Semester Topic Paper - Google Docs 2

6/5/2019 Semester Topic Paper - Google Docs
Abby G. Block 5 English
Singing: Techniques, Genres, Styles, and Cultures
Do you ever go see a top notch musical or watch a cover of a song that someone you
follow posted on social media and wonder how can they sing so well? Maybe you show up
karaoke night or audition for a solo and you think wow I really wish I knew how to sing? This
paper will teach you little logistics that go into singing, how to make sure you’re singing
healthily, how not to sing like an annoying pop star, and different genres, styles, and cultures.
Maybe you are looking to make music a large portion of your future. Luckily, I have interviewed
people with experience and expertise to help direct you in the right place. I’m excited to see if
this will improve our knowledge and our abilities.
We have all sang at least once in our lives, not necessarily well, but we still have. But,
what is singing and why do people sound better than others? To start off, different individuals are
better at different styles of music. For example, you might be better at singing pop songs than
someone else that's better at opera. There a few factors that a singer must consider before
achieving amazing quality and high-level singing. The factors vary for soloists vs a choir. In
general, you should keep in mind the accuracy of notes and rhythms, tone quality, consistency,
intonation, breath control, flexibility, posture, appropriate range, diction, vowels, consonants,
dynamics, interpretation, phrasing, expression, projection, and stage presence (New York State
Music Association). I know, it’s a lot to keep track of. All of these aspects are grouped together
to make more sense. The accuracy of notes and rhythms all depend on you or whoever taught
you the piece you are singing. It all depends on if you read your sheet music correctly.
Sheet music can be pretty difficult to read if you don’t know what you’re doing. Here is a
simple sheet of music so we can break it down to make more sense.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d4XeOkmSAEDh4Lskm7cc1ar_UPWEMtA9tdhhGaoOfNg/edit 1/15
(Virtual Sheet Music)
Reading it from left to right, the first three things you notice is the treble and bass clef,
the key signature, and the time signature. The treble or bass clef tells you what octave you are in.
For voice, the treble clef is for female and the bass clef is for male. The key signature is a little
harder to explain without actually playing you notes on a piano. But to make it simple, it tells the
musician what notes to play. The time signature is what the conductor conducts the piece in like
in Jingle Bells, it would be conducted in 4/4 which is 4 beats in one measure. The next thing you
look at are the rhythms and pitches. Rhythms are whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth
notes and so on. A whole note is held for the entire measure, half notes are held for half and so
on. In order to know the pitches, you will need another instrument to teach you unless you have
perfect pitch which only 10,000 people in this world have.
Mrs. Christy, the choir teacher at Averill Park High School taught me all of the next
paragraphs in my individual lessons with her and in her choir class. Tone quality, consistency,
intonation, breath control show how “smooth” your song was. Intonation determines if your
notes went sharp or flat. If you need to work on your breath control, this means that you need to
have better posture, support our diaphragm better, and to not make your voice sound breathy or
nasally. You also need to be careful of your appropriate range. If the highest note you can sing is
an “A”, you shouldn’t strain your voice to try a “B”.
Diction, vowels, and consonants all group together. Your diction is based on your vowels
and consonants in the lyrics you sing in the song. The goal for consonants is for them to be
heard, but not over the top. If you’re hurting your throat to try and make a “k” sound, you're
doing it wrong. The vowel sound is different for each style of music you do. For instance, in a
choir, you must not have bright vowels or you will get yelled at. Having bright vowels means
you are directing your sound towards your nose, or your mouth isn’t open wide enough, which is
perfect for musical theatre but not Choir. Along with open vowels, in a choir, you should try to
stay in your head voice unless you are hitting lower notes. If you don't know if you are singing in
head or chest voice, place your hand on your chest. If your chest is vibrating, then you are in
chest voice, and if not then you’re in head voice.
Your interpretation of your song shows what you think your song is about and how you
portray it in your singing. This is where expression, dynamics, phrasing, projection, and stage
presence come in. For a quiet, sad song, you shouldn’t have a happy expression on your face and
you shouldn’t have a forte (loud) dynamic. Phrasing shows where in the song you change
expression or feeling. As an example, if you’re singing a sad song, having a sad expression on
your face the entire time can become boring so instead, look into the lyrics and find places where
you can change up the emotion but still make sense to the song. And lastly, projection and stage
presence is just a fancy term for confidence. Even if you are singing a quiet, sad song, don't sit in
the corner singing something that can’t be heard. We want to see that you are confident in what
you’re singing and that you actually are singing.
The only difference between an individual and a group of people is the balance between
the different sections in a choir. For almost all mixed choirs, there is a soprano, alto, tenor, and
bass part. Soprano is mainly made up of females who can sing the highest notes in the choir. This
part usually has the melody in a song. Alto is mainly made of female, sometimes male voices
who have not changed yet. Tenors are the highest male voice part but with an occasional low
female voice part. Then there is the bass part, which is the lowest voice part in the whole choir
made of all male. If you are unsure of what part you are you should talk to a music teacher, they
will know exactly what to do. Remember, practice makes perfect, especially when it comes to
singing and know everyone makes mistakes, no one is completely perfect. If you are interested in
