JOS On Point

Under Pressure: Reports of Performance Anxiety Across Multiple Singing Genres

Music performance anxiety is the experience of heightened stress levels before, during, and after music performance, and it is reported that 15-25% of musicians will experience MPA in their career. While sharing a reliance on voice as the instrument, each separate field of contemporary commercial music, music theater, and classical has its own unique culture and expectations. In their article, “Under Pressure: Reports of Performance Anxiety Across Multiple Singing Genres,” published in the May/June 2022 issue of the Journal of Singing, Australian musicians, educators, and researchers Ajhriahna Henshaw and Sarah Collyer review the literature and examine the challenges posed in each genre.

JOS_078_5_2022_583.pdf (application/pdf, 512.8 K) posted at 9:07 AM, June 27, 2022

Use of Instrumentation in the Singing Studio

For generations, medical care and voice pedagogy have relied on subjective assessment of the voice. Subjective assessment often may work well, but the health and safety of patients and students in general are better served by more objective methods of voice assessment. In the March/April 2020 issue of Journal of Singing, noted otolaryngologist Robert T. Sataloff, in his article “Use of Instrumentation in the Singing Studio,” modified from a chapter in his book Professional Voice: The Science and Art of Clinical Care (4th ed.), reviews instrumentation for vocal fold vibration, phonatory ability, aerodynamic measures, acoustic analysis, and laryngeal electromyography. Much of this instrumentation is applicable to the voice studio.

JOS-076-04-2020-433.pdf (application/pdf, 200.6 K) posted at 8:19 AM, May 19, 2020

Using Theatrical Intimacy Practices to Create Vocal Health Boundaries

What are the proper steps for singers if asked by directors to vocally overextend themselves? How can singers speak up without being negatively labeled by management? What is the role of voice teachers in these situations? In their article, “Using Theatrical Intimacy Practices to Create Vocal Health Boundaries,” published in the September/October issue of Journal of Singing, Brian Manternach and David Eggers discuss establishing boundaries for singers to preserve vocal health and how to advocate for themselves in difficult situations.

JOS-079-1-2022-073.pdf (application/pdf, 369.3 K) posted at 4:22 PM, September 9, 2022

Viktor Ullmann’s Lieder der Tröstung: A Guide to His Cycle for Low Voice and String Trio

While imprisoned in the concentration camp at Theresienstadt, accomplished Austrian composer and Holocaust victim Viktor Ullmann (1898-1944) wrote a number of works, several of which were performed for the entertainment of Nazi captors and to present a deceptively positive face to the outside world. One of these works is explored in an article by Cynthia Smith, “Viktor Ulmann’s Lieder der Tröstung: A Guide to His Cycle for Low Voice and String Trio,” published in the May/June 2020 issue of the Journal of Singing. In her analysis of its music and Albert Steffan’s poetry, author Smith brings to light a cycle of deep significance that merits recognition and performance.

JOS-076-05-2020-533.pdf (application/pdf, 2981.7 K) posted at 2:02 PM, June 9, 2020

Vocal Learning and Songbirds: An Evolutionary Tale of Singing

A new column, “Minding the Gap,” authored by Heidi Moss Erickson, makes its initial appearance in the September/October issue of Journal of Singing. Her inaugural article, “Vocal Learning and Songbirds: An Evolutionary Tale of Singing,” explores the field of vocal learning from both an evolutionary and biological perspective, drawing upon current research on the neurobiological underpinnings of vocalization.

JOS-079-1-2022-087.pdf (application/pdf, 2369.7 K) posted at 10:40 AM, October 6, 2022

Vocal Trills: 18th-Century Performance Practice Considerations

Author Eric Laine’s article, “Vocal Trills: 18th-Century Performance Practice Considerations Viewed Through the Lens of 19th-Century Practical Vocal Methods,” featured in the May/June issue of the Journal of Singing, holds that while the trill was considered “an essential ornament” during the 18th century, “ modern singers seem less adept at trilling.” Laine considers four 19th-century vocal methods and practice plans for how to master the trill, utilizing Mozart’s opera Così fan tutte as a case study. Musical examples from each role are complemented with links to modern recordings of well-produced trills.

