Promoting Good Vocal Model Awareness in Karaoke Singers
Cathryn Robson BA (Hons) Music, CT ABRSM
www.singshop.co.uk – Online Singing Evaluations and Lessons
During a recent conference I attended singing teachers discussed the concept of curriculum and arrived at a rather succinct description, that of it simply being a ‘From-To’. It was further qualified that this ‘From-To’ would inevitably vary with each student, depending on their particular aims.
Working in a tourist area where karaoke bars, venues and competitions proliferate, singers for whom karaoke is the sole vocal activity form a good 30 per cent of my studentship. The challenges karaoke singers present to a voice teacher are consistent; infrequent exposure to good vocal models, lack of imperative to memorise lyrics and weak internalisation of pulse and rhythm. While all of these musical criteria are important to address, this essay will reflect on some current curriculum tools for developing good vocal model awareness in karaoke students. The question ‘what is a good vocal model?’ is begged. Cultural context defines such an ambiguity and within Western popular music this could be anything between an effective to virtuosic voice. This essay should go some way to answering my own question.
Recent research shows that karaoke, second only to singing along with the radio, is the most popular vocal activity for adults who had a negative experience of singing during school years. Many of these belated singers are ‘…more likely to believe someone else’s judgement about their voice than their own’1. Whether or not this is due to lack of self-confidence, lack of musical experience or both the poor vocal models on the karaoke circuit cannot do much to improve discrimination. Curiously, the original singers who are good vocal role models can be forgotten, with karaoke singers self-referencing and comparing their own performances to other local karaoke singers. My own students reflect a pattern that is typical; several are naturally gifted while the remainder are challenged by pitching difficulties, poor support/breathing habits and/or a harsh tone.
Developing a student’s confidence in their own ability to discriminate is vital. In making curriculum decisions Keith Swanwick remarks that ‘…the only good reasons for choosing anything is that it has musical potential.’ 2 While the material karaoke singers bring to lessons invariably has musical potential I consider working with backing tracks anathema to the development of it. They are excellent practice tools but they go some way to annihilating what innate musicianship a singer may possess. In respect to vocal models they prevent a singer from truly experiencing their voice as an instrument but merely as another layer in the backing track. A recent student concert yielded some interesting responses; karaoke singers were critical of the live professional accompaniment and the lack of sound system believing that these elements had hindered their own performances. On the other hand, one student told me that, having had the opportunity to perform with an accompanist she now finds backing tracks intolerable. Both responses oblige me to consider how I can further encourage these singers to value their voices as independent instruments.
Aiming for this, in lessons I steer the student away from backing track dependency, using chord sheets to accompany them. While this may seem commonplace, with karaoke singers it isn’t, playbacks being preferred. Chord accompaniment exposes bad vocal habits. Ironically, my own deficient keyboard skills go some way to aiding the students. My keyboard accompaniment is sparse and as the singer does not have the support of the vocal line in the music it means that they have to rely heavily on their ‘thinking voice’. It is remarkable how dramatically breath control and pitching improves because of this. Getting a student to sing songs in both the ‘thinking’ and ‘singing’ voices proves to be a very useful exercise. Scales and arpeggios can be practised in the same way, helping to build accurate internal pitch. As there is no imperative for these students to learn to read music they are relying totally on aural skills to acquire repertoire. The popular tradition is aural and the learning style follows suite.
