MUSIC 433: Vocal Pedagogy

MUSIC 6564: Advanced Vocal Pedagogy

Course Syllabus: Fall, 2002

Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing Undergraduate Credit, 2 semester hours

Graduate Credit, 3 semester hours

Catalog Description: This course is a study of the anatomy, physiology, and acoustics of singing as applied to healthy vocal function and the teaching of singing.

Course Rationale: Music 433 and MUS 6564 are integral parts of the curriculum for vocal performance majors, vocal emphasis students in music education and church music, graduate vocal performance majors, graduate vocal pedagogy majors, and as an elective for graduate music education majors. The course acknowledges that all students who study singing as a part of their major will also be teachers of singing and, therefore, will be fulfilling a unique and vital position in the teaching of performance arts and in the service of others.

Learning Objectives: The student will be expected to acquire a thorough understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the muscles and mechanism for breathing, phonation, resonance, and posture, and an awareness of how the coordination of these functions is achieved in singing and in methods for the teaching of singing.

Academic Integrity: The catalog statement in regard to AHonesty@ (2002-2003 Mississippi College Undergraduate Bulletin, p. 53) and Mississippi College Policy 2.19, which refers to academic integrity, will be scrupulously followed and applied to standards of behavior for all students in this class.

Graduate Orientation: Two important sources of information should be read thoroughly.

A hard copy of the Graduate Orientation Manual may be obtained from the Graduate Office in Nelson 202 and may be viewed at: http://www/mc.edu/publications/graduate/orientation.html. A hard copy of the Music Department Graduate Orientation Manual may be obtained from the Music Department Office.

Texts:

Doscher, Barbara M. The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice, 2^nd ed. London: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1994

Miller, Richard. The Structure of Singing. New York: Schirmer Books, 1986.

Methods of Instruction: The course will be taught by lecture, chart studies, and teaching demonstrations.

Outline of Course Topics:

A. A Summary of the History of Vocal Pedagogy

B. Pedagogical Attitudes

C. Anatomical Terminology

D. Respiration

E. The Anatomy of the Larynx

1. The Structure

2. Intrinsic Laryngeal Musculature

3. Extrinsic Laryngeal Musculature

F. Phonation

G. Posture

H. The Physical Nature of Sound

I. Vocal Resonance and Articulation

J. Fixed Formants and Vowel Modification

K. Vocal Registers

L. Voice Classification

M. Vibrato

N. Vocal Abuse and Misuse

O. Vocal Hygiene

Required Practices: The student will be required to maintain all reading assignments in the Course Schedule and to complete written reviews of four articles in the Journal of Voice, the official journal of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. These reviews must include proper bibliographic information. Students should be prepared to make an oral presentation of these reviews in class. Journal articles chosen for review must be approved by the instructor.

Graduate Credit: In addition to the above requirements, graduate students will also submit a research paper of 12 - 15 pages in length. Time permitting, students will make an oral presentation of these papers to the class. The topic must be approved by the instructor.

Grading: There will be two unit examinations and a final comprehensive examination. A portion of each succeeding examination will be material drawn from any of the previous tests. The three examinations will count 250 points each for a total of 750 points. The four written reviews will count 50 points each for a total of 200 points. The average of pop quizzes will be representative of 50 points. The total number of points for the semester is 1,000. On an eight-point traditional grading scale, these are the corresponding equivalents:

A = 93 - 100 or 930 - 1000

B = 85 - 92 or 850 - 929

C = 77 - 84 or 770 - 849

D = 69 - 76 or 690 - 769

F = 61 - 68 or 610 - 689

Additional Policies:

Attendance: Class attendance expectations will be consistent with university policy (2002-2003 Mississippi College Undergraduate Catalog, pp. 50-51).

Tardiness: Classes will begin on time. Since late entries are disruptive, students who enter after 5 minutes into the hour may be marked absent. The instructor reserves the right to administer pop quizzes at the beginning of class. Latecomers will not be allowed to take these tests and will receive a grade of 0 for missing the test.

Make-up Tests: The instructor will assist the student in making up work missed if an absence or tardy is excused, i.e., due to an unavoidable personal emergency or a situation which has been mutually and previously agreed upon by the instructor and student. Excused absences on a test day affords the student the ability to make up the test at a time convenient for all parties concerned. Major tests missed for any other reason earn a zero without the possibility of a make-up test.

Instructor: Nell Adams in Aven 401 at 925-3924 (or home at 924-0289). Please feel free to come by or call when necessary. Instructor Bibliography:

Alcantata, Pedro de. Indirect Procedures: A Musician=s Guide to the Alexander Technique. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997.

Alderson, Richard. Complete Handbook of Voice Training. West Nyack, N. Y.: Parker Publishing Company, 1979.

Appelmann, D. Ralph. The Science of Vocal Pedagogy. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1967.

Franca, Ida. Manual of Bel Canto. New York: Coward-McCann, Inc., 1959.

Joiner, James Richard. Charles Amable Battaille. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1998.

Kagen, Sergius. On Studying Singing. new York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1950.

McKinney, James. The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults, rev. ed. Nashville: Genevox Music Group, 1994.

Miller, Richard. On the Art of Singing. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Netter, Frank H. Atlas of Human Anatomy, 2^nd ed. East Hanover, N. J.: Novartis, 1997.

Sataloff, Robert Thayer. Vocal Health and Pedagogy. San Diego: Singular Publishing Group, Inc., 1998.

Ttize, Ingo R. Principles of Voice Production. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1994.

Vennard, William. Singing: The Mechanism and The Technic, rev. ed. Boston: Carl Fischer, Inc., 1967.

Ware, Clifton. Basics of Vocal Pedagogy. Boston: McGraw Hill,1998.