Published by Rowman and Littlefield, and NATS

From television shows like Glee and Smash to the phenomenon of the Broadway show Hamilton, musical theatre has never been more popular. In So You Want to Sing Musical Theatre, Updated and Expanded Edition, Broadway vocal coach Amanda Flynn provides an in-depth look at the skills needed to successfully sing and teach this repertoire.

Fully updated to meet the current needs of the profession, this new edition covers a vast array of topics with even deeper discussion: musical theatre history; repertoire; genres used in productions; basic singing voice science; vocal health; audio equipment and microphones; vocal production of musical theatre sounds; acting, dancing, and other movement; working with kids; and auditioning at all levels. The book also includes profiles of Broadway singers that explores their training, methods of vocal upkeep, and advice for singers and teachers.

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.

Available at Amazon

Available at Rowman and Littlefield

This chapter is part of the book “Student-Centered Voice Pedagogy: Working with Students toward Developing Artistry, Authenticity, and Autonomy” edited by Dr. Jeanne Goffi-Fynn and Matthew Hoch. You can purchase the book here.

This chapter is featured in the text Practitioner Research in Voice Studies. The book is edited by Rockford Samson and published by Routledge. You can purchase the book here.

Problem: Performing on Broadway is a challenging profession. Physical therapy is provided to help treat and prevent physical injuries. However, voice services are not typically provided, despite the grueling vocal demands placed on musical theatre performers.

Methods: This constructivist grounded theory study looks at the phenomenon of vocal coaching in Broadway musicals with the aim of understanding the role more thoroughly. There are three phases of this study. Phase one is a survey with actors who had a vocal coach provided to them during the run of a Broadway show. Phase two is interviews with people who have been production vocal coaches on Broadway shows. Finally, phase three is a survey with producers and general managers of Broadway shows. Each phases’ data was coded using constant comparison to identify themes based on in vivo and thematic coding.

Results: Three frameworks were constructed based on the data. The first identifies the skills required to vocal coach on Broadway. This framework could serve as the basis for curriculum development or could assist producers when hiring a vocal coach for a Broadway show. The second framework establishes the habilitation specialist as the leader of the voice team that also includes a laryngologist and a rehabilitation specialist. Performers could move between each specialist as needed. Finally, the last framework identifies the specific steps each voice team member plays as performers move from performance to medical care and back to performance. All three frameworks enhance our understanding of the role of the Broadway production vocal coach and will hopefully create pathways for more production vocal coaching in the future.

Read the dissertation here.

Christine Murphy Estes, Amanda Flynn, Hayley Born, Christine Clark, and Lucian Sulica

Summary: Introduction. Past studies show that performers are more susceptible to voice injury, have higher incidence of injury, and experience greater vocal impairment than non-performers. Despite literature demonstrating otherwise, there remains fear and stigma that voice injury is a career-ending circumstance. Much of this is due to a lack of information about post-treatment vocal function.

Methods. An anonymous online survey was distributed via email, flyer, and social media to a target audience of performers with a history of voice injury. It inquired about occupation, vocal symptoms, professionals consulted, and treatment adherence. Outcome measures included ability to perform, resolution of symptoms, and attitudes about their voices after voice injury. Findings were analyzed descriptively with statistical analysis to determine factors that may be related to favorable outcomes.

Results. The survey was completed by 151 performers representing a range of genres, including musical theatre, classical, and popular genres. The most reported vocal symptoms were decreased range, singing voice quality changes, increased singing effort, and vocal fatigue. Most initially sought care from an otolaryngologist, laryngologist, or voice teacher. Diagnoses and recommendations varied, but those who adhered to treatment were more likely to report resolution of voice symptoms (P = 0.025). Those with symptoms for 2–4 weeks reported greater vocal confidence than those with a longer symptom duration (P = 0.0251). Performers working with a voice teacher were more likely to find treatment helpful (P = 0.0174). Those with neurogenic voice conditions reported less vocal reliability than participants with other pathologies (P = 0.0155).

Conclusion. The majority of participants continued to perform, reported resolved or improved voice symptoms after treatment, and reported positive attitudes about their voices, regardless of their injury or current presence or absence of pathology on exam. Findings of this study highlight a need for continued outreach to voice teachers, education programs, and production teams about vocal function after voice injury.

