Class Voice 3

Humanities/Fine Arts Division	Staff
Butler Community College	Fall 1997

Course Outline

CLASS VOICE III

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
MU230. Class Voice III. 1-2 hour credit. Lessons in voice with emphasis on posture, breathing, diction and basic musicianship. Literature is studied, memorized and selected for performance. A vocal jury is required at the end of the semester.

TEXT:
Lindsley, Charles Edward, Fundamentals of Singing for Voice Classes, Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Co. 1985.
Also, the instructor will choose from a selection of literature volumes available for the beginning singer, among them:
24 Italian Songs and Arias-G. Schirmer Inc. w/acc tape
The New Imperial Edition-Boosey and Hawkes
Singers Anthology to Musical Theatre-Shawnee Press, Inc.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
The students will become familiar with proper singing techniques appropriate to a variety of musical styles. They will gain firsthand knowledge of vocal literature and basic monitoring their own practice.

TOPICAL OUTLINE OF UNITS:
At the completion of these units, the student should be able to:

UNIT I: Preparation

point out the positive aspects of voice class.
Identify who can become a singer.
define how to prepare for proper vocal training.
explain how much, when, and where to practice.
demonstrate the proper way to prepare a song.
define ways of overcoming stage fright.

UNIT II: Breathing and Posture

define the proper breathing concepts of singing.
identify the proper posture needed to complement the breathing cycle in singing.

UNIT III: Phonation

define the "production of singing tone."
identify the different types of "attacks."
demonstrate the proper mouth formations for each of the five main vowels.
feel the "yawn-sign" when preparing the throat for singing.
demonstrate how to change pitch, volume and timbre of the voice when singing.

UNIT IV: Resonation

define resonance in the singing tone.
identify the vocal resonators and their functions.
demonstrate how to maximize the resonance in the singing tone.

UNIT V: Literature

select two songs, in consultation with their instructor, and memorize them to sing at the Final Jury.
sing one song in Italian.
sing one song in English.

METHODS OF EVALUATION:
Class Voice involves a weekly class singing session, with vocal analysis and methodology given by the instructor to the students. Great care is taken to protect the instruments of the singers, teaching proper care of the voice and personal hygiene in addition to voice techniques and literature. The learning activities include: analysis of tone, analysis of breathing, analysis of posture, instructor example, weekly recitals, analysis of literature, outside concert examples, video viewing where appropriate and available, and listening.

METHOD OF INSTRUCTION:

Class attendance and attitude 33%
Memorized literature 33%
Vocal Jury 33%

Each Voice Class student will have 15 class sessions during the regular semester. Being tardy twice constitutes 1 unexcused absence. After two unexcused absences, the student will be dropped from the class. After two excused absences, the semester grade will be lowered one letter grade. If you need to drop this class, it is expected that you talk with the instructor before doing so.

DAILY PRACTICE: Each student is expected to vocalize and work on literature a set amount of minutes each week. For one hour of credit, each student should practice a minimum 30 minutes each day.

TEXTBOOK: Each student is expected to have their own copy of the required text and literature book. For scholarship students these are available at the College Bookstore. Each music scholarship student should receive the Lindsley text, and a copy of the 24 Italian Art Songs with accompaniment tape.

MASTER CLASS: Class Voice Students are encouraged to attend the Vocal Master Class on Thursday, at 12:30 p.m. In addition, all Class Voice students are required to attend the Honor's Recital held at the end of each semester.

TAPE RECORDINGS: All students are encouraged to bring their own tapes into the studio and tape record their class sessions.

MID-TERM TAPING SESSIONS: All Voice students are required to perform, from memory one song at mid-term, and record the performance on video tape to be filed by the music department.

SEMESTER END VOICE JURIES: All Voice students are required to perform one of the memorized songs, selected by the jury panel, as a Final Exam for this class.

Miscellaneous:

Students with impaired sensory, manual or speaking skills are encouraged and have the responsibility to contact their instructor, in a timely fashion, regarding reasonable accommodation needs.