Project MUSE®: Journal of Singing - Latest Articles
https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817
Project MUSE®: Latest articles in Journal of Singing.daily12026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00text/htmlen-USVol. 78 (2021) through current issue
Latest Articles: Journal of SingingTWOProject MUSE®Journal of Singing2769-40461086-7732Latest articles in Journal of Singing. Feed provided by Project MUSE®Breathing While Singing: Insights from Speech Science
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988287
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Breathing is necessary to sustain life and also serves as a foundation for human connection by providing aerodynamic energy for vocal communication primarily via speech. Singing further extends the demands on breathing by use of vocal, and thus aerodynamic, extremes to evoke emotion and social connection. While baseline breathing is usually sufficient for sustaining life and basic communication, singing places exceptional demands on the respiratory system. Historically, foundational work investigating such matters was exemplary in its innovative and highly precise approaches.1 Yet, despite scientific advancements having greatly improved our understanding of the biomechanics breathing, functional application of such
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallBreathing While Singing: Insights from Speech Science2026-04-16text/htmlen-USBreathing While Singing: Insights from Speech Science2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®1151112026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16In Homage to the Humble Index
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988286
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EDITOR’S COMMENTARY“I wish You would add an Index Rerum that when the reader recollects any incident he may easily find it, which at present he cannot do unless he knows in which volume it is told.”1The quotation printed above, by the eighteenth-century polymath Samuel Johnson (1709–1784), was written in a letter dated March 9, 1751, to the novelist Samuel Richardson (1689–1761).2 I have long had a fascination with Johnson and his work. A comprehensive man of letters, the English writer wrote poems, plays, and essays while simultaneously taking on considerable work as an editor and literary critic. During his lifetime, he was perhaps most famous for writing, single-handedly, A Dictionary of the English Language
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallIn Homage to the Humble Index2026-04-16text/htmlen-USIn Homage to the Humble Index2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®561662026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16One NATS, Many Entry Points: An Integrated Ecosystem
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988285
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FROM THE PRESIDENTNATS continues to serve as the world’s largest professional association for singing voice professionals, advancing excellence in singing through teaching, performance, scholarship, and research. Our public-facitig platforms, including conferences, competitions and auditions, publications, and professional development, constitute the primary channels that facilitate our network, and provide benefit to us as a member community.I submit that these channels need not be isolated. Successful national-level assembly relies on region and chapter activity to cultivate repertoire expertise, adjudication and presentation skills, leadership capacity, and robust profes- sional networks; in turn, national-level
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallOne NATS, Many Entry Points: An Integrated Ecosystem2026-04-16text/htmlen-USOne NATS, Many Entry Points: An Integrated Ecosystem2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®207832026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16To Teach or Not to Teach Vibrato? Implicit and Explicit Instruction in the Vocal Studio
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988288
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Vibrato involves skillful coordination of airflow, subglottic pressure, vocal fold vibration, laryngeal muscular balance, and acoustic interactions, often stemming from a cumulative sense of vocal freedom and timbral awareness rather than isolated techniques.1 This complexity poses challenges for singing teachers, as it is difficult to simultaneously and comprehensively monitor all vocal mechanism activity during a student’s vibrato production. Facilitation strategies may need to vary based on individual learning style and intended target acoustic product or genre. If it is accepted that vibrato is or ought to be the default procured through optimal muscular balance, explicit directives may not be as effective for
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallTo Teach or Not to Teach Vibrato? Implicit and Explicit Instruction in the Vocal Studio2026-04-16text/htmlen-USTo Teach or Not to Teach Vibrato? Implicit and Explicit Instruction in the Vocal Studio2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®1154962026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16What Can Health Interventions Such as Sex Education Teach Us About Designing Adolescent Vocal Health Curricula? A Qualitative Review
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988289
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Sweet defines adolescence as the life period spanning from middle school (age eleven) to one’s mid-twenties.1 Adolescent singers may be defined as vocal athletes, who have heightened vocal demands compared to their peers.2 Adolescent singers take part in many vocally demanding activities, including vocal ensembles, voice lessons, and theatrical performances.3 Donahue et al. report that college-level musical theater majors sing an average of 2–3 hours per day.4 Given this degree of vocal demand, it should come as no surprise that many adolescent singers report dealing with troubling vocal symptoms. In a survey of 129 young singers (under age 25), Tepe and colleagues found that 56 percent had experienced some type of
