Embracing Diversity in Singing: What Defines Good Singing Today?
In July 2024 Dr Gillyanne Kayes gave a keynote speech at the Association of Teachers of Singing summer conference. Here’s Part 1 of her Keynote, with the first slide and the opening challenge to singers, singing teachers, vocal coaches and choral leaders.
“What is good singing?
There are so many changes in our profession, and honestly, sometimes it feels challenging to keep up. I want you to take a moment to think about this and write it down. What is good singing? Write down 3 words or phrases – ‘What3Words’ good singing? Anything that comes to you intuitively – there are no wrong answers. I fully expect that everybody’s 3 words and phrases will be slightly different. As they should be.
What you have written down informs what, who and how you teach. In a recent FB post that came up on my feed – (I don’t think I should be on Facebook at all!) – the OP opined that perhaps the use of microphones was the reason for the poor diction that Patti Lupone had recently commented on at the Oscar performances. Honestly, I was so shocked to read some of the comments in this day and age! The worst one being: “And when you take the mic away from them, they have NO VOICE”.
Now I know I’m speaking to the choir here, but if people are still saying this in 2024 we have work to do.
So this story and the slide encapsulate one of the biggest changes we’ve experienced this century – how we view genre and musical style. And that many of us need to be multi-genre in our teaching.
Embracing a multi-genre teaching culture allows us to be inclusive, and also fosters diversity and equity. And it’s changing not only what we teach, but HOW. Our goals are different. And this doesn’t mean everybody in this room must now immediately learn to teach all genres. It’s about having openness to what they are, and allowing other people’s pedagogies to inform yours.”
Gillyanne’s Further Reflections
When we think about use of words in singing – how important is it for them to be intelligible and how does that relate to genre?
If we ARE looking for intelligibility (as in Musical Theatre for example), can that be addressed by ‘projection’? https://www.theguardian.com/stage/article/2024/jun/10/i-cant-understand-a-lyric-patti-lupone-laments-lost-art-of-projection-in-musical-theatre
Because it was the word ‘projection’ that folk picked up and ran with on that FB post; without understanding that ‘projection’ of consonants is not necessarily the same as acoustic projection of the singing voice. LuPone also talked about the issue of ‘overbearing’ sound mixing.
If the balance of phonemes in a syllable isn’t geared towards intelligibility e.g. if you’re emphasising the vowel length over consonants, or producing each syllable with the same volume level, then no, we won’t be able to hear and understand the words. And I have no doubt that if the sound technician doesn’t also take that into account, it will be difficult for the singer to convey the words, no matter how hard they work.
Let’s be clear though – singing with a microphone is not the problem.
How do you define good singing? What are your three words that sum up your beliefs and understanding?
And what are your thoughts on using a microphone – does it replace vocal technique, enhance it or is it a tool to be used intentionally with certain musical styles?
How important is it for you to be able to teach multi-genre, and do you have to be expert in all of them?
Click here for part 2 of Gillyanne’s AOTOS Keynote – What Does A Singing Teacher Do?
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