offer university

level courses in all aspects of musical theatre. There will be a need in both the music and

theatre departments to add new courses, restructure existing courses, and hire new faculty.

Whether or not classical voice teachers are employed in a setting of higher learning that

offers such courses, or whether they are teaching in a private setting, it is likely they will

be approached by students seeking vocal instruction in general. These students may

individually aspire to be the future preeminent prima donna oxprimo uomo of the operatic

stage, but some may want to be the next star of the Broadway stage. Perhaps they will

have aspirations to be both, with a little jazz, pop, and country mixed in. With a more

l.Kosarin,xi.
2. Kosarin, viii.

61
inclusive knowledge of vocal pedagogy and breadth of knowledge regarding the voice,

voice teachers will be equipped to guide, instruct and influence these students. When

musical theatre students feel welcome in the studio, a greater opportunity to teach the

fundamental foundations of singing will exist. It also will be possible to expose the

student to classical literature that will broaden career opportunities and improve technique.

Voice teachers will be able to instruct students on incorporating effective lyric

interpretation into the vocal performance. Lastly, if voice teachers embrace the roots of

bel canto singing, they will be able to guide their classical voice students in both technique

and artistry.

The human singing voice has always served many purposes: to entertain; to

comfort; to rally; to inspire; to pray; to amuse; to meditate; to incite memory; to celebrate;

etc... On the surface these may seem very different. However, each shares a common

purpose to affect the human condition. The singing voice has coexisted for the past four

hundred years in the legitimate genres of classical and non-classical vocal music. In both

genres singing actors and acting singers must convey the true essence of the music, both in

quality and in spirit, so that listeners may be genuinely moved by the voice, the words, and

the emotion behind them. If voice teachers resolve to assist singers in the successful

achievement of these goals, these teachers certainly will have bestowed upon their students

the ability to touch the human soul through their art.

62
 REFERENCES CITED

Allen, Sheila M. "Female Chest Voice." Journal of Singing 60 (January/February 2004):

267-269.

Alt, David, "Triple Threat Training Program's Weakest Area - Reading Music:
Reinforcing Sight Reading in the Voice Studio for Singer/Actors." Journal of
Singing 60 (March/April 2004): 389-393.

Apel, Willi. Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
1960.

Atkinson, Brooks. The American Musical Theater: A Consideration by Lehman Engel.

New York: Macmillan, 1967.

Austin, Stephen. "Treasure "Chest" - A Physiological and Pedagogical Review of the

Low Mechanism." Journal of Singing 61 (January/February 2005): 241-251.

Balk, H. Wesley. The Complete Singer-Actor: Trainingfor Music Theater. 2nd ed.
Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1985.

Balk, H. Wesley. Performing Power: A New Approach for the Singer-Actor. Minneapolis,
MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1985.

Barrett, Richard. "A Century of Microphones: The Implications of Amplification for

the Singer and the Listener." Journal of Singing 61 (January/February 2005): 273-
277.

Bell, Jeffrey. "American Musical Theater Songs in the Undergraduate Vocal Studio; A
Survey of Current Practice, Guidelines for Repertoire Selection, and
Pedagogical Analyses of Selected Songs." PhD. diss., Ball State University, 1996.

Brodnitz, Friedrich S. "Hormones and the Human Voice." NATS Bulletin 28 (October
1971): 16-18.

Bueseher, Randy. "The Recovering Female Opera Singer." Journal of Singing 61

(May/June 2005): 517-519.

Bunch, Meribeth. Dynamics of the Singing Voice. New York: SpringerWien, 1982.

Burdick, Barbara. "Vocal Techniques for Music Theatre: The High School and
Undergraduate Singer," Journal of Singing 61 (January/February 2005): 261-268,

63
Catania, Claudia. "Music Theater as a Technical Tool and Pragmatic Business Choice
for the Classical Singer." Journal of Singing 61 (November/December 2004): 185-
186.

