Singing through the oboe : voicing and other vocal techniques within playing and teaching

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Kelley Irene Tracz (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Ashley Barret

Abstract: Learning to “sing through the instrument” is the center of many wind players’ approach to gain a more vocally expressive quality to their playing. A commonly used technique is voicing. Voicing can be defined as the way in which a wind player manipulates and uses their vocal tract to affect sound and also ease of tone production. Because voicing takes place inside the body, and the instrument itself eliminates the possibility for externally observing oral cavity activity, assessing one’s voicing technique can be difficult. There have been multiple studies observing the vocal tract activity of both brass and woodwind players through the use of a laryngoscope capturing the imagery inside this portion of the musician’s body as they play. However, there is a lapse in the use of this information in oboe pedagogy, specifically in regard to voicing. By conducting surveys and interviews with oboists as well as a vocal professional, the intention of this document was to learn more about current research on voicing and use this information to create new approaches to both teaching and playing the oboe. Gathering this information resulted in gaining new insight into what playing with a singing style really means for oboists, and also inspired the creation of new exercises to help oboists of all levels utilize voicing and other vocally based approaches to their playing.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2021
Keywords
Oboe, Playing, Singing, Teaching, Vibrato, Voicing
Subjects
Oboe $x Instruction and study
Music $x Physiological aspects
Oboe $v Studies and exercises
Musicians $v Interviews

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