Paul Harris, in his book ‘Improve Your Teaching!’ remarks that ‘…one of the great things about the art of musical performance is that anyone …… can give a masterful performance.’3 This remark certainly held true for the student concert, with me having to privately acknowledge that one of the most moving performances came from a singer with poor pitch. However, this is unusual and publicly I am required to advocate good pitch awareness! Improvisation warm-ups are also proving an effective means of developing this in karaoke students. The student and I will begin with a ‘call and imitation’ in the key of a song they are working on. During this process accurate pitching is practised with the student having to stay within the scale. Even if their tuning is weak I return their ‘call’ correctly, which helps align their own pitch awareness. We then progress to ‘call and response’. Many students find this intimidating at first but after a few attempts they being to enjoy it. I notice that the student often uses their ‘thinking voice’ to work out a response before vocalising it; ‘I don’t know what to do, let me think about it.’ Initially I was adamant that students did not think too much about the shape of their response, wanting them to develop spontaneity, but latterly I have seen the advantage of them considering their responses internally. Self-confidence and musicality increase through improvisation. Paul Harris’ book is full of imaginative approaches to using this tool.
On another front, improvisation can be used to improve awareness of choice in voice ‘colouring’. I have used this for several years with young students but have yet to devise a systematic method for mature students. Asking an adult to sing a ‘blue’, ‘icy’ or ‘creamy’ scale is more often than not met with suspicion and embarrassment.
Voice colouring awareness can evolve through repertoire itself. It is notable how many karaoke singers have no qualms about tackling show songs and the more demanding end of popular music. This rather enviable naivety is surely a result of karaoke’s instant achievement culture. As popular music is easily accessible, so its vocal technique is assumed to be. A few months ago a karaoke singer came to the first lesson wishing to belt out ‘Somewhere’ from West Side Story, an advanced piece within an exam syllabus and beyond the student’s current technical ability. The way round it was to adjust the key and to arrange the song as a colla voce ballad. Within this new arrangement plenty was achieved, notably the student using more considered breathing and experimenting with voice colour effectively. Returning to vocal model awareness, at a suitable point we will listen to and discuss the song in its original context to ensure the student appreciates the difference between her own ‘’sound’ and the music theatre ‘sound’. Should the student stay the course we will eventually look at belt technique. It is productive to ‘…experiment with varying moods or colours within a song…’ leaving students to ‘…decide which would be most appropriate for the character of the music.’4 Autonomy is developed and assimilated and the student progresses further up the spiral5.
I sometimes introduce the Vaccaj vocalises into the curriculum of karaoke singers. These are taught aurally in the original Italian. The aim is to help the student move out of their comfort zone by experimenting with different vocal styles and languages, a sort of musical ‘brain gym’. Invariably this is a successful diversion. The student’s confidence is increased as they realise they are able to tackle music they have previously thought inaccessible. In addition the considered technique required for classical singing has a beneficial impact on the singer’s vocal control and, more subtly, in experiencing what classical singing is the singer becomes more aware of what popular singing is not, i.e. the student starts to learn objectivity about their ‘default’ vocal style. A karaoke student practising a high section in a Diana Ross ballad complained that she was singing it in a ‘classical voice’ and that it ‘wasn’t working’. Identifying this she adjusted to a pop sound. Another student decided that she wanted to explore classical music further as a result of singing the Vaccaj.
Karaoke repertoire is almost exclusively popular with inroads being made into music theatre. Some exam bodies have graded syllabi devoted to these repertoire groups. It is quite a revelation to study these syllabi and the vocal/ performance technique required for each grade. They prove very useful in helping me
evolve a ‘karaoke curriculum’. Dipping into exam repertoire keeps vocal model awareness at the forefront as the material makes specific demands on a singer’s technique.
Finally, in cultivating good vocal model awareness I have started to exploit the karaoke medium itself. Students practise favourite songs obsessively and I encourage them to take advantage of the recording facilities available with most karaoke equipment by recording practice sessions and listening critically to them, analysing breath control, pitching accuracy and quality of overall vocal tone. These recordings serve as a sort of practice diary and we listen to them during lessons, with feedback given from all sides. Lessons themselves are always recorded to further facilitate critical listening. Uniquely amongst students, karaoke singers tend to be unselfconscious about listening back to their voices, welcoming feedback from family and friends in the process.
Progress is monitored in these reactions. Several karaoke students have commented that other singers on the circuit have noticed an improvement in their voices. Most gratifying is when a student informs me that they recognise an improvement in their singing – and why.
