The curse of the pop students

Jessie J

I have always been wary of teaching too much pop / rock.  I specialize in musical theatre, as an MD as well as vocal coach & technical teacher.   I also make it quite clear to my students that I chose not to watch tv talent shows like X Factor / The Voice, as I believe they portray an unfortunate side of the industry, and encourage students to look for the "get famous quick" options, unlike MT students who are normally much more diligent and hard working.   I've also long held the belief that, if a student develops a good rounded technique for MT, incorporating all the vocal styles - speech quality, thick and thin fold tilt, flexible larynx, twang, belt - then they will also be able to sing pop/rock well.

I have recently moved into teaching based in a couple of schools and for the first time am encountering students who really don't have the interest in MT and are much more pop focussed.  They also want to sound like their favourite singers straight away.  I will always use my Estil background and find a sound that is rooted in their speaking voice.  I also focus a lot on lower abdominal support for all techniques.  I firmly believe that a lot of issues can be improved by refocusing on the breathing and support networks.

Also, as a pianist and arranger I am not set to using backing tracks - in fact I very rarely use tracks in lessons.  I will always play, and never the same way twice, so as to encourage students to find their own way through a song and not get fixated on recreating the original. 

I am not against my students singing pop repertoire per se.  However my goal is to make them understand the problems of singing pop without a solid technique, and also to encourage them to develop confidence in their own individual style rather than work parrot fashion to recreate someone else's style,