Vocal Jazz and its Credibility in the University Curriculum

by Diana R. Spradling

As the training ground for jazz vocal musicians continues to move into college and university settings, the question of its "place" in institutions traditionally reserved for classical/art music continues to be raised by both classical studio-voice and conducted-ensemble faculty. Opinions seem as varied as they are on politics and religion: some programs are curricularly well-established and highly successful while others are peripheral and/or somewhat controversial.

What are the parameters of a successful vocal jazz program? Why is vocal jazz successful in some institutions and not in others? What keeps a program from succeeding?

 

Curricular Structure

There are generally three levels of vocal jazz curricular activity:

• accredited degree programs in jazz;

• other music degrees with a concentration in jazz;

• ensemble offerings in instrumental and/or vocal jazz–frequently non-credit–and an occasional elective offered (such as jazz history).

Let's examine two equally well-established degree programs and hear from selected faculty. The University of Miami offers both a Bachelors and a Masters degree in Studio Music and Jazz with a jazz vocal emphasis. Western Michigan University offers both a Bachelors and a Masters degree in Voice Performance with an emphasis in jazz.

In addition to the guidance of pedagogues, students in these programs experience intensive study in jazz theory, history, arranging, improvisation, and performance practices. They have access to large listening libraries, state-of-the-art recording studios, instrumental combos, and regular master classes given by a variety of highly successful, working jazz musicians. Graduates find work in a variety of settings as arrangers, ensemble directors, vocal coaches, recording engineers and producers, jingle singers, jazz artists, educators, theme-park and cruise-line entertainers, contemporary Christian singers, pop/rock singers, cabaret and club performers, back-up singers, and even arts administrators and managers.

 

Faculty

Highly qualified faculty are assigned to teach private jazz voice and conduct vocal jazz ensembles. At both music schools the jazz studio voice teachers are "crossover" artist/teachers with classical training, and the vocal jazz ensemble directors have choral and/or vocal experience. (Although the director at Miami does not hold a degree in choral/vocal music, he spent the first several years of his appointment as vocal jazz director collaborating with and sharing his group with Dr. Lee Kjelson, an internationally acclaimed choral conductor.) Both institutions require eight semesters of voice lessons at the Bachelors-degree level, with one school requiring a senior recital and the other a junior and a senior recital. Both have more than one vocal jazz ensemble and at least one vocal jazz graduate assistant. Almost all students in all the vocal jazz ensembles study private voice.

Equally important, the faculties are committed to sound pedagogy, resulting in emphasis on vocal technique and vocal health. Professors at both schools have immediate access to speech pathologists and laryngologists. Western Michigan has a speech pathology department that collaborates directly with studio voice faculty on issues of student vocal health and rehabilitation. Miami is located in a large metropolitan area where medical help of every kind is readily accessible.

One cannot help but notice the high standards of excellence in these programs when interviewing faculty. Linda Trotter, a twenty-one-year career opera singer on the main stages in Europe, is chair of the voice faculty at Western–and also happens to be the sister of jazz pianist Terry Trotter. She firmly believes there is room for both classical and jazz vocal training in the same institution. Coupled with her support, however, is lots of advice to the singers pursuing a career in jazz or commercial music.

"Develop a healthy speaking voice. Most American youth speak in an unhealthy manner, causing damage to the vocal folds (which are less than one inch long) even before they begin to sing," says Trotter. "Stay hydrated. Eat healthily. Don't talk over noise and loud music. Get enough sleep. Your instrument travels with you: you can't pack it away and close the lid."

She also expresses concern over the amount of time jazz singers spend rehearsing and performing. "Opera roles may require that you be on the stage for long periods of time, but the actual singing time for a given role when condensed is only about twenty to twenty-five minutes." Her other major concern is the breathy singing and singing with a raised larynx that she frequently sees in the younger, less-developed singers. Trotter's definition of a beautiful voice is "one that moves me emotionally and is effortless"–indicative of her favorite jazz singers: Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Shirley Horn.

University of Miami's jazz voice teacher, Dr. Rachel Lebon, regularly performs in both classical and non-classical styles. Her focus parallels Prof. Trotter's. "Many of my students begin studying after they have an established professional career. I teach technique, stressing healthy speech patterns and working on the whole range. Some students may not yet have a head voice: they're 'belters.' We work on 'bringing up the range' and 'uniting' the voice.

"Good technique allows you to sing a swing tune, a ballad, or oratorio," Lebon emphasizes. "That's what technique is for! When you sing an aria, you have more time to adjust placement and focus. When you are singing up-tempo jazz, adjustments have to be so immediate, so reflexive. You're no longer relying solely on the legato breath. It's not just a matter of style; it's really a matter of the manipulation of your technique to fit the style."

