Journal of Voice

Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 195-205

© 1993 Raven Press, Ltd., New York

That Golden Voice Talent or Training?

Harry Hollien

Institute of Advanced Study of the Communication Processes and Linguistics, University o f Florida,
Gainesville, Florida, U.S.A.

Summary: This article is an updating and expansion of a lecture presented at

the Thirteenth Symposium on the Care of the Professional Voice, New York,
June 1984; a somewhat limited version of the manuscript was published in the
Transcripts of that symposium. Basically, an attempt will be made by an ob-
server from another field to lay the groundwork for the better understanding of
the "voice teacher." Accordingly, some of the dialogue to follow may be a
little informal; it certainly is interpretive. The latter portion of the discussion
will involve suggestions/illustrations that may be useful in further enhancing
this somewhat underrated field and bonding it to others. While the comments
found below reflect only the opinions of the author, it is fair to state that most
of them have been articulated by others. Key Words: Voice--Voice training.

The essay to follow will explore the function of
the singing coach or voice teacher from the point of
view of an individual who has observed, and inter-
acted with, this type of professional for over a quar-
ter of a century. As justification, it is argued that
sometimes it is possible to provide fresh perspec-
tives about a profession if the observer is not totally
immersed in it. Of course, it must be conceded that,
while insights such as those to follow can be accu-
rate and helpful, other times they can be incorrect
or misguided. It is hoped that the second is not the
case here. In any event, it is suggested that these
reflections should provide information as to how
the cited professionals are viewed by individuals
from related disciplines especially since virtually
every observation to follow has been made by oth-
ers (as well as the author).
For the purposes of this article, the several types
of practitioner groups who engage in voice training
will be combined into a single entity and referred to
as "voice teachers." Figure 1 provides insight into
some of the relationships between the voice teacher
Accepted October 22, 1991.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. H.
Hollien at IASCP, 50 Dauer Hall, University of Florida, Gaines-
ville, FL 32611-2005, U.S.A.
and the performer, i.e., the artist, the singer, and
the actor. Note that the focus for all of the profes-
sionals portrayed in the figure can be depicted in its
top third, i.e., the performer and their perfor-
mances. Note also the centrality of the voice
teacher to this model and, in turn, with the many
other types of specialists who interact with them.
Incidentally, it must be remembered that many of
these other professionals are, in and of themselves,
"performers." Indeed, the scientists, the physi-
cians, the composers, and the conductors each en-
joy areas of expertise within which they become the
"principal." However, it must be stressed that--in
relation to the model seen in Fig. 1 and the issues to
be discussed below all of these other individuals
constitute "service personnel," i.e., they support
the activities of the voice teacher and his or her
efforts on behalf of the performer. Hence, they are
placed in a position that is, at once, basic to and
supportive of the voice teacher.
THE QUESTION
The following question may be asked: Is that
"golden voice"--that breathtaking quality heard in
the voice of the premier singer or the award-
winning actor--primarily the product of the artist's

