pensive ethnic man listening to answer in paper cup phone

Popular and Commercial Music Voice Teachers: Your Input Is Needed!

Hello friends and colleagues!  I (Jessica Baldwin) am currently on the NATS Commercial Music Auditions national committee. The committee deeply wants the auditions to benefit popular and commercial music teachers and singers in the ways they want to experience benefits. It’s become clear that we need more information from the community itself, much of which exists outside of NATS. With the committee’s approval, I’ve created … Continue reading Popular and Commercial Music Voice Teachers: Your Input Is Needed!

Livestream Replay: Your Western-Classical Degree Did Not Prepare You to Teach Popular Music Styles

Flashback to this livestream with Jess Baldwin and Dr. Shannon Coates, talking about the different ways your Western-Classical Degree probably didn’t prepare you to teach popular music styles. If you want to fill in a few of those pedagogy gaps, Dr. Coates’ Contemporary Voice Ped Pop-Up runs this week! Anatomy on Tuesday June 14, Panel with Jess on Wednesday June 15. $125 for single days … Continue reading Livestream Replay: Your Western-Classical Degree Did Not Prepare You to Teach Popular Music Styles

woman in green jacket holding a microphone

Changing the Feel of a Cover Song with Limited Instrumental Skills // Jess Baldwin

There’s no shame in not having major instrumental skills, and it definitely doesn’t have to hold you back in helping your student (or yourself!) reimagine a cover song in a style that feels more authentic. Here are a few tools you can use. Ballad-ize It If you want to ballad-ize something, Look on YouTube/iTunes for stripped down versions of a song. Search terms like “piano … Continue reading Changing the Feel of a Cover Song with Limited Instrumental Skills // Jess Baldwin

man using brown and black electric guitar while singing

Good Artistry Doesn’t Require “Good” Vocal Technique // Jess Baldwin

Often, I see us voice teachers describing a good artist as someone who exists at the intersection of good vocal technique and good expression/storytelling/etc. I have absolutely been on this thought train in the past, but I’m seriously questioning it. Here’s why: I work with a lot of voice teachers who are exploring popular musics in their own voices. A common fear most of them … Continue reading Good Artistry Doesn’t Require “Good” Vocal Technique // Jess Baldwin

Before you create that popular musics voice teacher position… // Jess Baldwin

Please stop creating positions for popular musics voice teachers in your mostly classical voice department if you’re not going to provide the students with the full range of resources and training they really need to be successful in these genres. Will they be required to write and sing their own songs as part of their lessons? Will there be songwriting professors on faculty to help … Continue reading Before you create that popular musics voice teacher position… // Jess Baldwin

March Workshops

Join our contributors for these upcoming workshops! Moving from Appropriation to Appreciation in the White-Owned Voice Studio // Jess Baldwin & Michelle Markwart Deveaux Friday, March 12⋅11:30am – 1:30pm Jessica Baldwin and Michelle Markwart Deveaux have developed a brave space for white voice teachers of popular musics who are ready to take actionable steps toward repertoire justice. Repertoire justice is the act of educating ourselves … Continue reading March Workshops

Teaching CCM Styles, Finding Your Voice, and Appropriating Styles…and Yourself // Dr. Trineice Robinson-Martin

Dr. Trineice (creator of Soul Ingredients® and author of So You Want to Sing Gospel) shares some fantastic wisdom with us about the ways academia can helpfully structure programs for singers of CCM genres, how she found her own voice and helps others find theirs, and ways we can be mindful of potential appropriation. Transcript: Jessica Baldwin:Hey everybody. I am Jess Baldwin, and this is … Continue reading Teaching CCM Styles, Finding Your Voice, and Appropriating Styles…and Yourself // Dr. Trineice Robinson-Martin

Elizabeth Benson’s findings in her new book about CCM Voice Teachers: “Consensus is not a path to legitimacy.”

Elizabeth Ann Benson has recently published her book Training Contemporary Commercial Singers, in which she shares her findings from interviewing 26 voice teachers who work with CCM, popular music, jazz, and musical theatre singers. She is trained in Somatic Voicework™ the LoVetri Method, Lisa Popeil’s Voiceworks® method, and Estill Voice Training™, among others. She is a 2016 graduate of the Intern Program of the National … Continue reading Elizabeth Benson’s findings in her new book about CCM Voice Teachers: “Consensus is not a path to legitimacy.”