This thesis details my process in teaching a class I devised, entitled, "Singing for Actors and Acting for Singers," in an attempt to develop a pedagogical bridge between singing and acting. In this thesis, I discuss the need for creating this course and evaluate how effectual it was. Additionally, I detail my research, curricular development and students' responses to the material.

Master of Applied Science / The aim of this investigation was to investigate the effects of computer-based visual feedback in the teaching of singing. Pitch accuracy, a readily-measured parameter of the singing voice, was used in this study to gauge changes in singing for groups with and without visual feedback. The study investigated whether the style of feedback affects the amount of learning achieved, and whether the provision of concurrent visual feedback hampers the simultaneous performance of the singing task. The investigation used a baseline–intervention–post-test between-groups design. Participants of all skill levels were randomly assigned to a control group or one of two experimental groups – with all participants given one hour of singing training. At intervention, the two experimental groups were offered one of two different displays of real-time visual feedback on their vocal pitch accuracy, while control participants had a non-interactive display. All sessions were recorded, and the vocal exercise patterns performed at baseline, intervention and post-test phases were acoustically analysed for pitch accuracy. Questionnaires assessed both general health and the amount of singing and music training of all participants; people in the two experimental groups were also given a further questionnaire about the visual feedback. The results indicate that visual feedback improves pitch accuracy in singing. Cognitive load related to the decoding of visual information was a factor at intervention. At post-test, the two groups who had used real-time visual feedback demonstrated marked improvement on their initial pitch accuracy. There was no significant difference between the results of participants from the two experimental groups, although the participants with some background in singing training showed greater improvement using a simpler visual feedback design. The findings suggest that a hybrid approach integrating standard singing teaching practices with real-time visual feedback of aspects of the singing voice may improve learning.

Master of Applied Science / The aim of this investigation was to investigate the effects of computer-based visual feedback in the teaching of singing. Pitch accuracy, a readily-measured parameter of the singing voice, was used in this study to gauge changes in singing for groups with and without visual feedback. The study investigated whether the style of feedback affects the amount of learning achieved, and whether the provision of concurrent visual feedback hampers the simultaneous performance of the singing task. The investigation used a baseline–intervention–post-test between-groups design. Participants of all skill levels were randomly assigned to a control group or one of two experimental groups – with all participants given one hour of singing training. At intervention, the two experimental groups were offered one of two different displays of real-time visual feedback on their vocal pitch accuracy, while control participants had a non-interactive display. All sessions were recorded, and the vocal exercise patterns performed at baseline, intervention and post-test phases were acoustically analysed for pitch accuracy. Questionnaires assessed both general health and the amount of singing and music training of all participants; people in the two experimental groups were also given a further questionnaire about the visual feedback. The results indicate that visual feedback improves pitch accuracy in singing. Cognitive load related to the decoding of visual information was a factor at intervention. At post-test, the two groups who had used real-time visual feedback demonstrated marked improvement on their initial pitch accuracy. There was no significant difference between the results of participants from the two experimental groups, although the participants with some background in singing training showed greater improvement using a simpler visual feedback design. The findings suggest that a hybrid approach integrating standard singing teaching practices with real-time visual feedback of aspects of the singing voice may improve learning.

Unga transpersoner är en växande elevgrupp vilket gör att allt fler sånglärare möter elever som identifierar sig som transpersoner i sin undervisning. En persons röst är nära sammankopplad med den personliga identiteten men det finns väldigt lite forskning om transpersoner i sångsammanhang. Denna studie som bygger på tre samtal i en fokusgrupp bestående av fyra transpersoner i gymnasieålder har genomförts i syfte att undersöka deras erfarenheter av röst, sång och sångundervisning. Studiens deltagare lyfter fram positiva erfarenheter från sångsammanhang där de mött medvetna lärare med erfarenhet av att undervisa transpersoner. Trots lärarnas normkritiska blick och medvetenhet om bland annat språkbruk kan tradition som förstärker könsnormer ibland leva kvar och leda till att studiens informanter inte känner sig inkluderade. Vidare beskriver de hur fysiska förutsättningar sätter stark prägel på deras erfarenheter av röst och sång, där rösten antingen förstärker könsidentiteten och leder till positiva erfarenheter eller blir ett hinder för dem att uttrycka sig som de vill och leva i enlighet med sin identitet. Individuella anpassningar i dialog med transelever är ett viktigt led i att skapa inkluderande sångsammanhang eftersom varje person är unik och det därför inte finns några entydiga svar och lösningar som passar alla. / Young transgender people are a growing group of students, which means that more and more singing teachers meet students who identify as transgender in their classes. A person's voice is closely connected to personal identity, but there is very little research on transgender people in the context of singing. This study, which is based on three conversations in a focus group consisting of four trans students in high school, has been conducted with the aim of investigating their experiences of voice, singing, and singing education. The study's participants highlight positive experiences from singing contexts where they have met conscious teachers with experience in teaching transgender students. Despite the teachers' norm-critical view and awareness of, among other things, language use, tradition that reinforces gender norms can sometimes still be present and lead to transgender students not feeling included. Furthermore, they describe how physical conditions strongly influence their experiences of voice and singing, where the voice either reinforces gender identity and leads to positive experiences or becomes an obstacle for them to express themselves as they want and live in accordance with their identity. Individual adaptations in dialogue with trans students are an important step in creating inclusive singing contexts since each person is unique and therefore there are no clear answers and solutions that fit everyone.