A Journey In Song
A blog exploring the vocal arts in concept and application.
Other Writings
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Demythologizing Vocal Technique
Classical Singer Magazine, October 2010
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The Key with No Lock
Classical Singer Magazine, July 2017
Blog Posts
Published on March 22nd, 2019
The Hell of Poor Breathing
By Brad Jenks
It seems there is an appetite right now for shows like Lucifer and The Good Place, which spend many hours of plot reimagining old takes on the Salvation and Damnation theme. I, like many others, have lately found myself enjoying them, especially with their thought-provoking and entertaining takes on the matter; perhaps most especially the […]
Read Post The Hell of Poor BreathingPublished on January 10th, 2018
The YAP-less Path
By Brad Jenks
I have found myself in conversation more times than I can count with young singers who are at their wit’s end over the issue of YAPs (Young Artist Programs). Auditioning for them, the expense for fees and travel, the rejection in the form of the charmingly termed PFOs (Please F*** Off), the wondering what went […]
Read Post The YAP-less PathPublished on March 9th, 2017
Art & French Fries
By Brad Jenks
Why can't people just like things anymore? Why is there always some elaborate justification? I won't go into what I think are the implications of this in the field of Vocal Pedagogy, as I have done that elsewhere (Link). I will stick to the abstract question- Whether it is in the realm of the Arts, […]
Read Post Art & French FriesPublished on October 17th, 2015
Crossover: The mostly one-way street
By Brad Jenks
Following on the heels of my last post, regarding the nature of "classical training" and defending it as merely the development of skill with one's instrument, I feel compelled to share some examples of wonderful things that I have seen recently. I briefly mentioned crossover in my previous blog, and it is here that I […]
Read Post Crossover: The mostly one-way streetPublished on October 7th, 2015
When "Classical" Means Skill
By Brad Jenks
At various times in my teaching career I have had a reputation as someone who 1) can "teach you to belt" 2)thinks that "classical technique" is the best technique This is admittedly bizarre, firstly because the two seem opposed to one another, and also because neither is anything I actually think nor ever claimed. The former […]
Read Post When "Classical" Means SkillPublished on July 1st, 2015
Oh, Blow It Out Your Sing-Hole....
By Brad Jenks
Cornell MacNeil: "Let us take a word commonly used by singers – support. What does it mean? To some people it means absolute rigidity, which will destroy them!" Jerome Hines: "Support is usually equated with you Italian word appoggio." C. MacNeil: "Appoggio… Which means setting upon… something completely different from support. We think of support […]
Read Post Oh, Blow It Out Your Sing-Hole....Published on May 22nd, 2015
The Sound Of Style - Basses Need Not Apply....
By Brad Jenks
Following on the train of thought from my last posting (The Cricothyroid Rosary), I have been reflecting on the issue of style-appropriate sound. This is a common theme in pedagogical circles these days, and even in the voice sciences where observers seek to ascertain what physical changes occur when switching from style to style. This […]
Read Post The Sound Of Style - Basses Need Not Apply....Published on April 11th, 2015
The Cricothyroid Rosary
By Brad Jenks
Dear Maestro Garcia, who art otherwise Italianate, forgive me la voce this day. Grant to me ease of Can Belto as it is in Bel Canto. Deliver me from nodules and help me to nail this audition. In the name of Garcia Sr., Garcia Jr., and Seth Riggs, for pop stuff.....Amen. Perhaps I am just […]
Read Post The Cricothyroid RosaryPublished on March 3rd, 2015
Good Golly Miss Molly, You Sure Talk Purty!
By Brad Jenks
“That’s all poetry is, in a sense. It slows you down rather beautifully. And you just enjoy the bounce and heft and glory of one word following another.” […]
Read Post Good Golly Miss Molly, You Sure Talk Purty!Published on February 21st, 2015
The Time Before The Time Before….Yes, Those Were The Days…..
By Brad Jenks
Recently, an article by Will Crutchfield from the 80s has been making the rounds on Facebook. It is a thinly veiled restatement of a common theme: The lament for an age now gone. While the article purports to be about the tendency toward burnout and not about any lack of talent; it nevertheless seems to […]
Read Post The Time Before The Time Before….Yes, Those Were The Days…..