Greetings from Vocal Masterclassics! We hope you enjoy our new Masterclass Alert Newsletter format! To view the latest masterclasses, just scroll down the page past the article (but come back up to read it too!). Have a great week, and happy viewing!
The Secrets of a Great Singer-Musician – Building a “Family Resemblance”
By Dr. Keith Brautigam, Founder
Throughout the United States, September is a month of beginnings, and as the month gets into full swing, with voice majors around the country receiving their new literature - music they hope will provide many opportunities for growth over the coming months - perhaps it might be a good idea to step back and ponder this important question:
What really makes a truly great singer-musician?
To answer this question, singers in the classical arena rightfully look to professionals who have had the greatest success on the operatic and concert stage. However, sometimes some of the greatest insights come from someone outside the genre you typically engage. Such was the case this month as I had the opportunity of gleaning the straight-forward and common sense advice from one of the country’s greatest vocal jazz singer-musicians, Kurt Elling, as he taught a masterclass for “Chicago Voices,” a program initiated by the renowned soprano, Renée Fleming. As Elling spoke to the students, I found myself wishing singers from every genre could hear his insightful admonitions, as his instruction provided so many of the answers to this crucial question.
Here are just a few of the insights he offered that are so important for us all to hear, no matter what genre in which we might find ourselves performing. What are great singer-musicians like...and what do they do?
- They love to get up and perform. The more experience you receive through performing in front of others, the more your questions regarding performing and music will be answered.
- They develop a spirit of fearlessness by performing "those hard things that they had to practice 100 million times." (And if you didn’t practice it that many times, performing will make you realize you need to practice it that many times!)
- They are grateful they have something to offer the community, and they truly value the contributions of others as well.
- They embrace the two important things we all possess:
- Their instrument – working to develop the best sound they can make today, knowing it will change as they grow into it.
2. Their ears - which are the things that brought them to the music in the first place. How do they know when something is right? They can hear it. (“Pay more attention to your hearing than any other thing. It leads you back through history and everything that has come before.”)
- They realize their music "shouldn’t have to come with a thesis statement, but should make them and you feel better."
- They embrace and develop both the analytical and intuitive sides of their brains. All singers need both. Some of the most important musical elements can’t be notated. For example, you can’t really notate a swinging beat. The intuitive side is the impetuous side that makes you want to run before you can walk, but both sides need to be equally developed – both the deep study of their music, and the inspirational delivery of it.
- They realize the incredible gift that has been given them by the great artists of the past. “You’ve got to use your ears to cop what the great artists before you did. Ask how they did it, and how you can sing exactly the things they did. Why, because we want to have a family resemblance to what they did. It is important homework to get that in your head and heart, so it is muscle memory and is not conscious anymore.”
- They realize there are so many books to read, and life to fail at and come back from. “All these make up who you will be and are over time, and will impact what you will be able to offer.”
- They are passionate about taking care of their bodies (their instruments). “Your youth body becomes your truth body.”
As a college professor who teaches students from six different majors, I found Elling’s instruction to offer profound truths that serious singers in every area of study need to hear. Bottom line, those that are most successful on the stage never cease being “students of the voice,” joyfully studying and embracing all that has gone before. At Vocal Masterclassics, we hope, as Mr. Elling said, to help you and/or your students build a “family resemblance” to the great singers and teachers of the past. As we negotiate the inherent challenges of this fall season, may we continue looking forward to the learning yet to come!
The Newest Vocal Masterclassics Additions
This month, 34 new posts have been added to Vocal Masterclassics, expanding the database resource to almost 1100 listings - all cross-referenced across the nine VMC drop-down search menus. Below is a brief introduction to these valuable masterclasses, and a glimpse of the value they offer to singers and teachers across multiple genres.
Master Artist: Kurt Elling
Master Artist Voice: Jazz Artist
Date: 2017
Number of Cross-Referenced Scenes/Posts added to the Database: Six (6)
Composers Encountered: Monk, Ellington, Romberg
Primary Masterclass Benefit: Elling is one of the top vocal jazz musicians of our time. In this masterclass, the insights into performing in this genre are profound, and most certainly apply to singing in all genres.
