Pedagogy

Question 1

List 10 Ped Books

Answer 1

1. Barbara Doscher “The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice”
2. Scott McCoy “Your Voice:An Inside View”
3. Clifton Ware “Basics of Vocal Pedagogy: The Foundations and Process of Singing”
4. Giovanni Lamperti “Vocal Wisdom”
5. Stephen Smith “The Naked Voice: A Holistic Approach to Singing”
6. Ingo Titze and Katherine Verdolini Abbott “Vocology: The Science and Practice of Voice Habilitation”
7. Richard Miller “On the Art of Singing”
8. Richard Miller “The Structure of Singing”
9. William Vennard “Singing:The Mechanism and the Technique”
10. David Appelman “The Science of Vocal Pedagogy”

Question 2

List 5 Ped books with synopsis

Answer 2

1. Barbara Doscher “The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice”
   
   • connects breathing, phonation, resonance and articulation as “the voice” as a whole (not separate parts)
   • descriptions and pictures of anatomy
   • looks into acoustics of phonation and resonance
2. Scott McCoy “Your Voice:An Inside View”
   
   • covers basics of anatomy and functions of the units
   • many charts and diagrams
   • focus on resonance and vocal health
3. Clifton Ware “Basics of Vocal Pedagogy: The Foundations and Process of Singing”
   
   • along with anatomy, Ware includes pedagogical practices/warmups/exercizes for each section
   • talks about psycological benefits of singing and possible mental barriers
   • at the end, talks about repertoire and interpretation
   • has sections of on how to teach people of different ages- from children to seniors
   • how to audition/have a career
4. Giovanni Lamperti “Vocal Wisdom”
   
   • writings by William Brown of his teacher Lamperti
   • less technical approaches to singing
   • opens up new ideas for singer besides technical side
5. Stephen Smith “The Naked Voice: A Wholistic Approach to Singing”
   
   • focuses on technical and psychological aspects of singing
   • care of physical and mental well being

Question 3

Outline most important principles of vocal pedagogy. Give examples of exercises and songs/arias you would use to teach certain aspects.

Answer 3

1. Posture
   
   • standing against a wall
   • laying on the floor
   • stretching
   • rolling shoulders back
   • hands on pant seams
2. Breathing
   
   • frog breathing
   • arm motions with inhalation and exhalation
   • hissing out
   • pulsing breath
   • imagery
3. Phonation/Resonance
   
   • sirens
   • voiced consonants
   • “ng”/”hm”
   • snorting to find high palate
   • specific vowel placement
   • sing on all vowels
   • sing section on one pitch to get similar resonance on other notes
4. Articulation/Diction
   
   • loosening of the jaw and tongue (tongue twisters, cork in the mouth)
     - speaking text out of context

Question 4

List three songs you would give to a beginning male singer and justify with problems it would help fix.

Answer 4

1. “Beautiful Dreamer”- Stephen Foster- legato lines, higher extension for short phrase, long phrases
2. “Flow My Tears”- John Dowland- breath support, text stress, long phrases
3. “Caro mio ben”- Giordani- maintaining legato at slow tempo, long phrases, pure vowels, extending top in B section

Question 5

List three songs you would give to a beginning female singer and justify with problems it would help fix.

Answer 5

1. “You’re the Top”- Cole Porter- fast text, speaking range, mixing head and chest
2. “Liebst du um Schoenheit”- Clara Schumann- German text, legato, strophic (ish), long phrases/breath control,
3. “Wie Melodien zieht es”- Johannes Brahms- legato lines, from mid to high voice transition (not carrying weight)