Wolfgang, Adolescent Belt
Wolfgang, Adolescent Belt
Wolfgang, Adolescent Belt
by
May 2015
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ABSTRACT
laryngeal position, and a fat, flat tongue. In-service music educators are often called
upon to prepare adolescent female vocalists for roles that require belting in high school
musicals. Studies (Davey, 2010; Williams, 2003) have shown that 80% of high schools
produce a musical at least every other year. The purpose of this study is to examine the
opinions, knowledge, and undergraduate training of vocal music educators regarding the
use of belt by adolescent female singers. Vocal music educators who are members of the
Ohio Music Education Association were identified through nonprobability sampling, and
self-selected to participate in the survey (n=176). Data were collected through Qualtrics
and analyzed using SPSS. Independent t-tests were utilized to determine statistical
significance (p<.05) between the three sections of the survey and within section two of
the survey. Optional written responses provided additional data. Results showed that
although no subjects received formal training in the use of belt as part of their
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undergraduate education, some still reported feeling confident in their ability to instruct
students in the use of belt. Subjects with personal experience using belt were more
comfortable using this technique with their own students. Written responses indicated a
need for more information and undergraduate and in-service training in the use of belt.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………………viii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION………………………………………...............………2
Purpose and Need for Study…………………………………………….…..…......9
Research Questions…………………………………………………...………….17
Definition of Terms………………………………………………...…………….18
Scope and Limitations of the Study…………………………………………...…23
Summary……………...………………………………………………………….24
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CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION………………………………………………….……..141
Introduction……………………………………………………………………. 141
Findings for Research Question Number One………………………………… 144
Findings for Research Question Number Two………………………………... 151
Recommendations for Further Study………………………………………….. 159
Conclusions……………………………………………………………………. 161
REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………….……..…245
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LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many thanks to Dr. Patricia Grutzmacher for hours of reading and editing and for not
letting me quit.
Thank you to Dr. Patti Peters for the endless running of numbers.
Thank you to all committee members for your meticulous examination of this work.
Many thanks to my parents, LeGrand and Mary Anne Andersen, for giving the gift of
music and a love of learning
And thank you to my sweet men, Kevin and little Daniel, for whom this project cost the
most.
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2
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
“There is not a great deal of material that deals with the teaching of musical theater to
During the last century, the American musical grew in popularity throughout the
1991; Waack, 1983; Peluso, 1971; Nocks, 1970; Burnau, 1966) have reported that
through the last half of the twentieth century the number of high schools presenting
musicals steadily increased. As the musical moved into the high schools, it brought with
it unusual challenges, including the use of a technique of projecting the voice which
differed from the traditional bel canto style commonly associated with classical vocal
production.
and burlesque acts that commonly utilized the classical vocal style, usually featuring a
soprano and a tenor in the leading romantic roles (Patinkin, 2008; Kislan, 1980). But as
early as the mid-1930s, female roles were expanding from the typical soprano ingénue to
character roles (Kantor & Maslon, 2004). Often these roles demanded a more robust, less
refined vocal sound to match the needs of the script and the character. The term belting
came to be associated with this style of vocal production. The first recorded use of the
word belt as a verb, meaning to hit or attack, occurred in the 17th century. The term,
meaning to hit or knock out, was adopted during the 1930s by the sport of boxing. By the
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1950s, the term, meaning to knock out the audience with a great performance, migrated
The vocal music industry has yet to adopt a common pedagogical definition of
belt. This word means different things to different people, and the belt sound can have
differing qualities that one person might call belt, another twang, and still another nasal
(LeBorgne, 2001; Sullivan, 1989; Lebon, 1986). This lack of a common definition
causes problems in communication regarding the use of the belt voice. Furthermore,
there are several different Broadway vocal styles, not just belt, some of which more
closely resemble classical training than belt (Pickle, 1997). This style is commonly
referred to as legit, which is short for legitimate, meaning the singer uses elements of the
musical theater style but does it with a classical voice production similar to what is used
in operetta.
Miles & Hollien (1990) based their definition of belt on four perceptual
judgments of sound: loud, heavy phonation, little-to-no vibrato, and a high degree of
nasality. Bevan (1989) also reported that belt was perceived as loud and requiring more
vocal effort. Estill (1988) taught that belting is created, in part, by a nasal placement and
described it as loud and brassy, or sounding like yelling. Popeil (1999) also described
belting as speech-like or yell-like. Other examples of words used to describe the belt
sound include chest, pop, and mixed singing (LeBorgne, 2001). Tucker (2009) used
three definitions for vocal styles used in musical theater: legit as in the style of nineteenth
century operetta; mix as a melding of the chest and head registers; belt-mix, a type of belt
in which the larynx is held in a lower position resulting in less tension. Sullivan (1989)
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described many different types of belt, including the use of terms such as split-belt,
twang, or nasal. This lack of agreement on terminology makes it difficult for teachers to
find common ground for discussion, let alone impart clear understanding to their
students.