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Christine J. Suddeth and Amanda Flynn

ABSTRACT

Voice injuries are well-documented in the literature and can be found in any person regardless of their profession. However, performing artists need a healthy voice in order to do their job properly. In educational environments, students with injuries are presented with the unique challenge of recovery in addition to a heavy course load. This study seeks to understand and question the experience of the undergraduate vocally injured performing arts student. An IRB approved, online survey was created to assess vocally injured undergraduate students’ experiences and was shared via social media and email outreach. The results of this study show clear ways that undergraduate faculty can support their injured students while they are in training. Additional findings include the importance of the voice teacher/student relationship, timing of diagnoses, and the overall faculty dynamic. Future research may benefit from investigating the voice teacher/student relationship and the mental health repercussions of vocally injured performing arts students. In conclusion, this study found that vocally injured students have diverse experiences while in undergraduate training programs.

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Amanda Flynn

ABSTRACT

There is an ever-growing need for transparency and accountability in higher education and in the arts. Universities and accreditors are increasingly holding their educators accountable for their students’ learning outcomes, as well as encouraging a more learner-centered model of teaching. Additionally, universities and students alike are calling for more equitable practices in the classroom, including more transparency and student ownership. This literature review explores assessment as one way to improve transparency, equity, and student learning in both higher education and in the arts. The interdisciplinary nature of musical theatre programs is unique in that they combine studies of acting, dance, and music. This poses challenges to assess- ment, with each discipline requiring its own assessment strategy. Additionally, they may be housed in theatre schools, music schools, or a combination of both, which all inherently come with different assessment structures in place. In order to understand how musical theatre could benefit from formalized assessment, this article examines current literature, exploring ways to implement assessment across the musical theatre disciplines.

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Amanda Flynn

SUMMARY: Purpose. Vocal health is taught in multiple formats and to varying degrees across undergraduate training programs. The aim of the study is to identify what methods of instruction lead to a better self-perception of vocal health in order to more adequately prepare graduates for the extreme demands of the performing arts industry.

Method. A survey investigating how vocal health and vocal injury are being taught was administered to stu- dents within 5 years of graduation. This study looked at what type of information is taught, when information is presented, how prepared students feel they are to handle their health and injuries upon graduation, the prevalence of injuries while in school and during the first 5 years of postgraduation, and students’ suggestions to improve their overall vocal health education. The survey compares vocal health education between the various disciplines of classical voice, musical theatre, and acting.

Results. Students learn more about general vocal hygiene than voice disorders in their undergraduate programs. Classical voice and musical theatre majors learn more about vocal health than acting majors, yet acting majors report a higher incidence of vocal injury within the first 5 years of graduation. Students also retain more vocal health knowledge when presented with information multiple times in their education.

Conclusions. Creating a more specific, consistent vocal health curriculum for all voice-related performing arts programs will improve self-efficacy regarding vocal health upon graduation.

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Amanda Flynn, Jared Trudeau, and Aaron M. Johnson,

Abstract: Purpose. Current research on the female belt voice has generally been limited to the range of C5, which is not representative of the current requirements on Broadway. Additionally, much belt research uses voice teachers or college students. The goal of this study was to acoustically examine both higher and lower belt ranges in 10 women who have performed belt roles on Broadway during the last decade.

Method. We analyzed the long-term average spectrum of the middle stable portion of three belted pitches, one from a lower, more traditional belt song and two from a higher, more contemporary belt song. The dB levels of the first three peaks in the long-term average spectrum corresponding to the first three harmonics were extracted and compared across tasks. Age, professional roles played on Broadway, and self-perceived belt strategy were obtained via interview to find potential unifying factors in resonance strategies.

Results. Overall, the dB level of the peaks closest to the second and third harmonics were higher than the peak close to the fundamental frequency. The difference between peaks was statistically greater in the lower belt com- pared to both higher belt tasks, indicating these singers relied more on a single harmonic in the lower belt range than the higher belt range. In the higher belt range, there was less variability between peaks. No patterns emerged between resonance strategies and demographic information.

Conclusions. Elite female belters use varying resonance strategies to create commercially viable belt sounds in different belt ranges.

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