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PERCEPTIONS OF A DIVIDED WORLD

Classically Trained Vocalists’ Perceptions of their Experience on

Popular Music Competition Television in Relation to their Formal

Music Education: A Case Study

Jacquelyn DiMarco

Dr. Janet Cape

Research in Music Education

Westminster Choir College of Rider University


Abstract

The purpose of this case study is to understand how singers with a classically trained

formal music education perceive their experience of auditioning for or being on popular

music television shows such as American Idol, The X-factor, Glee, The Voice, The Sing-

Off, and Smash. Two classically trained vocalists who studied voice and music education

at the collegiate level were interviewed and asked to describe their perceptions of their

experiences with popular television music shows and how they perceived the media’s

popularization of “being a singer” specifically in regards to music television’s role in

music education. Participants were also asked to describe how they perceived the hype

created by these shows and how and if that translates to music accessibility, personal

music making, and the stereotypes of “high and “low” art. Participants identified four

themes that contributed to their views: positive, rich connections with music before and

during college, society’s misconceptions of performing music, assimilation, and elitism.

The findings suggest that one’s placement or level of value for listening to, the study of,

and performance of music is a huge contributor to the participant’s perceptions.

Introduction

As a classically trained musician studying voice and music education at

Westminster Choir College of Rider University, in Princeton, New Jersey, I often hear

debates between formally educated musicians over the value of or lack of value in the

recent popularization of music television. I have experienced college students and

professors who speak both positively and negatively of popular music shows such as

American Idol, The X-factor, Glee, The Sing-Off, The Voice, and Smash. I have

observed many musicians view these shows with either a strong connection to people,

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characters, auditions, plot lines, and musical performances or on the contrary, with a lack

of respect for people, characters, plot lines, auditions, and musical performances given on

these shows. Popular music television shows which primarily represent singers of popular

music genres and musical theater can be seen as hope for the future or a waste of time for

aspiring artists. I have often wondered if the public’s connection with popular music

television is a way forward for the art of singing and music education or an insult to our

craft?

As we examine the lives of competitors on popular music television shows and

the lives of competitors studying to be professional musicians, we can begin to

understand the tension between both “worlds” so to speak, the classical and the popular

music scenes. While both musical worlds revolve around active music making and

listening, as well as occupy the same space, there is certainly a divide between cultures.

More importantly, what type of growth and sacrifice do vocalists who attempt to live in

either or both of these worlds make?

A review of relevant literature gives insight into the mindset of the people and

scholars. While there is no specific literature on today’s popular music television and

music education through the eyes of those who have lived it, there is literature that speaks

of opinions on culture differences relating to the idea of two separate “worlds,” stemming

from the classical and popular music genres. With this notion in mind, I was interested in

determining just how prevalent the “divide” is based on other vocalist’s perceptions of

their lived experiences. I recognized that an understanding of this divide assuming it

exists, could allow music as an art and music education to reach and connect with a

broader spectrum of people. The following research questions guided my research study:

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Through your lived experiences, did you feel elitist attitudes toward your musical

performances deriving from society’s stereotype of what constitutes high and low

art?

As a classical singer, what kind of adjustments did you have to make singing

popular music?

Based on your experiences, has popular music television helped to make the

listening of all music genres and the study of music as a career more accessible?

How has popular music television influenced music education?

Literature Review

According to America’s TV guide channel, almost one-third of the top thirty

shows for the 2011-2012 season are music-competition reality series (8 out of 30).

Singing-centered reality shows are the most popular television genre today, with

American Idol, making number one as the most popular television show, Voice making

number four, and X factor making number six. Three of America’s top 10 deals with

vocal competitions while Dancing with the Stars takes 9th place, another music-related

television show. While music television has existed in the past, its popularity today is at

its highest. Additionally, new seasons of music-centered television shows, specifically

vocal-centered shows continue to be released such as Glee or Smash. The target audience

for these shows is vast, including males and females ranging from ages 8-65 (TV guide

channel). The main connection from viewer to viewer is some sort of interest or

appreciation for making and listening to music. Like any societal trend, there are both

people who support and resist.

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The recent popularization of music television brings to light issues of conflict and

elitism in the music world. The center of this debate is how we, as a society, view “high”

and “low” art. Norman Lebrecht, Britsh novelist and music critic writes in his book, Who

Killed Classical Music, “Why shouldn’t we be elitist? Classical musicians represent some

of the finest talent on Earth. They spend a lifetime working tirelessly to perfect their

craft. We should celebrate that phenomenon, making classical events a special, elite

experience.” While that sounds harsh, comments similar to Lebrecht’s are often made in

a defense to preserve Western classical music, aspects of a traditional music education,

and the art of singing. There is much controversy over society’s distancing and devaluing

of music as “high art.” Dr. David Cutler, professor at Duquesne University, where he also

serves as Coordinator of Music Entrepreneurship Studies and author of “The Savvy

Musician,” writes:

“Maybe we need two classical musics. Classical-A is exclusive, hardly available to the masses. For Elite Access, you must pony up, dress up, and pay up. Anyone who learns this club’s secret handshake is far above average. They are exceptional human beings with exceptional taste.

