JOS On Point

The Composition of a Voice Lesson: How a Motor Learning Classification Framework Affects Teacher Effectiveness

uthor Michaela Kelly explores an essential question: how much does talking versus singing alter the effectiveness of a voice lesson? In the May/June issue of the Journal of Singing, Kelly’s feature article, “The Composition of a Voice Lesson: How a Motor Learning Classification Framework Affects Teacher Effectiveness,” explores this question based on her recent survey of sixty-two singers and teachers. Kelly’s research revealed a significant and surprising disconnect between teachers’ beliefs about how much they should talk in a lesson, versus how much time students should sing, and what actually occurred in her study.

JOS-081-5-2025-533.pdf (application/pdf, 4070.2 K) posted at 10:26 AM, June 10, 2025

The Effect of Tongue Position on Spectra in Singing

The Anniversary Issue (September/October 2019) issue of Journal of Singing, marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), includes many articles and columns from various periods in the periodical’s history. One, “The Effect of Tongue Position on Spectra in Singing,” is particularly noteworthy. It is coauthored by Richard Miller and Harm Kornelis Schutte, both icons of voice pedagogy and voice science, and is one of the early examples of research using spectrograms. The article is as fresh today as when it was published in 1981.

JOS-076-1-2019-25_The_Effect_of_Tongue_Position_on_Spectra_in_Singing.pdf (application/pdf, 2286 K) posted at 10:45 AM, October 8, 2019

The Effects of Age on the Voice, Part 1

Laryngologists, speech-language pathologists, and voice teachers need to be familiar with the important, clinically relevant, and age-related changes that occur in the human voice. In his continuing column “Care of the Professional Voice” published in the September/October issue of the Journal of Singing, noted otolaryngologist and author, Robert T. Sataloff, and colleague, otolaryngologist Karen M. Kost, begin a three part series, “The Effects of Age on the Voice.”

JOS-077-01-2020-63.pdf (application/pdf, 373.9 K) posted at 3:15 PM, October 6, 2020

The effects of childhood sexual abuse on singers

The voice grows with the body and is intrinsically linked to the self in physical and emotional ways. Thus linked, a body that has endured trauma suffers inevitable effects on the voice in its capacity as instrument. In “The Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Singers,” published in the March/April edition of Journal of Singing, Lauren McQuistin examines how childhood sexual abuse can create difficulties for the young classical singer, informing teachers how to consider and navigate them effectively. It is an important article that unfortunately has increasing applicability in the voice studio.

JOS-076-04-2020-423_-_Effects_of_Childhood_Sexual_Abuse_on_Singers_-_McQuistin.pdf (application/pdf, 184.6 K) posted at 9:51 AM, March 3, 2020

The Effects of Hormonal Contraception on the Voice: History of its Evolution in the Literature

The fluctuation of hormones in the menstrual cycle has significant effects on the voice. Singing teachers should be familiar with the vocal effects of hormones and of hormonal medications such as oral contraceptives, especially in light of recent changes in their chemistry and effects. Jennifer Rodney and Robert T. Sataloff address these issues in their article, “The Effects of Hormonal Contraception on the Voice: History of its Evolution in the Literature,” in the March/April 2019 issue of “Journal of Singing,” with informative conclusions and practical application.

JOS-075-4-2019-435_-_Effects_of_Hormonal_Contraception_on_the_Voice_-_Rodney_-_Sataloff.pdf (application/pdf, 231.2 K) posted at 10:16 AM, May 7, 2019

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