Mississippi College
Department of Music
M433: Voice Pedagogy I
Fall 2015
Instructor
Nicholas Perna, DMA
NKPerna@mc.edu
601.925.3900
Aven 209
Meeting Time
Lecture
T/R
2:55-4:10 PM (403)
PR
Junior or Senior Standing in Voice
Office Hours
Posted on instructor’s office door.
Due to the nature of my applied lesson schedule it is always best to
email me for a specific appointment time.
Catalog Description
Anatomy and acoustics of singing will be applied to methods of teaching.
Course Rationale
The applied study of singing is a very personal journey for each individual who is brave enough to seek the
joy of song. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the voice pedagogue to treat students individually, to
provide each of them with support, encouragement, and constructive criticism, which is necessary to guide
the student through their journey. Each singer who becomes a teacher is still currently on their own voice
journey, which can make it easy to mirror our own strengths and struggles on our students. I would rather
suggest that the voice teacher model their teaching after Paul's words, "Pay careful attention to your own
work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to
anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct." (Galatians 6: 4-5, NLT). If you eliminate
the comparison of self to each student, it allows you to view your teaching through the eyes of how to best
SERVE the individual. This aligns with Mississippi College's vision of "advancing the genuine well being
of the community."
Part of the Mission of Mississippi College is to "pursue knowledge and truth." Through the careful study of
voice anatomy and science, we will further seek to eliminate the "guess-work" of voice teaching. The
singing voice has seen a significant increase in the amount of empirical data now generated on elite
singing. New models of voice teaching are firmly rooted in empirical fact, rather than the traditional
mentor-apprentice model that is still common in applied music study.
Course Objective
The objective of Voice Pedagogy is to train the student to develop skills necessary to teach voice. Students
will study anatomy for the purpose of understanding how physiology affects sound production. Aural and
visual analysis of singers on video, sound recordings, and in-class singers will train students to diagnose
inefficient voice production. From that analysis, basic strategies will be applied to aid student singing.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course students will be able to
 Identify anatomy employed during vocal respiration, phonation, articulation, and resonation.
 Diagnose vocal inefficiency related to, respiration, phonation, articulation, and resonation.
 Correct vocal faults related to, respiration, phonation, articulation, and resonation.
 Identify the warning signs of vocal health disorders.
Text
The required texts/materials for this course are:
McCoy, Scott. Your Voice: The Basics. Inside View Press. 2015. (Only available as eBook)
McKinney, James C. The Diagnosis et Correction of Vocal Faults. Waveland Press. 2005.
Muscle Premium. Visible Body. (App for Mac, PC, iPad, or Android tablet).
Attendance
Attendance at all sessions is expected and required. You are allowed 2 absences. Upon the third
absence your letter grade will plummet one letter grade. This will repeat accordingly per each
additional absence. Class will begin at 2:55 pm. If you are late to class you will be counted as tardy.
Two tardy appearances will count as 1 absence.
Disability Services
In order for a student to receive disability accommodations under Section 504 of the Americans with
Disabilities Act, he or she must contact Student Counseling Services (SCS). SCS will assist with
information regarding the appropriate policy and procedure for disability accommodations before each
semester or upon immediate recognition of the disability. SCS is located in Alumni Hall Room #4 or
you may contact them by phone at 601-925-7790. The Director of Student Counseling Services, Dr.
Bryant may be reached via email at mbryant@mc.edu.
Academic Integrity
See attached policy.
Cell Phones and Audio/Video recording
Cell phones must be silenced for the duration of class. Text messaging, games, web-surfing, and other cell
phone-related activities are not permitted during class. Calling a student during class and asking him to tell
the instructor you will be late or absent is not acceptable.
Audio or video recording of lectures or any class session by students is strictly prohibited without express
written permission of the instructor in advance of the requested recording. Permission may be granted for
academic purposes and to assist students with documented special needs.
Assignments may be video recorded by the instructor.
Moodle & Email
This course will utilize Moodle for notes and assignments. It is recommended that you use a high-speed
wired connection.