Christy, Van A. Foundations in Singing. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown Company, 1965.

Craig, David. On Performing. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1987.

Colla, Richard J. "To Belt Correctly or Not to Belt: That Should be the Question." The
NATS Journal AS (January/February 1989): 39.

Delp, Roy. "Now That the Belt Voice has Become Legitimate..." Journal of Singing 57
(May/June 2001): 1-2.

Doscher, Barbara. The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow
Press, 1987.

Edwin, Robert. "Audition Repertoire Choices: More Than Just Voice." Journal
of Singing 62 (May/June 2006): 563-566.

Edwin, Robert. "Belting 101." Journal of Singing 55 (September/October 1998):

54-57.

Edwin, Robert. "Belting: Bel Canto or Brutto Canto?" Journal of Singing 59

(September/October 2002): 67-68.

Edwin, Robert. "Belt Yourself." Journal of Singing 60 (January/February 2004): 285-288.

Edwin, Robert. "A Broader Broadway," Journal of Singing 59 (May/June 2003): 431-432,

Edwin, Robert. "A Day in the Life." Journal of Singing 57 (September/October 2000):
45-48.

Edwin, Robert. "The Dumbing-Down of Classical Singing." Journal of Singing 58

(January/February 2002): 253-254.

Edwin, Robert. "From Classical to Pop: A Case Study." Journal of Singing 56

(January/February 2000): 71-72.

Edwin, Robert. "Hector's Bubble." Journal o/Singing 56 (March/April 2000): 59-60.

Edwin, Robert. "If They Were My Students." Journal of Singing 60 (September/October

2003): 89-92.

64
Edwin, Robert. "Pedagogical New Millenium Resolutions." Journal of Singing 57
(January/February 2001): 63-65.

Edwin, Robert. "The Singing Teacher as Advocate." Journal of Singing 61

(September/October 2004): 79-81.

Edwin, Robert. "Voice Teacher vs. Voice Coach." Journal of Singing 56 (May/June 2000):
49-50.

Edwin, Robert. "Working With Mike." Journal of Singing 58 (November/December 2001):

171-172.

Flinn, Denny Martin. Musical! A Grand Tour. New York: Schirmer, 1997.

Freed, Donald Callen. "Imagery in Early Twentieth-Century American Vocal

Pedagogy." Journal of Singing 56 (March/April 2000): 5-12.

Hall, Karen. "Music Theater and Classical Singing: at Odds Personally and
Professionally." Journal of Singing 63 (May/June 2007): 570.

Helfgot, Daniel, and William O. Beeman. The Third Line. New York: Schirmer Books,
1993.

Heman-Ackah, Yolanda D. "Physiology of Voice Production: Considerations for the

Vocal Performer." Journal of Singing 62 (November/December 2005): 173-176.

Jones, Earl William. Sound, Self and Song: Essays on the Teaching of Singing. Metuchen,
NJ & London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1989.

Kayes, Gillyanne. Singing and the Actor. London: A & C Black, 2000.

Kiesgen, Paul. "Registration." Journal of Singing 62 (May/June 2006): 537-539.

Kislan, Richard. The Musical: A Look at the American Musical Theater. Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995.

Lebon, Rachel L. The Professional Vocalist. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1999.

Lees, Gene. Inventing Champagne: The Worlds ofLerner and Loewe. New York: St.
Martin's Press, 1990.

Leonard, Gwenellyn and Freda Herseth. "Female Chest Voice." Journal of Singing 60
(March/April 2004): 367-372.

65
Lightner, Helen. Class Voice and the American Art Song: A Source Book and
Anthology. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1991.

Lindsley, Charles Edward. Fundamentals of Singingfor Voice Classes. Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1985.

LoVetri, Jeanette L. "Contemporary Commercial Music: More Than One Way to Use
the Vocal Tract." Journal of Singing 58 (January/February 2002): 249-252.

