If you are a classically trained vocalist, does that mean you are only trained to sing opera?

scriptgirl said:

Yes and no. Donna Summer and Pat Benatar both went to school and studied opera and look how they turned out.

But does singing in the way they do-rock and disco,etc. could they go back and sing opera?

Um no.

Bilal and R. Kelly are classically trained and can sing outside of Opera.

scriptgirl said:

It's about the same as bein a classically trained "anything". Aretha Franklin came from the church as we all know, and no one thought she could sing opera. But she had 2 fill in for somebody and litterally blew the roof off the place.

Great question.

The most successful vocal coach around is Linda Septien in Dallas. She specifically teaches how to sing for the radio. Now, by "successful", I don't necessarily mean "best".

She's given us Hillary Duff, Jessica Simpson, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez and most of the Disney/young stars of pop. None of whom could sing opera if their life depended on it.

Actually, none of those kids can really sing at all.

Classical training, from my experience, puts its focus on the fundamentals and "science" of singing. Singers who start out learning "classically" can have a really hard time loosening up to sing pop/rock/folk/etc; non-classical singers, on the other hand, have an easier time using classical techniques to improve their abilities. Sort of like a football player learning ballet to improve their balance, strength, agility, etc.

scriptgirl said:

It's a loaded word but traditional definition, I would say yes. Classical training is about understanding the theory, execution, nuance and historical style of what you are singing or playing for that matter. Classical music is a diluted term. It actually refers to a fairly short segment of music history, with Beethoven as it's champion. Mozart, Bach, or Stravinsky..were not from the Classical music era. Bach, Baroque Period. For dubious reason some have sought to use the term classically trained as a dig to mean the opposite of popular music.

I'll leave it at that.




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[Edited 3/16/10 7:52am]

Thanks you guys and esp TD3!!!

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[Edited 3/15/10 21:53pm]