195
196
PERFORMANCES
\ \ t / / f
PERFORMERS 1 ing personal p e r s p e c t i v e s ; they are p a r a p h r a s e d
"-., \ t / f
THE
l VOICE
TEACHER
Conductors and
Composers
Pedagogists
and Teachers
Artists and
Humanists
Dentis~
Physicians Nonmexiical
Practitioners
Scientists
FIG. 1. The relationship of voice teachers to the performer and
to the specialists who support/assist in his or her work.
native talents and motivations or is it due to the
efforts of the voice teacher? Naturally, both posi-
tions can be argued. F o r example, s o m e individuals
have been known to contend that e v e n top-flight
talent only rarely (perhaps very rarely) will be real-
ized without the all-encompassing efforts of that ad-
v i s o r - m e n t o r - t u t o r - f r i e n d : the voice teacher. Yet,
the other e x t r e m e also can be postulated, i.e., that
about the only function that can be assigned to the
voice teacher is that of t e m p o r a r y guide, that they
do little to aid the p e r f o r m e r b e y o n d aiming them in
the proper direction. Is one of these positions cor-
rect or does the truth lie s o m e w h e r e in between? In
short, what is or are the role or roles of voice teach-
ers, and h o w important are their efforts?
PERSPECTIVES
It is not really fair for a person who is not a b o n a
fide m e m b e r of a profession to c o m m e n t on it and
its practitioners without revealing something about
himself or herself. Most important, the o b s e r v e r
must be willing to e x p o s e his or her w e a k n e s s e s and
Journal of Voice, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1993
H. H O L L I E N
strengths relative to the task to be undertaken. Ac-
I cordingly, the relationships discussed and the opin-
I ions ventured are offered in the light of the follow-
from the original lecture.
"First, I must confess that, no matter how much I
might or might not want to be one, I am not now and
never have been an accomplished singer; however, I
have listened to many singers, both professionally
and critically as well as for pleasure. Second, I have
spent some years now working with, supporting, and
studying the voice teacher. In this regard, I have read
many of their books and observed both demonstra-
tions (master classes) as welt as real life instruction
of student singers and actors. Third, and perhaps
most important, I have been privileged to carry out
Engineers and
research in collaboration with over a half-dozen tal-
Acousticians ented voice teachers and, happily, we have been able
to jointly publish a number of these studies (1-9).
Fourth, as with the voice teachers, I have spent a
Speech substantial portion of my life developing talent. In
Pathologists
many ways, budding scientists are much like student
singers or young actors. Finally, I do indeed carry
out research on voice (including that on the singing
voice) so I am not naive about the issues involved
and many of the processes to be discussed. Thus,
while not a voice teacher or performer, I submit that
a view from 'my side of the room' may be useful---or
even helpful---to the voice teacher."
A N G E L OR DEVIL?
As might be expected, p e r f o r m e r s exhibit m a n y
and varied attitudes about their teachers. S o m e suc-
cessful artists simply idolize their voice teachers,
occasionally to excess. Other p e r f o r m e r s are quite
grateful for the help provided by their teacher or
teachers, and are both vocal and intelligent in their
statements about them. Performers in this (the most
c o m m o n group) seem to maintain that it is a balance
b e t w e e n talent and training that leads to the very
best results. A m u c h smaller subgroup a p p e a r s to
include individuals who are not particularly grateful
to their teachers and, finally, a few p e r f o r m e r s are
quite negative about their teacher or teachers. T h e y
often deny that these individuals m a d e any relevant
contribution to their success. Positions such as
these do not a p p e a r to be particularly helpful in
understanding the effectiveness of teachers a s some
students will respond positively to a teacher, and
others negatively, no matter h o w effective they are.
Nonetheless, these opinions are real and m u s t be
dealt with by voice teachers.
Statements m a d e by yet a second group also must
be considered. F a i l e d p e r f o r m e r s or " n o n a r t i s t s "
 VOICE TRAINING
can be most critical of their teachers. It appears that
while many such individuals realize the true source
of their lack of success is a deficiency of talent, the
best many others are willing to say about their
teachers is that they "sometimes" were of aid, at
least initially, by useful introductions or advice. At
worst, the teacher is accused of frustrating (and
even blocking) talent and is said (by the student) to
have "ruined" a great voice or a great acting ca-
reer. Obviously, statements by individuals who
have not achieved a reasonable measure of success
must be given little credence. However, they can-
not be totally ignored, i.e., while the opinions of
failed performers obviously are expressions of an-
ger/frustration, they also can provide hints about
certain important issues.
THE TEACHERS SPEAK
It is not members of other professions who are
most critical of voice teachers. Rather, it is the
voice teachers themselves. Of course, certain mem-
bers of other disciplines appear not to understand
the nature of this field or, at least, some of the ap-
proaches and/or terminology employed. However,
it would seem that most of the negative attitudes
exhibited by others actually result from blocks in
communication, limited interest, or simple igno-
rance. In any event, it appears that the severest
critic of a voice teacher is another voice teacher.
While the problem tends to be intensified by the
keen competition among these professionals, how
can one apply this simple explanation to the state-
ment made at the 1983 Symposium on The Care of
the Professional Voice by a voice teacher (who, in-
cidentally will not by cited by name)? She said (in
effect) that she was weary of endlessly apologizing
for the "many incompetent voice teachers who ex-
ist within my field." As another example, in 1981, a
voice teacher (who also will remain anonymous) as-
sured a large audience of voice teachers (at a sem-
inar) that they were at the workshop he was ad-
dressing only because they were all "failures"! He
went on to say that he could make this statement
confidently because they " a l l " had wanted to
achieve recognition as performers but, failing in
that ambition, had settled for the role of teacher.
Undoubtedly, this panelist was correct about some
of the members attending that seminar, but cer-
tainly not about all of them! Some had always been
teachers; others had enjoyed prior careers as suc-
cessful artists. Ironically, however, the most pene-
197
trating observation he made was implied rather than
stated. It was that these individuals by and large
had not been systematically prepared for their
(teaching) profession, but, rather, had often been
trained for another (that of performer). This issue
will be addressed again.
However, how much closer does a review of
"good press" or "bad press" bring us to answering
the question articulated in the title of this essay. In
reality, the positions and relationships discussed
above do have a bearing on why there is not an easy
answer to this inquiry.
THE FUNCTION OF A VOICE TEACHER
Perhaps it will be possible to comprehend the rel-
evant relationships better if an attempt is made to
understand the functions of a voice teacher and/or
the skills/talents this type of professional must pos-
sess. Is it actually true that all a voice teacher needs
to be is a kindly person who supports the student
with words of encouragement or, perhaps, is but a
motivator or disciplinarian? Support of these types
certainly is appreciated by most budding perform-
ers. However, if it is true that the voice teacher is
naught but a kind of adjunct to the student or per-
former, the talent/training question must be an-
swered on the side of "talent."
On the other hand, is it possible that there are
skills and gifts (beyond those suggested above) that
must be exhibited by the voice teacher? If so, what
might they be? Consider the relationships outlined
in Fig. 2; perhaps, they are more to the point. A
brief review of these attributes would appear to be
in order. Incidentally, if this array is somewhat in-
timidating, consider how long and complex the list
would be if the professional being described was a
phonetician, or an otolaryngologist?
However, back to the primary issue: First, of
course, the voice teacher must be a friend to the
student or performer. Talent is a fragile entity and
must be nurtured into maturity by the ministrations
of individuals who are knowledgeable about, and
dedicated to, the task. Thus, it is important that the
voice teacher be the student's mentor. Second, to
function in this role (and to be a competent instruc-
tor), the voice teacher must be a reasonably good
practicing psychologist with both technical knowl-
edge about personality and insightful perspectives
relative to the elements that underlie specific be-
haviors. Indeed, it is not enough to be well meaning
in this regard as behavior modification is not always
Journal of Voice, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1993
198 H. HOLLIEN