LoVetri, Jeanette. "Female Chest Voice." Journal of Singing 60 (November/December

2003): 161-164.

LoVetri, Jeanette. "Who's Minding the Store?" Journal of Singing 59 (March/April 2003):
345-346.

Luakkanen, Anna-Maria, Ingo R. Titze, Eileen M. Finnegan and Henry Hoffman.

"Laryngeal Muscle Activity in a Tonal Scale; Comparing Speech-like to
Song-like Productions in a Mezzo-Soprano." Journal of Singing 59
(September/October 2002): 49-56.

Manen, Lucie. Bel Canto: The Teaching of the Classical Italian Song Schools, Its
Decline and Restoration. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1987.

McKinney, James C. The Diagnosis of Correction of Vocal Faults. Nashville, TN:

Genovox Music Group, 1994.

McTyre, Ruthann Boles. Library Resources for Singers, Coaches, and

Accompanists. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998.

Miller, Richard. The Structure of Singing: System and Art in Vocal Technique. New York:
Firmer Books, 1986.

Paton, John Glenn and Van Christy. Foundations in Singing. 8th ed. Boston, MA:
McGraw-Hill, 2006.

Peckham, Anne. "Vocalise Patterns for the Contemporary Singer." Journal of Singing
59 (January/February 2003): 215-220.

Popeil, Lisa S. "Comparing Belt and Classical Techniques Using MRI and Video-
Fluoroscopy." Journal of Singing 56 (November/December 1999): 27-29.

Presto, Paul Jr. "Confessions of a Recording Engineer." Journal of Singing 60

(January/February 2003): 257-258.

Riggs, Seth. Singingfor the Stars. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Co., 1998.

66
Sadie, Stanley. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd ed., vol 2.
London: Macmillan Grove's Dictionaries of Music, 2001.

Spivey, Norman. "Teaching Music Theater Singing: One Teacher's Journey."

Journal of Singing 62 (November/December 2005): 199-202.

Stanton, Royal. Steps to Singingfor Voice Classes. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing
Company, 1983.

Sullivan, Jan. "How to Teach the Belt/Pop Voice." The Journal of Research in Singing 13
(December 1989): 25-27.

Vennard, William. Singing: The Mechanism and the Technique. 5th ed. New York: Carl
Fischer, Inc., 1968.

Wallace, Mary Elaine, and Robert Wallace. Opera Scenes for Class and Stage. Carbondale,
IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1979,

Ware, Clifton. Basics of Vocal Pedagogy. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1998.

Wiley, Darlene and Larisa Montanaro. "Some Thoughts on Tonal Image." Journal of
Singing 63 (November/December 2006): 170.

67
 APPENDIX

A SUGGESTED METHODOLOGY FOR SONG INTERPRETATION

FOR BOTH CLASSICAL AND MUSICAL THEATRE LITERATURE

The following is the author's suggested methodology for leading novice classical or

musical theatre voice students through the process of making their performances consistent

with the concept of lyric interpretation. It contains a commonly heard dialogue between

teacher and singer that may be helpful in this endeavor. The Italian art song Se tu m'ami by

Alessandro Parisotti is used as an example.

Interpreting the Song

I. A Justification

Voice Teacher: Now that you have learned the notes and rhythms of your

piece, it is time to discover a means of conveying the text to your audience.

Student: Is it not okay to simply stand and sing? I see a lot of the other

students doing this.

Voice Teacher: Actually, no. You have worked many hours learning the

notes and rhythms, correct musical phrasing, breath marks, producing the

best tone, pronouncing the language accurately, and memorizing the piece,

but that is not enough. This song originated with the text. The poet was

inspired to write it, and the composer was moved to set the text to music.

You, as the performer, are the last component that allows the work to be

68
 fully realized. Your responsibility is, above all, to convey the text in the

most beautiful and artistic way possible.

Student: I am not sure how to do this,

II. Types of Songs

Voice Teacher: Generally, you will encounter two types of solo songs.