Overall most of my karaoke students are content to settle at the ‘Idiomatic’ stage of the Swanwick/ Tillman musical development spiral. This leaves me in the curious position of having to respect the student’s aspirations while feeling frustrated by what I perceive to be lower than necessary expectations. However, this is the individual ‘From-To’ in action. Other students do move beyond this stage, such as the aforementioned singer who is starting to appreciate live accompaniment and the effect its unpredictable ‘musical energy’ has on her singing. Another student is using karaoke as a vehicle to develop his outstanding singing and creative abilities, expressing good model awareness in his own songs through independent and informed vocal choices. Such students value their emerging musicianship and eventually will move on from the constraints of their current medium.
Karaoke has democratised singing and this democratisation has created more learning and teaching opportunities. Its culture is such that huge progress should be possible with its naturally gifted singers; the regular practice/ performance and the hunger to emulate original singers should move mountains in a committed student/ teacher relationship. I conclude that any failure to realise a karaoke student’s potential is partly due to a lack of appreciation of the students’ learning style, which is aural. Taking this into account, the curriculum’s ‘points of entry’6 need to be arrived at through imagination and experimentation – a process in which I am still engaged.
Similar to that of my students my own learning curve has been steep. Working regularly with karaoke singers has prompted me to investigate vocal methods such as those of Seth Riggs and Jo Estill in order to bolster my own toolbox. Pedagogically speaking, teaching students whose musical experience is raw and limited has proven an invaluable challenge, compelling me to invent and re-invent approaches to ‘From-Tos’ on an almost daily basis. A recent doubt in my teaching diary ‘…teaching people singing sometimes feels like taking their power from them…’ is unresolved though I sincerely hope that raising good vocal model awareness contributes to doing exactly the opposite.
Bibliography:
Turton, A. & Durrant, C. (2002) Adults’ reflections on their singing experience in secondary school, CUP*
Swanwick, K. (1988) Music, Mind and Education, Routledge
Harris, P. (2006) Improve Your Teaching!, Faber Music
Davies, Hollingworth, Mitcham, Pegler, Wilding, (2002) A Common Approach: Voice, FMS/ NAME/ RCM°
*Cambridge University Press
° Federation of Music Services/ National Association of Music Educators/ Royal College of Music
1 Adults’ reflections on their singing experiences in secondary school, Turton, A. / Durrant, C. 2002
2 Music, Mind, and Education, Swanwick, K. 1988
3 Improve Your Teaching!, Harris, P. 2006
4 A Common Approach – Voice, Davies, Hollingworth, Mitcham, Pegler, Wilding, 2002
5 Swanwick/Tillman Spiral of Musical Development, 1986
6 Music, Mind and Education, Swanwick, K. 1988
© Cathryn Robson 2009
Cathryn Robson (BA Hons, CT ABRSM) is a trained vocalist and internationally qualified voice coach versed in the latest singing and teaching methods. Her coaching experience spans a decade and includes both private tuition and group classes of beginner to advanced singers. She is the founder of Singshop on-line voice coaching which offers singing evaluations and lessons for beginners to intermediate singers.
Cathryn studied singing and composition at Brighton University and Goldsmiths College, London in addition to performance training with English National Opera’s ‘The Knack’. Her singing experience includes contemporary, jazz and classical repertoire. She is a certified voice coach with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and a member of AOTOS (Association of Teachers of Singing, UK) and the PRS (Performing Rights Society).
She has performed and recorded extensively throughout the UK and Europe, including appearances on Classic FM, Radio 3, Liberty Radio, London and BBC Radio Napa.
She is currently collaborating with British composer Billy Cowie on the installation ‘Ghosts in the Machine’. She is also voice coach for European choreographer Lia Haraki for the contemporary dance project ‘Party Animals’ which will be shown in London, Prague and Athens in Summer/Autumn 2009.
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