enough to convey the meaning/processes intended

L to individuals who can vary greatly in their abilities
',,, t / ,/.../ to synthesize such data. On the somewhat negative
P~.,ERFORMERS side, however, those seemingly special or extraor-
dinary gifts exhibited by certain voice teachers
sometimes have led to what can be identified as
cultism. How often does the outsider hear: "Oh,
the Cleetfluster methods is the only one that can
ATTRIBUTES VOI CE I KNOWLEDGE
TEACHER I r insure you will become a great singer." "Certainly,
Gnarly Fugwump's approach is infinitely superior
to anyone else's." "You can't expect to be a great
singer (actor) unless you submit to rolfing" (only
the names have been changed)? Such cultism ap-
Tempe.... I t/ \\~ [ Scores/Compositions
] pears to be counterproductive as it is well known
that there is no single way--no "perfect" way--to
do anything. While it is important to learn from oth-
PsycPrtoil~ist
a~ ( ~ ~ ~ ~ KaLC'a~guedage~
f ] ers, elevation of any individual to the rank of
"guru" does both the teacher and the field a disser-
vice. The worst case scenario is where the "guru"
Physiologist l Acoustics / attempts to communicate his or her "methods" in
/ printed form. Descriptions of techniques that can-
Possesses Exceptional not be operationally defined or that are based more
on personal magnetism than on tangible processes
can lead to little better than confusion. Indeed,
Friend
tobeone) ]
(Ability some of the books associated with vocal music ex-
hibit inadequacies of this type.
FIG. 2. The characteristicsnecessaryfor effectivevoiceteach- The voice teacher must be an accomplished mu-
ing. sician. To be less subverts the entire profession.
Nor is the training and talent necessary to become a
a positive and maturing force; it can be dangerous if skillful practitioner of this type trivial. The scores
mishandled. Thus, the voice teacher must have spe- and compositions, the types-kinds-styles of music,
cific training in applied psychology; it also is helpful about which the voice teacher needs to develop
to be intuitive and insightful about personality, knowledge and competency are extensive enough
learning, and deviant behavior. Some illustrative to impress virtually any outsider. Moreover, the
examples will be found in one of the following para- voice teacher must be able to sing (or speak) rea-
graphs. sonably well and (usually) play other instruments
The third skill necessary is that of education spe- (especially the piano). Perhaps most important, it is
cialist. The voice teacher must have an enthusiam required that he or she develop critical/evaluative
for, as well as specific training in, teaching. Indeed, skills of substantial proportions, those that permit
he or she must be well grounded in sound teaching the all-important (but excruciatingly fine) student
techniques. Any individual who drifts into this pro- examinations to be carried out. Talent/training in
fession without obtaining formal training in teaching one or more foreign languages plus an extensive
does his or her students a distinct disservice. understanding of the theater and theatre lore also
Fourth, voice teachers must possess specialized are required of the voice teacher. Certainly, a few
teaching techniques (such as "imagery") that may of these skills can be acquired by experience but
not be among the usual complement enjoyed by or- most demand intensive formal study.
dinary educators. They must possess the talent to To teach, to mold, to motivate the aspiring singer
travel beyond the traditional; they must possess the or actor is basic. Yet to function effectively, the
facility to draw out those gifts so often hidden voice teacher must have a good working knowledge
within the student. As is well known, all students do of acoustics (including room acoustics, theater
not process information in the same manner. The acoustics, and acoustics of the vocal tract) plus an
voice teacher, then, requires a repertoire extensive intimate knowledge of human physiology (including

