Looking at voice science from the practitioner’s viewpoint, Singing and Voice Science is a comprehensive book for singers, teachers of singing, voice scientists, or speech-language pathologists working with singers who are interested in how the singing voice works.
The text explores modern voice science and scientific findings in the context of the musical concerns of the singer.
Modern scientific knowledge of the mechanics of the vocal instrument allows what is heard to be associated with specific physical co-ordinations as well as providing a basis for teaching technical skills, for diagnosing and correcting vocal faults, and for ensuring efficient voice production.
This science is put into an applicable body of information under familiar terms, such as breath management, phonation, resonance and articulation, and vocal health.
A book more about what is taught (voice) than how it is taught (pedagogy), Singing and Voice Science is a concise but comprehensive compendium that explores modern voice science and scientific findings as they pertain to singers and teachers.
Callaghan’s claim that Singing and Voice Science is an “account of the current state of voice science” is no idle boast.
Singer, voice teacher, researcher, and prolific author, Dr Callaghan successfully demonstrates the inadequacies of outmoded approaches to singing, and, with a little practical pedagogy mixed in, synthesizes a large body of scientific knowledge applicable to the contemporary voice studio.
Journal of Singing, May/June 2001.
Where most other works, unwittingly or not, report the study findings which support their pedagogical opinion, this book presents the findings of key studies, contradictions and all. … Of especial value is the discussion of contradictory findings and the debate surrounding studies into, for example, physiological production of the singer’s formant.
This work is a timely exposition of the different kinds of knowledge that today’s singing teacher must utilise and be comfortable addressing. It offers a readable introduction to how voice research is conducted, its key findings to date, the limitations of available methodologies and how they affect the validity of those findings, the debate and discussion surrounding findings, and the implications of all this for the studio.
Australian Voice, Vol. 2, 1999.
$45.00 (Australian) + $8.00 p&p.
