Water Resistance Therapy as Vocal Warm-Up Method in Contemporary Commercial Music Singers

Background Traditional semi-occluded vocal tract exercises (SOVTEs) are restricted to single-phoneme tasks due to the semi-occlusion at the mouth, which hinders full articulation, continuous speech, and singing. Innovative SOVTEs should overcome this limitation by creating the semi-occlusion outside the oral cavity. Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the immediate effects of a semi-occluded water resistance ventilation mask, which allows for continuous speech and singing, on objective (voice range, multiparametric voice quality indices) and subjective (auditory-perceptual, self-report) vocal outcomes in musical theater students. Method A pre-/posttest randomized controlled trial was used. Twenty-four musical theater students (16 women and eight men, with a mean age of 21 years) were randomly assigned into a study group and a control group. The study group received a vocal warm-up session with the innovative water resistance ventilation mask (tube attached to the mask “outside” the mouth), whereas the control group received the traditional water resistance approach (tube “inside” the mouth). Both sessions lasted 30 min and were similar with respect to vocal demand tasks. A multidimensional voice assessment including objective and subjective outcomes was performed pre- and posttraining by an assessor blinded to group allocation. Results The Dysphonia Severity Index significantly and similarly increased (improved) in both the study and control groups, whereas the Acoustic Voice Quality Index solely decreased (improved) in the control group. The intensity range significantly decreased (worsened) and the semitone range significantly increased (improved) in the study group, whereas no differences in voice range profile were found in the control group. Auditory-perceptually, a more strenuous speaking voice was noticed after the use of the traditional water resistance approach. The subjects perceived both SOVTEs as comfortable vocal warm-up exercises that decrease the amount of effort during speaking and singing, with a slight preference for the water resistance ventilation mask. Conclusions Both the innovative water resistance ventilation mask and the traditional water resistance exercise seem effective vocal warm-up exercises for musical theater students. The additional articulatory freedom of the mask might increase the phonatory comfort and the practical implementation of SOVTEs in the daily vocal warm-up of (future) elite vocal performers. The hypothesis of a higher transfer to continuous speech or singing in the mask condition has not been supported by the current study. Larger scale investigation and longer term follow-up studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.11991549

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Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Survey: Who's Teaching What in Nonclassical Music

Journal of Voice ◽

10.1016/s0892-1997(03)00004-3 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 207-215 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Jeannette L LoVetri ◽

Edrie Means Weekly

Keyword(s):

Commercial Music ◽

Contemporary Commercial Music

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The Craft of Contemporary Commercial Music

10.4324/9781315680330 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Greg McCandless ◽

Daniel McIntyre

Keyword(s):

Commercial Music ◽

Contemporary Commercial Music

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What are you doing the rest of your life? A profile of Jazz/Contemporary Voice graduates

International Journal of Music Education ◽

10.1177/0255761417714606 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 197-216 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Irene Bartlett ◽

Diana Tolmie

Keyword(s):

Extra Dimension ◽

Career Paths ◽

Classical Music ◽

Training Programs ◽

Music Programs ◽

Music Training ◽

Commercial Music ◽

The Past ◽

Contemporary Commercial Music ◽

Western Classical Music

Over the past two decades the topic of graduate outcomes has increasingly informed the discourse on the changing nature of universities. For conservatoires and university music departments the global shift in audience demand away from western classical music and jazz styles (traditionally the cornerstone tertiary music programs) to contemporary commercial music (CCM) has added an extra dimension to the graduate outcomes discussion with respect to vocation preparation and musicians’ portfolio careers. Few studies have tracked the career paths of music graduates across time with none focused on jazz/contemporary singers. This report discusses the findings from a snapshot study of Jazz/Contemporary Voice graduates (2001 to 2012) of one Australian conservatoire. The purpose of this research was to better describe this population of graduates in terms of employment outcomes, the dynamics of their employment activities, employment-seeking strategies and the relevance of university coursework to their employability. Their responses have implications for tertiary music training programs.

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Pedagogy of Different Sung Genres

The Oxford Handbook of Singing ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199660773.013.005 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 706-728

Author(s):

Jeremy Fisher ◽

Gillyanne Kayes ◽

Lisa Popeil

Keyword(s):

Cultural Context ◽

Oral Tradition ◽

Musical Theater ◽

Singing Voice ◽

Voice Pedagogy ◽

Commercial Music ◽

Rhythm And Blues ◽

Vocal Registers ◽

Contemporary Commercial Music

Traditional singing voice pedagogy has been heavily influenced by the performance practice and aesthetic of the Western lyric (classical) tradition. Recently, non-classical vocal genres have been termed contemporary commercial music (CCM). These genres include pop, rock, jazz, country, folk, rhythm and blues, and sometimes musical theater. Though in its infancy, the pedagogy of CCM (including belting) is of great interest worldwide. There are numerous differences between Western lyric and CCM genres including: written versus oral tradition; historical/cultural context; use of voice, word articulation, dynamics, vibrato, phrasing; stylistic idioms; vocal registers; pitch range; resonance characteristics; and learning cultures. This chapter advocates that the role of the modern vocal pedagogue is to explore, learn, and ultimately be able to impart the intricacies of each vocal genre to the next generation while honoring traditions and values.

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