JOS-080-5-2024-519.pdf (application/pdf, 2102.2 K) posted at 12:24 AM, June 17, 2024

Vocapedia Reborn: A True Wiki Resource for Voice Teachers

Vocapedia, NATS’ online information resource, is featured in the “Practical Science” column in the November/December issue of the Journal of Singing. Author John Nix explains how Vocapedia, in existence since 2014, has recently undergone an extensive transformation into a true wiki format. Nix reviews the history of Vocapedia, discusses its new format, and urges voice teachers, collaborative pianists, choral directors, speech language pathologists, voice researchers, and others who enjoy and study the voice to not only consult this resource, but also to contribute to it in order to refine and update its content.

JOS-081-2-2024-193.pdf (application/pdf, 699.2 K) posted at 2:01 PM, November 25, 2024

Voice Pedagogy for the 21st Century: The Summation of Two Summits

An important special report, “Voice Pedagogy for the 21st Century: The Summation of Two Summits,” authored by the Voice Pedagogy Interest Group’s Writer’s Group cochairs Amelia Rollings Bigler and Katherine Osborne, along with several others, appears in the September/October issue of the Journal of Singing. More than 70 consensus statements from two summits of the VPIG resulted in a position paper that codifies the expanding competencies necessary for a contemporary teacher of singing and presents a vision of the ideal singing teacher’s education.

JOS-078-01-2021-11.pdf (application/pdf, 1245.1 K) posted at 3:39 PM, September 10, 2021

Voice Pedagogy for the 21st Century: The Summation of Two Summits

An important special report, “Voice Pedagogy for the 21st Century: The Summation of Two Summits,” authored by the Voice Pedagogy Interest Group’s Writer’s Group cochairs Amelia Rollings Bigler and Katherine Osborne, along with several others, appears in the September/October issue of the Journal of Singing. More than 70 consensus statements from two summits of the VPIG resulted in a position paper that codifies the expanding competencies necessary for a contemporary teacher of singing and presents a vision of the ideal singing teacher’s education.

JOS-078-01-2021-11.pdf (application/pdf, 1245.1 K) posted at 3:38 PM, September 10, 2021

Voice Pedagogy: Reframing Bel Canto in the Twenty-First Century: Dovetailing Tradition with Science-Informed Pedagogy

In the Voice Pedagogy column of the March/April issue of the Journal of Singing, author Matthew Hoch explores the meaning, context, and viability of the term “bel canto” in “Voice Pedagogy: Reframing Bel Canto in the Twenty-First Century: Dovetailing Tradition with Science-Informed Pedagogy.” Hoch uses James Stark’s seminal 1999 book Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy as a basis for reflecting upon the nexus between the classic master–pupil tradition and the modern science-informed era, and suggests an expansion of Stark’s definition of “bel canto,” adapted to the modern voice pedagogue.

JOS-080-4-2024-417.pdf (application/pdf, 460 K) posted at 2:05 PM, March 1, 2024

Voice, the Muscle of the Soul: Finding Yourself Through Finding Your Voice

Distinguished Frank C. Shattuck Professor of Music at Lawrence University and noted voice pedagogue Kenneth Bozeman’s May 2018 Honors Convocation address at the university appears as a Guest Editorial in the January/February issue of Journal of Singing. In “Voice, the Muscle of the Soul: Finding Yourself through Finding Your Voice,” Bozeman asserts that the voice is a sacred asset, crucial to how one connects with others, how one impacts the community, and how singing, a special form of voice, is an expression of the soul.

JOS-075-3-2019-245_-_Voice_the_Muscle_of_the_Soul_-_Bozeman.pdf (application/pdf, 336.3 K) posted at 11:44 AM, January 22, 2019

What a Shame! Limited Understanding of the Effects of Shame on Voice

In the May/June issue of the Journal of Singing, Elisa Monti and Lynn Maxfield, co- associate editors of the “Mindful Voice” column, discuss research about how the emotional state of voice users can impact voice quality and production, with a particular emphasis on shame. They note that there is “evidence that shame is rarely correlated with improved performance, much less learning,” and recommend that singing teachers “learn from other fields and work to mitigate their teaching practices that are likely to invoke shame in singers.