singing properly or need help, consult a music teacher or choir director, they will be happy to
help you. (Christy)
Before you sing anything at all, it is extremely important to warm up your voice. Good
posture is a vital factor to singing. This way your airflow will be better, help you have a clear
sound, and will help you with holding notes/singing without breathing. To have appropriate
posture, pretend you’re being pulled up by a string, keep your feet flat on the floor and shoulder
width apart, keep your balance equal on each leg, keep your head up and your shoulders back.
One exercise to start with is deep breathing to make sure you aren’t breathing from the top of
your lungs but from your diaphragm which will give you more power. Another thing you should
do is relax your jaw and your whole body. By doing simple stretches like reaching up to the sky
or rolling your head will help you loosen up. Do not forget to hydrate! It’s common that if you’re
dehydrated, you could fall off a riser in the hot lights on stage. Not only that, but it’s good for
your voice. If you’re sick or have a sore throat, gargling with salt water or drinking honey lemon
tea will act as a temporary “throat coat” which will help you in the long run. Lastly, before you
start singing, running scales will help you out. Not only will it help you with sight reading in the
future, but it also with help extend your highest and lowest part of your vocal range. As I’ve said,
it very important to warm up because if you don't do so, you risk getting very serious vocal
injuries and even surgeries. Harvard Health says “The vocal cords are two bands of elastic
muscle tissue. They are located side by side in the voice box (larynx) just above the windpipe
(trachea). Like other tissues in the body, vocal cords can be strained and damaged. Vocal cords
are also subject to infections, tumors, and trauma,” (Harvard Health Publishing). Vocal cord
nodules, polyps, tumors are just a few injuries you can get from improper singing. Vocal cord
paresis, paralysis contact ulcers, and laryngitis are just a few injuries that we could receive and
should pay attention to. A few famous singers have had surgery on their voices. Singing contests
in the early 2000s, especially in the United States started this rising trend. Some famous singers
who have oversang and damaged their voice are Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Christina
Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande, and Céline Dion. The Guardian website had
interviewed Adele about her experience, “Though only 29, Adele had been here before. Six years
earlier, she had suffered a hemorrhage to her vocal cords after singing live on a French radio
program. In order to repair the injury, she underwent an incredibly delicate, high-risk medical
intervention: vocal cord microsurgery. In this operation, the surgeon wields miniature scalpels
and forceps attached to foot-long poles that are guided down the throat to excise whatever
damaged tissue are robbing the vocal cords of their elasticity and depriving the voice of its
natural timbre, range, and clarity,” (The Guardian). Long story short, it is important to sing
properly, listen to voice coaches/teachers, warm up, and hydrate in order to stay happy, healthy,
and to not drown in hospital bills. Try to remember this the next time you belt to Ariana Grande’s
new album or Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”.
What makes up a song? Chords, melody, concept, lyrics, beat, and rhythm. Chords (chord
progression) accompany the melody and sometimes the rhythm of the song. The melody is the
tune of the song that you sing or play. The beat or rhythm of the song is the tempo or speed the
song goes. The lyrics are the words you can sing with the melody. The concept is the story or
theme you were trying to portray- this could either be in the lyrics or the melody/chords. Another
factor to a song is the genre or style. There are many different styles of music. Just to mention a
few: classical, opera, musical theater, pop, and jazz. With these different styles, there are
different ways to sing it. In Choir, we sing classical music. This usually consists of long vowels
and less nasally sound as I have talked about this earlier. Opera is a form of classical music but
it’s very difficult to sing and not saying in our high school choir. Opera is defined as “an
extended dramatic composition, in which all parts are sung to instrumental accompaniment”. The
average person can’t usually sing opera, it takes a very long time to practice and going to a
special university to learn. This past February 2019, my choir went on a field trip to the
Metropolitan Opera House to see the opera Rigoletto, an Italian opera. We couldn’t understand
anything they were saying not only because it was in a different language but because the style of
singing is very hard to detect what is being said. The performance was absolutely beautiful and I
was amazed at all the sheer amount of talent. Moving on, musical theater is the complete
opposite even though they are both musical theater in some way. Musical theater is a form of
theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. Pathos, humor,
love, anger, sadness, and more are what is put into these musical performances to make it
interesting in a different way. Next is pop music which is what you listen to on the radio. Pop
music or “popular” music includes riffs, nasally singing, and repetitive but catchy lyrics. Similar
to this is jazz music. Vocal jazz is an instrumental approach to the voice. A common technique
used in this style of music is scatting. Scatting is the use of non-morphemic syllables to imitate
the sound of instruments.
In the past paragraph, I have just skimmed the top of what you need to know about each
style. There are many more techniques that you must learn before becoming a professional. I
decided to interview two of my friends who are involved in multiple shows outside of school
throughout the year. The first person I interviewed was Hayden C. He is 17 years old and Junior
in high school. He has been acting since January of 2017 and singing since July of 2017. Since
January 2017, he has been in six shows. Currently, he is in the musical Urinetown at Cohoes
Music Hall. He also told me he auditioned last month for the musical Newsies and also received
a pretty big sized part. I asked him how he managed all his time with so many extracurricular
