In a message dated 11/16/02 7:07:37 AM, Greypins@a... writes:
<< i had a friend in
college (a female classical singer) who used to practice in her first floor
apartment. one day, after practicing, she was headed to the grocery store.
the kids in the neighborhood had been standing outside her apartment. they
asked her "hey lady, what were you doing in there?" she said "i was
practicing my singing." the boy responded "oh! we thought you were crazy."
>>
Okay, I've avoided getting into this one but now I can't resist. There have
been several assertions made by the "pop" side of the debate that involve
jumping to conclusions on flimsy anecdotal evidence.
For example:
I bellieve that Buzz stated that more classically trained singers present
with irreversibly damaged vocal cords. He attributes this presumed higher
level of damage to classical technique, which he apparently views as
inherently unhealthy.
A more careful, objective examination of the facts could very well indicate
the opposite to be true. It's entirely possible that classically trained
singers are far more likely than pop singers to seek out an expert medical
opinion. Also, pop singers, who have far greater freedom to incorporate
raspy, hoarse sounds into their range of artistic expression may not consider
their voices to be badly damaged when in fact they are.
I don't say this to attack Buzz, only to point out the fact that a single
statistic (in this case really an anecdotal observation) should in no way be
interpreted as proof that more classical singers suffer vocal damage than pop
singers.
Mike's anecdote doesn't tell us what, specifically, made the boys think that
she was crazy. It may not have been her "classical technique" at all. Many
vocal exercises can sound pretty crazy. Practicing a single phrase over and
over to get it right can make you sound crazy. The repetition can be very
annoying. And then, there are a lot of soprano arias for characters who are,
after all, INSANE! That could very well have been what they were reacting to,
not the classical sound.
Judy
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