Journal of Voice, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1993

 VOICE T R A I N I N G
respiratory, laryngeal, and vocal tract physiology).
Lack of fundamental understanding about physiol-
ogy and acoustics can lead to an abuse of the "sys-
tem" by the performer. No voice teacher wants to
"ruin" a voice. One of the best ways to avoid this
danger is to apply knowledge about human physi-
ology and the internal/external acoustics associated
with singing and speaking in ways that will help the
student escape stressful use of their mechanism.
Just as important is knowledge about how these ar-
eas interface with each other. Indeed, it is pointless
to attempt to elicit a phonatory production of some
particular type or level if the singer simply cannot
perform in the manner desired. These concepts are
critical as it is just as important to understand an
individual's limitations as it is to be aware of his/her
potential.
A parallel issue concerns the student's health.
Not only must the voice teacher be a fair "country"
diagnostician with respect to the technical problems
related to singing, but he or she also must possess
"antenna" sensitive enough to detect a student's
potential medical and/or psychological problems.
Of course, humans do not come equipped with very
much of this type of sensitivity; rather, it must be
learned. Nevertheless, recognition of the early
warning signs of voice disorders (for example) or
any medical problem is necessary if the voice
teacher is to meet his or her responsibilities appro-
priately.
Finally, the question must be asked: how can a
voice teacher possibly be successful if he or she
does not possess exceptionally good, and highly
trained, hearing? The teacher must be able to hear
subtle differences among various phonations/
utterances, and must be able to perceive, store, pro-
cess, and match complex acoustic signals. While
little formal training is available in basic neurosen-
sory function, extraordinary auditory capability,
nonetheless, constitutes the capstone for effective
functioning as a voice teacher.
To summarize, the talents and learned skills that
must be exhibited by even an average voice teacher
are remarkable in their scope and complexity (see,
again, Fig. 2); undoubtedly, the list is even longer as
a number of items surely have been omitted. While
it is doubtful that the majority of the voice teachers
are consciously aware of the magnitude of this list,
most of the effective ones possess this impressive
set of skills and talents! On the other hand, it also
must be pointed out that many do not. Perhaps the
situation would be helped if more attention was paid
199
to the criteria used in the selection of new voice
teachers and in the organization of training pro-
grams designed to provide them with appropriate
skills. This problem will be addressed again below.
TO ANSWER THE QUESTION
It now should be obvious that the preceding dia-
logue bears directly upon the talent/training ques-
tion, i.e., if voice teachers play only a minimal role
in the development of successful performers, why
do they have to exhibit such an extensive array of
talents and proficiencies themselves? Of course,
those characteristics (motivation and talent) neces-
sary for the beginner to evolve into an accom-
plished performer must be present in the student.
However, the realization of these gifts probably
cannot occur unless they are released, nurtured,
and developed by an effective teacher. Just as the
premier singer or top-flight actor must have talent
sufficient for accomplishment, so must the voice
teacher effectively apply his or her substantial tal-
ents if the performer is to be successful. In short, it
is possible that the question of talent or training can
be answered by the single word: " b o t h . "
Are you still not convinced? Consider the many
other proofs that serve to support the position just
articulated. The fact that an incredible number of
music/acting conservatories, schools, studios and
programs exist throughout the world--and have for
hundreds of years--would appear to suggest a need
for the field; i.e., if "talent will out," why the ne-
cessity for so many and so varied programs, for
such an extensive literature and for so many voice
teachers? Another proof lies in the interface of the
teacher with the many related professions seen in
the figures. This centrality suggests both the com-
plexity of talent development and the key role the
teacher plays in the process. Even when the per-
former is attended to (directly) by one of the cited
specialists, the teacher probably was the person
who identified the problem and/or made the refer-
ral. In addition, what an extensive array of special-
ists there are with whom the voice teacher must
interact. The singer does not (and probably should
not) have an unmonitored interface with these indi-
viduals. Rather, the voice teacher must be the per-
son who mediates these processes, buffers the
performer, and transfers (sometimes) the required
information to them. This is a substantial responsi-
bility.
Journal of Voice, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1993
200 H. H O L L I E N