events. I asked him this because I know he has cross country/track practice after school every
day with meets every week or so. He is the executive officer for OBP and they are doing the play
Brother’s Grimm Spectaculathon, and he is in all advanced classes with challenging and
time-consuming work outside of school. He said, “I usually do one show at a time so I don’t
have to stress too much about school and other time consumers. Rehearsals for shows outside of
school don’t take much away from school because rehearsals are in the evening and sometimes
go to 10:30 pm every night. However, rehearsals do manage to cut into homework time and other
social life things if they are every night. But, I have learned to manage my time well,” (Hayden
C). I also asked him if he wants to only do this as a career because it takes up so much time in
your life. He replied that he would love to continue doing this as a career but he also loves school
(probably the reason why he is in all advanced classes). He explained to me that if he can’t
pursue this as a career, he would still continue to do this as a side hobby.
Along with the different styles of music, different cultures have different ways to express
music. It is important to study music in all cultures because there is so much information on this
particular topic so I decided to only discuss music in the different continents. In Africa,
traditional music in most of the continent is passed down orally and is not written. In
sub-Saharan African music traditions, it frequently relies on percussion instruments of every
variety, including xylophones, djembes, drums, and tone-producing instruments such as the
mbira or thumb piano. African music consists of complex rhythmic patterns, often involving one
rhythm played against another to create a polyrhythm. The most common polyrhythm plays three
beats on top of two as a triplet played against straight notes. Each instrument or part may
represent a particular aspect of life or a different character. Another distinguishing form of
African music is its call-and-response nature: one voice or instrument plays a short melodic
phrase, and that phrase is echoed by another voice or instrument. “African music does not have a
written tradition; there is little or no written music to study or analyze. This makes it almost
impossible to notate the music – especially the melodies and harmonies – using the Western
staff. There are subtle differences in pitch and intonation that do not easily translate to Western
notation,” (Wikipedia). Asia has vast and unique music as the many cultures and peoples who
inhabit the region. Principal instrument types are two- or three-stringed lutes, the necks either
fretted or fretless; fiddles made of horsehair; flutes, mostly open at both ends and either
end-blown or side-blown; and jew harps, mostly metal. Percussion instruments include frame
drums, tambourines, and kettledrums. Instrumental polyphony is achieved primarily by lutes and
fiddles. European and North American are both very similar and is what we all know/what I’ve
already mentioned. Lastly, South America or Latin American music “encompasses a wide variety
of styles, including influential genres such as cumbia, bachata, bossa nova, merengue, rumba,
salsa, samba, son, and tango. It also encompasses Latin American styles that have originated in
the United States such as salsa and Tejano,” (Encyclopedia Britannica). For the past few years,
music teachers have introduced the different ensembles with different languages. For example, in
Concert Choir we sang O Meu Maracatu, a Portuguese song and in Treble we sang El Vito, a
Spanish song.
A choir is an organized group of singers, typically one that takes part in church services
or performs regularly in public. This past week I have been writing down my observations in
both classes, Concert Choir and Treble Voices. I compared and contrasted the people, the
environment, and Mrs. Christy’s teaching. Concert Choir is open to anyone and everyone boys
and girls. It’s divided into four sections: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. In this year’s 2018-19
class, there are about 60 people. In Treble Voices, it’s a group of about 14 made up of soprano
and alto girls. From what I’ve noticed, in Concert Choir there are three kinds of people enrolled
in this class. The first person doesn’t care at all about this class, they probably don't sing well or
sing at all, and they talk to their friends all the time. The second person slightly cares about
singing, they like the experience of Choir, but Choir isn’t one of their priorities. Then the third
person’s main hobby and electives are music, they participate in anything they possibly can, and
they are slight show-offs. In Treble, for the most part, all of the girls care about singing to a great
extent. I have noticed that in Concert, memorizing the music is a much quicker process than in
Treble. I think this is mainly because Concert Choir music is at a lower level than Treble is but I
also think it might be because Mrs. Christy goes over each part many more times in Concert
because they don’t understand it as well. Even though I learn our music faster in mixed, I sing
with more technique in the Treble Choir. She quickly teaches us our parts in our songs and then
works on technique for a few months. In the end, I enjoy both classes, Mrs. Christy has taught
me so much music knowledge and I like being in both environments. The reason I bring up class
dynamics is because for every person, your technique is different in both environments. In Treble
choir, since there are less people, as an individual you have to work more and know your part
better. Singing in a small group is kind of like singing a trio but four groups of trios with
different musical parts. In Concert, you could lip sync along to the music and it wouldn’t make a
difference. Personally, Treble has made be a more confident singer because of that. From all of
this, both classes have taught me how to work as a team an an individual.
I enjoyed Mrs. Christy’s teaching so much that I confirmed that I want to be a music
major. So, I decided to interview my current choir teacher, Mrs. Christy, and two seniors who are
going to college to become a music major. I first interviewed Maggie G. who just recently got
accepted to the Crane music program at SUNY Potsdam for voice. She only applied to Crane and
