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 February 7th, 2015
Funny You Should Ask..... I Have No Idea
By Brad Jenks
Over the last year I have had a handful of conversations with colleagues on the subject of “technical” content in vocal instruction. Some are strong proponents of in-depth technical instruction. Many find great success with their students teaching largely through sensory imagery. And there is certainly no shortage of strong opinion on which is more […]
Read Post Funny You Should Ask..... I Have No IdeaPublished on December 30th, 2014
2014 in review
By Brad Jenks
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog. Here's an excerpt: A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 390 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 7 trips to carry that many people. Click here to see the […]
Read Post 2014 in reviewPublished on December 18th, 2014
A Crackin’ Good Time!
By Brad Jenks
A little unintentional yodeling around the holidays, anyone? A few days back, my student load was mostly beginners. Throughout the day, this particular crop were shuddering any time their voices wiggled or cracked. Encouraging them to be bold in spite of this, I began to think about the degree of anxiety they demonstrated over cracking. […]
Read Post A Crackin’ Good Time!Published on November 11th, 2014
The Marionette Lesson
By Brad Jenks
I have, of late, been doing some pedagogical reflection on the nature of the voice lesson. Over the last two years or so, I have felt increasingly old-school, all the while sensing that social notions of singing are trending quite the opposite direction. Feeling this tension I began to wonder what on earth is to […]
Read Post The Marionette LessonPublished on August 12th, 2014
Speak up, yes.... but speak.
By Brad Jenks
The following thoughts are a sort of addendum to a previous post (Loud-louder-loudest!) I was recently watching the video below and was astonished at how quietly, yet audibly, Ms. Bartoli sang through some of the latter portion of her aria. And yet, though not terribly loud, it was neither out of character, nor unsuitable. It […]
Read Post Speak up, yes.... but speak.Published on July 11th, 2014
Truly Tip-Top Tennis Tautology
By Brad Jenks
The subject of my last post has still been on my mind of late, especially as regards what is called Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM). And it happened that today while attempting to play some tennis (badly, I will admit) I was suddenly struck by the similarity of my playing to the vocalism of the average […]
Read Post Truly Tip-Top Tennis TautologyPublished on July 7th, 2014
Talent Means Paying Attention....
By Brad Jenks
I think I can honestly say that I don't put a lot of stock in the abstract notion of Talent. Sure, you might catch me saying, "they're really talented!" every so often. But I suppose I generally mean something like, "They are really good at what they do!" But as regards an idea of unique […]
Read Post Talent Means Paying Attention....Published on May 21st, 2014
All About The Voice.....and that other stuff too.
By Brad Jenks
I have lately been reading many of the responses to the Glyndebourne reviews. Many people are (rightly) disturbed, citing the Royal Opera House/Voigt incident as the beginning of a trend of body shaming, and fearing a sort of death for opera, while others try to point to the "changing face of opera" and the new […]
Read Post All About The Voice.....and that other stuff too.Published on February 14th, 2014
When Technique Lacks Technique....
By Brad Jenks
Over the years I have found myself using the term "technique" less and less. When I was a younger man and starting out to learn about how singing was done, I was obsessed with "technique". Often, as a result I was vocally ineffective, and I was boring. Older now, and hopefully a little wiser, I […]
Read Post When Technique Lacks Technique....Published on January 8th, 2014
The Vocals of Dorian Grey......
By Brad Jenks
People are always philosophically arguing back and forth on one subject or another about seeing things in terms of "black and white" versus seeing them as a spectrum. The study of singing is no stranger to this. I myself have always been of the opinion that both things are true. If there is a spectrum, […]
Read Post The Vocals of Dorian Grey......