UPGRADING THE PROFESSION
It now should be clear that talent alone is not
enough and, if a singer's or actors gifts are to be
realized, the efforts of a competent voice teacher
also are needed. However, are all teachers compe-
tent? Probably, they are not. Can the overall quality
of voice training be modernized and upgraded? Of
course it can. Even the more eminent and success-
ful of teachers have struggled long and hard to ac-
cumulate the knowledge and skills they must pos-
sess and apply. Indeed, it is the most senior, suc-
cessful, and prominent among them who most
keenly realize the benefit of a continual upgrading
of their intellectual repertoire. Yet, there are some
problems that impede this process. A few examples
should serve to illustrate these difficulties and, per-
haps, suggest approaches that can be useful in mit-
igating them. While these problems/challenges can
take many forms, four among them are prominent;
they include those of (a) oversimplification, (b) as-
similation of new data, (c) missing information, and
(d) education.
The oversimplification issue
Voice teachers sometimes are forced to deal with
a complex problem in an inappropriately simple
manner. The cause of these difficulties may be
rooted in (a) the training they receive, (b) the un-
availability of appropriate data, or (c) the legacies of
"tradition." The result is that the teacher finds him-
self or herself approaching the issue as though it
were a single entity with but a simple solution. Yet,
the teacher sometimes experiences an uneasiness
about the problem even if this feeling does not reach
a conscious level. One solution would be to chal-
lenge each and every concept held. However, what
a tedious, time-consuming, and inefficient proce-
dure that would be. Perhaps a better approach
would be to question other professionals competent
in that area of concern and/or to scan continually
the literature for references to those issues that
cause any felt discomfort or confusion.
The following example may serve to illustrate just
how the oversimplification of a complex issue can
result in difficulties for the teacher: Consider the
issue of good "projection" or " f o c u s " by a per-
former; to be (appropriately) heard is of first impor-
tance to the singer or actor. In turn, it would appear
that the presence of a singer's format :.(or "ring")
will contribute materially to "projection" or "fo-
cus." However, what format is this to which we
Journal of Voice, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1993
refer? Is a "singer's format" actually an entity? If
so, where is it; should all singers use it (and under
all conditions), and can it be taught? This concept--
and its consequences--may s e e m simple, yet the
number of questions that can be asked about it are
substantial. Even more to the point is that many
teachers naively accept the existence of a "singer's
format" and attempt to train students to produce it
without a very good understanding of its nature.
For one thing, the controversy about whether or
not "ring" exists in the first place has been raging
for years. It now appears to have been settled in the
affirmative. A corpus of relevant information about
it is slowly being built as a result of observations/
research carried out by phoneticians, voice scien-
tists, engineers, and physicians--and the voice
teachers themselves. What is emerging is that sing-
er's format is quite a complex entity. Indeed, it is
difficult to read any of Sundberg's (10-13) or Ven-
nard's (14,15) writings and, yet, continue to main,
tain that it is a simple, single event of an uncompli-
cated and uncomplex nature. To understand the ex-
tent of this problem, please refer to Fig. 3. It
provides information about the presence and extent
of a singer's format when several different classes
of women produced a variety of phonations (3,16);
the patterns for men are similar. It can be seen,
from examination of Fig. 3, that accomplished sing-
ers exhibit somewhat more ring (i.e., energy in the
frequency region around 3,000 Hz) than do student
singers, and that both of those groups exhibit a
more obvious format than do nonsinger profes-
sional musicians and just ordinary people. How-
ever, these data also demonstrate that when vocal
intensity increases, so does the presence of ring.
Moreover, when frequency (not intensity) is the
critical variable, the singers and nonsingers are dra-
matically separated, with the two singer groups ex-
hibiting much greater evidence of a singer's format
(see Fig. 4). Additionally, the presence of ring in-
creases sharply for the singers as a function of in-
creasing frequency; it does not change much for the
nonsinger musicians, or at all for the controls.
Thus, the actual characteristics of the singer's for-
mat are seen to be multidimensional: (a) it may or
may not be present (even in exceptional singers),
(b) there is some disagreement as to its actual fre-
quency domain (10,13-17), and (c) it appears to
vary with training and sex as well as with the fre-
quencies/intensities sung.
Are these data of any relevance to the teaching of
singing and/or acting? Of course they are! How can
 VOICE TRAINING 201