hoped for the best. She told me that applying to the actual college itself was more stressful than
auditioning for Crane. She explained to me her experience of auditioning “I turned into a nervous
wreck beforehand but the judges we super nice and chill. When one of them came out, she said
my name and I reached out my hand to shake hers and went to introduce myself when she
already said my name. She was totally cool about it though. I ended up performing an entire
piece and half of two other pieces I had prepared. It’s slightly unusual to have them ask to hear
all three pieces. I also had to compose a piece composed by one of the professors at Crane. The
piece was three pages long and included text, accompaniment, and accidentals (which is unheard
of for a high school level),”. She received a letter from Crane roughly a week and a half after
auditioning. Lastly, I asked her what she enjoyed about all of it and she replied, “I will say,
walking through the hallways and passing practice rooms hearing amazing musicians and singers
was such a personal seller”.
Secondly, I interviewed Emily J. who got accepted at Nazareth College in December for
cello. She applied to Nazareth and St. Rose. She explained to me the difference between Early
Decision and Regular Decision. Emily auditioned early in the school year for Early Decision
which gives you a better chance of getting into the program. Regular Decision is still time if you
weren’t prepared in time but the people who got accepted during Early Decision has already
taken up spots. “I started my audition music right after NYSSMA (New York State School Music
Association) of junior year. I rehearsed so much until my auditions in October and December.
The process of applying is much easier using the Common App. However, rehearsing was the
hard part. I tried to practice for an hour every day,”. She explained that Nazareth took two
months to send a letter but they combined my acceptance to the school and to the music program
in one letter. St. Rose only took about two weeks to send out their letter.
Finally, the talented Mrs. Christy took time out of her day to answer some questions for
me. Mrs. Christy has been teaching for ten years at Long Island and here in Averill Park. She
went to the music program with Crane at SUNY Potsdam (and convinced Maggie to go there).
She loved the college even so that she believed that the music program was phenomenal and she
would 100% recommend to everyone. I asked her why she chose to be a choir teacher instead of
Band or Orchestra. She said she never played an instrument in high school so she just stuck with
voice. I followed up with the question if she would ever move up or down a level. She said she
would never teach a lower level like middle or elementary school just because she prefers
working with more mature voices and techniques instead of “what is sheet music?”. She also
explained that she would love to go up to the college level however she thinks going back to
college to get her Ph.D. would take too much time an energy for the point in life she's at. Lastly, I
asked her what she liked and disliked about this job. “Honestly there aren’t too many downfalls
to this job. I’d say the most frustrating thing is just paperwork for validation, it just gets
annoying. However, I enjoy teaching students to make beautiful music. I never get bored with
this job. Each year kids leave but new kids come and make it a different sound. I enjoy working
with different people and their different voices. That’s what makes my job interesting,”.
According to Wikipedia, 8,000 public schools in the United States don’t have a music program.
It’s only fair that every student in the US can have the opportunity to have a band or chorus
ensemble or even a general music class. This is the reason why everyone involved in a high
school music class should consider going into music education. This is why I want to go into
music education. I want to make a difference in kids lives.
It’s important to learn all the logistics to go into singing, how to make sure you’re singing
healthily, to ignore pop star techniques, and different genres, styles, and cultures. I understand
styles change along with our calendar but in this time being, these are genres and styles that
could help you understand our world better. Learning all of this and more can help each
individual work with other people better if they understand their culture. Each choir I have been
a part of has taught me life lessons I will remember forever. Join a choir, small or large, because
it is crucial to know have to work as a team and by yourself. Hopefully this paper has taught you
something about how to improve the way you listen to music. Maybe this helped you discover
that you really want to get into music. With that, go out into the world and change the way
people think with music and spread it on to all generations.
Works Cited
Béhague, Gerard. “Latin American Music.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica,
Inc., 24 May 2017, www.britannica.com/art/Latin-American-music.
Hayden C. Personal interview, 21 March 2019
Christy, Sarah. Personal interview, 1 April 2019
Maggie G. Personal interview, 26 March 2019
Harvard Health Publishing. “Vocal Cord Disorders.” Harvard Health,
www.health.harvard.edu/a_to_z/vocal-cord-disorders-a-to-z.
Emily J. Personal interview, 27 March 2019
“Music Education and Programs Within the United States.” Wikipedia, 25 Apr. 2019,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_Education_and_Programs_Within_the_United_States.
“Music of Africa.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Apr. 2019,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Africa.
“Music of Central Asia.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 July 2018,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Central_Asia.
“News & Updates.” New York State School Music Association, www.nyssma.org/.
“Opera.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/opera.
Ron. “Jingle Bells Sheet Music for Piano, Voice or Other Instruments.” Virtual Sheet Music,
www.virtualsheetmusic.com/score/JingleBells.html.
Warner, Bernhard. “Why Do Stars like Adele Keep Losing Their Voice?” The Guardian,
Guardian News and Media, 10 Aug. 2017,
www.theguardian.com/news/2017/aug/10/adele-vocal-cord-surgery-why-stars-keep-losing
-their-voices.