Regardless of the style being sung, all vocal production should function under this
premise: respiration feeds phonation which then feeds resonance, all of which are
colored and supported by artistry and alignment (LeBorgne, 2011). Tucker (2009)
agreed, stating that good vocal training utilizes proper posture and alignment, good breath
support, and lack of extra tension in the body. In terms of vocal beauty, Ekholm et al.
intonation accuracy, legato line, and diction. “The more proficient a singer is at
producing these acoustic events, the more beautiful the voice is perceived” (Ekholm et al,
1998, p. 158). A second look at these parameters indicates they are not vocal-style
specific; they could be describing classical production, musical theater production, and
even pop/rock production. Based on the information cited in this study, the following
parameters will be used to define belt: the vocal tract is in a shorter and wider
configuration with a slightly raised larynx; the corners of the mouth are retracted, or
slightly pulled wide and back towards the ears, as if smiling, which helps shape a bright,
loud sound. The safe production of belt requires concentrated core muscular support and
high amounts of energy (LoVetri, 2003; Popeil, 1999; Estill, 1988; Boardman, 1987).
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the turn of the twentieth century by African-American blues vocalists. Shaw (1982)
placed the development of belting in the early 1950s with the rise of pop/rock music.
However, in the musical theater genre, many scholars consider Ethel Merman to be the
first modern Broadway belter. She was not a formally trained singer and had a very
unconventional, bright, and extremely loud voice that composers loved. Gershwin,
Berlin, and Porter all enjoyed writing roles for her because her unique vocal abilities
allowed them to write female character roles (Patinkin, 2008; Kantor & Maslon, 2004).
By the late 1940s, the plots of musicals expanded to include two female roles, one
soprano and one belter. The soprano often remained the love interest while the belter
“Anything Goes” to “Oklahoma” to “Guys and Dolls” (Kantor & Maslon, 2004).
By the early 1970s the form had developed to include using belters to sing the
leading female role. One of the ways this was accomplished was that songs were written
in lower keys to allow for a full voice belt to be utilized. However, by the late 1990s,
composers writing for female belters were expanding the vocal range to include pitches
referred to as high belt or mix-belt, in which the singer carries the belt quality much
higher.
dependent on the balance among the cartilages and muscles housed in the throat and
surrounding the vocal folds. These muscles and cartilages are in a constant state of
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change when the vocal folds are active. It is the balance of these muscles and cartilages
at any given point in time that determines, in part, what pitch is being produced and the
quality of the sound (McKinney, 1994). When the muscles and cartilages known as the
thyroarytenoids are predominately in use, the resulting sound is heavier in timbre. This is
referred to as a heavy mechanism. When the muscles and cartilages known as the
cricoarytenoids are predominately in use, the resulting sound is lighter in timbre. This is
possible, usually topping out at C51. It employs very limited use of the light mechanism.
The other style is created when a mix of the heavy and light mechanism occurs in the
mid-range, usually beginning around F#4. Allowing a gradual mixing from the heavy
mechanism to the light mechanism allows the belt quality to be carried higher, sometimes
even as high as A5. This method of production is often called the mix-belt. Few studies,
if any, define the difference among vocal production methods within the genre of belt. It
is also difficult for the adolescent to produce either style due to the immature vocal
mechanism and the limitations of the developing voice (Tucker, 2009). Therefore, for the
purposes of this study, no differentiation will be made between the heavy belt and the
1
One of the common ways to identify a specific pitch is to place it on the piano
keyboard. The piano has 88 keys. Starting at the bottom of the piano and ascending the
keyboard gives each specific pitch a designation based on the name of the note and
number of octaves from the lowest key. An octave is an eight-note pattern that repeats
over and over. When starting from the bottom of the keyboard, any note in that first
octave would be designated as 1. For example, A1, B1, C1, etc. The pitch referred to as
middle C is located in the middle of the keyboard and is designated as C4. The pitches
referred to in this paper are all above C4, which places them predominately in the female
range.
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mix belt; both qualities will be referred to as belt. This study does not refer to or address
the style of screlting, or the pop/rock sound on the musical theater stage.
