Larsen Sigmon

English 1102
Inquiry Proposal
2/3/2014

I am very interested in researching and finding out more information about music,
specifically singing. I want to know the history of it, who made a certain genre popular,
who the first person was to sing a whistle tone, etc. I am going to focus on the aspects
and preparations to becoming a singer and experimenting with the voice. I have posed
some questions that I am hoping I will be able answer after researching and completing
this project. Some of the questions are: How does someone learn how to sing inflections,
falsetto notes, whistle tones? Who was the first person to sing a whistle tone, inflection,
to sing opera? Who are the most iconic singers that have inspired people to become
singers or have made people interested with the voice? Who made what genres of music
popular? How? What singers are considered legends and why? My main goal is to be
able to give someone information on how to use his/her voice to be able to sing.
I have been singing for my whole life, ever since I was in diapers. I started out
singing nursery rhymes with my sisters. I got my first karaoke machine when I was five
and I started sing old classics from Patsy Cline with my sisters. We listened to music all
the time by various artists and we all enjoyed it. When we got older to the age of 13 we
went to a vocal coach to learn how to sing in harmony. After being taught by a coach for
a year we had mastered how to sing in harmony and went on our own. Ever since I have
been singing and using my voice to see what I am capable of doing. I have learned to sing
Eric M 2/5/14 9:57 AM
Comment [1]: 0se a heauei foi this. No just
type it( that what she likes)
Eric M 2/5/14 9:58 AM
Comment [2]: What genie aie you
thinking.
Eric M 2/5/14 9:59 AM
Comment [3]: Staiteu to sing oi
I staiteu singing
}ust uoesn't flow iight
Eric M 2/5/14 10:00 AM
Comment [4]: Wow that's inteiesting,
masteieu it in a yeai!
Eric M 2/5/14 10:02 AM
Comment [5]: voice, I am able to see what
I'm capable of uoing.
That sentence uoesn't ieally make sense.
Explain in class
inflections or runs by listening to vocalists and emulating their runs. I have learned to
experiment with my voice by practicing over and over again. Singing is a huge part of my
identity and always will be. So I am very interested in learning as much as I can about it
to not only hopefully educate other people but also educate myself so that I can become a
better singer.
I have found five academic sources to research. I did have a problem finding an
academic source that would tell me the history of singing and the popularity of genres.
However, I think I have enough academic sources to educate a person on singing though.
One of my sources discusses a persons ability to sing. It talks about how a person can
use different emotions and feelings to dig deep into his/her vocal ability. It talks about
how using heart and passion to help the notes and vocal projections come out more
clearly and sound pleasant to the ear. Harness, K. (September 01, 2011). singing.
Canadian Musician, 33, 5.)
Another source that I found talks about early history of microphone amplification.
I think this will be helpful for me because part of being a singer is being able to hear. If
you have a high quality amplified microphone then your voice will sound better when it
is projected. I think this source could educate me on the history of microphones and what
they have to do with the clarity of the voice. Lockheart, P. (September 01, 2003). A
History of Early Microphone Singing, 1925-1939: American Mainstream Popular
Singing at the Advent of Electronic Microphone Amplification. Popular Music &
Society, 26, 3.)
Another source that I found discusses singing education on vocal vibrato. I think
that this source will help me understand the capabilities of different types of singing with
Eric M 2/5/14 10:04 AM
Comment [6]: Comma aftei it.
each range of the voice. I think it will specifically help me understand the vibrato in an
opera singers voice and why it is always consistent. Murbe, D., Zahnert, T., Kuhlisch, E.,
& Sundberg, J. (November 01, 2007). Effects of Professional Singing Education on
Vocal Vibrato-A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Voice, 21, 6, 683-688.
One source that I have talks about the perception of recorded singing voice
quality using diversity in an audience. It will help me understand why people react in
different ways when they hear a singers voice. Morange, S., Dubois, D., & Fontaine, J.
M. (July 01, 2010). Perception of Recorded Singing Voice Quality and Expertise:
Cognitive Linguistics and Acoustic Approaches. Journal of Voice, 24, 4, 450-457.
I think my last source will really educate me on singing because it focuses on the
psychology of singing and voice education. I believe this source will help me find
scientific information about the singing voice. Welch, G. F., Howard, D. M., Himonides,
E., & Brereton, J. (July 01, 2005). Real-Time Feedback in the Singing Studio: An
Innovatory Action-Research Project Using New Voice Technology. Music Education
Research, 7, 2, 225-249.

For my multimodal project I plan on creating a website with all the beneficial
information I gained from my research on how to become a singer. I break my website up
in sections for someone to be able to focus on the topic they want to be further educated
on. I also plan on recording a video with my sisters of us singing in harmony to educate
people on what harmony is supposed to sound like. The audience for my multimodal
project will be basically the whole world, especially with the YouTube video.
Eric M 2/5/14 10:06 AM
Comment [7]: That sounus inteiesting
Eric M 2/5/14 10:07 AM
Comment [8]: uoou way to back up youi
papei!
Eric M 2/5/14 10:08 AM
Comment [9]: You want to bieak them up
in sections, meaning tabs so they can click
on what they want so they inteiact with
youi website.
The video will be the most difficult part of the multimodal project. I will have to
figure out and arrange a time that will be convenient for both my sister and myself to sit
down and record the video. I plan on working on a bit of the project every week so that I
wont have to do it all at the last minute. I plan to set due dates at the end of every week
for myself to have specific sections done for my website. My due dates will start
February 17
th
and continue throughout every week until the deadline that our project is
due.
















Eric M 2/5/14 10:11 AM
Comment [10]: 0veiall a well wiitten
papei. A few minoi things to make some of
youi sentences flow smoothei anu a couple
iueas to thiow at you! I think you will have a
stiong pioject anu can't wait to see what
youi finisheu pioject will look like!
Eric M 2/5/14 10:10 AM
Comment [11]: Sounus like you have a
stiong plan on what you want to uo!


Reference List

Lockheart, P. (September 01, 2003). A History of Early Microphone Singing,
1925-1939: American Mainstream Popular Singing at the Advent of Electronic
Microphone Amplification. Popular Music & Society, 26, 3.)

Harness, K. (September 01, 2011). singing. Canadian Musician, 33, 5.)

Murbe, D., Zahnert, T., Kuhlisch, E., & Sundberg, J. (November 01, 2007).
Effects of Professional Singing Education on Vocal Vibrato-A Longitudinal Study.
Journal of Voice, 21, 6, 683-688.

Morange, S., Dubois, D., & Fontaine, J. M. (July 01, 2010). Perception of
Recorded Singing Voice Quality and Expertise: Cognitive Linguistics and Acoustic
Approaches. Journal of Voice, 24, 4, 450-457.

Welch, G. F., Howard, D. M., Himonides, E., & Brereton, J. (July 01, 2005).
Real-Time Feedback in the Singing Studio: An Innovatory Action-Research Project
Using New Voice Technology. Music Education Research, 7, 2, 225-249.

Eric M 2/5/14 10:10 AM
Comment [12]: I uon't think youi foimat is
iight foi APA, like the fiist line isn't
supposeu to be inuenteu but the lines
following it aie ( I coulu be wiong). Talk
about it in class
Welch, G. F., Howard, D. M., Himonides, E., & Brereton, J. (July 01, 2005).
Real-Time Feedback in the Singing Studio: An Innovatory Action-Research Project
Using New Voice Technology. Music Education Research, 7, 2, 225-249.