What is Vocal Pedagogy

Vocal Pedagogy - 402y/

Questions and Answers

Are there universities/colleges that offer specific majoring in vocal pedagogy?

Or is vocal pedagogy already a part of voice/vocal performance?
Oh hello Mamianka! It's always a pleasure reading and receiving advices and inputs from you. Thank you very much for your explanation. That really helps me understand better. =)
@Mamianka (1) : hehe thank you again for replying back to me. But in all fairness, I have to confess though that I'm not currently planning to major in vocal pedagogy. Heck, I'm not even planning to go the college (again) LOL. I already had my education and now I've got a steady job & income. In regards to singing, well I am not exactly an opera singer (although I do like opera) nor am I a professional one. I mostly sing at church and in certain venues e.g wedding/birthday parties or under the shower LOL.

My question here is purely based on curiosity. Why you might ask? Because aside from the fact that I like singing, esp. Classical singing (opera) & general disappointment for the current "popular" music showbiz, I have a deep admiration and respect towards people who dedicate themselves to teach and educate aspiring singers/musicians that they even have to take an education to enable themselves TEACH other people. Well of course I'm talking about people who
@Mamianka (2) : …Well of course I'm talking about people who do really have passion in teaching and helping other people to be the best musicians they can be and they have already set their priorities/goal from the start to become a teacher, so they're not just failed musicians who are forced to teach because they don't have enough offer/request to perform anywhere nor are they famous singers who are past their prime and now have to relegate themselves to teaching because they no longer can perform on stage.

I think music teacher, I'm just going to specifically narrow it down to voice teacher/vocal pedagogue since that what I am asking about now, is one of the most underrated profession in the art world, not just in opera/classical music. How many times have you heard an incredible performer gets praised for his/her technical virtuosity but none even bothers to ask which person this performer came in the first place to help him/her polishing his/her talent and maximi
@Mamianka (3) : …How many times have you heard an incredible performer gets praised for his/her technical virtuosity but none even bothers to ask which person this performer came in the first place to help him/her polishing his/her talent and maximizing his/her talent to achieve its fullest potential, all the while guiding him/her to do it PROPERLY and in a healthy way so as not to jeopardize his/her vocal health and assure his/her longevity as a performer?

And another phenomenon which I find interesting is the "ghost teacher". I've heard various on-line testimony where voice students seek out to study voice using "anonymous" ghost teachers outside their college/university because they feel like they are going nowhere with their college professors. Now I am not against formal education, but I've heard too much about opera singer hopefuls who enter college hoping it would somehow improve their voice and their overall skill as a performer but eventually gra
@Mamianka (4) : …graduate without actually being any better than when they first enter college thus the music career which they hope would be translated upon graduation seems like a thin air. Everyday during their college years these voice students are drilled with so many theories and assignments about arias, musical notations, the fundamental of singing etc without being trained to sing at all. They probably only have around 1 hour of singing lesson per week which is hardly adequate at all and all of a sudden, they are given exam materials which they have to perform when they even haven’t got enough time to practice before. That’s why many of these students only rely on IMITATING their voice professors. They don’t really know how the voice and body works in synergy to produce the proper sound, they just imitate whatever voice/sound the professors make. So often the professors themselves don’t have a single clue if their students are doing it right. They just want to see and hear th
@Mamianka (5) : They just want to see and hear their students do it JUST LIKE him even when they’re actually using the incorrect technique which may lead them to vocal deterioration in the long running. So many times, these professors don’t have a clue about teaching properly. They just TEACH without realizing if the students get it or not.

One testimony reveals how one undergraduate student praised her college professor as an excellent singer but he knows absolutely nothing about teaching. Everytime she trained singing with him, she always felt constriction in her throat despite him praising her because he thought she got it. But that's the thing. She was only IMITATING him without even fully understanding why and how she was making that sound. The teacher didn't do better in explaining either probably because he wasn't a very good teacher to begin with. After around 1-2 year(s) she decided to study privately with a "ghost teacher" who knew well what she was doi
@Mamianka (6) : …who knew well what she was doing. She didn't just learn a lot from her ghost teacher, she also felt an improvement in her voice. She was finally able to relax her throat and sing in an appropriately healthy manner. She didn't tell the professor or her college that she was seeking help from another teacher out of fear she might get expelled because her college officially forbids it. But she just couldn't cope the idea of studying singing with her professor after she had quite a success with her ghost teacher, so she still took private lessons quietly. She also admitted that many of her colleagues and fellow voice students who didn't necessarily go to the same voice professor seek out to study voice privately outside of college. After graduation, she finally got a job to be the lead singer of a big opera company in her town. She could make it because she was basically a very talented and good singer. Everytime she was asked what college she went to and
@Mamianka (7) : …Everytime she was asked what college she went to and who her singing teacher voice was, she always mentioned her professor’s name. Eventually the professor received all the praise and credit for preparing and nurturing her talent when in fact it was the singer’s ghost teacher who should be getting the love.