The study and teaching of the western classical sound, known as bel canto, has
been taught since the 17th century, and since that time has been considered the correct
method of vocal production (LeBorgne, 2001; Schutte & Miller, 1993). Production of the
belt sound has long been suspect by teachers of classical voice (LeBorgne, 2011, 2001;
Noone, 2008; Pickle, 1997; Sullivan, 1989; Bevan, 1989). This is, in part, because the
term belting has often been used synonymously as an unhealthy use of the vocal
dislike of the auditory and acoustic properties rather than authenticated study of how the
sound is produced (Ragsdale, 2004, Bevan, 1989). It only has been in the last several
decades that the use of the belt voice has gained validation through scientific study
(LeBorgne, 2011, 2001; Noone, 2008; Melton, 2007; LoVetri, 2003; Schutte & Miller,
1993; Miles & Hollien, 1990; Sullivan, 1989; Lebon, 1986, Lawrence, 1979). Research
has shown that the belt sound is produced in a different manner than the classical sound
and can be produced in a healthy manner (Melton, 2007; Ragsdale, 2004; LoVetri, 2003;
admitted that their findings were based solely on their observations and were not based
on empirical study, it was a good example of how the misconceptions of belt are
Miles and Hollien presented the idea that belting was an extension of the chest voice into
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higher registers than normally seen, resulting in the voice working in higher frequencies.
It was further suggested that the belt would break or crack at C5 due to the inability of the
While there is truth in both of those statements, the article also had a large section
about the detrimental effects of belting, including an unsubstantiated claim that nodules
and permanent damage would occur to the vocal folds if singing in the belt style.
belters and classical singers is approximately the same (LeBorgne, 2011), but it was this
kind of opinionated reporting that often resulted in the perception that the use of belt
Miles and Hollien further stated that the ability to belt is an inborn characteristic
reserved for extraordinary voices. In other words, it cannot be taught. Silver (1985) had
presented this same opinion five years earlier stating that belters are born, not trained.
information that healthy belting can, in fact, be taught (Sabella-Mills, 2010; Tucker,
2009; Hall, 2007; LoVetri & Weekly, 2003; LeBorgne, 2001; Edwin, 1998; Schutte &
With the popularity of musical theater in high school and the various vocal styles
that can be used, it is imperative that music educators are trained in, and aware of,
healthy belt production. The adolescent voice is already vulnerable due to the immaturity
and instability of the changing vocal mechanism (Tucker, 2009). The adolescent singer
usually has limited vocal training as well. When the adolescent singer tries to imitate
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mature voices without being adequately trained, an environment for the possible
the abilities and limitations of the adolescent singer in order to provide the best guidance
Use of amplification can be one of the ways of providing protection for singers.
enthusiasts consider this as a signal of vocal inferiority (Pickle, 1997). Opera singers are
trained to sing over an orchestra by utilizing the ring of the voice along with placement
(LeBorgne, 2001). However, for the musical theater singer, amplification allows the
singer to be heard over electronic instruments (Jamison, 1996). Musical theater singers
singer. Use of amplification is a protection device, allowing the singer to work not as
hard. In addition, since story telling is the focus of musical theater singing, use of
amplification allows the singer to use a wider range of vocal coloration, pitch range, and
integrity (Noone, 2008; Pickle, 1997). LeBorgne (2001) and White (1978) both
advocated that amplification should be used even at the high school level. This, in turn,
calls attention for the need of the high school to afford and correctly use good quality
amplification.
training of high school music educators regarding the use of belt by adolescent females.
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In-service high school music educators were asked to complete an online survey that
examined their undergraduate and in-service training and preparation to teach belt, and
knowledge and personal opinions regarding the use of belt. The objective is to identify
what training high school music educators receive as part of their undergraduate studies
to teach musical theater vocal production and their respective personal knowledge and
opinions of belt vocal production. The choice to use an exploratory study was based on
the lack of research on this specific topic. Exploratory studies are often used when a
topic is being examined for the first time. Using this kind of a study initially collects
large amounts of information on a particular topic. Exploratory studies often fail in terms
of generating data that is statistically significant (p<.05) due to the nature of collecting
large amounts of information, but the information that is gathered can then be examined
and refined to inform further research. Exploratory research can help to define what
questions should be asked and what specific focus a strand of research should take (Jupp,
2006).
High school choral music, band, drama, or language arts educators may be given
the assignment of directing the school musical whether or not they have the training or
knowledge to do so (Davey, 2010; Tucker, 2009). Of the studies that do exist, none of
them specifically discussed the use of the belt voice. Davey (2010) reported:
Limited research has been done specifically focusing on belt and its effects on the
adolescent voice. Smith-Vaughn (2007) conducted a study that examined the effect of
different singing styles on the developing adolescent voice. The researcher looked at
three different vocal styles: choral, gospel, and musical theater. The researcher used a
stroboscope (a tool for examining the vocal folds in which a small camera is threaded
through the nasal passages so that it is placed in position to photograph the movement of
the vocal folds) to measure tension and found that laryngeal imaging showed that musical
theater produced the most tension in the young singer, followed by gospel, and then
three styles. Smith-Vaughn argued that the adolescents who are most at risk for
developing pathologies are those who have little or no vocal training and compensate
with poor vocal technique. The researcher noted that very often the difficulty for the
young singer attempting to sing a Broadway score is the tessitura, or the common pitch
range within a piece of music. Smith-Vaughn further reported that fatigue is a common
pathology of the young singer. This can be due to over-singing, lack of amplification, or
lack of knowledge on how to protect the vocal mechanism. Smith-Vaughn concluded the
study by calling for more research on the adolescent voice and the need to ensure healthy
singing in students.