31
28

26

2
LTS DATA
FEMALES

Legend
ARTISTS /
/e
found that authors disagree about a subject of inter-
est. Which of them provide data to back their re-
spective positions? Are they clear in their argu-
ments; do they carefully and logically build their
constructs; are the points presented consistent with
those relationships that are known to be valid? In
any case, it is possible to make enlightened deci-
22-

&----.A NON-SiNGERS/
2:,.72;2s / sions of this type, and they can be rewarding. How-
ever, success here depends upon a willingness by
20-
El the professional to examine critically many of the
"O
18- old, simple, and easy traditions indigenous to voice
O
tO teaching.
,','1 16-
IX
...i 14- Accepting new data
u.I Voice teachers sometimes are faced with chang-
LU 12- ing concepts, ones that challenge even their strong-
._I
est and best developed beliefs. The new data or
10 MT
postulates can appear to contradict traditional ones
8- and/or institutions that are among their most be-
loved; the new concepts can disrupt those about
Z;/'
6- ~'" ..~
which the teacher is not at all uneasy or concerned.
~ ,,... Is it possible to deal with challenges of this type? Of
4- ,. ,.'"
course it is.
MN
2- Vocal registers provide an almost ideal illustra-
,A" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A t ' " ' " "
tion of problems that surround the acceptance of
i I I new concepts. For examplel while some authors
Low Medium High (even some scientists) claim that vocal registers
INTENSITY LEVEL simply do not exist (17), nearly all concede that they
FIG. 3. Relative energy within the 2,700--3,400 Hz band, as a do and, more importantly, the proofs that they exist
function of vocal intensity, for four groups of females. MN is the are now well established (13,14,18--24). Indeed, the
m e a n for the control groups; MT is the m e a n for all values.
debate that has raged for over 300 years and the
thousands of publications that have appeared
one teach a behavior without a fundamental under- (about registers) probably are proof enough. On the
standing of its nature or function? Consider the other hand, it took many years of inquiry and re-
present case. Here, the understanding of the com- search before even the most basic principles about
plexity of singers format involves comprehension of voice registers began to take shape. It only now is
a substantial number of relationships (even before possible to state that they (a) exist, and that they do
the teacher attempts to explain them to a student). so in virtually all physiologically normal human be-
Obviously, a voice teacher has first to bring an ings (19,25); (b) may be identified quite easily in the
awareness of the problem to his or her conscious voices of nonsingers (19,26); (c) can be extensively
level. Then, he or she must find, interpret, and ap- modified or manipulated, i.e., their effects can be
ply data about the issue. In order to do so, a func- mitigated, reduced, or (even) removed from a sing-
tional appreciation of the relevant scholarly and/or er's phonatory productions (14,18,27); and (d) are
scientific processes involved is necessary. Indeed, not "lost" to the performer--that singers usually
those voice teachers who reject such information can produce them if asked to do so (5,6).
out of hand probably would not be able to locate it Further insights are being developed about the
in the first place--much less understand and inter- actual physiological/acoustical attributes of voice
pret it. registers--about what they sound like, how they
However, how can the voice teacher make rea- can be modified, and the relative contributions (to a
sonable decisions about an issue when controversy register) made by such elements as fundamental fre-
exists? There are many effective approaches. For quency, spectral energy, and temporal patterning.
example, a variety of tests can be applied if it is One might even think that enough is known about

