ABSTRACT
As higher popular music education (HPME) programs continue to make their way into academia, it is important to consider the different skills and knowledge that vocalists will need. Due to the diversity of skills, creativity, and repertoire, studios are not one size fit all. In addition, students in commercial and popular music will need to have more autonomy over their learning outcomes, creative processes, and direction. Also important is the awareness that the teacher in these spaces is more of a facilitator of knowledge – a guide and mentor helping the student discover their own path as they learn to adapt, facilitate, think on their feet, and have keen knowledge of and within contemporary vocal techniques – and be able to reasonably demonstrate most, if not all, of the sounds located within these genres. This chapter will explore these considerations, offer ideas and resources for working in these spaces, examine how working with students within these spaces is necessarily different, but can provide myriad new ways towards artistic expression, along with suggestions for aspects to include in the creation of a holistic curriculum for popular music voice studios within a larger HPME program.
