Berkleemusic.com, the online school of Boston’s renowned Berklee College of Music, is debuting the new course “Pop and Rock Vocals” for their upcoming winter term, beginning January 11th, 2010. Author, instructor and Berklee College of Music professor Didi Stewart will teach the class. All Music Guide has called her music “brilliant” and tagged her an “important Boston area legend.”
The class material runs the gamut of popular music. “Hound Dog” (comparing Elvis Presley and Big Mama Thornton’s versions), “Be My Baby” (The Ronettes), “Satisfaction” (The Rolling Stones), several Marvin Gaye classics, “Femme Fatale” (The Velvet Underground and Nico), “Beat It” (Michael Jackson), “Material Girl” (Madonna), “Every Breath You Take” (The Police), “Champagne Supernova” (Oasis), “I Will Always Love You” (Whitney Houston), and “Creep” (Radiohead) are among the many selections put under the microscope in this extensive course.
Stewart said, “Proper techniques can be tricky to learn but I’ve made this course very user-friendly, bringing in music that people really enjoy, so that the technique goes down easy. Every technique we cover is specifically designed for a different style of pop and rock, whether it’s enunciation, breath management, or forward placement. The presentation of all these techniques in this online course, through video, live chats, and the wealth of different singers we cover throughout the course really make these concepts come alive.”
“Pop and Rock Vocals” presents students with a professional command of dynamics, emphasis, nuance, and inflection that will allow them to have a more personalized approach to singing Pop and Rock, and will provide them with increased confidence as a performer, as well as a richer, more resonant tone. The course explores breath support and management to facilitate pop and rock “belting,” interpretive and “storytelling” techniques to heighten a song’s emotional impact, and ways to increase flexibility and create a balanced tone. The course also addresses the visual as well as vocal aspects of pop/rock performance, focusing on audience communication and effective use of the stage area.
For more information, visit their web site at http://www.berklee.edu/.