Classical-B provides hip, fun, interactive entertainment presented in user-friendly formats. The only audience these events discriminate against are ultra-snobby stuffed shirts, who eat caviar while wearing a monocle on their yacht. Of course, Classical-B still features extraordinary virtuosity, beauty, and many other unique dimensions its creators can access. But this is first and foremost an art of the people.”

Is the popularization of music television a contributor to the issue of “high art” versus

“low art?” The National Association for Music Education, NAfME, in a press release

writes of how Glee may influence student involvement in school music programs.

NAfME states that “the poll was launched in response to numerous inquiries from the

press and to a multitude of online conversations about the television program and others

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like it.” NAfME supports Glee’s push for the arts and featuring a wide variety of musical

performances and expressiveness.

In Dalbir S. Sehmby’s article, “Wrestling and Popular Culture,” he investigates

the phenomenon of television culture. He discusses notions of high art versus low art as

well as “high television” versus “low television,” specifically defending wrestling as a

form of “high television.” Sehmby states “Television and art have a contested

relationship already, so professional wrestling and art have a much harder time. Through

both scholarly work and viewing enthusiasm, however, television programming has

become recognized as an important twentieth-century medium.”

He continues to say:

“High culture, such as ballet, opera, and classical music, is regarded as aesthetically complex and intellectually appealing. High aesthetics have been and continue to be critically delineated and appraised within universities, colleges, and in society at large. Historically, however, the elitist applause for high art has come at the expense of lower-class art. Distinctions in art go hand in hand with distinctions between class, taste, and overall aesthetic standards within our culture.”

Bourdieu speaks of how high culture applauds upper-class art, creating specific standards

of quality and taste. Bourdieu also notes how culture is used to distinguish classes by

disguising these distinctions in variations of aesthetics or taste. Sehmby writes:

“Television is a form of popular and profitable art and thus is not considered as aesthetically complex or creatively original as elite art. As a result, television programs are also not considered as aesthetically complex or creatively original as their elite counterparts. Nonetheless, not fulfilling the qualifications of elite art does not dismiss the richness available within a popular television program.”

While there is a major controversy over the concept of “high” and low” art, I use this

literature to frame the context of my research study.

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Methodology

The purpose of my study was to understand the perceptions of classical vocalist’s

experiences on popular music competition television in relation to their formal music

education. I selected participants who are classically trained musicians that auditioned for

popular music television shows and both participants happened to audition for American

Idol. I conducted one interview each with the two participants, Rebecca and Anwar. The

interview with Rebecca was eighty minutes long and the interview with Anwar was sixty-

five minutes long. I found these participants through colleagues and they were willing to

participate in this case study. Glesne (2011) tells of a case study being detailed research

on an individual or individuals bounded by a system. The bounded system in this study is

classically trained vocalists who have auditioned for popular music television shows and

that he or she was at least eighteen years of age. In addition, my research highlights the

perceptions of individuals in relation to their various life experiences, hence why I

classify this research as a case study framed in qualitative research.

The interviews were conducted via Skype enabling us to have both audio and

video components to our interview. The time of the interview was selected based on the

preference of the participant. The interviews dealt with topics such as personal

background, musical background, personal reasons that led to the pursuit of music as a

profession, overall college experience studying classical music, the American Idol

experience, assimilation, and elitism.

Many efforts were made in order to promote trustworthiness throughout the

research study. The participants were aware of recording and were able to stop recording

and/or withdraw from the study at any time. The participants were asked to be completely

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honest and were given the opportunity to read over their responses and make any final

changes and/or clarifications following the interview. I remained unbiased throughout the

research process and was attentive and friendly, showing that I cared about what the

participants had to say. Lastly, I worked under the supervision of a faculty sponsor who

helped to guide the research process.

Data Collection and Analysis

After the completion of the interviews, the data was listened to and transcribed.

The data was then analyzed and coded for themes. Four major themes were exposed

based on the participants’ perceptions and they are as follows: positive, rich connections

with music before and during college, society’s misconceptions of performing music,

assimilation, and elitism. The participant’s replies are interwoven throughout in

conjunction with the four themes.

Rebecca

The first participant, Rebecca, has been involved with music from a very young age. She

states:

I started piano in 2nd grade and um, I started playing violin when I was about um, in 6th grade. Uh, and I’ve played flute since 1st grade and all through high school so I’ve always been very musical and I think that having the piano background definitely helps um as far as pitch development and um, with singing.

Rebecca also had an excellent middle school choir experience which allowed her to feel

more comfortable “ in her own skin.” Rebecca said:

I started singing in 8th grade, um I was actually painfully shy until 8th grade and then my mom kinda pushed me to join chorus and the minute I joined, you know, then this teacher, Jamie, paid me special attention and she believed in the skills I had, so I started in 8th grade and continued to sing all through high school and college.

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Music helped her to be less shy and gain confidence because she felt like she was really

special and good at a specific skill. Making a rich connection to music from a young age,

really helped Rebecca to build confidence and ultimately, prepare her for her future

musical endeavors. She states:

When I joined in 8th grade and I started coming out of my shell, the best experience my first, my first, you know, real music experience that got me hooked with music was I got the lead in the musical in 8th grade and you know when I happened to announce it a lot of people were just kinda stunned and shocked because I was the girl growing up you know whose eyes darted to the floor when you said my name so I think getting that exposure and hearing, oh wow you’re really good, it was the good initial experience that I pushed me forward and you know, kinda steered the fact that I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

Rebecca identifies herself initially as more of a musical theater and pop singer. She also

makes note that she has natural ability in music; she speaks of having perfect pitch and

not needing to work as hard as her friends to learn music. Rebecca’s comfort in her talent

allowed her to make personal growth and choose a direction to focus her goals in life.