Sunny Wilkinson, who teaches voice at Michigan State and at Western Michigan University, also cites benefits of technical training. "Students whose technique isn't in place have a tendency to get confused when they're moving back and forth between classical and commercial styles. Often they are not used to thinking on a sensory level, nor can they pointedly correct things in the body." Prof. Wilkinson also zeros in on vocal health. "When students develop vocal problems, it is usually from speaking incorrectly, speaking too much, speaking over crowds, and perhaps some sense of immortality. Inexperienced singers also have a tendency to ignore the first signs of vocal problems."

 

Possible Concerns

As we move away from established degree programs, six areas of technical concern and discomfort seem to emerge from the conservatory-oriented faculty:

• technical labeling and pedagogical facts,

• chest voice use,

• manipulation of the vibrato,

• vocal health and endurance,

• instrumental faculty conducting vocal groups, and

• breath management.

Such concerns exist in varying degrees and combinations, but their mere existence is symptomatic of the issues which have generated the most questions about the worth of vocal jazz in the traditional university setting. When they are not addressed, attempts to develop jazz vocal programs are not very successful.

Technical Labeling & Pedagogical Facts

This issue is not unique to vocal jazz! Libraries are full of books and journals that issue a variety of opinions on "the truth" about singing. Texts on the voice have been published for well over one hundred years, but scientific terminology has been used by many voice pedagogues only since about 1980.

At that time the singing community began to look seriously toward the scientific community for more logical explanations about the singing process, and the scientific community in turn began to develop a universal terminology with objective definitions based on physiological research. If an ensemble director/vocal coach is unfamiliar with scientific discoveries about the use of the voice or has not been trained to diagnose vocal conditions, confusion over operational definitions and how to interpret them can exist among teachers–and between teachers and students.

Furthermore, teachers tend to teach the way they were taught; so their labeling systems vary significantly. Interviewing a number of voice and ensemble directors in the vocal jazz idiom yielded a variety of definitions and explanations for the same subjects. For example, not everyone agreed on the names of the voice registers or how many there are. However, everyone agreed on the basic elements of singing that need to be taught: including posture, breathing, resonance, articulation, and vocal health.

Often the language is much trickier than the meaning; so those wishing to develop vocal jazz offerings must first begin dialogue with studio-voice and conducted-ensemble faculty to develop operational definitions which can both unify and clarify technical jargon in both classical and non-classical singing.

Dr. Patrice Madura of the University of Southern California had voice faculty at a previous institution openly criticize her vocal jazz ensemble teaching; so she invited them into her rehearsal. After their visit, she asked them what bothered them vocally. "I worked to compromise; and when I left that school, they no longer complained at all about the way the group was singing–even though they still didn't care for the music!"

Respect and support for the jazz vocal idiom may come slowly; but if we work to fit into a pre-existing system by building bridges rather than erecting barricades, progress will be made.

Chest Voice Use

Sunny Wilkinson comments that "there is indeed a misconception that in order to sing pop or jazz, you automatically take the chest mix up high into the range. That just isn't true. There are several kinds of pop singing; and in my opinion, it is the teacher's responsibility to teach different approaches to the mix. We certainly teach this in classical music: adjusting the mix depends on tessitura and phrasing."

Students who study privately should be taught how to blend registers and unify the range to erase breaks and avoid carrying the chest register too high–but the untrained singer usually does not do this naturally. Because the voice instrument seems so naturally to imitate other instruments, voices, and sounds, developing singers have the ability to imitate recorded voices of singers much older, whose voice mechanisms have matured. The ensemble director/voice coach must be able to teach the student how to identify the sound one's voice is capable of producing in a healthy manner at any given point of development–and in the style of the song. For example, the tessitura of a classic blues tune is usually lower than the tessitura of a standard early bop tune. The latter would require a different mix and less use of the chest register than the former.

Dr. Gloria Cooper, a voice teacher and vocal jazz ensemble conductor at Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York believes that serious vocal problems often result from "a heavy chest mechanism, singing too high with the wrong mix, and singing too loudly."

Besides learning how to use the mix acoustically, singers must be taught how to make the mix "microphone-compatible." This would include a somewhat smaller size and shape of the mouth and throat cavities, as well as less of the volume and projection used in acoustic, unamplified singing. It is so easy to vocally "cheat" when using artificial amplification; and when singers concentrate on what is coming out of the monitors, they sometimes forget to sing through proper technique. They may over-control and manipulate the musculature, generally resulting in additional, unwanted tension. A qualified vocal instructor should guide this aspect of pop and jazz singing rarely accomplished by imitation or chance.

