Creating a prospective curriculum for the training of Popular Music singing teachers

Overview of the research This research project aims to balance existing pedagogical data in the field of Popular Music (PM) singing with primary research, resulting in the design of a curriculum for training PM singing teachers, preferably as an accredited qualification route. Background For over 200 years, the only official educational route for singing pedagogy has been via the Western classical music conservatoire tradition (Hughes 2014; Reinhert 2019). However, Popular Music has long overtaken Western classical as the most-consumed music globally (Naismith, 2022). As a result, the number of students now wanting to study PM singing styles at schools, colleges and further education institutions has increased dramatically, as seen in the recent proliferation of exam syllabi such as Rockschool and Trinity Rock and Pop and of PM courses at university level. In practice, this means that more voice teachers are needed who are familiar with these styles of singing and can advise students in an informed manner (Howell, 2014; Naismith, 2019). As yet, however, no accredited course exists to train those teachers. This is an issue as there are vast differences in the vocal styles, cultural contexts and performance demands that differentiate PM singing from Classical singing (Heyman et al, 2019). The nature of these differences suggests that an evidence-based, style-specific curriculum for training PM singing teachers would be both timely and sensible (Bartlett and Naismith 2020; Wilson 2003). This PhD aims to build on Sear (2022) by synthesising the most up-to-date literature review data with new primary research in the field of PM voice training, informing the creation of a prospective curriculum for training PM singing teachers. The overall research questions for this PhD are as follows: 1. What research data and pedagogical materials currently exist that would help inform the development of a modern PM voice teaching curriculum? 2. What training have current PM voice teachers received in the past and what do they feel they need now? 3. What does the modern PM industry require of voice training professionals? The researcher believes this study would complement both the Popular Music and Music Education departments at RNCM due to its relevance to both the existing teaching faculty and to RNCM students who may wish to teach Popular Music styles in the future. RNCM may also provide a rich data resource for the researcher in terms of music industry personnel contacts and its links with the Association of Popular Music Education (APME), making the project as relevant as possible.