Classical versus Modern
Posted by Jaime Vendera at February 27, 2008 12:00 PM
Jaime Vendera discusses, in his opinion, the pros of both classical and modern methods of vocal instruction
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Classical Versus Modern
When I was just 16 years old, I started playing in a local bar band with guys twice my age. Playing five-45 minute sets per night Friday and Saturday was rough on a youngster. So I sought out some help from a local classical teacher. I can honestly say that if you plan to sing rock or metal from the 60’s though the 90’s and thereafter, you better get some updated vocal training material because classical methods alone do NOT work for adding edge to your voice! But, you must recognize that all techniques started somewhere and evolved…so basically traditional techniques do have some groundwork based on classical methods.
I will state that I did learn a few things from my first teacher (although it was classical) that did help. Bottom line is there ARE certain physical applications that work for all types of singing. The first thing I learned was to visualize landing on top of the high note instead of reaching up to it. I use this visualization in my teaching today because it works! I don’t really consider this a classical technique, but who knows, some classical teacher hundreds of years ago could have created this visual and passed it along.
The second and last thing I learned from my “classical” training was that you must have solid breath support in order to sing for hours on end. My first vocal lesson had me lying on the floor breathing in and out with a book on my belly. My coach was trying to get me to change from breathing high in the chest to lower in the body in order to gain full access to my lungs and teach me about the diaphragm. Now I apply a certain approach to breathing that is similar to the classical methods of Bel Canto, but not so outwardly focused from the stomach. My breath support comes from a downward focus, which allows me to create even more power than the classical approach, while minimizing breath pressure release. (Funny enough, my top vocal coach, Jim Gillette (Nitro) uses this exact same breathing method and the only method he studied was classical.)
But, for me, I found that classical wasn’t the answer. I would say that was because I wanted to sing in the Soprano range with lots of power. Using classical methods would only allow me to access that range in falsetto…and screaming with grit was definitely out!
There is nothing wring with using classical methods for rock singing because you can create a certain amount of power with it. Many top rock artists studied classical techniques. Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge uses Bel Canto, Tony Harnell from TNT has training based on classical techniques. BUT, what these artists have done was take that training and evolve it into their own set of rules and regulations.
Modern rock vocalists had to adapt their techniques in order to compensate for the changing of tonal quality. Whereas classical male singers used big robust tones, modern rock and metal singers had to find away to get more of a piercing bite out of the tone in order to be heard over the mix. This is where more feminine banshee type sounds developed early on in rock music from singers like Robert Plant. All of a sudden, we had males hitting notes in the soprano range; notes that would peel the paint off of a wall. You’d never hear that type of approach in classical.
Another reason for adaptation of technique is because of grit, growls and screaming. The howls of passion and angst represented vocally in metal, rock and punk was more from the gut; representing a guttural release of emotion. Singers had to figure out a way to add these type sounds without risking the chance of losing their voices. For years all I heard was that screaming and grit will only cause vocal loss and that singers of bands like AC/DC, Nickelback, and Trivium were a rare breed. This is not true. There are now modern techniques for adding all of the emotion, pain and power to your voice that will allow you to have a long career.
We’ve also got pop, blues, gospel and country. A lot of these singing styles are based in passion and are just flat out belters of emotion. Blues and Gospel come from the soul and the emotions created need strong techniques to support it. This is a different type of power than classical. Opera is a very controlled style while singing blues, rock and gospel is like letting the beast out of its’ cage.
Pop and country have their power moments too, but all in all these styles are more about story telling, more at a speech level type of singing, Thus some of you might have heard the term SLS (Speech Level Singing). This is a modern technique that keeps the voice at a moderate level. In my opinion, this technique would never work in either the Classical field because of the need for a big robust sound in opera. SLS would work very well for someone like Justin Timberlake who has a soft mixed type voice with lots of effortless vocal runs.
Now in my opinion there are many modern adaptations of vocal technique (just as there are classical variations) and I am sure they all work respectively well for certain singers. In my own teaching, I try to incorporate a wide variety of techniques to allow a singer to sing virtually anything. I just base my foundation on solid breath support and vocal focus as described in my book Raise Your Voice 2nd Edition.
All in all, both modern and classical methods must be respected. I don’t think I’d hear Rob Halford do well singing songs by Pavarotti, nor the reverse. Funny enough, both artists have mentioned how they greatly respected the other singer.
So, the bottom line is, if you plan on getting a vocal coach, you need to decide what works best for you. If you plan on doing opera or Broadway tunes, then maybe classical is the route to go. You might even use it for rock, I know Myles Kennedy did and he has a smooth soaring voice that sounds great! But if you plan on singing anything extreme in the rock category, you might want to consider coming to me or Melissa Cross for a few lessons;)