Anwar

Like Rebecca, Anwar also became interested in music from a very young age.

When I asked how long he has been singing he replies, “Since I was... about 8 years old. I

was playing piano a long time, since I was 6.” Also similar to Rebecca, Anwar has very

positive school music experiences while growing up. He speaks of performing at a

presidential inauguration, travelling to Norway, and participating in choral festival

competitions. Anwar sang in church and that was another huge support system for him.

He tells of having perfect pitch too and how aspects of music study come more easily to

him than others. Anwar like Rebecca does not classify himself as a classical musician

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before entering college. In fact, he did not even consider classical music as a major

interest. He states:

Well, I love gospel music, um, (unintelligible) I have... like a lot of um, classic sounds of um, you know, classic R&B, male singers like or Marm McCay, Martin Hathaway, I love Stevie Wonder, um, and that's what... and contemporary R&B female singers the Kelly Price, Faith Evans... I like them, so that's every just... Aretha Franklin comes in there, Shack Laquan that's the breadth of my choices of listening... I do have an affinity for uh, country music that developed over the past few years, so that's like I know that's.... a big answer, but that's basically it. I forgot to mention Ella Fitzgerald, she can sing anything.

Anwar also received a rich music education during his early years that allowed him to

pursue music later on in his life.

The College Music Experience (The Classical Music World)

Rebecca and Anwar spoke highly of their families during this interview as well as

school and private musical experiences. Both participants gained the necessary skills and

knowledge to be accepted to college for music. However, initially, neither participant

wanted to pursue music professionally. With insistence and encouragement from school

music teachers and family members, both participants went to college for music

education as voice primaries. Additionally, they admitted to being drawn to the idea that

they were naturally talented and gained confidence through positive attention.

Neither participant considered himself or herself to be classical singers, one primarily

musical theater, one primarily gospel, before entering college. From sophomore year of

college on forward, they have considered themselves to be primarily classical vocalists.

Each participant discusses a distinct shift in his or her identity, a transition from the

popular music world to the classical. Rebecca clearly expresses this notion, I ask:

So there are so many interesting things that you mention, and I think I'm just going, if we could just go back a little bit and just highlight some of it, and if you

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could just elaborate a little bit so, you talked about how initially you were drawn to Broadway and you’d listen to the radio and you really developed a passion for classical music so, how, could you maybe describe that transition a little bit?

Rebecca states:Yeah, um, again, I, I thought opera was absolutely silly in high school I'd never been exposed to it in music classes, which is why I'm doing it with my kids now, because you know if they listen to it in elementary school, then when it comes to high school they’re not going to be silly about it they’re not going to be laughing about it anymore because they’re exposed to it. I unfortunately was never exposed to it so I thought it was kind of a joke and I thought it was for people who put Viking hats on with the horns on their head and just did their thing and um you know my mom even you know she would take me to Broadway shows all the time she knew that was something I was deeply interested in, but I believe it was in middle school she took me to an opera it was Madame Butterfly and you know she just kind of wanted t expose me to different cultural things, she brought me to museums growing up to expand my horizons and I remember just being so checked out through the whole thing, and I felt awful because she put all this money into the ticket and I just was like I’m not feeling this…

So when I got into Providence College and I, I went for music education I did not know that every person had to study classically, I kind of figured id go in and you know the classical kids would have their teachers and I would have a musical theater teacher, would help me with belting and all that stuff, and we were sitting in our orientation and they said you know you’re all going to be studying classically with a private voice teacher and I was like a what? You know we all have to study classical, this isn’t a choice? Like I thought we… so I was just so turned off by it, and I was jut thinking maybe this isn’t my thing, maybe it was a mistake not going for musical theater, and then you know, I, did a n opera we did Dido and Aneas we did a few things, we did opera workshops and it was thought those performances and getting the good feedback you know people saying wow I never knew you could sing like that, again, you know, me valuing people's opinions and they like it they start to like it, if they believe in me, I start to believe in myself, so you know kinda seeing that, oh, I thought I was good at musical theater but maybe I’m REALLY good at opera people are giving me good feedback and this is good! And so I started to listen to more opera in my spare time, my roommate thought I was crazy they’re like what are you doing listening to this crap haha! And I just said, I love it! I'm really starting to love it, so um, so I think I just sort of you know, was given this mandatory you know genre this is what you have to do, and you know I was forced to abide by the rules and do it, and then I just sort of fell into loving it, you know I went to a lot of

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performances as an undergrad and I performed a lot and I just think that the more exposure I got, the more I started learning about different composers, you know I don’t really like Purcell but I love Mozart and I don’t really like this but I love this, and I just fell in love with it, its just so interesting how it all played out because you know I never thought I would love it and jus by having a really great teacher, great performances, It's become my passion, so when I went to Idol, you know, I might have sang musical theatre in the past, um but, but after singing four years of opera, you kind of just loose it, you know you can't belt, you can't you know, you can't belt as high, you cant do this and that, and you know you just kind of fade out, and the opera starts taking over a more instrumental role.