Included in the first type are songs you are singing to yourself and are

about a thought or scene. Included in the second type are songs where you

are either singing to another character who is actually not on stage in the

context of the plot or where you may be singing to another character or to

other characters who are actually on the stage with you. In the recital

format, if the song fits into this last context, it will be necessary for you as

the performer to imagine that the character or characters are there with

you.

Student: How do I "act out" the first type of song such as a song about a field

of flowers or one that is about something intangible, such as death?

Voice Teacher: Even though you may not feel like a specific character in

music with a more general subject matter, incorporating the prescribed

formula that follows may allow you to imagine the scene you are creating

more vividly, thus allowing it to seem more realistic to your audience.

Your audience may then have a more complete experience when watching

and listening to you perform.

69
Setting the Scene

Voice Teacher: Think of a song as a monologue. You, the singer, are a

character in a scene. The scene should have as many details as possible, so

that it is easier for you to envision. Create as many details about the

character and the environment the character finds themselves in as

possible. Sometimes there are other characters in the scene with you even

if they are not actually there. Decisions need to be made about these

character as well. Then, in order to have drama each character must have

an objective. If it is not obvious in reading the poetry, you must create it.

Think of it as telling a story with a beginning, middle and end. There must

be a progression. Each time you begin a new song, ask yourself the

following questions and decide how you want your character to be. Let's

try this with the song you are working on, Se tu m'ami.

a. Who am I?

Student: I am an eighteen year old young woman, flirtatious, and

unmarried, who dates many boys. I am pretty, confident, a little sassy, and

extroverted. I fear being alone and want everyone to love me. I am kind but

somewhat superficial and self-focused.

b, Where am I?

Student: It is late nineteenth century Vienna. I am on a country estate on

the veranda. It is summer. It is evening when one of my suitors comes to

call on me. We are wearing period clothing. I have on a pink and white

dress with a low-cut bodice and full sleeves.

70
c. To whom am I singing?

Student: My suitor who is somewhat handsome. He has blond wavy hair,

is short in stature, and I am not very interested in him.

d. What just happened to me before this moment?

Student: He came to give me a bouquet of flowers, to tell me he has very

strong feelings for me, and that I should only be courted by him.

e. What is my objective? What do I want to happen?

Student: I don't really want to hurt his feelings, but I need to tell him that I

can't live without seeing other young men besides him. I want him to

accept this and to continue court me.

f. Why does it matter to me that this happens? Why is this important to

me?

Student: I am afraid that he might say no and not like me and I just

couldn't bear that. I want everyone to be in love with me.

g. What is the conflict? What is preventing what I want to happen from

happening?

Student: He looks crestfallen when I say this to him and I am pretty sure he

will not continue to court me any longer. I sing this song to tell him what I

need and to try to convince him that this will be to his benefit as well,

h. What will I try to do (either in the song or just after) to overcome the

conflict and make what I want to happen, happen?

Student: I will periodically flirt with him and console him to woo him back

to me during the song in order to make him want me.

71
 i. How does it end?

Student: By the end of the song, I have succeeded. He lets me know that

he will do whatever he has to in order to continue seeing me.

IV, Visual Focus

Student: Where do I look? Do I scan the audience?

Voice Teacher: In theatre, there is a concept called the fourth wall.

This is the imaginary wall that separates the actor from the audience.

It is the division between the world of the characters in the story and

the audience who has come to see the performance. As a character in

the story, you will very rarely break this fourth wall and address the

audience directly. An example when you might do this is when you are

the narrator in a song, as in "The Lass from the Low Countree" by

John Jacob Niles. In most of the songs you will sing, you should not

look directly at any individual audience member. It is as if they are not

there. You should go about the scene oblivious to their presence. From

their perspective, it is as if they are looking at your scene through the

invisible fourth wall and you do not know they are there. While it is

important to remember that you are singing for the audience, you are

not singing to the audience. As far as where to focus your attention, ask

yourself these questions:

72
 j. Is the person (or persons) that you are singing to there with you? Or

are you alone and thinking about this person? Are you a narrator

singing to many but no one in particular, but telling a story?

