Episode 226: Breaking Down Vocal Ped with David Jones

One of the core functions of a choir director or vocal music educator is to teach people to love and understand their voice. This episode is the latest addition to the Choralosophy Vocal Pedagogy Suite. Voice teacher David Jones joins me this week to discuss some tips, approaches and even some exercises and language to try in your rehearsals with singers of ALL ages. In today’s episode, we have the privilege of hearing from David, a dedicated vocal pedagogue who began his journey as a high school singer in choirs. David shares his experiences studying under renowned vocal teachers like Alan Lindquest and emphasizes the vital balance of vocal registration to avoid strain, keeping the voice healthy. We’ll delve into the concept of “perfect attack” or coordinated onset, which is crucial for both young singers and adults. David explains how a coordinated onset leads to better breath support and control. We spend a lot of time discussing ways to help singers release tension allowing for freely legato singing. Demonstrations and descriptions of several exercises that were new to me, had me excited to try some new ones in my class! As we discussed teaching beginning singers, David emphasized the importance of establishing good habits early on and shared his unique methods, like various tension transfer exercises. I also really enjoyed our discussion toward the end about “technique phobia” and the concern that technical perfection often gets associated with dry or emotionless performance. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t have to! Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions. Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope If you enjoy this content, please consider supporting the show at http://www.patreon.com/choralosophy for as little as 3$ a month AND receive subscriber only content there. Choralosophy Podcast is brought to you by Ludus! Ticket sales and marketing solutions designed for the Performing Arts! visit Ludus.com/choralosophy to explore and get a FREE marketing upgrade. Please support our sponsors by checking out these sites. Be sure to enter Choralosophy at Checkout for a 10% discount! https://www.ryanmain.com https://www.sightreadingfactory.com https://www.graphitepublishing.com https://www.vocevista.com/choralosophy 5% off all branded products at https://www.mymusicfolders.com Also be sure to visit https://www.choralosophy.com