Manipulation of the Vibrato

Vibrato is probably the most controversial issue. Interpretations of centuries of discourse on vibrato often use subjective descriptions of its quality: warm, beautiful, wide, too slow, too fast, too much, not enough–all subject to "taste" influenced by cultural expectations. In a university setting, just mentioning taking out or minimizing the vibrato in the voice causes enough concerns that dealing with this issue alone is worth the input of a vocal coach or teacher with applicable expertise and experience.

At a recent America Choral Directors convention, Dr. William Hall of Chapman University in California defined a lack of vibrato as "a lack of color or warmth in the basic vowels and an absence of vitality and vibrancy." However, an equally important ingredient in the tone is the degree of "ring" (or resonance) in the voice; and depending on the style of singing, resonance and vibrato are not always meant to be equal. Technical training gives the singer the opportunity to investigate the relationships between qualities of sounds and styles–and how to best employ the choices.

Defining the characteristics of a vocal tone acceptable to all concerned should probably be the real starting point for dialogue between the classical and jazz/commercial solo and ensemble teachers. Differences of opinion are often the result of differences in experiences. If dialogue is based on logic and fact–rather than opinion–there should be room for negotiation.

Here is where the teachers who work with non-classical performers must accept the role of informed champion: after pinpointing what the issues of conflict are, find out why–and then be willing to search for a common ground. Be proactive; for example:

• Share jazz recordings of solo and ensemble artists with the classical faculty on a one-to-one basis.

• Listen together.

• Identify what they do and do not find acceptable.

• Discuss the connection between sound and style in both idioms.

• Ask questions about their training and their tastes.

• Encourage them to express their feelings about professional opportunities in both areas–and about singers who are finding ways to perform in more than one medium (classical and musical theater, or musical theater and pop).

Developing open lines of communication between classical and non-classical instructors may be time-consuming; but when the dialogue is successful, the student wins.

Vocal Health & Endurance

Everyone who teaches and/or coaches singers should monitor their students' vocal habits and counsel them about the importance of remaining vocally healthy. Singing in and of itself is not destructive, but singing with poor or inadequate technique over long periods of time is. Warning signs of ensuing vocal problems include the following:

• a "bobbing" voice box;

• hoarseness and/or raspiness in the speaking voice;

• hoarseness in women's singing voices in the mid-range;

• hoarseness in men's singing voices around Eb above middle C;

• constant throat-clearing;

• agitated coughing;

• reoccurring sore throats;

• a lack of resonance in the voice;

• a limited range;

• neck, jaw, shoulder, and/or facial tension when singing;

• parts of the range not phonating;

• air escaping around the tone;

• a loss of projection;

• a lack of dynamic flexibility;

• regular occurrences of upper-respiratory infections;

• a voice healthier on Mondays than on Fridays; and

• a woman's ability to sing lines an octave below mid-range.

Overall care and protection of the voice instrument is about muscles, not the metal or wood of external instruments. Students can avoid many of the above problems by continually attending to the following:

• breath-management needs through posture and breath exercises,

• using mostly a volume between mp and mf when either speaking or singing jazz/pop music,

• working to release upper-torso tension,

• resting the voice when vocally tired,

• keeping the voice box from bobbing up and down,

• protecting the speaking voice by not speaking over noise or speaking at too low of a pitch, and

• maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Instrumental Faculty Conducting Vocal Groups

In most cases, instrumentalists have studied the jazz idiom more closely and are often better equipped to teach phrasing, articulations, and rhythmic figures more authentically. However, they are rarely trained to address the complexities of the human voice. This creates a detachment between classical voice and ensemble faculty and the jazz studies faculty. An instrumental jazz faculty member directing a jazz vocal ensemble should want to convince the classical voice community that this kind of singing can be done safely. Use the expertise of a trained, experienced jazz/pop vocal teacher/coach of some kind.

Jazz vocal ensemble singers must be encouraged to invest in voice lessons, and ensemble directors should accept with caution a student who exhibits any kind of vocal deterioration, abuse, or misuse. Directors unsure exactly how to determine this can invite a vocal teacher into auditions and specifically ask them to point out students who are not vocally healthy. Accept such students into the jazz program contingent on private study for as long as they sing in the ensemble. Again, such dialogue and proactive decisions can make it possible for students to experience both jazz and classical music in an emancipated, accepting atmosphere.

Breath Management

In most vocal pedagogy texts, at least one chapter is dedicated to the study of appropriate breathing techniques for singers in training–that is, singers training to become classical performers. Much of the research being done about breathing techniques seems to be initiated either by classically trained singers producing qualitative research or by members of the medical community commissioned by some of the academic classical vocal community.

