Although many performers
can sing "by ear", that is, without having any formal
training, professional performers need to have a working command of the
tools which other musicians use to communicate during the process of
creating a top-level performance. If a singer can't read music or
doesn't know the terminology, time is lost having to explain. In the
professional world, time is money, and if you don't know "your
stuff", you won't get very far.
It is highly recommended that students with no previous musical experience
enroll in a theory class prior to starting vocal music instruction.
This class provides the basic skills you need to be able to learn fairly simple songs. The main focus includes identifying pitches on a keyboard, recognizing musical notation and understanding rhythm patterns. Major and minor scale formulas will be introduced, and learning how key signatures are utilized will be covered.
EAR-TRAINING
STUDIES
Many singers have not
been taught how to sing "in-tune" -- meaning, within the scale
of a song -- changing keys from one phrase to the next. Others
simply have never been taught to match pitches exactly.
Ear-training studies will develop a tonal center within the singer,
performing intervals and harmonic identifications will strengthen pitch
accuracy and intonation. Recognition
of intervals and singing in tune is a learnable skill, but you can’t
learn it alone!
KEYBOARDING
SKILLS
To further
assist performers in learning music quickly and accurately, NOVAA's
Keyboarding Skills course develops the ability to format different types
of chords and play from fake books (the music industry's abbreviated
songbooks). Other abilities, such as playing a bass line
improvisation, will improve a singer's ability to sing in tune and
understand the style of myriad compositions.
MUSIC
FUNDAMENTALS
This couse will familiarize singer-actors with vocabulary commonly found
in the study of vocal music. Parameters of music, including
dynamics, timbre, pitch, duration and more will be introduced, and a
brief overview of the development of music in Western society puts
various styles of music into a perspective that will assist the student
in future performance development.