In college, both participants were music education majors who gained new love and

respect for singing classical music and choral music, popular music was not really

addressed in their education. Performing classical music became one of their deepest

passions. Rebecca sums it up when she says:

When I crossed over into college and I choose to be a music education major, I was kind of uh almost put back when they said I had to learn classical voice, you know, it was something that in high school I kind of laughed at thinking, oh, people who sing opera, and I kinda mocked it and then I was interested when I went to college I actually had to be classically trained and I learned to love it in those 4 years and that was though my amazing voice teacher that I had in college.

Both participants learned about classical vocal technique, vocal health, music theory,

history, and music education. They felt that their voices developed for the better in a way

never imaginable. Rebecca discusses how her college experience really fine-tunes her

skills:

I would say there’s always going to be a difference when you’re studying with someone who has an expertise in voice. I definitely learned a lot, I learned a lot from when I um, from my college teacher more than my high school teacher, I think you know when you’re in high school they don’t push you as much, so I was kind of like just working on little trivial things whereas in college you know, I had this amazing teacher who studied opera her whole life cause she really did push me and everything from you know, breath control. I never really learned how to breathe in high school, and it seems like something that’s… you know you kind of assume as a teacher you know if you’re teaching a high school class, oh

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they know how to breathe and oh I’m trying to prepare for this concert, and I see its in 6 weeks so we’ll just get the notes right, and you know, it’s very on the surface, whereas when I went to college and everything was more in depth. I learned how to breathe, I learned about my vowel shapes, I learned about more technical things because it was about allowing me to grow, and I feel like when you’re in high school you’re young, you know, especially me, you know I’m an elementary school music teacher now, I fall into the trap of I’m trying to prepare for a concert whereas I’m not trying to focus on my singers so much, you know what I’m saying?

Rebecca and Anwar spoke of their private voice instructors with the highest respect and

love for them, their private voice teachers were their closest professional relationship in

college in addition to one or two of the music education faculty. Both Rebecca and

Anwar realized later in their college careers that they were more passionate about

performing music than teaching music, but enjoyed both. Rebecca states:

I think the thing about music that really drew me in was the attention I was getting and it seemed so silly, but you know, I was shy my whole life and I was kinda under the radar and people didn’t really know about me, you know I wasn’t fitting in socially and I was a little awkward, and I was bullied and it just wasn’t very good. And when I got that first that role, it was in The Wiz that I got the tin man, and I remember just all of the attention I was getting and it made me feel like if this is something that I stick to just look at where I’m going to be if I go to high school or college and I’m still singing, you know people are going to start to notice me, and I enjoyed being in the limelight and you know, I enjoyed having eyes on me and people complimenting my talents and my skills and my abilities and so I stuck with it, and you know, thinking about college, it was really tough for me because I’m one of those people who I analyze every decision I make, you know should I be going here? Should I go here, maybe I’ll have this music teacher, but what if I go here? So I was reading into it so much, I ended up choosing Providence College because I had lot of family members who went there, put a lot of money into it, and it was more of like that family school and I think that ultimately I decided to um, to go to providence college because a lot of my family went there and they all loved it. Um, I think one of the regrets I have in life is not applying to more rigorous, more intensive programs like University of Michigan or Cincinnati, or those schools that really specialize on, you know a competitive nature, and having the best of the best. And the reason I did not apply there is because I kind psyched myself you and I felt like if I applied there, and I got rejected you know, it would really wear on me and so I sort of settled initially at Providence College. And when I went there I initially wanted to go for musical theatre and my mom had said you know, that the there’s not a lot of security in musical theatre, you know you’re going to end up living in a cardboard box! So

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she said why don’t you go for music education, therefore you’re still singing, you’re still performing, but there's a lot of stability, you know there’s some security in teaching, at least at the time there was. You know so I went to a school that I sort of settled on, I went to a program that I sort of settled with. Um, uh, I don't regret my decision, I enjoy teaching, but at the same time there isn’t a moment that passes, especially recently, where I really wish I could be performing, you know to be on a Broadway stage or, you know, to be on a show like American Idol or The Voice you know, and I, you know, I enjoy being with my kids it’s… it’s something that I do have a passion for, but again, I so wish I could be performing I just, you know if I had to you know, take out a scale right now and balance performing and education, I would definitely think that the performance would weight out, like that’s sad I enjoy what I do, but if I could be, be performing that would be my number one choice…

The American Idol Experience (The Popular Music World)

In spite of having a great respect for their college music experiences, Rebecca and

Anwar in an attempt to fulfill their desire to perform, both spontaneously decided to

audition for American Idol, thinking it would be an opportunity to advance their careers

and make it to the stage. They each spoke in their interview how it was a very intense

audition process. Rebecca says:

We find out that were not going to a closed room, we’re going to be auditioning in the arena in front of everyone. So this is extremely daunting, you know, I might be confident but this is ludicrous that we have to audition in front of everyone! So there are like these little stations and there must be like 10 stations, and there’s a producer at each one and Ryan Seacrest comes out, he was there that day which everyone was pretty excited about, and um Constantine came out, he kind of gave his little appearance, and they’re filming a few things and you know, we have to fist pump cause we're in Jersey and we just kind of filmed things, cut, do it again, and then the auditions began, and so I guess, we started out at one side of the arena and they came down and they made a line at each of the booths, and everybody was singing in front of each other, and I remember hearing the most amazing singers who were riffing with these strong voices and I and my best friend and I assume she’s going to go through, she’s incredible. And we just hear, no you didn’t make it, and then the next person comes up and we kinda just looked at each other and I was almost disgusted. I thought like, you know this girl clearly has been working her tail off and has all this training I’m sure, and she gets cut. So you know, one by one we see all these people get cut who were really incredible, it’s turning me off and I hadn’t even auditioned yet and then you see, you know, the ones dressed up like superwoman… there’s a guy dressed up liked

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a banana and they’re doing the joke act thing, so its just kind of like projecting the message

In order to avoid stereotypes, Anwar speaks of singing songs by females as not to be

compared to other males. He says:

I stuck to Stevie Wonder's "You are the Sunshine of my Life" because I thought it was a universal song that would appeal to many different people, you know... on cultural level, age level, you know all of those levels and I was pretty much...I stuck to that song the whole time, until even, you know at the finals I stuck to the standards, I stuck to older, traditional, American songs because those are songs I gravitated towards when I was studying my music in my spare time at Westminster…I never try a cover song…I would choose a female song…and took the gender out of it. It works, because you know what? It takes the pressure off you to align your vocals with someone who was of the opposite gender.

Both participants make reference to the show only looking for an icon, not necessarily the

best singing. They discuss how television media would draw attention to auditions that

were more bizarre or absurd in order for the show to gain even more attention. Rebecca

states:

I was turned off by the fact that you know all these joke acts were getting through and you know there were some good people that got through, but I was seeing these remarkable singers just getting denied left and right and then you see these people who are dressed up in costumes that know they can get through with a joke act, and of course they get the golden paper that says they go through and it was just so frustrating. Um, and so you know as more and more really fantastic people are getting denied my confidence starts to rebel and by the time I go up you know and I go to the booth I happen to sing the song Amazing Grace and I say it with riffs and I sang, um you know it almost in a pop way and the reason why I didn’t go in with a classical song is I almost knew that if I sang classically it would just be denied you know because the show that I’m auditioning for you know you never see classical singers on there um and now when I look back on it I kind of think why didn’t I do America’s Got Talent or something like that because I feel that American Idol kind of they want one type of singers and it doesn’t cater to the needs of classical singers, you know so I came in with a song and you know when I went there I had 4 years of you know operatic training so my musical theatre voice kind of you know wasn’t quite there anymore, or it was very rusty, and singing and I just know just singing that I’m not going to get through because it wasn’t what I did anymore and of course I didn’t get through and my best friend

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didn’t get through and you know leaving that day, I don’t regret auditioning, I just get really frustrated when I tell people you know when they ask me should I try out, I basically say, you know, I’m going to be really blunt with you, if you sing classically don’t do it, just don’t do it, because it’s not the show for you they’re not you know they’re not looking for opera singers they’re not looking for classical singers you know they’re looking for pop singers or rock singers you know so I don’t regret trying out, I just think that I should have been smarter about it, and it just frustrates me because you know when I play opera for my kids at school for listening examples, you get the giggling and chuckling and I basically try to teach them you know if its foreign to you or if its weird to you if its something you haven’t heard before, you know instead of making fun of it, try to embrace it and try to learn something from it you know I know you hear classical songs everyday you know you hear Adele on the radio and I’m sure a lot of you watch American idol and The Voice, but try to expand your horizons and understand that there are more musical genres out there than just the things that we hear on the radio you know and I think that The Voice and American idol the message they’re putting out there is, you know, do you want to be a good singer? Do you want to be in Hollywood, make it in Hollywood? Then start riffing, start adding the runs to your voice and you know, and all that stuff, so I’m hearing in my elementary school I’m hearing more and more little kids try to like mimic these singers and its just not natural or you know good for them especially at their age and I’m trying to tell them you know don’t mimic these people just because they’re famous and in Hollywood you know just because there’s a show like American idol and I try to tell them more about America’s got talent because you know you’ve got the Jackie _______ and um even Britan’s got talent, we’ve got Susan Boyle who’s like a popera, you’ve got Paul Potts who sang nessun dorma, you know there’s more to music than just the American idol voice and that’s what I’m trying to teach my kids at school and you know again I don’t feel bad about auditioning I just wish that there was more you know media and more exposure to classical singers. You know?

Society’s Misconceptions of Performing Music

Rebecca and Anwar felt that during American Idol auditions, the judges compared

singers to gender stereotypes and other pop artists regardless of their sound; it was more

about finding a “star.” The participants believe that classical music is not accessible. We

can infer that society values fame and relates to the sounds they hear on the radio or the

imitation of sounds as well as the hype created by television media. Rebecca speaks on

her very first college voice lesson and how she thought it was desirable to imitate sounds:

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It was really interesting because you know when I studied musical theatre I had a teacher that was very relaxed and so I learned how to belt and you know some of those things because I think that's its remarkable especially if you want to be on Broadway and do professional musical theater. But you know she didn’t really go too in depth it was very relaxed it was a very casual setting, I came in there slouched I kind of just sang and she didn’t touch upon diction, she didn’t touch upon shape you know we always did things in English you know we never touched upon different languages and so when I went to providence college and I had a really great classical voice teacher, I learned a lot more with her. And the funny thing is, is remember how I said for American idol how I was putting on a musical theatre voice? When I started at providence college with this voice teacher, it was the first day we had together, and I thought, oh, this voice teacher sounds very good, and I'm in college now, so I have to sound like I know what I’m doing, so I'm kind of thinking about his in my head, and she just kind of asks me to vocalize and do some warm-ups, and I put on an opera voice, and basically you know, from what I know about opera, which is very little, you know, I tried to kind of mimic that, so she thought like oh girl knows what she’s doing, so I had this voice that was almost like a 30 year old or a 40 year old and she stopped and said, is that really how you sound, and you don't take offense to this I’m just wondering, but is that how you sound, and its almost like one of those things where she could like read into, like she was reading my mind, and I said no, no I’m musical theatre I’ve never done opera before, all my peers have done classical voice, I don’t have a clue. She said okay, let's slow this down just because you’re doing opera doesn't mean you have to put on this full deep voice, you know its don’t listen to all the stereotypes its a misconception, show me our real voice and I’ll kind of treat you from there.

Anwar speaks of the vocal adjustments and sacrifices he had to make performing on

American Idol. He states:

Well… covering the tone as a tenor, kind of muffles the sound so, I would belt for them, extend my range more… and um, yeah. A lot of that resonance and stuff like that, I had to kind of shift that to kinda sound more, you sing the star spangled banner like this… (sings star Spangled Banner with exaggerated opera voice) you can do that, or you can do this (Sings again with more pop voice) They are the same song in the same key same pitches, very different sounds! Now, the first sound was a very manufactured, and pressed version of what the classical sound would be. I’m being honest here that’s not my strong point, it was my foundation. I did it because it was required of me, and I respected the art form and the repertoire and the, the regimen and the requirements I respected that, but popular music and a popular sound in a universal sound, a current sound is something that I seek out… So you hear more air pass through the vocal folds, a performance in the resonators… in the sound because they’re trying to relate to a demographic of people who have no connection to that and as time goes on it’s less and less people because the digital age is upon us. People sound like aliens

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(sings like an automated computer) I can’t even sing like I have auto-tune, Imagine singing the star spangled banner on (sings Star Spangled Banner) Do you know?

Assimilation

Anwar mentions having to use auto-tuning for his voice because he needed to

sound more like today’s pop-stars. He covered his tone and added breathiness in the

voice. He was forced to do what would sell his albums at the time in order to keep with

his contract. I say in response to his previous statement:

That’s so interesting. I never would expect this, because you would think, oh classical musician, you wouldn’t use auto-tune ever, but from someone, but then again, you’re releasing your album and you need it to sell…How else were you perceived by your friends who were also classical musicians versus just people, the American public, like did you feel like there was a big discrepancy or...?

He replies: Assimilation. Live and breathe assimilation… Um, well, it's double-edged. A lot of them, respect, my peers, and musicians and teachers...I really try my best not to cheat them and make light.... and in that process there were some who criticized me for my technique because of the way I kept singing and pushing.

Rebekah’s expresses the need to assimilate and says:

I think that after hearing a lot of the girls getting in, I just think I was trying to mimic them like oh, you know they got through and, and they did this so, maybe if I do that ill get through, and so I was making adjustments I was totally you know changing my tone, I mean the whole thing, it was just a facade, you know I think is the best word to describe it and when I tell people about my experience I’m almost embarrassed to say like, I sang but it wasn’t me at all, it wasn’t my voice, it was me putting on an act because I was trying to be what they were looking for. You know, everything down to the hands and, it wasn’t even organic it wasn’t natural it was just me trying to be what I saw in Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aikin and you know Carrie Underwood, I was just trying to mimic someone, mimic something, so yeah, I did make major adjustments.

It is clear that no matter what genre of music is being sung, society has preconceived

notions of how vocalists should sound, perhaps encouraged by music television. In order

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to survive in either musical world, appealing to the masses despite vocal sacrifices

occurs.

Elitism

The perception of high and low art based on lived experiences was that both participants

disagreed with the stereotype despite their classical training and felt that high art should

be seen as what is popular, what people know. When asking Anwar, “do you think the

judges or public were able to tell that you were a classically trained musician?” Anwar

replies:

Well they knew, they knew of Westminster and then they could, they would hear it especially in the upper range because of the resonance and timbre, some of the choices of phonation they could tell. I listened back to some performances now and it's like well, he was very obvious listening you know with my ears now to back then you know what that is? Like my sound and however will give because I probably did not have they say that you sing you know gospel and songs types of music and music that calls to you to step out…I was warned by several friends that I abused my range.

After continuing the conversation, I ask, “a follow up question for that is, you know,

through your experiences, did you ever experience elitist attitudes towards your success

in popular music?” Anwar states:

No. I experienced the opposite. I experienced people who considered me to be an elitist during my success with popular music because like, when you know even the mold of a popular person, you’re a nerd or a musical genius fronting you are a pop American icon, for the moment it was for the moment you know what I mean> I was a prototype for a moment, I made an impact and a lot of people know who I was but to keep up with that kind of fan base you have to be a attached to that grand over a period of time and that’s not the choices that were afforded to me and I don’t think I would have made those choices if they were afforded to me because I wanted to preserve the integrity of where I came from and what my actual truth was.