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallWhat Can Health Interventions Such as Sex Education Teach Us About Designing Adolescent Vocal Health Curricula? A Qualitative Review2026-04-16text/htmlen-USWhat Can Health Interventions Such as Sex Education Teach Us About Designing Adolescent Vocal Health Curricula? A Qualitative Review2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®977482026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16Moving in the Right Direction: An Exploratory Case Study of Mentorship in the Applied Studio
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988290
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VOICE PEDAGOGYFor early-career teachers, mentorship can play a central role in developing confidence, reflective practice, and professional resilience.1 Within K–12 music education, structured mentorship programs and teacher induction models are well established and have been shown to improve teacher retention, instructional quality, and professional satisfaction.2 However, comparable frameworks for early-career applied voice teachers remain underdeveloped within graduate-level pedagogy education and are virtually nonexistent for private or independent singing teachers.The structure of private or one-on-one applied instruction often limits systematic observation, feedback, and dialogue about teaching practice. As a
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallMoving in the Right Direction: An Exploratory Case Study of Mentorship in the Applied Studio2026-04-16text/htmlen-USMoving in the Right Direction: An Exploratory Case Study of Mentorship in the Applied Studio2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®578062026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16The Aging Larynx
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988291
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CARE OF THE PROFESSIONAL VOICEBy 2050, the number of people over the age of sixty is expected to double to over two billion people.1 Older generations represent much of society’s most experienced and wisest members, and many of their contributions rely on verbal communication. The incidence of voice complaints in the elderly population is between 12 percent and 35 percent.2 Dysphonia in the elderly affects quality of life, impairing the ability to communicate in both professional and personal settings. Twenty percent to 35 percent of elderly individuals still use their voices for work regularly.3 In the elderly, voice weakness and instability may result in the stigmatized and misconstrued notion of intellectual
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallThe Aging Larynx2026-04-16text/htmlen-USThe Aging Larynx2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®649612026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16Vowel Space Gymnastics—An Augmented Perspective on Voice Acoustics and Formant Tuning: Part II—The Pitch-Dependent Interplay Between Voice Source Harmonics and Vocal Tract Resonances
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988292
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PRACTICAL VOICE SCIENCEApplying the terminology defined in thefirst article of this series, a resonance is a property of the vocal tract that can be directly affected at the physiological layer via articulation. contrast, a formant is the acoustic product that depends on the first article of this1 In frequencies of both vocal tract resonances and voice source harmonics. What is “tuned” deliberately by the singer is not the end result (i.e., the emerging formant), but the means to affect the end result (i.e., the resonance). Nevertheless, for consistency with earlier writing, the terms “formant tuning” and “resonance tuning” are used interchangeably.Quantitative resonance/formant data derived from the acoustic vowel
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallVowel Space Gymnastics—An Augmented Perspective on Voice Acoustics and Formant Tuning: Part II—The Pitch-Dependent Interplay Between Voice Source Harmonics and Vocal Tract Resonances2026-04-16text/htmlen-USVowel Space Gymnastics—An Augmented Perspective on Voice Acoustics and Formant Tuning: Part II—The Pitch-Dependent Interplay Between Voice Source Harmonics and Vocal Tract Resonances2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®354742026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16Assessing Student Learning: Utilizing Objective Methods in the Voice Studio Setting
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988293
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THE VERSATILE VOICEThe assessment of student learning in applied voice instruction presents unique challenges that distinguish it from evaluation in other academic disciplines. Voice pedagogy operates at the intersection of art and science, requiring teachers to evaluate technical proficiency, musical interpretation, stylistic authenticity, and performance presence—qualities that resist simple quantification. This inherent subjectivity has long been celebrated as central to the apprenticeship model of one-on-one instruction, where experienced teachers guide students through individualized artistic development pathways.Contemporary educational contexts increasingly demand transparent, measurable learning outcomes
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallAssessing Student Learning: Utilizing Objective Methods in the Voice Studio Setting2026-04-16text/htmlen-USAssessing Student Learning: Utilizing Objective Methods in the Voice Studio Setting2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®569932026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16The Benefits and Downsides of Vocal Modeling
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988294