Waller (2007) developed a profile of the adolescent singer and speaker. In the
study, he noted that one of the concerns of middle and high school choral educators is the
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use of incorrect or unhealthy technique by the student and the increasing demands of a
mature repertoire. Waller noted that in adolescence, major physical changes occur
including, but not limited to, lengthening and thickening of the vocal folds, the stiffening
of cartilage, and the location of the vocal process moving from being located by the first
and third vertebrae to between the sixth and the seventh. Incomplete glottal closure, or
the inability of the vocal folds to correctly come together along the full length of the
folds, is common among young female singers, which can be a problem as research has
shown that the glottis remains closed longer when belting. It may be that the physical
inability to fully close the glottis manifests as tension, because the body is being forced to
Andrews (1997) examined children who use high speech or singing patterns.
Andrews noted that some of these children have the opportunity to study with vocal
professionals who can help them navigate the demands of vocal use at a young age.
Other children, however, do not have the appropriate training to meet vocal demands that
can lead to them being more susceptible to developing vocal pathologies. Of greatest
concern is the child who develops patterns of excessive vocal use to meet a specific need,
such as a heavy mechanism belt, and then adopts this as the normal mode of voice use.
This might especially be true for the adolescent singer trying to compensate for vocal
singer, and discussed the difficulties that might be present in the young singer, including
vocal technique, and unrealistic expectations from adults. Jamison also noted that
incorrect repertoire was a common cause of difficulties for the young singer. For
example, classical repertoire is assigned by range and timbre, allowing for a close match
between the demands of the song and the ability of the singer, whereas musical theater
repertoire is often set in the key best suited to the original Broadway artist.
As early as 1978, White had already addressed these issues noting that fatigue is
the most common problem for the young singer. He also called for special attention to be
given in selecting a musical that is appropriate for young singers. White suggested that
casting be made by vocal ability and not physical type. He also called for the use of
amplification and a rehearsal schedule that addressed reducing fatigue. White cautioned
the profession to select age appropriate material. Unfortunately for the young singer,
musical theater roles are usually written for vocally mature professional singers and may
While many voice professionals would balk at requiring their young singers to
perform a Verdi or Wagner opera role, young singers are often asked to take on musical
theater roles beyond their current abilities (Sabella-Miles, 2010). Both styles of singing
have specific requirements that require mature, trained voices to successfully accomplish
the requirements of the music. Awareness of the challenges facing the adolescent singer
can aid the voice professional in helping the singer develop and utilize a healthy
production. However, the adult in charge of the musical often has limited, if any, training
in teaching voice or in dealing specifically with belt vocal production (Davey, 2010;
Williams, 2003; Lovetri & Weekly, 2003; Binnema, 1996; Sample, 1964).
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This misperception has been further exacerbated by the television show Glee that
portrays mature twenty-something singers, many with Broadway credits, as high school
students. The plot revolves around a group of students who have incredible voices and
who gravitate to the school’s show choir. While not even a class in the curriculum, the
show choir presents weekly major production numbers complete with costumes,
(Bishop, 1994; Howard, 1990; Weiss, 1978) note that students are not professional
performers and that the goal of the high school production should be a balanced
abilities of high school performers (Olsen, 2011). The adolescent voice can be at a
variety of developmental levels, most of which are not strong enough to handle the
requirements of the musical theater repertoire. Those voices that mature early are the
Davey (2010) engaged in a study that looked at the attitudes, preparation, and
responsibilities of the secondary music education teacher in producing the high school
musical. Davey found that 35% of the respondents to his survey reported that their own
interest in musical theater originated from their own experience in high school. Of those
teaching others in musical theater vocal production. Curiously, 61% of those same
respondents reported feeling competent in working with singers of the musical theater
genre. Most music educators reported little to no preparation for the musical theater
experience, claiming to get most of it through active participation in the activity. While
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Davey’s study yielded much additional useful data, it focused on multiple topics of
producing a high school musical. It did not specifically address training and attitudes of
educators in dealing with non-musical aspects of the high school musical. In a survey of
pre-service teachers, respondents reported they did not feel prepared by undergraduate or
graduate courses to take on the role of producer, director, or set designer. While these
findings may inform additional areas of study for the pre-service teacher, Williams’ study
did not address any of the musical aspects of the high school musical, including either the
LoVetri and Weekly’s (2003) study addressed the preparation of teachers to teach
more contemporary vocal styles. However, their study focused specifically on college-
level and private studio voice teachers and did not include secondary music educators.