Other musicians on American Idol and fans perceived Anwar to be elitist for being a

classically trained singer. At first, people thought it was insincere for him to audition.

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Although he tried to stay true to himself, at times during performances, he had to belt or

sacrifice tone production in order to connect with the audience. Rebecca also experienced

elitism because she felt uncomfortable in sharing with her voice teacher that she wanted

to pursue musical theater and audition on American Idol. Although this was a very close

relationship of hers, she felt too embarrassed because she knew her college voice teacher

would be forward about expressing disappointment in her desire to sing popular music.

Rebecca states:

I think that with a name like American Idol, because it's so popular and it’s so you know, it's like the claim to fame, you know when I said I was auditioning for it whether you were musical theatre oriented or you were operatic it was like, like oh it's American idol what a cool opportunity, this is a once in a lifetime kind of deal and um, everyone was really happy for me, and I was kind of hesitant to be honest to tell um my friends at Providence College who were opera singers, you know who I didn’t tell were my professors at college, my voice teacher, my choral director, I didn’t tell them about it and the reason why is um, my senior year, and I’m actually really glad you asked this, I forgot to mention this, my senior year at Providence College we’re, we’re finishing it up it was like two months before my senior recital, and my voice teacher asked me, so where did you see yourself next year? Do you se yourself performing or in grad school, and I said, well, you know, I think I might, you know, continue grad school I'm, I'm used to being a student, I would like to continue being a student, and the last thing I really want to do, and some people do it, but the last thing I personally want to do is in a few years, settle down, have a husband and kids and then have to go back to school and juggle all that, all the agendas, so I just want to get my grad school done, so I said to her I just want to go straight to grad school, but I kind of want to go for musical theater, like id done the music education route, I'd done the classical voice which served as a great foundation, but now I kind of want to you know go back and forth, and go back to musical theatre for a bit, and she kind of just gave me a look of death, and she said you know, if you go back to musical theater you’re going to be loosing all of the formal techniques that we've been trying to instill all four years, you know, she said do you belt when you do musical theater, and she's sort of this old fashioned, very set in her ways kind of teacher, and I said, well, yeah, I would have to belt, and she said you know you can't belt, belting is extremely unhealthy for your voice, you can get vocal nodes, it's just it's not natural for your voice you shouldn’t do that, and I said well, you know, my high school teacher had you know, said, you know, when I belt, it can be done in a healthy manner as long as you know how to do it the right way, she said Becca please don't tell me you're going to musical theater. It was one of those things where it was immediately dismissed, you know, and I wasn't mad at her, it wasn't

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her fault, I mean she had been an opera singer for years and years, she did professional opera, you know, she's just this incredible person, and performer, but it was like this, no, no, no, like, you can't do musical theatre that’s so unhealthy, you know your voice, and I almost sound like her, your voice is your instrument, honey, no, and so when I auditioned for American idol, I wouldn’t ever think to tell her, I mean I tell her a lot of stuff, we've become very close, but I knew it would be like, an instant disapproval, and my choral director was the same way, he was opera all the way, we had this musical theatre workshop our junior year of college, and he didn't attend, he, we asked him why didn't you attend, were you busy? He said no, I don't support musical theatre, he said that's very unhealthy. so it was like, like my voice teacher, my choral director, they were all very anti-pop music, musical theater, and you know, nowadays, I just assume as a teacher, as a music teacher that you embrace all genres, whether it being rap, that's an art form, some people may not appreciate it, but you have to respect it you know, dub-step, you know, whatever it may be, it's all music it's just extremely different and I just thought it was really fascinating and kind of disappointing that, you know, I want to share this opportunity with people that I love and people who have been there to support me and help train me, and I would never think to tell my choral director or my private voice teacher, so I thought that was kind of interesting, but my musical theatre friends and my classical friends, I think they were all just overjoyed to hear that, you know, someone in their live was doing this opportunity and even if it didn’t work out for me they were all just really supportive and so... that was that.

When discussing elitism, the divide between music worlds and its influence on music education, each participant offered their “solutions.” I ask Anwar:

So, if you were go to go back into teaching in the classroom and you had a wide range of students, what would you tell the students, especially your younger students wanting these popular music shows you know, Idol, X-Factor, The Voice, The Sing-Off what would you tell them if you knew that their goal was to be on this show or just... what would you say to them?

Anwar replies, “Start with the end in mind…Tell my students, what do you want? What is the outcome of this? Why are you going here? What do you want to accomplish? Be yourself.”

And similarly, I asked Rebecca:

So I guess, the last thing that I, I can think of is, you know, I guess I'll present this scenario: You are a music educator, and what do you do when you're in your classroom and you see students who are so focused on, you know, just I want to be a pop singer, or, if there was a student that I want to be a opera singer, I don’t know if you’re coming across that, but what do you suggest as a music educator, and for music education? You know?

