The subsequent study is an outgrowth of observations made during a year spent in secondary voice teaching on the college level. For the purpose of working toward a more effective and efficient secondary voice program, the following material is presented. The first part of the study is a critical analysis and comparison of six methods of voice teaching designed for, or adaptable to, class voice teaching. The second part of the study is a suggested plan for teaching secondary voice in classes, including an outline of material which could be used.

This study seeks to develop and evaluate a program of selfinstructional drill materials for improving the ability of students to detect pitch errors in choral singing. The specific purposes of the study are as follows: (1) To develop and validate a visualaural test for pitch-error detection; (2) to develop a visual-aural, self-instructional program for improving the ability of students to detect pitch errors; and (3) To determine whether the program of self-instructional drill materials modifies the ability to detect pitch errors. In the first phase of this three-phase study, a body of testing materials was assembled, pilot-tested, edited, and judged reliable for use. In Phase II a body of self-instructional, programmed drill materials was assembled, pilot-tested, corrected, and judged ready for evaluation. In Phase III the procedures were as follows: (1) the subjects for whom the program was intended were administered a pretest of their pitch-error detection ability; (2) one group (A) participated in the programmed drill materials developed, while the other group (B) used no programmed materials; (3) both groups were administered a midtest to determine whether there was any change; (4) the latter group (B) participated in the programed drill materials developed, while the first group (A) no longer used the programmed materials; (5) students in both groups were administered a posttest to deterine the effectiveness of the programmed drill materials in developing the ability to detect pitch errors while reading the vocal score.

The objectives of this research were to (1) characterize the demographics and vocal health history of collegiate-level singers, particularly those with a voice disorder and (2) describe and compare self-reported symptoms of singers across diagnostic categories of vocal fold disorders. Clinical reports of 56 collegiate-level singers (15 male and 41 female) who visited the Voice Diagnostic Clinic at the University of North Texas for voice evaluations between 2010 and 2015 were reviewed. Information was extracted from clinical records including demographic data, vocal health history, self-reported voice-related symptoms, and voice diagnosis confirmed by strobolaryngoscopic examinations and phonatory function testing. Diagnoses of voice disorders were grouped under three categories: normal (i.e., no perceptible pathology), benign lesions and irritation/inflammation. Seven singers were diagnosed as normal, 27 (51.8%) with benign lesions, and 22 (39.3%) with irritation/inflammation. All singers diagnosed as normal were females. Female singers have twice as many benign lesions as irritation/inflammation whereas males presented the opposite pattern. Nodules, polyps, cysts and irritation/inflammation were the most common voice disorders. Singers with allergies and a past history of voice problems demonstrated a higher incidence of voice disorders. The top five self-reported vocal symptoms were worse voice in the morning (50%), pain in throat (46.4%), voice worse with prolonged use (44.6%), vocal fatigue (42.9%), and breathiness (41.1%). Self-reported symptoms are not a reliable screening tool to determine presence or absence of vocal pathology. Voice teachers must be familiar with the singing and speaking voice of each student, so as to perceive early onset of vocal attrition symptoms and encourage the student in seeking medical attention.

Emil Behnke was a highly esteemed vocal pedagogue of the late nineteenth century. Perhaps rare for the time, the art and science of teaching vocal methods of speech and singing was a Behnke family business, one that Emil shared with his wife and daughter, who were both named Kate. Indeed, Emil's daughter, Kate Emil Behnke, was equally regarded and valued in the field of vocal pedagogy, carrying her father's teachings into the twentieth century. Meanwhile, the elder Kate Behnke, wife to Emil and mother to Kate Emil, was responsible for administering and building upon her husband's innovative methods of speech therapy, establishing her own reputation as a speech healer. The Behnke family published no less than fourteen books, cumulatively. Largely forgotten today, the purpose of this document is to provide a comprehensive overview of the biography and the pedagogical methods and works of the Behnke family, and to contextualize these methods within the framework of trusted vocal pedagogy, both historic and current.