[My background: When I began singing lessons at age 14, I learned the 24 Italian Songs & Arias and a slew of handsome show tunes by the wonderful Mrs. Carolyn Seeman of Toledo, Ohio. After starting my “Opera career” at the Cincinnati-Conservatory of Music, I bailed when I had to learn languages. I was self-taught for the next eight years and then I got a masters in jazz. So, while I had awesome technique teachers, like Jeanie LoVetri, Peter Eldridge, Theo Bleckmann, and Kate McGarry, I have little knowledge of repertoire outside of jazz and the musicals I did as a teen.]
What to teach my young students? I’m not qualified to help them become Classical singers per se, and teaching only jazz wouldn’t make sense either. [I mostly teach ages 12 to 17, which I hadn't done before, so it's become a necessity for me to have a game plan for giving more general training.] So, here’s what I came up with:
- I started out by thinking through what the long-range goals might be for my young students who pursue singing. They will either:
- Attend a college program and major in vocal performance (either a general vocal program or a jazz/contemporary music program), or
- Begin singing professionally during childhood, or directly after high school.
- I then researched colleges and their audition requirements for all non-exclusive Classical programs (mostly jazz-focused so far). Specifically in the U.S: Manhattan School of Music, Berklee College of Music, McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul, MN, New England Conservatory, and Columbia College Chicago which has a Bachelors in Music Performance in Contemporary Urban & Popular Music. Not a comprehensive list by any means.
- I planned out a holistic repertoire approach to educating these young vocalists in both genre and music history. And I started with songs I already know.
There are six categories of music that I came up with for my students to be able to sing commercially, get into a general music program, or at least provide a framework to base their singing on. They are:
CLASSICAL: English & Italian Art Songs - Including basics for a student to audition for a general vocal program, or one in musical theatre that still requires a classical audition piece. Ex. 24 Italian Songs & Arias, Linden Lea, When Love Is Kind.
AMERICAN ROOTS: Folk Songs & Spiritual - Ex. Deep River, The Riddle Song, Shenandoah, His Eye Is On The Sparrow
THEATRE: Broadway Musicals & Movies
CLASSIC POP: Jazz, Blues, & American Songbook
WORLD: Brazilian, Bossa Novas, Etc. - Jobim (Brazilian) tunes, Besame Mucho (Mexican), Dos Gardenias (Cuban), throw in some French, etc.
CONTEMPORARY POP: 1950’s to present American Popular Music
So far, I’ve really enjoyed introducing my students to such a range of music. It always surprises me when they haven’t heard of Ella Fitzgerald or Judy Garland. Sure there is a lot of overlap in vocal production for many of these categories, but when to introduce songs and in what order is still something I’m working on. I also feel that I really need to flush out each category with real gems, and plenty of them.
What are your thoughts and suggestions on repertoire for each of these categories? What do you think about this approach?
I like how you’ve broken it down into specific genres of music. Do you try to have all your students sing from each category? Or do they focus on mostly one? So funny, I started voice when I was 14, and with the 24 Italian Songs, too. Besides vocal technique and repertoire I also add in sight singing and harmony exercises. Do you have any improv exercises?
Hey Shelley, thanks. I DO try to have all my students sing from each category – to learn about different styles for historical and technical/stylistic reasons. However, this takes a while, and some students hang out in a few genres most of the time. For me, it’s good to know where they should go so I can help them be well-rounded as they are ready to do so. Sight singing is great. I started doing theory with them this past year, but need to get on the sight singing thing. Right now, we only cover it when they have an audition with it.
As for improv, all my students are working on basic principles. So, we work on altering or re-stating melodies and riffing on tags mostly. Another area to get into!
Hi,
I’m enjoying reading your blog. I think your approach with the 6 categories is great for young singers who have not been exposed to much. For singers with more experience, and that includes some teens, they will gravitate toward certain genres and away from others. I take this into consideration and do not make hard-core pop or musical theatre fans sing classical if they have tried it in the past and dislike it. I put Italian and Spanish on equal footing for foreign language. There is a lot of good Spanish language material in all genres. The 24 Italian “Hits” are very uneven in terms of difficulty and need to be selected carefully for beginners. Some of my thoughts. Best to you, Brian Lee
Hi Brian,
Thanks for reading and for your comments. I’d say that the jazz connection with Latin music, be it Spanish lyrics or Portuguese, is rightfully it’s own category – and this is specifically the music I’m referring too here. But, it’s interesting to know that Spanish and Italian are on equal footing in classical singing – if I’m reading you correctly. I’d love to know some beginning Spanish songs you recommend! Thanks!