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Master Artist: Michelle Williams
Master Artist Voice: Gospel Singer
Date: 2017
Number of Cross-Referenced Scenes/Posts added to the Database: Four (4)
Composers Encountered: McReynolds, Jones, Gabriel
Primary Masterclass Benefit: Introduced by Renée Fleming, Williams introduces the audience and singers to the unique and personally-expressive qualities of gospel singing. While incorporating critical vocal techniques, she demonstrates that this genre is more about the true expression of the heart that singers at multiple levels can convey.
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Master Artist: Renée Fleming and Melissa Foster
Master Artist Voice: Soprano and Coach/Singing Actress
Date: 2017
Number of Cross-Referenced Scenes/Posts added to the Database: Six (6)
Composers Encountered: Fauré, Bock, Mozart, Lotti
Primary Masterclass Benefit: It is not often that opportunities arise to hear a world-class opera professional interact with an expert in musical theater. In this class, however, viewers will greatly benefit from their interactive discussion and work on multiple techniques that singers in both genres share, as well as the unique approaches that enable the belt-mix to sound and feel natural and communicative.
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Master Artist: Tito Gobbi
Master Artist Voice: Bass-Baritone
Date: 2017
Number of Cross-Referenced Scenes/Posts added to the Database: One (1)
Composers Encountered: Verdi, Puccini, Mozart
Primary Masterclass Benefit: This single post references a series of masterclasses presented in film format where they intersperse observer commentary with Gobbi's work with a number of young professionals. The insights into stage acting and true dramatic portrayal speak only as someone of his stature and experience can deliver. Gobbi's passion for the art is palpable and deeply inspiring.
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Master Artist: Richard Lissemore
Master Artist Voice: Coach
Date: 2017
Number of Cross-Referenced Scenes/Posts added to the Database: Two (2)
Composers Encountered: Flaherty, Adler/Ross
Primary Masterclass Benefit: In these high-energy and engaging masterclasses, Lissemore demonstrates his expertise that reaches across both the traditional classical and musical theater genres by helping several young musical theater professionals address such critical elements as breathing, freedom, and vowel placement toward achieving a natural textual, dramatic, and musical delivery.
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View Listing #2 (Available to logged-in members only)
Master Artist: Catrin Johnsson
Master Artist Voice: Mezzo-Soprano
Date: 2017
Number of Cross-Referenced Scenes/Posts added to the Database: Four (4)
Composers Encountered: Elgar, Mozart, Handel, Wagner
Primary Masterclass Benefit: Masterclasses attached to competitions can often be of great value. That is the case with this class, as Catrin Johnson goes deep into expression, vocal colors, dramatic intention, freedom exercises, and other techniques designed to help these advanced young professionals move to the next level.
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Master Artist: Martin Katz
Master Artist Voice: Collaborative Pianist
Date: 2017
Number of Cross-Referenced Scenes/Posts added to the Database: Six (6)
Composers Encountered: Schubert, Debussy, R. Strauss, Mozart, Brahms
Primary Masterclass Benefit: One of the most sought-after masterclass clinicians is Martin Katz as he relates his vast experience as a collaborative pianist to aspiring singers. It is extremely beneficial to hear him consistently address the musical interaction between the singer and pianist toward creating an atmosphere where the spirit of each piece can thrive and truly communicate. Encountering a wide variety of major composers, this class also provides critical training in the differences of approach across various genres.
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Master Artist: David Daniels
Master Artist Voice: Counter-Tenor
Date: 2017
Number of Cross-Referenced Scenes/Posts added to the Database: Four (4)
Composers Encountered: Mozart, Britten, Donizetti
Primary Masterclass Benefit: The great counter-tenor, David Daniels, provides his insight and expertise regarding dramatic authenticity, breath and phrase preparation, use of vowels in various parts of the range and the differences across the languages, legato line, consistent trust of freedom, and a host of other insights born from his vast performance experience.
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Master Artist: Nuccia Focile
Master Artist Voice: Soprano
Date: 2017
Number of Cross-Referenced Scenes/Posts added to the Database: One (1)
Composers Encountered: Catalani
Primary Masterclass Benefit: 45-minute masterclasses with one singer and one piece are rare. International soprano, Nuccia Foccile, takes a powerful soprano systematically through a Catalani piece addressing multiple musical, dramatic, and expressive elements toward making the piece find its multiple colors and ultimate climax. So many things to glean for application to Italian arias by numerous other composers.
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