Why Voice Pedagogy at Shenandoah Conservatory?
- Our vocal pedagogy graduates are teaching at universities throughout the United States, presenting at conferences and publishing papers in leading journals.
- The Master of Music in Pedagogy – Voice is available with an emphasis in either Classical or Contemporary Commercial Music styles (the first of its kind in the United States).
- The Doctor of Musical Arts in Pedagogy – Voice includes both classical and CCM styles. Students embrace diverse dissertation topics, including the aging voice, contemporary Christian music, Gospel squall, formant tuning in baritone voices, gender bias in vocal literature, and the impact of voice lessons on patients with cystic fibrosis.
- Our CCM Vocal Pedagogy Institute has been offering specialized courses for training non-classical styles since 2002 and has trained well over 1,500 teachers from around the world.
The voice pedagogy program at Shenandoah Conservatory is a thriving community of singers, both faculty and students, who are committed to merging scientific research with intuitive knowledge. We embrace a functional voice training approach that supports both classical and contemporary commercial music (CCM) vocal demands. Shenandoah Conservatory is one of only six institutions in the United States with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Pedagogy – Voice. We are also the first institution to offer the Master of Music in Pedagogy – Voice (Contemporary Commercial Music).
Master of Music in Pedagogy – Voice (Classical and Contemporary Commercial Music Tracks)
We offer a classical and a CCM (contemporary commercial music) track for the Master of Music in Pedagogy – Voice. Both tracks are designed to provide the aspiring teacher of singing the needed edge to be competitive in the field of teaching. Each track is a unique program that offers a well-rounded blend of courses in anatomy, pedagogical history and contemporary singing methods.
The Master of Music in Pedagogy – Voice (Contemporary Commercial Music) is designed for the singer and teacher of singing who works with CCM styles and genres, including world music. The repertoire choices for the culminating performance for this degree may be taken from any CCM genre: pop, rock, folk, jazz, musical theatre, etc.
The culminating recital for the Master of Music in Pedagogy – Voice (Classical) program is traditional in nature, choosing from the French, German, Italian, English repertoire of the baroque, classical, romantic and 20th century repertoire. These students are also exposed to some aspects of CCM methods as part of their pedagogical coursework.
Both tracks share the curriculum which includes:
- Anatomy and Function of the Singing Voice
- The Business of Studio Teaching
- Supervised Private Teaching
- Comparative Vocal Teaching Methods
- Repertoire for the Singing Teacher
- Technology in the Studio
- CCM Vocal Pedagogy Sessions (3 for CCM, 1 for classical)
Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Vocal Pedagogy Institute
At the Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Vocal Pedagogy Institute, student experiences are enriched by close interaction with our faculty and guest clinicians which have included Grammy Award winners, Broadway stars and coaches, jazz artists, and potential employers from around the world over the fourteen years of our existence. Students gain the pedagogical skills to teach in a wide range of styles including musical theatre, country, pop, jazz, rock and blues.
Janette E. Ogg Voice Research Center (JOVRC)
The Janette E. Ogg Voice Research Center serves as a central hub for our vocal pedagogy students. Our students and faculty collaborate in research projects that are published in the Journal of Voice and the Journal of Singing. Many have authored books produced by Nova Science Publishers, and other print media. They regularly present research at international conferences including the Voice Foundation Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice, the Pan-European Vocology Conference, Pacific Voice & Speech Foundation, the UCSF Voice Conference, and Johan Sundberg’s Function of the Singing Voice in Sweden.
Research tools available in the JOVRC:
- VoceVistaPro with glottal enterprises PC-2 EGG (we also have a modified version of VoceVista that allows longer LTAS measurements, and a portable EGG with boom microphone, headphones, and a USB computer connection)
- Glottal enterprises Aeroview software, Rothenberg dual chamber CV mask and a custom-built NEH handle with dual microphones and dual pressure sensors (we also have on loan an MS-110 data interface with the associated transducers and mask and a NEH 2.5 handle)
- Multispeech 3700 from KayPentax
- Madde and Apex from KTH (Decap, RTSect, and Director Musices are also available)
- Praat
- Dr. Speech Real Analysis
- Speechstation 2 from Sensimetrics
- Student versions of Waveview, Aeroview, and Nasality, with training exercises from glottal enterprises
We actively network with medical professionals in the region and collaborate with other university programs within the School of Health Professions.