LoVetri and Weekly stated the need for teachers that were specifically trained in the
contemporary styles, noting that even if a student recognized the need for specialized
Howard (1990) presented a study in which she developed a form for high schools
to use to identify performance problems when selecting a musical. The form provided
examination of tessitura. What it did not define were the needs of the adolescent singer
or the methods that can be utilized to teach the singer appropriate vocal technique.
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voice to the high school student. While the information was valid, Tucker did not discuss
how to teach musical theater voice. Instead, Tucker focused on how the sound differed
from classical production and specifically how it manifests in the adolescent voice.
Several studies have documented that music educators often do not have training
in the area of belt vocal production (Davey, 2010; Tucker, 2009; Phillips, 2004;
Williams, 2003; Van Houten, 1996; Hobgood, 1991; Robinson & Poole, 1990; Burnau,
1970; Sample, 1964). What has not been examined is what the high school music
educator specifically knows about how belt is produced. Therefore, students seeking to
study in the belt style often have to look to a private teacher for training, as even
collegiate programs tend to focus on classical training (LoVetri & Weekly, 2003).
However, there is no licensing procedure currently in place for private voice teachers.
This lack of quality control can sometimes leave students at the mercy of non-
professionals that may or may not have the training and understanding to teach belt in a
Any misuse of the voice can result in vocal pathologies that can require simple
corrective techniques up to vocal fold surgery to correct (Miles & Hollien, 1990; Lebon,
1986). However, Estill (1998) and Thurman and Klitze (1994) believe that belting can be
performed safely even in young singers as long as they are trained correctly. It is not the
belt style that causes damage; it is the incorrect production of belt that has the potential to
cause damage. This point holds true for any style of vocal production (LeBorgne, 2011;
Tucker, 2009; LoVetri, 2003; Lawrence, 1979). Therefore, it becomes imperative that if
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a high school is going to allow a student to use belt vocal production that, first, the
educator is able to identify that belt is being used, and, second, there must be someone
trained and knowledgeable in the use of belt available to assist the student.
In summary, while there are studies that examine various aspects of the high
school musical, there are few that address the needs of the adolescent singer, and none
that specifically address the preparation of music educators to teach belt to the adolescent
singer. Additionally, there are no studies that specifically address the knowledge and
opinions held by music educators regarding the use of belt by adolescent singers.
Therefore, this study will be exploratory in an attempt to find ways of addressing the
Research Questions
This study examines the knowledge and opinions of high school music educators
regarding the vocal style known as belt. In addition, the study will identify if, and to
what level or depth, the subjects received undergraduate or in-service training in teaching
and using belt. Through the use of an online survey, the following questions will guide
the research:
1. What are the opinions and knowledge of high school music educators
Definition of Terms
This glossary provides definitions of words used in this study. Some of words
may be unfamiliar to the reader so the definitions are presented in one of two forms. One
form is a simple definition of the vocabulary term. The other is a definition based more
Adolescent
For the purposes of this paper, adolescent will refer to female students grades 9-
12. Depending on each student’s birthday, these students could be between ages 13-19.
Bel canto
An Italian form of singing that flourished from the 17th to 19th centuries. It
requires a clear and consistent tone, long phrases, evenly sustained notes, the ability to
sing at different volumes, and good enunciation (Grove’s, 1995). It requires a low
larynx, long vocal tract, a throat free of unnecessary tension, especially at the top of the
throat, and heavily relies on the breath. It is still upheld as the classical tradition today
Belt
Although not formally adopted by the vocal community, belt is often described as
a form of vocal production that utilizes high emotion, lower tessitura, a raised larynx,
thick vocal folds, a bright, loud sound, and requires tremendous energy to produce
(Tucker, 2009; LeBorgne, 2001; Boardman, 1987). In an effort to ascertain what the
subjects in this study knew without providing any additional information, belt was
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defined to the survey subjects as the Broadway sound in its broadest sense or a sound that
Chest Voice
Chest voice refers to the lowest registration of the female voice. It extends from
an individual’s lowest note to E4/F4 (see footnote on page 5). It is not belt (Balog, 2005;
Bevan, 1989) and has its own characteristics that include a rich, warm tone and uses
many overtones. If the chest voice is carried past E4/F4, the sound becomes thin as the
larynx begins to rise and the vocal folds begin to elongate (Tucker, 2009; Bevan, 1989).
Glottal Closure
The glottis is the open space between the vocal folds. It is open during normal
breathing, but is pulled to a slit formation during phonation. The research on glottal
closure suggests that the glottis is closed for longer periods when belting than when
utilizing bel canto style singing creating more subglottal pressure (Estill, 1988; Lebon,
Golden Age
An era in musical theater that began with Oklahoma! in 1943 and ended with
Heavy Mechanism
A term used to describe both the auditory perception and physical construction of
predominately in use. When the thyroartenoid muscle is engaged, the vocal folds are
pulled into a state of tension, which in turn pulls the arytenoids forward which in part
High Belt
A style of belting which is utilized an octave higher than heavy mechanism belt
usually beginning around C5. It is a head voice placement that employs pharyngeal
resonance, a wide and puffy tongue, and a forward lip posture (Sabella-Mills, 2010).