Student: I am addressing my suitor.

k. Where do I imagine this person or persons to be? Imagine the person

or persons occupying a particular space on an imaginary line in front of

you. This imaginary line should be suspended in space slightly above

the audience and should extend from one side of the house to the other.

In theatrical terms, this is described from the perspective of the

audience as being House Left, House Center, and House Right. If you

are the narrator, consider singing directly to the audience and connect

with them as you sing.

Student: He is House Right, about six feet away from me. He is in front of

a stone balcony railing, holding his flowers.

1. When in your song do you sing to this person? When do you sing to

yourself?

Student: I will decide what lyrics I sing to him and then highlight my song

accordingly.

V. Incorporating Gesture

Student: Do I have to gesture? It feels forced and unnatural and I have

seen other singers who look awkward.

73
Voice teacher: It depends. In general, if the song is referring to

something that you are seeing or imagining such as a landscape or a

memory, then gesture is not necessary to convey the scene but may be

included for emphasis. An example of a song like this may be Wie

Melodien zieht es mir by Johannes Brahms. In this piece, images from

nature are used to describe beautiful melody. However, if you are

portraying someone who is talking to someone else, even if they are not

from a larger work and therefore not a specified character, then to be

human-like and natural, you would probably use gestures. Just as a

monologue is depicting people in realistic situations, so is a song. We

want to be authentic and bring the audience into our world. We do this

by acting as naturally as possible, and in everyday life we gesture to

emphasize what we mean. This would be true in the song you are

learning. Your character seems to be a vivacious, young woman who

would likely express herself with her hands. If yftu feel you are very
different from your character, consider someone you know who you

think seems like this character. Another suggestion is to sit in a public

place and watch people and their gestures and movements and emulate

them.

Student: How do I practice this myself?

Voice Teacher: After you have the song memorized, it may be helpful

to practice reciting the text aloud as a monologue. Try to make it seem

as if you were coming up with these words and thoughts in the moment.

74
Gesture as you recite the poetry without self-criticism. Repeat this

process several times and use the gestures that you find most genuine.

Student: Are there different ways to gesture?

Voice Teacher: Actually, there are four different types of gesture as

American actors today commonly understand them. They are;

1. Emphatic (ex. emphasizing how big something is)

2. Indicative (ex. pointing to someone)

3. Illustrative (ex. outlining a curvy figure with your hands)

4. Autistic (ex. scratching your arm)

If you think about what the character's personality and what the

character is trying to communicate, you can use these four types of

gestures to aid you in this process.

Student: What about how unnatural it looks when I see a singers gesture

with their hands and then just leaving them out there for awhile?

Voice Teacher; Actually, this is not uncommon. This is because

sometimes singers have good motivation for the initial impetus of the

gesture because it feels right. Then sometimes singers get "stuck" and

do not know what to do with their hands. In everyday life, our gestures

move smoothly from one to another as they follow our thoughts. Pay

attention to the gestures of one of your friends the next time one of

them is telling you a story. You can also be aware of your own gesture

by following the pattern of gesturing in "threes," a concept I learned

from professional actor, Jane Pesci Townsend:

75
 Gesturing in "Threes"

Gesture (initial impetus following the thought)

Morph (move the gesture to another thought)

Restore (let hands fall naturally back to sides of body)

VI. The Process Reviewed

1. Keep the importance of giving the song meaning in the

forefront of your mind.

2. Recite the text of the song as a monologue.

3. Discover the type of song.

4. Answer the questions regarding setting and character.

5. Highlight the song for visual focus.

6. Practice speaking the text aloud with gesture several times.

7. Combine all of these elements for a complete performance.

76