JOS On Point

Reclaiming 'Romantic’: The Art Songs of Tom Cipullo

With his more than 100 art songs, American composer Tom Cipullo ranks among the more prolific contemporary contributors to the genre. In the January/February Journal of Singing, Elizabeth Ann Benson, in her article “Reclaiming ‘Romantic’: The Art Songs of Tom Cipullo,” examines the life, musical style, and selected songs of Cipullo, from the added perspective of having coached the pieces with the composer. The article is enhanced with reference to audio examples on the NATS web site.

JOS-075-3-2019-253_-_Reclaiming_Romantic_-_Elizabeth_Ann_Benson.pdf (application/pdf, 2535.5 K) posted at 3:22 PM, January 7, 2019

Reflecting, Rethinking, Revising, and Reframing

The September/October issue of the Journal of Singing includes associate editor Matthew Hoch’s thoughts on how pedagogues might reinvigorate their teaching, artistry, and scholarship. In “Reflecting, Rethinking, Revising, and Reframing,” Hoch notes that seasoned pedagogues may fall into routines that can become stagnant if not intentionally revitalized. He suggests ways for teachers to exit their comfort zones, including embracing technology and staying up to date on recent scholarship, while also letting go of perfectionism through positive reframing, allowing teachers to follow their passion and explore unanswered questions in the field of voice pedagogy.

JOS-081-1-2024-59.pdf (application/pdf, 275 K) posted at 11:30 AM, September 16, 2024

Registers—The Snake Pit of Voice Pedagogy

First attempts to define registers hark back to the 13th century. Since then, more than 100 different terms for this phenomenon found in scholarly writing have rendered registers one of the most controversial aspects of the singing act. In part one of his article, “Registers—The Snake Pit of Voice Pedagogy,” published in the November/December issue of the Journal of Singing, noted singing teacher and voice scientist Christian Herbst addresses difficult issues of definitions and pedagogic application, particularly in terms of proprioception, perception, and laryngeal mechanisms.

JOS-077-02-2020-175.pdf (application/pdf, 1408.5 K) posted at 1:59 PM, December 9, 2020

Regulating Vocal Load in High Impact Production

The pop/rock canon is perhaps one of the most challenging genres to teach effectively, especially in the absence of a systematic pedagogy that accounts for both stylistic considerations and vocal health. Authenticity in style often calls for sounds that result in high impact production or vocal load. Performer, pedagogue, and leading expert on contemporary voice pedagogy, Justin Moniz, in his article, “Regulating Vocal Load in High Impact Production,” published in the May/June issue of the Journal of Singing, addresses these challenges, discussing foundational elements, manipulating registers, navigating resonance strategies, and matters of counterbalance and conditioning.

JOS_078_5_2022_601.pdf (application/pdf, 620.3 K) posted at 9:09 AM, June 27, 2022

Rethinking the Italian Twenty-Four Songs and Arias: Exploring Classical Vocal Literature Selection Through the Lens of Bel Canto Technique

In the May/June issue of the Journal of Singing, authors Stephen Groth and John Seesholtz reevaluate the standard Twenty-Four Italian Songs and Arias of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. In their article, “Rethinking the Italian Twenty-Four Songs and Arias: Exploring Classical Vocal Literature Selection Through the Lens of Bel Canto Technique,” they outline the congruent fundamental principles of important voice pedagogues of the bel canto era, reorder the twenty-four songs to match the pedagogic progression outlined in historical writings, and offer an additional list of twenty-four Italian pieces that exemplify bel canto training practices.

JOS-081-5-2025-511.pdf (application/pdf, 3245.9 K) posted at 11:44 AM, June 10, 2025

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