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Rebecca replied:You know there are a lot of kids in my school that will approach me and will say, you know I wanna be like duh duh or I want to be like Justin Beiber and I basically just tell them and you know, some kids, you know they really take it in, some kids it goes in one ear and out the other, but I basically say, you know, we live in this age where you know you turn on the TV and you've got these great contests with these great singers and, and the media does all they can do to get really get you sucked into idolizing these people and I basically say, you know they're great singers, but you know, every voice it's like… it's like a fingerprints, every voice is unique no one's voice is exactly the same as say, if you want to be famous, then you know, you go for it, you know? I'll be there to support you and, and you know what ever you need me to do, but know that you need to pursue this on your own, you can't go around and I basically tell them you can't go around mimicking people, you know? They’re great, and they're great, but they're all great in their own different ways, you know? So instead of mimicking these people and sometimes I even record them, the girls that are trying to do all those riffs, I'll record them using garage band and ill play it back, and I wont even say what I think I wont comment I'll let them say something first I say, well what did you think of that, and they’re kind of just holding in their laughter, that part was really bad, and I say that's not really bad, it’s just you know, you're 7 years old, and you're trying to be like this 25 year old famous star. You’re not there yet, you’re a kid, you know that right? You’re not there yet. Could you get there? Absolutely, all in time. But until then whenever you’re working in music class you know the basic kind of stuff, that's what I want you to focus on, and if you can strengthen your voice there and when you work hard and focus there maybe one day you'll be able to do all that fancy stuff, but not yet, you know? And you cant try to be like someone else, you know I always tell them, this, this quote, that you know, everyone else is taken, you got to be yourself because everyone else is taken, You know, Kelly Clarkson and, and Bruno Mars, you know they've got their thing going on, they're done. You've got to worry about sounding the way you’re going to sound don’t but on an act don’t put on a facade and it's funny because when I’m trying to tell them and instill this important message I look back and I’m like god I wish someone had to me that because then I wouldn’t be like, drive all the way to New Jersey and you know get the bad one day and stand in front of judges and you know and had someone told me that I mean who knows how that audition could have been totally different my future could have been totally different so I’m trying to tell these kids and I’m trying to tell them at a young age to be yourself and don’t mimic these singers they’re great, but you’re great too just in a completely different ways, you know?

Discussion and Implications

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After experiencing “living in both worlds,” and as people who are currently

teaching music education, both participants experienced elitism in some fashion which

stems from society’s view of “high” and “low” art. Despite having experienced elitist

attitudes, both participants believed that high art should be seen as what is popular, what

people know, if there even needs to be a classification at all. Art is subjective and

depends upon the integrity of the performance.

The participants feel that it is important to teach vocal technique in the classroom

when appropriate. Students should be encouraged and taught to sing how their voices can

sound best, not imitate artists they hear in any genre. Both Rebecca and Anwar made

serious vocal adjustments in an attempt to assimilate in the respective musical genres.

The participants spoke of how classical music is a “dying art” and how music television

is not aiding in music accessibility of all genres of music. Additionally, the participants

agreed that music education would benefit by focusing more on building skills through

technique and ear-training and even more importantly, by building character. Having

made positive and negative choices when performing in both genres, the participants

encouraged that the message to send is to be authentic when performing; their definition

of authenticity meaning to be yourself. No matter what genre is being sung, do not

imitate. An artist should perform in a way where he or she can respect and honor

themself and the art form.

Questions for Further Research

I think it may be effective to conduct this research study again, but with a few

more participants, representing another popular television show in addition to American

Idol. Secondly, I would have liked to lead a follow-up interview in order to obtain more

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data to analyze. One interview was all the participants could commit to at this time. Some

questions for further study are how can music educators teach performance authenticity?

Why is classical music a dying art? How can we remedy the situation? How can we as a

society reshape elitist attitudes in regards to music?

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Sources:

Bourdieu, Pierre. “Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste.” 1984. http://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/bourdieu1.pdf

Boyles, Michael. “’Music of the Highest Class’: Elitism and Populism in Antebellum Boston.” American Music. University if Illinois Press. Vol. 12, No. 2, Summer 1994. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3052524

Cutler, David. “Classical Music: Too Elitist or Not Enough?” Mindset, Projects. The Savvy Musician Blog. October 27th, 2011. Accessed March 2012http://www.savvymusician.com/blog/2011/10/classical-music-too-elitist-or-not-enough/

Davies, Sir Peter Maxwell. “A case for classical music, old and new, part I, II, III.” The Guardian. Recorded Speech for the Incorporated Society of Musicians Annual Conference. April 2007. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/apr/10/classicalmusicandopera.comment

Fiske, John. “Understanding Popular Culture.” Taylor & Francis e-Library. 2010. http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0Hawq-OalYYC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=understanding+popular+culture+john+fiske&ots=J62yogVruI&sig=DFq6GXqbHV5DaeEPRzI0uZZM3is#v=onepage&q=understanding%20popular%20culture%20john%20fiske&f=false

Grossberg, Lawrence. “'You [Still] Have to Fight for Your Right to Party': Music Television as Billboards of Post-Modern Difference” Popular Music. Cambridge University Press. Vol. 7, No. 3, Oct. 1988 http://www.jstor.org/stable/853028

Press Release: Glee- Making a Difference for America’s Music Students,” Natinal Association for Music Educaotrs (NAfME). February 2011.

Sehmby, Dalbir S. “Wrestling and Popular Culture,” Comparative Literature and Culture.” Vol. Issue 1. March 2002 http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1144&context=clcweb

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