Exploring Instrumental Sounds in the Voice Studio: A Pedagogical Approach

Abstract

In academic vocal performance programs, singers often collaborate with pianists. This makes sense: the majority of solo vocal literature is written for voice and piano, which is true of both the art song genre and orchestral reductions of operas. The piano is a very helpful instrument for singers because it is one of the few instruments that can offer full harmonic context for a piece of music. It also has a large range and various articulation possibilities, which can lead to a wide variety of sounds. However, like any instrument, it has its limitations. If vocalists perform only with the sound of the piano, singers may be consciously or unconsciously restricting their own possible tonal outcomes by what they hear (or, by what they do not hear). To teach singers to learn about their own voice and the art of collaboration, it is important to create spaces in collegiate music programs for singers to collaborate with instruments other than piano. What might singers learn about their own voices when they begin to sing with string, woodwind, or brass instruments?

Through an innovative synthesis of vocal pedagogy, instrumental pedagogy, and music physics sources, this dissertation offers a new pedagogical tool for voice teachers: using the sounds and properties of musical instruments to reveal capabilities of the vocal instrument. It views the sounds of instruments from a singer’s perspective in three different ways: exploring onsets, timbre at the vocal fold level (referred to as the “breathy-to-pressy spectrum” or the “closed quotient” aspect of the voice), and formant-like structures. The information explored makes parallels between the voice and plucked strings, bowed strings, woodwinds, and brass instruments. The dissertation concludes with a section on the pedagogical benefits of singing with chamber instruments, and offers possible models regarding how undergraduate music programs may create structures to allow for singers and instrumentalists to collaborate in meaningful ways. These guides encourage voice students to think more creatively about the music-making process and foster their growth towards becoming twenty-first century musicians.