Students are expected to read and reply to email at least one time each day. Email will be the primary
manner of communication outside of class. Please include a relevant subject line in email communication.
If you have a question, please check the syllabus and if you cannot find an answer, ask it!
Projects, Assignments, and Evaluations
Discussion Questions:
For each class that has an assigned reading you are to bring TWO questions that may be used as discussion
questions during that day's class. Discussion questions must be turned into the instructor at the beginning
of each session. The question should be a "dig-deeper" or "clarification" topic from the assigned reading.
Lesson Observations:
Over the course of the semester you must observe two students, two lessons each. The two students MUST
come from different voice studios other than your own. The purpose of this is not to observe the student,
but the teaching style and tactics of the voice teacher. Also, the repeat observation explores whether
techniques being employed in the first lesson have been useful in advancing the singing of the student over
the weeks leading to the second lesson. You must ask both the student and more importantly the teacher
for permission to observe. The faculty has been advised that you will be asking for permission. In no way
are you to comment, interrupt, disrupt, or cause any sort of distraction during the lesson, unless prompted
by the teacher. You may not observe lessons during the first two weeks or final two weeks of the semester.
Lesson Observation Synthesis:
A brief (4-5 typed, double-spaced pages) summary of whether or not, in your estimation (which should
now be based on pedagogical knowledge relating to respiration, phonation, and articulation) the techniques
employed by the teachers were effective in progressing the development of the student. Defend your
evaluations with citations from the texts and/or lecture notes.
Quizzes:
Each quiz may include a written portion, audio/visual diagnosis and correction, and an in-class teaching
demonstration. For in-class teaching demonstrations the course instructor or fellow students will
demonstrate vocal faults for which you must provide diagnosis and corrective procedures.
Final Exam:
The final exam will be cumulative of the semester's material. It will be two parts. The teaching portion
will be conducted during the final class session. The written and audio-visual portions will be administered
during the assigned final exam session.
Grade Distribution
Discussion Questions (1 point each)
Lesson Observations (5 points each)
Lesson Observation Synthesis
Quizzes (5 points each)
Final Exam
20 points
20 points
10 points
20 points
30 points
Total
100 points
Grade Scale
A = 90-100 points
B = 80-89 points
C = 70-79 points
D = 60-69 points
F = 50-69 points
Course Calendar (Subject to change)
Date
Topic
Assignment Due
8/27
Course Overview
9/1
Course overview/Tonal Image
McCoy 1; McKinney 1
9/3
Posture
McCoy 2 & pp. 26-28; McKinney pp. 33-40
1-Sep
Posture (d & c faults)
McKinney pp. 40-45
3-Sep Respiration Anatomy & Physiology
McCoy 3.2
8-Sep
McKinney's 4 stages
McKinney 48-52
10-Sep
Respiration Techniques
McCoy 3.3
15-Sep
Respiration
17-Sep
Respiration (d & c faults)
McKinney pp. 56-64
22-Sep
24-Sep
Respiration (d & c faults)
Respiration QUIZ
29-Sep
Articulation Anatomy
1-Oct
Articulation
6-Oct
Articulation (d & c faults)
8-Oct
Articulation (d & c faults)
13-Oct
No Class - Fall Recess
15-Oct
McCoy 9
OBSERVATIONS DUE, McKinney pp 160165
Quiz Articulation
20-Oct
Phonation
McCoy 4.1
22-Oct
Phonation Modes
McCoy 4.2
27-Oct
Phonation (d & c faults)
McKinney 82-92
29-Oct
Quiz Phonation
3-Nov
Vocal Health
McCoy 9
5-Nov
Sound: Harmonics
McCoy 5.1
10-Nov
Formant Primer
Observations DUE
12-Nov
Source/Filter Interactions
Handout
17-Nov
Treble Acoustics
Handout
19-Nov
Treble (d & c faults)
Handout
1-Dec
Male Acoustics
Handout
3-Dec
Male (d & c faults)
Handout
8-Dec
But what about belters?
TBD
Observation Synthesis DUE
FINAL EXAM: Written and Teaching