Training the Singing Voice - online book

An exploration of the theories, methods & techniques of Voice training.

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	CHAPTER II
	CONCEPTS OF VOCAL PEDAGOGY
	D efinition: In a general sense, pedagogy refers to the principles and methods employed in practicing the art or profession o£ teaching. Specifically it is a system of imparting knowledge by formulating, regulating and applying the principles and rules that per­tain to the acquisition of a particular type of knowledge or skill. Since the subject herein treated is the training of the singing voice, the term vocal pedagogy, as used in this treatise, may be interpreted to mean: the aggregate of principles, rules and procedures pertaining to the develop­ment, exercise and practice of the art of singing; and the process of train­ing, by a prescribed course of study or technical discipline, the individ­ual's innate capacity for vocal utterance in song. These general concepts are derived from definitions in The Dictionary of Education [706] and Webster's New International Dictionary (second edition). Other defini­tions pertaining to concepts of vocal pedagogy are provided, when needed, throughout this text. Table One, at the beginning of this chapter, presents a tabulation of all the concepts reviewed herein, as well as the outline or working plan followed in the chapter. Theories of Vocal Pedagogy introductory concepts The singing voice. The word voice (from vocare: to call) has several different meanings in its applications to the pedagogy of singing. The most common one is given by Webster: voice k sound uttered by the mouth of human beings "in speech or song, crying, shouting, etc." Since the term has many facets, each presenting either functional or theoretical aspects of a parent concept, multiple definitions are necessary. The fol­lowing are typical: 1. voice as sound: the singing voice is the tonal output of the singer;