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THE INDEPENDENT TEACHERWhen I was completing my undergraduate and considering pursuing graduate studies, there was one element in particular that I was hoping to find in my next voice teacher: someone of the same voice type. Although I received excellent training from my previous teachers (a baritone and a soprano), I was eager to study with another tenor who might be able to demonstrate the vocal sounds and techniques I was working to build in my own instrument.Vocal modeling is a common practice in the voice studio. Just as a picture can be worth a thousand words, an accurate demonstration provided by a teacher may be more effective at times than lengthy technical descriptions. However, there can be downsides to
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallThe Benefits and Downsides of Vocal Modeling2026-04-16text/htmlen-USThe Benefits and Downsides of Vocal Modeling2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®378092026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16Non dimenticar: Memory, Music, and Singers
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988295
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THE MINDFUL VOICESeemingly every singer has had the unfortunate experience of an onstage memory slip: The words of the sixth strophe of a Schubert lied or the rap of a Hamilton song suddenly defy recall, or the mind goes completely blank during a piano vamp or an orchestral interlude. Memory lapses can be caused by performance anxiety, loss of concentration, or lack of preparation. Nevertheless, scientific studies are revealing that singing can actually improve memory and brain health.1 Research reveals how earworms stick in our head and how patients with Alzheimer’s disease still remember songs they learned decades ago. While this article will include some memorization strategies and approaches for singers, first
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallNon dimenticar: Memory, Music, and Singers2026-04-16text/htmlen-USNon dimenticar: Memory, Music, and Singers2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®515632026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16Artist-Led Innovation in Opera
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988296
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DIVERSE VOICESThe contemporary operatic landscape in North America is increasingly shaped by innovative artists who challenge established norms to reimagine expressive possibilities in the art form.1 Among these compelling artist-led interventions are the practices of singers Babatunde Akinboboye and Teiya Kasahara. Drawing on original interviews, this article argues that opera’s future viability may depend less on the preservation of tradition than on artist-driven responses to contemporary cultural realities.2Nigerian-American baritone Akinboboye has garnered acclaim by playing leading roles in operas such as Rigoletto, Carmen, La traviata, and La bohème in United States opera houses.3 His broader recognition
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallArtist-Led Innovation in Opera2026-04-16text/htmlen-USArtist-Led Innovation in Opera2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®317242026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16Considering the Singer–Pianist Duo: Advocacy and Strategies for Long-Term Partnerships
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988297
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COLLABORATIONSBy definition, collaborative pianists work with others. Whether with one musical partner or many, the collaborative pianist’s work culminates in ensemble activity. At the same time, collaborative pianists are almost always the only pianist-partner in the rehearsal or performance space; though they may not be alone in our music-making, pianist-partners can often feel isolated or lonely in their work environments. Having a community of others who do similar work—and who also experience the joys, efforts and challenges of their endeavors—has the potential to empower and support individual pianists. Furthermore, the community can uplift the collaborative professions by validating experiences, normalizing
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallConsidering the Singer–Pianist Duo: Advocacy and Strategies for Long-Term Partnerships2026-04-16text/htmlen-USConsidering the Singer–Pianist Duo: Advocacy and Strategies for Long-Term Partnerships2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®366392026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16A Conversation with Patti Murin
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988298
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THE VOCAL POINTTo watch the full interview on YouTube, scan the QR code at the end of the article or go to youtube.com/officialnats and search for “Patti Murin.”I describe it as chutes and ladders . . . it’s not like you just climb up a ladder . . . wyou go up a little and then you go down a little, and then you can make a huge leap but then it dips a little bit . . . just because you get a big role once doesn’t mean that you’re set forever.1Broadway actress Patti Murin’s words capture a truth familiar to nearly everyone who pursues a life in musical theater: The path is rarely straightforward. Success arrives in bursts—an exciting role here, an unexpected setback there—and even the most celebrated moments don’t
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallA Conversation with Patti Murin2026-04-16text/htmlen-USA Conversation with Patti Murin2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®178432026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16Recent Research in Singing
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988299
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The following list of recent research in singing is a brief sampling of dissertations/theses published during the last year. It is by no means comprehensive and reflects only a small fraction of the available documents. The respective abstracts for each are reprinted in their entirety and lightly edited to conform to Journal of Singing house style.If you have published recent research in singing, voice pedagogy, voice science, vocal repertoire, pedagogic methodology, or other topics of interest to the membership of NATS, please send citations and abstracts to Donald Simonson at drs@iastate.edu for review and possible inclusion in future columns.Author Megan Esther Grey tackles the difficult problem of defining