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6/5/2019 Semester Topic Paper - Google Docs

Abby G. Block 5 English

Singing: Techniques, Genres, Styles, and Cultures

this will improve our knowledge and our abilities.

simple sheet of music so we can break it down to make more sense.

Abby G. Block 5 English

(Virtual Sheet Music)

perfect pitch which only 10,000 people in this world have.

Abby G. Block 5 English

an “A”, you shouldn’t strain your voice to try a “B”.

chest voice, and if not then you’re in head voice.

Abby G. Block 5 English

you’re singing and that you actually are singing.

help you. (Christy)

Abby G. Block 5 English

Abby G. Block 5 English

new album or Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”.

Abby G. Block 5 English

the sound of instruments.

Abby G. Block 5 English

pursue this as a career, he would still continue to do this as a side hobby.

sub-Saharan African music traditions, it frequently relies on percussion instruments of every

represent a particular aspect of life or a different character. Another distinguishing form of

Abby G. Block 5 English

Abby G. Block 5 English

this, both classes have taught me how to work as a team an an individual.

Abby G. Block 5 English

was such a personal seller”.

Abby G. Block 5 English

music education. I want to make a difference in kids lives.

Abby G. Block 5 English

people think with music and spread it on to all generations.

Abby G. Block 5 English

Béhague, Gerard. “Latin American Music.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica,

Inc., 24 May 2017, www.britannica.com/art/Latin-American-music.

Hayden C. Personal interview, 21 March 2019

Christy, Sarah. Personal interview, 1 April 2019

Maggie G. Personal interview, 26 March 2019

Harvard Health Publishing. “Vocal Cord Disorders.” Harvard Health,

Emily J. Personal interview, 27 March 2019

“Music of Africa.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Apr. 2019,

“Music of Central Asia.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 July 2018,

“Opera.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/opera.

Guardian News and Media, 10 Aug. 2017,

Abby G. Block 5 English

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