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 December 31st, 2013
Like Playing The Piano With Mittens.....
By Brad Jenks
Let's get personal for a moment- I spent a fair portion of my early twenties being profoundly dull in performance. I bored just enough people and received just enough cold receptions, that for a few years in my mid-twenties I did very little singing. It entered my consciousness that perhaps a lack of musicality was […]
Read Post Like Playing The Piano With Mittens.....Published on October 9th, 2013
Take This Chin And Shove It!
By Brad Jenks
I have a demonstration of which I am fond, which regularly makes an appearance in my studio. I tuck my chin down and sustain a pitch. Sounding very baritonal indeed, I then lift my head, nose slightly above the horizon. The sound thins out unpleasantly, the student looks wary... Then I begin to move my […]
Read Post Take This Chin And Shove It!Published on September 29th, 2013
Gud Ske Tak Og Lov
By Brad Jenks
On this lovely Sunday morning, I thought I'd share one of my favorite hymn tunes, sung by the charming Aksel Schiotz. Enjoy!
Read Post Gud Ske Tak Og LovPublished on September 21st, 2013
Yawning Is Contagious.....
By Brad Jenks
Resonance is a necessary quality in vocalism, or at the very least in unamplified vocalism. It is one of the primary factors in the acoustic effect of the voice “carrying”. However, resonance is not always about maximum space, but about appropriate space. Streamlining is an undervalued concept when it comes to space in the resonating […]
Read Post Yawning Is Contagious.....Published on September 13th, 2013
Back To School, Part 2......Getting What You Came For.
By Brad Jenks
My teacher, on his piano, had a tiny wicker basket, the bottom of which contained a cutout piece of paper that said, “Deposit Brain Here”. And while this anecdote will ring true in the ears of any teacher who has taught a know-it-all, it must be balanced against the reality that we are instructing people […]
Read Post Back To School, Part 2......Getting What You Came For.Published on August 21st, 2013
Back To School, Part 1.......Knowing Why.
By Brad Jenks
Much like the terrible person who regularly attends church, there are plenty of people who leave school rather stupid. Affiliation with an institution may be an indication of a possible something, but is a guarantee of nothing. One of the rarely spoken truths about academia is that a degree is decidedly not the same thing […]
Read Post Back To School, Part 1.......Knowing Why.Published on August 1st, 2013
Loud, Louder, Loudest!!
By Brad Jenks
There is a place in this world for the serious noisemakers, the Mario Del Monacos, the Birgit Nilssons, the Dolora Zajicks, the Cornell MacNeils, the Ethel Mermans.... And Lord knows we love the noises they make! Especially the high screamy bits!! It’s thrilling. Everyone loves a loud high note. But there is a great quote […]
Read Post Loud, Louder, Loudest!!Published on July 25th, 2013
Hmm.... I always preferred Bastianini in this role. Could you sound like him please?
By Brad Jenks
This post, a follow-up to my last one on voice-typing, has been surprisingly difficult to write. I began to suspect that it was because I was trying to make too many points at once. Not surprisingly, in my own head, these points are very intimately intwined. However, I kept getting stuck, realizing that as a […]
Read Post Hmm.... I always preferred Bastianini in this role. Could you sound like him please?Published on July 17th, 2013
Hi, I’m a High-low, Lyric-dramatic, Schwarze-spinto, Helden-leggero, something-or-other....and today I will be singing......whatever you want me to.
By Brad Jenks
It is an interesting thing to hear young singers talking about their own voices. Probably no people are more prone to categorizing than the not-yet-employed young singer. Somewhere between the predictions of the teacher and the musical preferences of the aspiring singer, words begin to be thrown around, like dramatic, coloratura, helden-, spinto, soubrette, etc..... […]
Read Post Hi, I’m a High-low, Lyric-dramatic, Schwarze-spinto, Helden-leggero, something-or-other....and today I will be singing......whatever you want me to.Published on July 10th, 2013
Betrayed by our own language.......
By Brad Jenks
Language is a tricky thing. I don't mean the study of languages, I mean our use of words. They are incredibly useful tools. They paint pictures that communicate things. They can communicate both the vague and the incredibly specific. But they can also communicate things we don't realize. Our choice of words can communicate things […]
Read Post Betrayed by our own language.......