Vocalist.org archive


From:  Erica Zweig <ezweig@e...>
Date:  Fri Feb 15, 2002  6:21 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Pop-style Broadway

a wealth of classical training as do other pianists -
>
> Christine Thomas
>
Or how about Billy Joel, too, classically trained in
piano?
Having begun, myself, in a folk-pop genre, there seemed
to be some unspoken prejudice against the
Classical style and "sounding too operatic", as if the
pop genre took the old 19thC "starving artist" ideal one
step further; or adapted the "generation gap"
approach that anything which smacked to them of
"the establishment" was bad...perhaps they felt
self-expression would be tainted by more formalized
training.
Since college training for me was in the Classical
tradition, it not only helped me discover an entire part
of my voice (my self) I'd never known existed (beyond a
healthy chest voice which reached the upper line of the
staff, as someone else recently mentioned), but it
introduced a whole world of sound and literature, of the
highest caliber, which was exciting and enriching--and
isn't that all part of what learning and self-expression
are all about...
It seems ironic that, with optimal technologic ability
at our fingertips these days, which affords the greatest
opportunity for exposure to many musical styles,
listeners and performers seek to limit themselves or, at
least, their attitudes.
Perhaps there's just more input coming in at present
than we, generally, can handle. Or, perhaps it explains
why we have so many and varied opinions--because there's
so much more out there to have an opinion about!
--Erica



emusic.com