Jazz Singing

Tish Oney has appeared as soloist with symphony orchestras, big bands, and jazz combos at performing arts centers, concert halls, and jazz festivals throughout the world. Possessing a doctorate in jazz from University of Southern California, she has taught at scores of institutions as a professor and artist-in-residence, successfully pursuing a dual career in performance and pedagogy. As musicologist, author, jazz singer, lyric soprano, arranger, composer, and conductor, Oney performs and teaches worldwide. She writes a monthly column titled "Anatomy of a Standard" and an interview series highlighting L.A.-based jazz musicians for All About Jazz.

Introduction
Voice pedagogy has long been a keen interest and scholarly focus of mine. Jazz singing has been my professional niche since my teen years. Combining these has become an irresistible, irreversible necessity. Why adopt a composite method? I recognize that every individual possesses a unique set of educational and experiential backgrounds. Each has had his/her own list of mentors, teachers, methods, and philosophies that have resonated for them. Jazz involves layering sound upon sound, rhythm over rhythm. It also involves improvising with the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic material given by the composer (as a starting point). The composite approach combines traditional voice pedagogy tenets with authentic jazz stylization, phrasing, diction and various methodologies for teaching jazz concepts. I have found that adding the Dalcroze method, applications of various instrumental approaches to improvisation, as well as a comparative study of legendary jazz singers' techniques yields a composite, working model for vocal jazz education.

Chapter 1: Vocal Anatomy
All professional singers, regardless of style of music performed, are behooved to fully understand the anatomy of the organ through which they make their livelihood. Most jazz voice textbooks omit this necessary information. This chapter presents the anatomy and function of the vocal mechanism.

Chapter 2: Vocal Health and Hygiene
How should a singer care for the voice? This chapter aims to present tips for vocal preservation, healthy speech, do's and don'ts for maintaining vocal health, and various pathological conditions that affect singers (polyps, nodules, hemorrhages, cysts, vocal fold paralysis, etc.).

Chapter 3: Posture and Alignment
This chapter presents tenets of correct posture and body alignment that optimize a singer's tone production. Fundamentals of spinal, jaw, and neck alignment, and skeletal balance will be discussed.

Chapter 4: The Physics of Singing
This chapter discusses Myoelastic Aerodynamic Phonation which is the process of translating breath energy into sound through the correct coordination of the vocal mechanism.

Chapter 5: Managing the Breath
The quality of a singer's breath management determines the extent to which the sung phrase is adequately energized and supported. This chapter discusses the anatomy and function of the breathing mechanism, and presents exercises that will enhance the jazz singer's breath management and technique.

Chapter 6: Phonation, Articulation and Resonance
This chapter aims to educate the reader regarding the adduction of the vocal folds, the action of the tongue and jaw in correctly articulating consonants in a jazz style, the shaping of vowels and the coordination of various resonance chambers. The author's Mix Continuum, a tool by which the range of possible head/chest mix combinations for commercial singers may be understood, experimented with, and practiced, will be presented.

Chapter 7: Jazz Stylization and Ornamentation
Implementation of jazz style and ornamentation will often help a novice jazz singer sound immediately more authentic. This chapter explores various musical techniques used by jazz vocalists to evoke jazz style, including ornaments (smears, doits, falls, shakes, etc.).

Chapter 8: Vocal Improvisation
A. Melodic Embellishment
B. Scat Singing
C. Text-Based Improvisation
There are several styles of vocal improvisation that today's jazz vocalists can explore. This chapter introduces those various approaches to improvisation including melodic embellishment, scat syllables, text-based improvisation, improvisation around the root motion, use of ornaments, rhythmic displacement, and other types. Various jazz vocalists' approaches to improvisation will be presented to illustrate each style.

Chapter 9: Phrasing
The art of phrasing a jazz standard hails back to the work of Lester Young. Young taught Billie Holiday the fine touches of back-phrasing, and singers have since taken their lead from Holiday's inventive approach. Singers must be aware of both the musical phrases and the lyrical phrases to make intelligent decisions about where to breathe, pause, or reach for a deeper meaning within a text. This chapter aims to assist teachers and singers in honing the art of interpretation through artful phrasing. The chapter also encourages singers and teachers to delve deeply into textual expression. Examples by masterful interpreters of jazz standards will be presented to enhance understanding.

Chapter 10: Microphone Technique
The mic is half the jazz singer's instrument. How one wields its power can make or break a budding vocalist. This chapter deals with how to hold and maneuver the mic, how to deliver consonants, how to navigate range issues, how to manage dynamics, and how to adjust one's resonance to project over a band.

Chapter 11: Blend, Balance and Authentic Style in the Vocal Jazz Ensemble
All choral ensembles are faced with the challenges of blend, balance, and stylistic authenticity. Vocal jazz ensembles face these same challenges, but often with closer harmonies and fewer members. Since each member of a vocal jazz ensemble is also generally a soloist with a microphone, achieving a blended, balanced sound becomes even more difficult than in traditional choirs.

Chapter 12: Dalcroze Eurhythmics in the Voice Studio and Choral Rehearsal
A. Solfege
B. Improvisation
C. Rhythm
Dalcroze Eurhythmics is a method of exploring music from a kinesthetic standpoint, originally founded by Jaques Dalcroze. Dalcroze exercises comprise three primary areas: Solfege, Improvisation, and Rhythm. Exploring these musical areas using kinesthetic movement results in rapid growth of musicianship, coordination, tonal memory and other important skills imperative to the developing jazz singer.

Chapter 13: Applying Instrumental Methods to Jazz Voice
A. The Singer's Use of Scales
B. Thirds, Sevenths, and Extensions
C. Root Motion
D. Merging analytical and creative approaches
This chapter hones in on the theoretical background a jazz singer needs to authentically perform this style of music. A thorough knowledge of scales (major, minor, modal, chromatic, pentatonic, blues, bebop, etc.) provides a wealth of material that singers can use to create meaningful solos. Gravitating toward thirds and sevenths instead of roots and fifths frees singers to explore the most important notes of the jazz chord. Practicing the root motion of a song establishes a firm harmonic base upon which great solos can be constructed. Since most jazz musicians can be separated into two groups--those that play by sight-reading (analytical) and those that play by ear (creative)--an important aspect of jazz pedagogy is training musicians to utilize both analysis and creativity when they play.

Chapter 14: Psychological Considerations
Singing is a highly personal experience, and the sharing of one's voice represents an intensely vulnerable activity, particularly when presenting it before an audience. Singers are therefore subject to a wide range of psychological states and influences. Teachers must be able to navigate these delicate issues to help student singers identify and manage their shifting mental and emotional health, so that consistently strong performances may be delivered despite the constant ebbs and flows of life.

Chapter 15: Artistry-Putting it all Together
The coordination of body, breath, mind, and heart is where the key to artistry lies. The true artist must perfect his/her vocal technique, energize the tone with breath, facilitate mental focus and express the text and music with sincerity. This chapter draws together many of the skills individually explored elsewhere in the book.