This term refers to both vocal and instrumental teachers teaching in a 9-12 high
school program. Some states grant a K-12 music teaching license so a teacher who
classes.
Light Mechanism
A term used to describe both the auditory perception and physical construction of
predominately in use. The cricoarytenoids resist the forward pull of the arytenoid by the
vocalis muscle and also abduct the vocal folds by pulling the arytenoids out to each side
(McKinney, 1994).
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Mix-Belt
An alternative to a full voice belt that moves the placement of the tone more into
the front of the face, resulting in a bright, forward sound. This placement allows the
larynx to sit in a lower position than with belt, allowing for smoother transitions between
registers. The soft palate is held in a high position in order to lessen the possibility of
Nasal Placement
The sound that occurs when the velopharyngeal port is left open causing the
resonance to occur in the nasal cavity resulting in a nasal or twangy sound (O’Connor,
2015).
Open Throat
or action that results in a specific sound quality . . . which is perceived as resonant, round,
free, pure, rich and warm (p. 430)” and lacking in tension (Mitchell & Kenny, 2008).
However, there is disagreement as to exactly what this term is describing. Miller (1996)
refrains from defining the term, preferring to simply state the commonalities among
Registration
This term has long been used by the voice world to describe the shift that occurs
as the voice modulates. These areas have traditionally been designated as the chest,
middle or mix, and head voice. Vennard (1967) described it as “an adjustment of the
larynx which produces tones of a particular quality for particular demands of range,
22
dynamics, etc.” (p. 248). Current research is moving away from that definition, as it
tends to create an image that at a particular pitch, the voice makes an abrupt adjustment
and resets to a new formation. Instead, researchers are moving toward the concept of
vocal tract reactance that refers to the continuous reshaping of the vocal tract during use
(Titze, 2010).
Resonance
and/or intensity by the air-filled cavities through which it passes on its way to the outside
individual’s physical make-up including physical size, shape of the head and mouth,
Stroboscopy
Tessitura
A term used to refer to where the average position of the notes in a piece of music
Timbre
sound, often referred to as tone-color. For example, a timbre could be light or heavy.
23
Vocal tract
This term describes the physical parts used for vocal production. It extends from
the lips to the vocal folds and includes the following: lips, teeth, oral cavity, hard palate,
soft palate, lower jaw, trachea, epiglottis, glottis, and vocal folds (McKinney, 1994).
Vocalis muscle
The vocalis muscle comprises the front two-thirds of the length of each vocal
fold. When contracted, it pulls the arytenoids forward, shortening the vocal folds, and
Research (Davey, 2010; Tucker, 2009; Williams, 2003) has shown that
undergraduate programs do not offer adequate training in preparing music educators for
producing musicals at the high school level. However, none of these studies has focused
specifically on examining the preparation of music educators to teach belt pedagogy and
the needs of the female adolescent singer. This study will assess how well prepared
music educators are to address vocal production issues in the high school musical. The
study will identify the depth and breadth of training music educators receive specific to
the belt voice as part of their undergraduate training. It will also examine what
knowledge and opinions music educators have regarding the use of belt. Results will be
This study was limited to in-service teachers in music education and does not
include other educators who may also work with singers in preparation for high school
24
musical productions. Participants were high school vocal music educators who were
members of the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA). They were asked to
complete an e-mail survey that was administered via Qualtrics. No differentiation was
made between school district settings. However, since only vocal music educators from
one state were surveyed, the results may represent geographic tendencies that might not
be found in other areas of the United States. Association members self-select for
membership in this professional organization, so not all music educators in the state of
Ohio received the same opportunity to participate. Association members also had the
choice not to participate in the survey, so results were limited to those members who self-
selected to participate.
Summary
Studies (Davey, 2010; Williams, 2003) have shown that 80% of high schools
produce a musical at least every other year. The responsibility for producing the musical
often falls to the vocal music educators whether or not they have the training or
knowledge to provide correct technique to young singers. The purpose of this study was
to examine the knowledge, opinions, and training of high school music educators
regarding the use of belt vocal production by adolescent females. While there are studies
that examine different production aspects of the high school musical, there is limited
research on the extent of knowledge and training held by educators regarding their
understanding of belt and how belt might affect the female adolescent singer. The study
was guided by the following research questions: (1) What are the opinions and
knowledge of high school music educators regarding the use of belt by female (ages 13-
25
19) adolescent singers? (2) What education or experiences do high school music
educators have to prepare them to instruct female adolescents in the correct production of
belt?