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallRecent Research in Singing2026-04-16text/htmlen-USRecent Research in Singing2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®137452026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16Bookshelf
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988300
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Sing Vocal Jazz, Teach Vocal Jazz: A Holistic Guide to Vocal Jazz Performance Pedagogy. By Lenora Helm Hammonds. Routledge Press, 2026. [x, 275 p., ISBN 9781032766270 (paperback), $48.99; ISBN 9781032775166 (hardback), $190.00; ISBN 9781003485063 (e-book) $48.99.]Lenora Helm Hammonds has performed as a jazz vocal musician for forty years, and for half of that time, she has taught vocal jazz at the college level. In this pedagogical guide, Hammonds shares the expertise she acquired as both a performer and educator of vocal jazz. When she began teaching in 2005, the author searched for volumes that covered vocal jazz in a comprehensive way, but the only resource she found was a single chapter in a jazz pedagogy
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallBookshelf2026-04-16text/htmlen-USBookshelf2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®179462026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16Music Reviews
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988301
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Three composers are featured in this issue, each of whom represent, respectively, French and German song of the twenty-first, nineteenth, and eighteenth centuries. American composer Paul Scherer’s approach to the French poetry chosen for his work reviewed here is elegant, intricate and deft, and a sure invitation to further exploration of his songs. Thanks to the scholarly curiosity of scholars like Stephen Rodgers and Tyson Deaton, composers Pauline Decker and Joseph Bologne de Saint-George have been introduced to studio and stage. The works of the latter composers, especially, may be particularly helpful for voice teachers seeking unusual but very approachable repertoire for younger or beginning singers.Scherer
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallMusic Reviews2026-04-16text/htmlen-USMusic Reviews2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®202812026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16The Media Gallery
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988302
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STILLED VOICESFourteen years ago, this column presented its first memorial tribute to the major singers who had died during the previous calendar year. Lisa Della Casa, Evelyn Lear, Galina Vishnevskaya, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau were the quartet of singers featured in that particular column. “Stilled Voices” was not necessarily created to be an annual tradition, but every subsequent year has seen the passing of singers whose work cried out for this kind of acknowledgment. In 2025, we lost an exceptionally large number of significant artists who contributed to the art of singing in many and various ways.One of them, Peruvian tenor Luigi Alva (1927–2025) actually takes us back to the heyday of the legendary Maria
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallThe Media Gallery2026-04-16text/htmlen-USThe Media Gallery2026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®355052026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16Author Index to Volume 82
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988303
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Baker, J. Bradley, Kathleen Kelly, Casey Robards, Lisa Sylvester, Elvia Puccinelli, and Alison d’Amato. “Pianists, Pressures, and Partnerships: Considering the Collaborative Pianist in Higher Education.” Journal of Singing 82, no. 2 (2025): 231–38. https://dx.doi.org/10.53830/sing.00174.Berg, Gregory, and Casey Joiner-Isaacs. “The Media Gallery.” Journal of Singing 82, no. 1 (2025): 121–25. https://dx.doi.org/10.53830/sing.00161.Berg, Gregory, and Casey Joiner-Isaacs. “The Media Gallery.” Journal of Singing 82, no. 2 (2025): 252–57. https://dx.doi.org/10.53830/sing.00179.Berg, Gregory, and Casey Joiner-Isaacs. “The Media Gallery.” Journal of Singing 82, no. 3 (2026): 386–93.
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallAuthor Index to Volume 822026-04-16text/htmlen-USAuthor Index to Volume 822026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®281552026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16Subject Index to Volume 82
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/988677
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Herbst, Christian T. “Vowel Space Gymnastics—An Augmented Perspective on Voice Acoustics and Formant Tuning: Part I—Basic Principles.” Journal of Singing 82, no. 4 (2026): 459–67. https://dx.doi.org/10.53830/sing.00205.Herbst, Christian T. “Vowel Space Gymnastics—An Augmented Perspective on Voice Acoustics and Formant Tuning: Part II—The Pitch-Dependent Interplay Between Voice Source Harmonics and Vocal Tract Resonances.” Journal of Singing 82, no. 5 (2026): 589–95. https://dx.doi.org/10.53830/sing.00223.Davis-Hazell, Alexis. “Community, Credibility, and Continuity: When Conferences Matter.” Journal of Singing 82, no. 4 (2026): 397–400. https://dx.doi.org/10.53830/sing.00198.Davis-Hazell, Alexis. “NATS as a Third
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-15T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/817/image/coversmallSubject Index to Volume 822026-04-16text/htmlen-USSubject Index to Volume 822026-04-162026TWOProject MUSE®617812026-05-15T00:00:00-05:002026-04-16