JOS-080-5-2024-585.pdf (application/pdf, 508.1 K) posted at 8:44 PM, June 24, 2024

What Science Is and What it Is Not

In the September/October issue of the Journal of Singing, co-authors David Meyer and John Nix explore questions of science — and crucially, why singers should care to know — in the first installment of their new “Practical Voice Science” column entitled “What Science Is and What it Is Not.” Their column is dedicated to making voice science concepts “understandable, relevant, and actionable for singers, singing teachers, collaborative pianists, opera directors, and choral conductors.” They aim to ignite the reader’s curiosity and demonstrate how science can transform the training of singers by enhancing teachers’ experience and intuition by applying scientific developments in the optimal function of the singing voice. Their new column is pitched to singers of all expertise levels.

JOS-080-1-2023-057.pdf (application/pdf, 194.7 K) posted at 2:36 PM, October 23, 2023

Who Believes What? Singers’ Belief in Vocal Health Information and Misinformation

Although evidence-based recommendations for voice care are available, misconceptions still abound. In their article, “Who Believes What? Singers’ Belief in Vocal Health Information and Misinformation,” published in the November/December issue of the Journal of Singing, Julia Edgar and Deirdre Michael report on an earlier survey of belief in vocal health practices. The authors conclude that voice teachers must become judicious consumers of information, examining their believe and how those are conveyed, in order to provide an environment of solid factual information to student singers.

JOS-078-02-2021-197.pdf (application/pdf, 436.5 K) posted at 4:32 PM, December 13, 2021

World Voice Day - Be Kind With Your Voice

Each year, the March/April issue of Journal of Singing marks World Voice Day, an annual event to celebrate the phenomenon of voice. The commemoration occurs on April 16, and the theme for 2019 is “Be Kind With Your Voice.” Both NATS President Karen Brunssen, in her “From the President” column, and Editor in Chief Richard Sjoerdsma, in his “Editor’s Commentary,” specifically address the provocative imperative. Brunssen writes principally from a pedagogic, performance, and collegial perspective, while Sjoerdsma wrestles with the theme in terms of its unity and humanity implications, especially in a culture where kindness is not only seldom practiced but often ridiculed as weakness. Implicitly and explicitly, both writers argue that artists who do not practice kindness end up destroying themselves.

JOS-075-4-2019-389_-_World_Voice_Day_-_Be_Kind_With_Your_Voice_-_Brunssen-Sjoerdsma.pdf (application/pdf, 472.2 K) posted at 11:09 AM, March 18, 2019

World Voice Day 2021

April 16 marks the annual commemoration of World Voice Day, and the WVD 2021 theme is “One World, Many Voices.” The Journal of Singing continues its tradition of celebrating this event on the cover and some continuing columns of the March/April issue. Among the latter is NATS President Carole Blankenship’s “From the President” column, in which she ties the theme to the new Diversity and Inclusion statement of the Association. Additionally, in his “Editor’s Commentary” Editor in Chief Richard Sjoerdsma examines the WVD theme from several perspectives, including song literature, vocal performance, and voice pedagogy.

JOS_March-April_21_pages_465-468.pdf (application/pdf, 145.9 K) posted at 11:26 AM, April 8, 2021

WVD and MO

Since 2002, resulting from an initiative by the American Academy of Otolaryngology, April 16 has been designated World Voice Day. Each year carries its own discrete theme, and the theme chosen for 2020 is “Focus On Your Voice in 2020.” In his “Editor’s Commentary” for the March/April issue of Journal of Singing, Editor in Chief Richard Sjoerdsma explores the metaphoric implications of the theme, particularly in terms of present sight, hindsight, and foresight.

JOS-076-4-2020-381.PDF (application/pdf, 345.7 K) posted at 12:26 PM, April 7, 2020

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