The Adolescent Singing Voice in the 21st Century

Download or read book The Adolescent Singing Voice in the 21st Century written by Rianne Marcum Gebhardt and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This document examines vocal health and pedagogy as they relate to the adolescent singing voice in the 21st century, and based on the understanding gained, it develops strategies to prevent vocal injuries in adolescence, carrying good vocal hygiene into adulthood. Music educators working with adolescent singing voices can use this document as a guide to lead their students to adopt healthy vocal habits and come to an awareness of their instrument, helping to prevent vocal injury. The author begins by reviewing literature on the topics of vocal health, hygiene and pedagogy concerning both adult and adolescent singers, and focuses on literature specifically relating to the adolescent singing voice. A healthy voice stems largely from sensible and hygienic vocal habits. The cultivation of good vocal habits seems to be more difficult to achieve as our world becomes louder and busier. Adolescence is the time when most vocal habits form establishing into a unique voice. Thus, music educators working with adolescents must seize the opportunity to replace unhealthy vocal habits with healthy ones in these young singers. The review of literature illuminates the importance of not just vocal health in young singers but also respiratory health, hearing health and health of other kinds. Since a singer’s body is his or her instrument, the whole body, not simply the larynx, must be healthy. With regard to adolescent vocal pedagogy, even after decades the works of John Cooksey, Lynne Gackle and Kenneth Phillips remain staples of the field. Others, including Robert Edwin, have contributed significantly to current understanding of demands on today’s adolescent singer. No singer wants to suffer a vocal injury, but it is sometimes a reality, even for young, resilient voices. Common adolescent vocal injuries, pathologies and their causes are discussed in this document as well. The author provides prevention strategies for music educators to help guard the 21st century adolescent voice against injury and includes steps to take if vocal injury is suspected. Music educators are urged to provide a consistent technique when working with adolescents, and the document describes specific technical goals that should be achievable with every adolescent singer. An understanding of the changing physiology of adolescent singers is paramount for anyone working with them. Accordingly, the author gives an overview of vocal physiology and function, as well as interactive tools music educators can use with their students to gain better understanding of the vocal instrument. Choosing repertoire can be a conundrum when working with the adolescent voice. The author concludes with suggestions of repertoire from various genres and for different stages of adolescent vocal development.