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The Hell of Poor Breathing

Published March 22nd, 2019 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 […]
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The YAP-less Path

Published January 10th, 2018 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 […]
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Art & French Fries

Published March 9th, 2017 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, […]
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Crossover: The mostly one-way street

Published October 17th, 2015 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 […]
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When "Classical" Means Skill

Published October 7th, 2015 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 […]
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Oh, Blow It Out Your Sing-Hole....

Published July 1st, 2015 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 […]
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The Sound Of Style - Basses Need Not Apply....

Published May 22nd, 2015 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 […]
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The Cricothyroid Rosary

Published April 11th, 2015 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 […]
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Good Golly Miss Molly, You Sure Talk Purty!

Published March 3rd, 2015 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.”                                                       […]
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The Time Before The Time Before….Yes, Those Were The Days…..

Published February 21st, 2015 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 […]
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