Another testimony, also from a professional opera singer who surprisingly didn’t take voice major in college. As a matter of fact, she didn’t take any music major at all. She studied physics and quantum mechanics in college and studied voice privately. So any of her vocal training was basically done OUTSIDE of formal education within the university walls. And luckily for her, she got herself a very good teacher who was not only good in singing and teaching, but also very passionate and patient about her job. Everytime she felt lost in her training, her voice teacher would retrace the steps back to see where she might be confused and offer her to see her singing,
TO MAMIANKA : I HAVE REACHED MY LIMIT OF WORD POSTING ON MY QUESTION. PLEASE REFER TO MY OTHER SAME QUESTION IN THE PERFORMING ARTS SECTION TO SEE THE CONTINUATION OF MY ADDITIONAL MESSAGES. THANK YOU.

Posted by me, myself, and I
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Most vocal pedagogy degrees are are offered at the graduate level. To most benefit from that instruction, one would have to have a degree first in voice, or at least music education with a voice emphasis, and then have *experience* in teaching. After some time – perhaps years – spent around singers with all kinds of vocal manifestations, then it would make more sense for someone to consider pursuing advanced instruction that would allow them to help these folks. I know singers who have degrees in speech therapy, and further training in voice therapy (not the same at pedagogy, I know) and even a singer who is a ENT – ear, nose,throat doctor. There are also pianists who might have gotten undergrad degrees in Collaborative Piano ( formerly called *accompanying*) who also work with singers, in the role or a coach. But as far as being someone who is a vocal pedagogue – this implies YEARS AND YEARS of education and experience. Brand-new college grads think they *know it all*, and it is fresh in their minds, so that makes them *better* than older and more educated/experienced teachers. Guess again. Most of us *Yodas* cringe when we think of how and what we taught when younger – it was sincere, but not completely informed. Get yourself a good solid foundation in VOICE – and then, if you find that teaching appeals to you and suits you, consider the pursuit of graduate study. As in all fields, teaching is hardly the refuge of the insecure or failed performer, but rather the endeavor of someone who is a SUCCESS at their field, and seeks to assist others in achieving the same, or better. Good luck.

Added – gee, thanks! This makes up for all the brats here who expect me to tell them that YES!!! – learning to play the ukulele in their bedroom by watching YouTube WILL get them into JOOLEEYARD. Good luck – it is good to plan into the future, but we all must then examine our shorter-tern plans and goals – otherwise, we HAVE no future!

I want to get a masters degree in Vocal Pedagogy…?

I want to get a masters degree in Vocal Pedagogy…?
Can someone give me a list of colleges that offer this as a masters degree?
Does anyone have any experience and know what you have to do to get into a college for this… Like audition/requirements?
Also, with this, can I become a professor of vocal pedagogy at a college?

Thank you, I'm really having trouble finding this info. 🙂

Posted by krystel
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Requirements for application basically include a Bachelor's degree, and some kind of vocal background. The requirements differ for each school, though. Here are a few universities that offer Masters or Doctorates in this field. Good luck 🙂

University of Colorado- Http://www.colorado.edu/music/voice/peda…

University of Miami- Http://www.music.miami.edu/programs/mvp/…

Belmont University- Http://www.belmont.edu/music_special/voc…

University of Iowa- Http://www.uiowa.edu/~music/current/voic…

Boston Conservatory- Http://www.bostonconservatory.edu/s/940/…

Vocal Lessons Question.?

Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKG5psD5x…

You don't have to listen to the entire thing just listen to (1:42-end) how the hell does he get so high and do that raspy high note i love it…

Posted by HowdyThere452
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The short answer would be, good training. Singing technique is the same for all styles of music, from this kind of stuff to opera, so somebody with solid technique training would be able to sing like this consistently and safely. Getting his range would be a matter of developing your breath support and balancing your registration, and as you learned to control your voice in a more sophisticated way, you'd be able to control tone and color, like the raspiness, better.

If you want to learn to sing like this, you should find a qualified voice teacher to work with. The teacher doesn't necessarily have to be familiar with the style you want to sing, but DOES need to have a solid grasp of both vocal technique and vocal pedagogy. Here are some articles that'll help you find somebody:
Http://www.danascheider.com/voice-lesson…
Http://www.danascheider.com/how-to-find-…

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This Bloomsday, remember Joyce as a traditional Irish singer – The Conversation

This Bloomsday, remember Joyce as a traditional Irish singerThe ConversationHe continued with vocal training there, but as his biographer Richard Ellmann writes: Joyce's ardour for a singing career had already begun to lapse; the tedious discipline did not suit him, and to … Yes, his great story The Dead is set in a musical …and more »

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The Princeton Girlchoir Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary at Trenton War Memorial

The Princeton Girlchoir pulled out all the stops this past weekend for its 25th Anniversary concert.

http://aprenderacantar.org/how-to-train-…