Journal of Voice, Vol, 7, No. 3, 1993

202 H. H O L L I E N

30' such as the Symposium for the Care of the Profes-

LTS DATA
MALES sional Voice constitute a good starting point, as do
28
publications by the Voice Foundation.
Legend A related illustration appears useful at this junc-
26'
ARTISTS
ture; it involves the confusions that can result from
D--'l STUDENTS
24 the misuse of jargon and/or labels. The names ap-
0--.. , - 0 MUSICIANS
22 ~ " •" " ' " I t NON- SINGERS plied to voice registers are a case in point. For ex-
ample, the terms " c h e s t " and " h e a d " have a long
20 history here; it is well known that they are based
upon singers' "sensations." However, is the use of
"o 18, these particular labels helpful in clarifying the na-
0
Ln 16; ture of vocal registers? No, it is not. Vocal registers
El
n,. occur in the larynx, not in the chest or head. It is
,-I
14' just a coincidence that the lower frequencies of the
U.I modal register vibrate in the large cavity of the
> 12 Mr
IJJ
..I
chest and the higher tones of the upper register in
10J the smaller cavities of the head or " m a s k . " It is not
argued that the singer's sensations are invalid. It is
8J .4, just that, in this instance, they have nothing to do
with vocal registers. Thus, by their very nature, the
A- ........ ~.'::~'-"~" .......
.-. -.
MN terms " c h e s t " and " h e a d " are not just inappropri-
Q~' "...,..
ate; they actually are misleading. In short, voice
teachers must keep current with new information
and upgraded concepts. They must be willing to
i i i
| accept new relationships as they become available;
Low Medium High indeed, they should seek them out. While uncritical
adherence to tradition may seem the easiest path-
FREQUENCY
way, it often is counterproductive.
FIG. 4. Relative energy around 3 kHz, as a function of fre-
quency, for four groups of males. The MN and MT reference
levels are the same as those for Fig. 3. The missing concepts problem
The voice teacher has to deal with yet another
them that unanimity would exist among voice species of problem--one where no information is
teachers relative to their nature and extent, as well available to provide guidance. Omissions of this
as about effective modification techniques. Such is type can be particularly serious as the teacher may
not the case; rather, extensive controversy still ap- not be aware that they exist at all. Such is the
pears to be swirling around these phenomena and "missing information" class of problems; two illus-
the labels used to identify them. trations follow.
Of course, it must be conceded that there is yet First, consider the concept of "belting." There
much to be learned about voice registers. How can be little doubt but that this type of singing ex-
many are there? Are speaker's and singer's regis- ists; certainly, it can lead to laryngeal problems in
ters different? Do singers have a "middle" register? some singers (28). However, what is belting, can it
Are all registers intimately related to phonatory ac- be defined, can it be properly taught, and is its use
tivity or some sort of a laryngeal event? Does the universally harmful to singers? How difficult it must
extensive use of the register breaks associated with be for the voice teacher to deal with a form of sing-
certain styles of singing damage the voice? The an- ing that is just now being defined and described
swers to some of these questions already can be (29). How confusing it must be to face an entity
found in the literature. Yet, it is misleading to say about which so little is known that no one is rea-
that the teacher has "but to look." Many of the sonably sure that a majority of singers and singing
more relevant sources are not immediately avail- teachers can recognize it when they hear it, or un-
able (to the teacher) and effective decoding of the derstand it well enough to produce it or teach it. In
information they contain is not always possible (it a case such as this, there appear to be no immediate
often is difficult even for other scientists). Sources remedies. The teacher can do little other than fol-