Not all non-classical singing can be lumped into a single category. In 1998, the Journal of Singing (the official journal of the National Association of the Teachers of Singing) published a three-part article: "A Comparison of Breath Management Strategies in Classical and Non-Classical Singers." Although the author stated that "techniques of breath management vary among singers, even those who are trained in the same singing style," he based this series of articles strictly on a comparison of classical singers to country singers. This representation of all non-classical singers is myopic and misleading at best.

The stylistic requirements (musically and vocally) needed to perform jazz music differ significantly from those needed to perform country music, including melodic range and structure, use of vocal registers, phrase lengths, and song lengths–therefore requiring different technical demands. No wonder classical voice teachers have so many questions about technique in non-classical singing!

When several leading jazz studio teachers/vocal jazz ensemble conductors (all of whom formerly or currently sing classical also) were questioned about breath management, everyone agreed that it is an essential basis for healthy singing. Sunny Wilkinson explained: "Just because you use a larger array of tonal colors in jazz–from guttural sounds to thin, wispy sounds to metallic sounds–it doesn't mean you are not in touch with your own instrument. Breath management is the same for both classical and non-classical singing. You can create a difference quite easily, partly because you can breathe whenever you want in jazz music, partly because the microphone doesn't require as much breath to deliver a sound that an acoustically produced tone does. But if you are thoughtful and use good breathing technique, you'll be able to sing with more clarity and more beauty in your voice. In my opinion there is absolutely no difference in the importance of breath management."

Dr. Gloria Cooper agrees. "Breath management is 90% of singing. Maintaining good vocal health is based on breathing and training, being careful not to hurt anything. My advice to young singers is to get as much training as possible from teachers who teach vocal health and breath management: one must understand the instrument and must read about the larynx."

Michelle Weir (of the University of California at Los Angeles) takes this concept one step further. "When I'm singing jazz, I'm thinking more in terms of variety of color and tone. I may use a breathy tone and a rich full sound in the same song; so the breath flow can change a bit."

 

Relevance

The issues are all about training and technique. "Crossover" singing cannot be blamed for vocal problems. Cleo Laine is a trained Lieder Singer. Opera singer Julia McGinnis Johnson (who sings the role of Carmen in the movie of the same name) has had years of experience as a cabaret singer. Thirty-three year-old Austrian opera star Angelika Kirchschlager (who recently made her debut in New York) has admitted that she would love to sing "crossover" and wants a chance to perform with Michael Bolton (who himself has an opera coach). Vocal misuse and damage come from a lack of knowledge and understanding, a disregard for the instrument, not from singing several contrasting styles of music.

On February 28, 1999 the New York Times printed an article by Joseph Horowitz: "Learning to Live in a Post-Classical World." He quotes the musicologist Robert Fink as saying that since World War I "the classical canon has lost its role as cultural validator defining art music." In other words, the lines between classical and non-classical music are rapidly blurring. The definition of art music is continuing to change. It no longer rests solely on the output of white, European dead men!

If educators recognize this, then all teachers of music must re-evaluate what they are teaching and to whom. Dr. Rachel Lebon believes that "we have a heavy responsibility to be more relevant, to prepare our students for the here and now." Certainly the opportunities for recital, oratorio, and opera singers do not outnumber opportunities for non-classical singers.

Educators seeking to establish or enlarge jazz vocal programs can benefit greatly from examining the curricula and environments of other, more established programs. By taking the lead in creating dialogue between jazz vocal faculty and the classical studio-voice and conducted-ensemble faculty, areas of concern can be identified as a means to seek mutual solutions. Along the way, much shared groundon matters such as vocal health can be explored and reinforced. And when that dialogue is successful, the ultimate benefactor is the student, who becomes free to study across musical styles with the assistance of a unified faculty.

 

Diana R. Spradling is a co-founder of the IAJE Sisters in Jazz mentoring program and the national chairperson for Jazz and Show Choirs for the American Choral Directors Association. She is a studio jazz voice teacher and vocal jazz ensemble director at Western Michigan University. Prof. Spradling received her B.M.E. and M.M. degree in Choral Conducting from the Florida State University and is recognized throughout North America for her unique combination of skills in choral conducting, voice, and jazz. Her career includes teaching at the junior high, senior high, junior college, and university levels. In 1991 she became the first woman elected to the executive board of IAJE-NY, in 1992 co-founded the first New York All-State Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and in 1995 was elected to the board of IAJE-MI. During her five-year tenure as director of WMU's Gold Company II, the group gained international recognition and performed internationally. She regularly appears as a guest conductor, adjudicator, clinician, and consultant at festivals, music camps, and academic institutions throughout the U.S. and Canada.