With the advances in voice science in the last ten years, it is increasing frustrating to understand the prevailing sentiment of: If you can sing classical, you can sing anything. While there are certainly aspects of singing that overlap with each other regardless of genre, the manner in which the vocal tract is used and the sounds that are produced are inherently different and require different muscular and musical training in order to achieve success.
All singers cannot sing everything. Some can, but for most, like with any athlete (and I believe that singers are vocal athletes), this isn’t always possible. I mean, we don’t expect a professional baseball player to play professional golf – but they both swing a stick and hit a ball. Why in the world do we expect that all singers can – or should – sing everything? Partly this ability is due to desire and practice, but a lot of it also has to do with the physical aspects of a biological instrument. Imagine a soprano attempting to sing a bass part in that range. Not biologically possible, regardless of how much the soprano might want to sing a low-low E.
All singers can, and I would say, should explore other genres. Classical singers can explore jazz and contemporary styles and vice versa. Exploration expands the mind and can bring about an awareness and appreciation of what it takes to sing in other genres. There are aspects and stylistic choices in other genres that cross genre, and learning how to play on different playgrounds is certainly a worthwhile exploration that can lead to informing the chosen voice style in a way unattainable without this exploration.
However, if one is going to specialize in a specific medium, one cannot apply the concepts of one to the other directly and expect them to automatically work. It takes a skilled singer to make these shifts and engage the vocal tract in singing multiple genres. The skills required to sing with amplification are inherently different than those without. Additionally, the subtleties required to sing within popular music genres require different awareness of the workings of the voice that are often not found within the voluminous sounds and formant making within classical singing. Plus, there are myriad differences in each kind of contemporary style of singing, that, just like the difference between singing Mozart or Verdi, require different training, awareness, and knowledge. One would not expect a dramatic soprano to sing the Queen of the Night aria – why would we expect a soft-breathy singer like Norah Jones to belt like Etta James? Or vice versa in either case?
Along with LoVetri (2013), Benson (2018) and Winnie (2017) write about this in recent publications – and the necessity for functional training to engage singers in understanding how the voice works, and then applying that knowledge to specific genres. Additionally, many experts in the field of voice (Baldwin et al., 2017; Benson, 2018; Edwards, 2016; Hughes 2010; LoVetri, 2013; Winnie, 2017) extoll the necessity for specific training for singers and teachers of Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM). CCM is a term coined by vocal pedagogue Jeannie LoVetri (2006) used mostly within the voice community describe all those genres in singing that are not classical in nature – so musical theater, jazz, folk, and all forms of popular music.
The voice community needs places to train these singers and to give them the necessary credentials to work within the academic field of popular and contemporary musics. With the influx of popular music programs into academia, there is a dearth of qualified voice professionals who have the required degrees necessitated by many institutions. There is currently no institution in the United States that offers a terminal degree in CCM Vocal Pedagogy and only one that offers any explicit training in this area within a Masters degree (Baldwin et al., 2017). Additionally, because there are currently no terminal degrees in CCM pedagogy, there is little research on these singers, as much of the research on singers stems from masters and doctoral theses and subsequently, graduates of these programs.
So, where do you go to learn about CCM? In the United States, there are two specific summer courses offered in CCM pedagogy – The LoVetri Institute at Baldwin Wallace University (Ohio) and The CCM Institute at Shenandoah University (Virginia). Both offer three levels of training and certification, as well as post-certification courses in specific areas such as jazz, improvisation, songwriting, gospel, vocal pathology, and others as per the guest lecturer’s expertise. If you have yet to go, and are interested in learning more about CCM, both are highly recommended. They each offer a different perspective and are well worth attending.
REFERENCES
Baldwin, J., K. Reinhert, and M. Edwards (2017), “Commercial Voice Survey.” Presentation at The Voice Foundation, 2017.
Benson, E. (2018). Functional training for all styles. American Music Teacher (67)5,
Edwards, M. (2014), ‘So You Want to Sing Rock “N” Roll: A Guide for Professionals’, Lanham, Boulder ; New York, London: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Hughes, D. (2010). Developing vocal artistry in popular culture music. In S. Harrison (ed), Perspectives on teaching singing, Queensland, Australia: Australian Academic Press.
LoVetri, J. (2013). The necessity of using functional techniques in the voice studio. Journal of singing (70)1, 79 – 86.
Winnie, B.J. (2017). Bridging the gap between classical and contemporary vocal technique: Implications for the choral rehearsal. Journal of Singing,74(4), 465 – 468