MUS 356: VOCAL PEDAGOGY

Professor:   Ben R. King	Office:  CFA105
Place:   CFA300	Extension:  4000
Time:   6M (2:15-3:05 Mondays & Wednesdays)	E-mail: Ben King
Semester: Spring 2007	Office Hours:  8:30-9:00 M-F or by appt.

             

Texts/Readings:

McCoy, Scott. Your Voice: An Inside View. Princeton: Inside View Press (2004). ISBN: 0-9755307-2-0.

Supplementary readings:

Ware, Clifton . Basics of Vocal Pedagogy: The Foundations and Process of Singing. NY: McGraw Hill College Division (1998). ISBN:  0-07-068289-5. (2 copies on reserve)

Class Bibliography

The NATS Bulletin/Journal/Journal of Singing (NATS)

Journal of Research in Singing (JRS)

Standard Resource and Reference Texts. 

This is an especially important part of the course: most current thought and research regarding vocal pedagogy is found in journals, and working knowledge of the standard reference literature is a critical part of your tool chest.

Goals:

Students completing this course with a C or above will have a basic (or better) understanding of the human vocal tract, its place in the psycho-physical/intellectual-emotional matrix of music-making and its artistic function in song. They will have mastered basic techniques of educating singing students and of training the human body as a singing instrument. They will have acquired practical experience in teaching voice in the standard format:  one-on-one studio work. While the principal focus of this course is on the voice as a solo instrument in the Western classical tradition, the principles covered in this course are also applicable to choral, theatrical, popular, and specifically Christian genres. 

Requirements:

1.   Teach at least one voice student (preferably 2) meeting one-half hour per week minimum (preferably one hour in 2 1/2‑hour sessions), for twelve weeks [lessons] minimum. Ideally the student should not have studied voice previously. The student will be heard three times:  once in the second full week of class, once around mid‑term, and once during the final examination. Class members are responsible for accompanying arrangements for these seminar performances. It is appropriate to charge a modest fee for these lessons if that is feasible (c. $7/half hour or $12/hr).

2.  Keep a journal/notebook of class lecture and reading notes, private lesson procedure, vocal problems and attempted solutions, repertory, etc. Per my usual, handwritten work is not acceptable, only printout or on disk.

3.  Readings: assimilated as assigned, in order to contribute to class discussion. Any reading material assigned, including the full content of class text, is hereby declared fair game for examination and or daily quiz questions.

4.  Class attendance and participation: this is a seminar. We will be talking together about this whole sordid affair during much of the semester. Your verbal participation and orally demonstrated evidence of outside preparation will have a major effect on your grade. There will be individual or small-group presentations or reports through the semester. The body of knowledge and experience necessary to successful voice and choral teaching must become more or less at your fingertips.

5. Attendance at all voice faculty and student vocal degree recitals during the semester, with a brief review of each, to be turned at the following class period and subsequently included in your journal/notebook.

6. Observe at least two hours of lessons in the studios of Professors Thomas, Hijleh, & Reigles, annotated for your notebook.

7.  A rather large bash of some sort at some point. Stay tuned, folks.

Grading:

This is a seminar in theory and practice. While I have some definite opinions on the subject, I am firmly convinced that the best way to master any such area of endeavor is to do it while thinking about it.  Therefore, the majority of your grade will be determined by evaluating how you work with your student, as evidenced by your lesson journal and as demonstrated by the student’s singing for us, combined with your written and oral commentary on same.

I realize fully that this grade will be to some degree subjective. However, there is a sizable body of factual information and professional opinion available to you, and your assimilation of this will be tested as well. Here's how it breaks down:

Evidence of diligent attention to growth as a teacher as reflectedvia in-class demonstrations and your lesson journal	30%
Class attendance, preparation, and effective participation	25%
Exams	35%
Notebook/Journal, including article reviews, notes, and lesson journal	10%
Demonstrated Mastery of IPA*	0%

*Exam [Pass/Fail: 75% = passing] to be given three times during semester: at beginning, mid-term, and during final four. Failure to pass will reduce grade one full letter.

 

Notebook Organization/Format, Organization

Format

Either in a three-ring binder with dividers or on disk [MS Word, saved in .RTF format]. A three-ring binder allows easy re-organization of material as circumstances, need, or changing organization styles warrant; naturally, computer-input offers maximum flexibility to you in organization and use of data, and has the added benefit of putting the material through your mind a second time as you transcribe and organize.

Methods of computer input:

Organization

Section One

Class notes, organized either chronologically or subjectively [IMHO, subjective coverage is more useful to you later on].

                        Sample Subject Headings

concepts	literature, style & interpretation:
physiology/posture	American
respiration	British
phonation	German
resonation	French
range	Italian
dynamics	Spanish
aural skills	Other
diction	translation
medical matters	interpretation, general

This section will also include handouts and resources from group presentations, filed in the appropriate category.

Section Two

Readings Notes, organized subjectively (use // subject headings in both class notes and reading notes, for your own sake), with full bibliographic citation at top of each page, either as a header or initial in the body of text.

Section Three

Teaching lesson journal, yours and your student's: have the student keep a notebook of lessons, along with some sort of weekly and a final summary [either via my weekly report format or one you devise:  it should be quite short and not a burden at all on the student.].

General Caveats:

N.B.:  Computer or printer failure of any sort is not acceptable as a reason for not turning in any work when due, not having a presentation prepared, or any other occurrence. You are responsible for maintaining sufficient back-ups of your information so that the information can be gotten to working machines in time for presentation [normally three copies will do:  hard drive, floppy, and either network or backup device such as Zip, CD-ROM, floptical, or flash]. Also, to work without autosave at 7:00 or less or without hitting save keys after every three—six sentences is to court severe frustration and lost effort.  You are warned!

N.B. Any student who may have any unobservable disability, such as a learning disability, should report to Student Academic Services, newly located on the second floor of the Chamberlain Center, for assistance. I will be pleased to work in conjunction with them to assist as possible. Appropriate documentation of any claimed disability is the student's responsibility. If you have questions regarding this issue, contact Student Academic Services, x2610.

N.B. The class overview, calendar, and readings found on the class home page, <campus.houghton.edu/webs/employees/bking/VocalPed/MUS356.htm>, form an integral part of this syllabus.