This chapter provided a definition of the term belt through its historical
produced and an introduction of the possible vocal difficulties in the use of belt by the
female adolescent singer. A brief discussion of the negative perceptions of belt was
studies (Smith-Vaughn, 2007; Waller, 2007; Andrews, 1997; Jamison, 1996; White,
1978) were presented that examined some aspect of musicals and the adolescent female
performer. Most of those studies looked at the use of extreme speech or singing of any
type. None of them focused specifically on the use of belt and the adolescent female.
Studies that examined the role of the high school music educator and the musical
were presented. Davey’s (2010) study examined the requirements for the high school
music educator in producing the musical. Tucker’s (2009) study presented a narrative on
how musical theater vocal production differs from classical vocal production. However,
Tucker did not offer information regarding the training of belt. Williams’ (2003) study
examined the non-musical aspects of producing the musical. LoVetri and Weekly (2003)
looked at the preparation of collegiate and private voice teachers to teach belt and
contemporary vocal styles. In 1990, Howard developed a form to help educators select a
musical, but the form examined all aspects of the music, not just vocal production. A
definition of terms was presented. A discussion of the scope and limitations of the study
26
was presented. Those limitations included the inclusion of educators in only one state
Chapter two consists of a review of literature. The first section examines the
issues regarding the definition of belt. Several studies are discussed that examine the use
of belt by adolescent singers. The third section specifically examines the training that
music educators receive in the area of musical theater production. Studies regarding
assessment scales and lists of age appropriate shows are presented. Finally, studies that
call for the need for music educators to receive training in the various areas of a musical
are discussed.
Chapter three introduces the methodology that was used for data collection.
Detailed descriptions of question formatting are given. Studies that informed the
development of this survey are discussed. The process of selecting the sample is
survey distribution are given. In-service music educators were asked to complete a
survey online via Qualtrics. Participants were sent a letter of introduction and then the
survey. They were given four weeks to complete the survey. Data was collected
digitally via the Qualtrics site and then downloaded into SPSS for analysis.
Chapter four contains analysis of the data, including the use of T-tests and a one-
way ANOVA. Chapter five contains a discussion of the data and implications for future
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Classical vocal pedagogy dates back to the Italian singing masters of the early 17th
century. This style is referred to as bel canto. It has been legitimized for the last four
hundred years in opera and art song and is therefore considered high-art singing (Noone,
2008). As detailed in chapter one, the use of belt allowed roles to be written for musical
theater performers that went beyond the typical casting of a soprano as the female lead.
However, the related literature shows that many classical singers and teachers of the
classical style feel that belting is basically yelling with the chest voice past normal
frequency limits without any attention to the needs of register changes (Lebon, 1986;
Ruhl, 1986; Schmidt, 1984; Reid, 1983; Rosewall, 1980; Bradley, 1979; Miller, 1977;
Howell, 1978; Rogers, 1969). In addition to their concerns of vocal heath, many classical
teachers simply dislike the brightness of the musical theater sound (Noone, 2008). The
judgment of vocal correctness is made on the perception of the sound instead of the
production of the sound. In an article written for the Journal of Singing, Edwin (2002)
addressed this issue noting that what is considered beautiful singing is still judged by
classical standards. He called for teachers of singing to coach singers in healthy and
The main difference between the classical sound and the musical theater sound is
intent. Classical training and performance focus on the beauty of the sound. Everything
else, including story telling, is subordinate to the beauty of the music. In musical theater,
28
the importance is on story telling, which may not always match the bel canto definition of
beautiful singing. In a book that examined the relationship of singer as actor, Kayes
(2000) noted:
must be so well honed that, even when they are portraying angry or
sense to sing this music classically . . .You need not always sound
beautiful if you are singing musical theatre, and that doesn’t mean
Due to the emphasis on text, the belt singer may not be able to engage the vocal
practices such as vowel shape and open throat techniques used by classical singers to
enhance the beauty of the sound. If the belt voice is perceived as too trained, it cannot
serve the intended function (Schutte & Miller, 1993). LeBorgne (2001) explained that
although all people essentially have the same anatomy, singers are able to alter the sound
through manipulation of the larynx and configuration of the vocal tract. LeBorgne
further commented that the definition of vocal beauty has changed through time and is
As stated in chapter one, one of the difficulties in dealing with belt is the lack of
studied this issue and reported that the interest in belting comes with misconceptions and
conflicting beliefs, in part due to a lack of consensus regarding how belt is defined and
produced. To examine the issues, Ragsdale conducted personal interviews with teachers
of classical voice (n=3), teachers of non-classical voice (n=9), and successful mature
musical theater singers (n=3). Each subject was asked the same set of questions, but also
had the opportunity to elaborate due to the nature of the live interview. The responses
Ragsdale found that the subjects often had differing opinions on definitions of belt and
how belt is produced, but, in general, there was more agreement than disagreement. This
confusion is part of the difficulty when attempting to discuss belt. A lack of consistent
Although LeBorgne’s (2001) dissertation did not focus specifically on the high
study examined two aspects of the belt voice: perceptual and objective. The perceptual
part focused on defining aspects of what makes a belt voice aesthetically pleasing. The
objective part engaged a comparison of the elite or professional belter with the average
belter. LeBorgne’s study was large, examining 16 research questions. The study used 20
(N=20) female subjects that sang primarily in the belt style. The subjects were all
and they had all actively been studying belt for at least a year.