Journal of Voice, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1993

 VOICE TRAINING
low what is published about this type of singing and
encourage researchers to address the issue in their
investigations.
The second "missing concepts" illustration is an
even more complex one--but one about which the
teacher can learn and take action. It involves the
personal interface between teachers and their stu-
dents. It must be recognized that voice teachers
have a more intimate relationship with their stu-
dents than do coaches with their athletes, drill ser-
geants with their recruits, or professors with their
graduate assistants. The relationship in this case
probably more closely parallels that of psychiatrists
and their patients. As has been stated, a voice
teacher's students often exhibit very positive be-
haviors toward them--included are expressions of
gratitude, admiration, respect, friendship, and even
love. These responses can take other forms also; for
example, the student can be quite demanding and
exhibit behaviors such as dependency, jealously,
suspiciousness, and so on. The intensity of the re-
lationship (whatever it may be) can wax and wane
from a normal, healthy one to extremes that can be
rather suffocating to the teacher. Suffice it to say
that voice teachers and their student performers of-
ten do not have a typical (somewhat dispassionate)
instructor-pupil relationship but rather one that can
be much more intense.
Changes in a normal, healthy relationship, if and
when they do occur, can be gradual or abrupt. They
may be signaled by a great or small success--or
failure--by the student. Furthermore, they may
take any number of forms. The student may in-
crease his dependency to unsustainable levels; the
demands on the teacher may increase to a point
where they produce discomfort. In some instances,
the demands may be negative, and the student may
accuse the teacher of neglect, incompetency, or av-
arice. As a result, the voice teacher may experience
feelings of confusion, remorse, or even guilt. They
may hope that relationships of this extreme type
will not reoccur. Yet often they do. When they do,
it is because mechanisms are at work that may not
be well understood by the voice teacher (i.e.,
"missing concepts"). Yet, the processes described
above can be explained. Ask any psychiatrist about
them. They are called positive transference (in the
first case) and negative transference (in the second).
Just knowing about transference, about the " h o w s "
and " w h y s " of its operation, should be useful in
and of itself. However, the simple reduction of dis-
comfort is not enough. A more formal understand-
203
ing of those mechanisms that underlie "transfer-
ence" should assist voice teachers in stabilizing
their own relationships/behaviors and in reducing
those devastating swings in emotion sometimes ex-
perienced by their students. In any event, the trans-
ference process is reasonably well understood and
can be dealt with effectively by the knowledgeable
teacher.
Educating the teacher
The final issue to be discussed in this essay con-
cerns the problem of training the voice teacher to be
just that--in contrast to training him or her to be a
performer. For example, how many teachers, in-
cluding the most prominent, have completed struc-
tured courses on acoustics, physiology, psychol-
ogy, neurophysiology, voice disorders, and educa-
tional techniques as a regular part of their university
or conservatory training? Indeed, when a number of
training programs were assessed (H. Hollien and B.
Dobelle, unpublished manuscript), it was found that
the focus was almost exclusively on the training of
performers or public school teachers/coaches. Ac-
cordingly, the ranks of voice teachers appear to be
populated almost exclusively by former performers
(singers, actors), or by school teachers who have
expanded their practice. Knowledge about the
physical, biological, behavioral, and medical issues
so important to teaching appears to result primarily
from casual discussions or from attendance in
workshops often taught by other voice teachers.
Admittedly, the public school teachers receive sys-
tematic training in the educational process but they
still lack many of the other "basics." An upgrading
of this situation would appear timely.
The above critique should not be misinterpreted.
It is not being suggested that performers should be
educated in the great number of concepts and areas
so necessary to the teacher. It is enough that they
be instructed in musicology (or acting), languages,
composition, theater lore, voice, and the many
other skills so necessary for them to become suc-
cessful singers or actors. As a matter of fact, it
would appear that the university/conservatory pro-
grams now in existence provide students with ade-
quate-to-excellent experiences of these types. It is
the voice teacher who is being neglected and cur-
rent educational programs should be modified and
upgraded to accommodate them. For example, pro-
grams for school teachers should include those ba-
sic courses in acoustics, physiology, phonetics, and
psychology that are so necessary if these individu-
Journal of Voice, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1993
204 H. H O L L I E N
als are to become yet more effective teachers. Fur-
thermore, the cited topics, plus others focused on
teaching techniques, should be provided the former
artist who changes careers and now wishes to be-
come a voice teacher. These changes could be ef-
fected more easily than would be imagined as the
specified courses already are being taught at nearly
all universities--and conservatory programs could
be enhanced simply by the addition of those avail-
able at nearby colleges. This meld of the traditional
and the new would do much to enrich voice teach-
ing. Furthermore, it would liberate the teacher from
the anxiety of being responsible for the many seri-
ous problems they must face but about which they
have but minimal background.
CONCLUSIONS
The question was asked: "That golden voice--
talent or training?" The answer should be clear. If
the potential for success is to be realized, a per-
former must be both gifted and exposed to high
quality education. The purveyor of such training is
the voice teacher. In turn, the teacher also must be
talented, but more importantly he or she must be
fully trained and qualified in a number of important
and relevant areas--i.e., areas in addition to those
that are now considered traditional. In order to aug-
ment this process, it is recommended that voice
teachers work to upgrade both the depth and
breadth of their own competencies, and encourage
those responsible for training programs to enhance
and expand them.
In closing, the fundamental points of this article
should be reiterated and stressed. Since the voice
teacher is central to the entire performer-perfor-
mance structure, he or she must maintain that
knowledge and those skills traditional to the field.
He or she also should exhibit the ability to (a) ex-
tract and apply information from other disciplines;
(b) foster (and then maintain) the interest of special-
ists from other fields, challenging them to carry out
research relevant to the performing arts; (c) main-
tain an active review of new data; and (d) apply
gained information to their teaching. It is only by
such sustained effort that voice teachers can con-
tinue to upgrade their field and materially enhance
the potential success for their most prized of pos-
sessions-their students.
Acknowledgment: This article is an adaptation of a lec-
ture given at the Thirteenth Symposium on the Care of
Journal of Voice, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1993
the Professional Voice, New York, June 1984. It is an
updating and expansion of the related manuscript, which
was published in the transcripts of that symposium, New
York, The Voice Foundation, 1984;1:279-89.
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