Singing As A Technical EnDeavor

When we think of the fine arts, whether it be music, dance or acting, we tend to think of these people as great Creatives, motivated by internal passion who are expressing themselves through their art.  Singing, in this view, is less about expertise and more about talent and expression.

This viewpoint, the musician as a great artist, is actually a bit controversial.  Here's why:

As composing became more professional, composers such as Bach, Handel and others saw themselves not as artists but more as craftsmen, tinkering with the inner mechanics of music to create a harmonious and pleasing sound.  Music, in this view, was not an expression of an internal desire but rather the creating of an elaborate clock or device with lots of moving parts, all working in a harmonious whole.

This "musician as engineer" viewpoint started to become contested in the mid-1800s with Beethoven.  Beethoven was an extraordinary composer even before he became deaf, but some of his greatest works came after he could barely hear.  Combine this with the fact that Beethoven was a bit mercurial in temperament and not the easiest to get along with, we saw the invention of a new myth: that musicians were motivated by internal passions and that reducing their musicianship to 'moving parts' was unfair to the artist.

How does this relate to singing?  Both viewpoints, which appear in conflict with each other, are actually complementary.  A great singer has an extraordinary knowledge and physical ability to manipulate their instrument to create a desired effect ('singer as craftsman').  But singers are also great creatives, motivated by emotions that inspire them to shape a musical phrase this way or that.  One's creativity is enabled PRECISELY because a singer has such technical knowledge of their own instrument.

Voice lessons deal primarily with creating the expertise of a great singer.  As a voice teacher, I know A LOT about how the voice works as an instrument, and can help my students achieve what they want to create artistically.

DWS