Within the American Voices collection, there are a lot of similarities and differences
within the different genres of music and singing. We took a look into six different genres, each of
these having unique characteristics and things that they share. Each of the clinicians had some
different thoughts and approaches for the performers, but the universal goal was to improve the
performer’s technique and stage presence. I enjoyed how each performer was open and able to
follow the clinician’s advice and ideas.
I enjoyed hearing from the panelists about how the different industries tackle publicity
and musicianship. In one of the panels about country artists, someone mentioned that it is not
rare nowadays for country artists to not be able to sing live. That fact is disheartening to me
because of the amazing talent that so many people have that goes unnoticed. One of my least
favorite things to find out about an artist that I love, is that they can’t actually sing and only
sound good in the studio with autotune and remastering of their vocal tracks. The producer who
added this point stated that if he was interested in taking an artist in to promote, singing live is a
must and if they can’t do that, he doesn’t want to work with them. Some may find this brutal and
cutthroat, but I find it totally fair. If you can’t actually sing, why should you have a famous
career as a singer?
Hearing about the history of the gospel genre was very interesting for me. Gospel takes
its roots from the African slaves brought to America and their spiritual songs. This wasn’t
surprising for me, but what I was surprised to hear was that spirituals in gospel are very rare now.
It has morphed beyond that and outside of church settings, spirituals aren’t used much in the
genre. This comparison from where gospel originated and where it is now is a more clear picture
that also relates to how other genres have adapted and changed throughout the years. Country
music, for example, is much much different today than it was in the 1950s. Back then the vocal
tonality, harmonies and lyrics were much softer and sweeter than they are now. If you were to
compare a brand new Morgan Wallen single to Patsy Cline’s “Your Cheatin Heart”, they would
sound like two totally different genres.
Aside from the industry standards and genre evolution, the clinics focused on different
aspects of each singer’s voice. In the classical master class, Eric Owens worked with Norman
Garrett to uncover his voice and work toward a more consistent tone with changing vowels. He
first removed the vowels and then targeted the way Garrett was forming the vowels in order to
maintain tone quality and color. Instead of focusing on tone, Sutton Foster highlighted the
amount of lung capacity singer Miles Mykkanen has by asking him to run up and down both sets
of stairs in the auditorium and immediately sing his piece. Singers who work in musical theater
especially, need this lung capacity because next to singing, they often dance, jump and run
around the stage during the show.
Kim Burrel, Sara Bareilles, and Ben Folds all discussed finding your voice and adding
your own personality to each performance. Kim mentioned that when anyone listens to someone
sing a cover of a song, they are often eager to hear that specific performer’s rendition of the
song, not a spitting image copy of what they have already heard. Being a performer means
performing, not just simply copying what someone else has already done. Sara and Ben talked
about finding your own voice. They emphasized that there aren’t many examples of this process
due to singers typically having their own voice once they become noticed.
As someone who has been singing my whole life with essentially no formal training other
than generalized recommendations in choir class, I struggle with finding my own voice. I’ve
been told that I have a great voice to sing in a choir because I blend well with others, but
watching these videos and hearing these experts' advice has made me realize that I really just
mimic people. I believe this is why when I sing a cover of a country song and sing a hymn at
church, my voice sounds completely different. I think the truer, more authentic part of my voice
is brought out when I have no guide or sound in my head to mimic, this would be the voice that
shows at church. But, when I listen to myself sing a cover of a Carrie Underwood song it sounds
totally different from not only my “church” voice, but also very different from my voice when I
cover a song from a different artist. Overall, I enjoyed learning about the similarities and
differences of different genre techniques, but also the guidance in general to find your own voice
and make the performance your own. I am very excited to continue to shape my voice into
something that is unique to me and to continue to unlock the wonderful things and sounds my
body is capable of producing.
