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CONCEPTS OF VOCAL PEDAGOGY |
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[26; also 587] and Owsley advises the teacher not to be afraid to try songs early in the program since idle vocalizing often destroys interest and quality. [441, p. 91]
The song approach. Grove's Dictionary of Music [708] defines song as "a short metrical composition [for solo voice] whose meaning is conveyed by the combined force of words and melody/' (See also Chapter X.) Songs are the most prevalent vehicles of artistic vocal-musical expression and are in common use wherever singing is practiced. Technical vocal training, therefore, has as its main purpose the preparation of the student for the singing of songs. Song singing is also commonly used as a studio test of proficiency at various stages of vocal progress and the vocal problems arising in the song itself are often used as technical exercises. The song approach, then, is a procedure for teaching the techniques of voice production through a study and analysis of the technical problems contained in the rendition of songs.
There is a difference of opinion concerning the efficacy of the song approach as a teaching device. Out of 34 statements on this subject, 24 are in favor of using songs as technical exercises and 10 are opposed to this procedure. The latter group hold that songs should be studied, not as a means to an end, but as the end itself or the ultimate achievement in technical training. The arguments for and against are presented in the form of summarizing statements:
For:
1. Singing should be taught by whole rather than by part methods. This means a minimum of local action techniques and a maximum of singing songs involving whole coordinations of the physical instrument. [Witherspoon 677, p. 14]
2. Interpretation should not lag behind production techniques since both are equally important and need simultaneous development. Songs should provide exercise material for both. [Samoiloff 484, p. 35]
3. "Drill [by rote] has an extremely minor place in voice building. . . . We should develop the voice in and through actual song material. . . . (This] is the best and most central means of voice building/' [Mursell and Glenn 413, p. 294]
4. "Avoid the traditional voice-lesson procedure of exercises, vocalises, and then songs. Devote many days entirely to work on songs- . . . When a song presents a difficulty, develop an exercise which will help to overcome the difficulty/* [Wilson 674, p. 5]
5. A singer's technique is acquired by practicing suitable materials, not by a study of the technicalities of singing. [Henderson 240, p. 79] |
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