Vocalist.org archive


From:  Greypins@a...
Date:  Fri Feb 15, 2002  4:05 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Pop-style Broadway

In a message dated 2/14/2002 11:15:56 PM Eastern Standard Time,
Mezzoid@a... writes:


> so why is classical training a worthwhile endeavor
> for a pianist who plans to focus on popular music and a waste of time for a
>
> singer???
>

christine,

systematized training can be valuable in almost any endeavor. in the
field of music, the only training available, on a wide scale, has been
associated with classical music. therefore, when someone receives training
from a classically oriented teacher and, that person is then able to apply
that training to another style of music, classical music gets credit when
that credit should belong only to systematized training.

additionally, while the piano IS an instrument that was developed by
the classical tradition, the voice IS NOT (oh-oh, he must be serious!). the
voice existed before, was used for singing before and exists for other uses
outside of, the singing of classical music. it could be argued that the
voice is treated as an instrument in classical music where, in other music,
it is an extension of speech. comparing musical theater to opera, for
example, musical theater is a play that is sung. the characters are
conversing on pitch. opera seeks to 'represent' the emotions of the
characters. in MT, the singers often sound like they are 'talk-singing' (at
its best, it sounds like they are flying, just like in 'crouching tiger,
hidden dragon') where, in opera, the voice, treated instrumentally, is
distorted (normally, i do mean that badly but, not in this context). in
most kinds of music, the piano is still treated as an instrument and, while i
might argue that there are skills pianists can't learn from classical
teachers (because the classical teachers are clueless in these areas), the
treatment of the instrument, as an instrument, is essentially the same,
though the style may vary.

in the treatment of the voice as an instrument, words are a pesky
annoyance. in the treatment of singing as an extension of speech, words are
everything. for those who use the voice as an instrument, that singing can
often feel as if it comes from a different voice than the one speech comes
from, largely because it is treated so very differently. obviously, if one
is singing something that is speech based, it should be clear, that singing
comes from the same voice one speaks with. to me, this implies a need for
very different training.

mike






emusic.com