LeBorgne first made an audio recording of all the singers singing several musical
theater selections that utilized belt. These recordings were then rated by three judges on
30
seven perceptual parameters. Out of the original 20 subjects, four (n=4) were identified
as elite belters and four as average belters. Those eight singers were then analyzed using
made of the vocal folds in action through the insertion of a rhinolaryngoscope that is
threaded through the nasal passages. Spectoral analysis creates visual images of different
aspects of a voice that is displayed in graph form on a computer. The subjects were also
measured for nasality and aerodynamic measures such as airflow and glottal closure. The
results showed that on most of the measures, there was a significant (p >.05) difference in
vocal production between the elite and average belters. However, LeBorgne found that
many of the findings were vowel specific and also subject specific. In other words, the
same singer would both display and not display certain defined characteristics based on
which vowel was being produced. This would suggest that belting can be trained and that
the quantifiable findings from the results section and used them to define perceptual
discussed the elements of loudness, intensity, vibrato, use of the Singer’s Ring, timbre,
focus, clarity, nasality, and registration as elements that define belt. LeBorgne was then
able to present the qualities of belt to which teachers and students should subscribe. The
implications for study suggested that if teachers and students can agree on the definition
of how belt is produced, it would provide a common language for further research and aid
vocalist belt technique. Lebon used 15 (N=15) female vocalists between the ages of 15-
26. The vocal training of the subjects ranged from little formal training to more than four
years. Six (n=6) of the subjects had received only classical voice training, while five
(n=5) others had extensive experience performing in musicals. The subjects were not
randomly selected, but Lebon felt that they were diverse enough in experience to provide
valid results in the study. Each subject viewed four videotapes that demonstrated the
pedagogy of proper belting and then attempted to sing in the belt style. The study found
that a change was perceived in a subject’s sound beyond what would have happened by
chance. Lebon concluded that belting can be taught, but it takes time. Lebon further
noted that mental understanding often comes before the physical ability is manifested.
Tucker wrote a treatise in 2009 in completion of a DMA that focused on the use
specifically focused on middle school and high school singers and noted that outside of a
choir, the musical is often the only other performance venue available to the high school
singer. Since choir has it roots in classical vocal tradition, singers are often left to
navigate the requirements of musical theater style on their own. In the first chapter,
Tucker offered a brief definition of belting as a bright sound produced with thick vocal
folds, and a raised larynx, utilizing a lower tessitura and high emotion. The next chapter
compared what she called the Broadway sound to classical vocal production. The third
chapter focused on selecting musical theater repertoire, with one section specifically
Tucker called for additional study in both the production of the musical theater sound and
the use of that sound by adolescent singers. Tucker specifically noted that teachers
needed to know how to correctly instruct their students in how to produce the musical
theater sound.
Although Tucker did not present options for addressing the problem, Tucker was
very aware of the issues of musical theater and the young singer. Tucker noted that an
inexperienced singer will try to push the belt too high, so the vocal folds are not able to
correctly elongate and thin. Young and inexperienced singers are already vulnerable due
to immaturity of the mechanism and the changes occurring in the unstable and fragile
adolescent voice. Tucker noted, “In an adolescent voice with limited vocal training and
endurance, the risk of misuse is high (in any vocal style)” (p. 21). Tucker also noted that
little research has been done in this area and that what research that has been done often
examines adult singers. Although Tucker did not specifically address how to train the
young voice, Tucker felt that the benefits of singing musical theater repertoire by young
singing styles--choral, gospel, and musical theater--on the developing adolescent voice.
utilized three different measurement tools. The first was an audio recording, the second
was an EGG with sensors placed on the outside of the neck to measure muscular neck
tension, and the third was stroboscopy using a rhinolaryngoscope. The subjects filled out
a questionnaire before participating in the study and analysis of the responses found that
33
most of the students self-reported engaging in behaviors that were detrimental to their
Smith-Vaughn found that 100% of the subjects sang in the classical style with
little tension. For the gospel style, 73.7% sang with little tension and 57.9% sang the
musical theater style with little tension. The remaining 42.1% sang with varying degrees
of tension in the vocal ligature and vocal folds. However, in the areas of vocal fold edge
integrity, vertical level of vocal fold approximation, glottal closure, phase closure, phase
symmetry, mucosal wave, and amplitude, all vocal styles measured equally. An auditory
However, inter-rater reliability was poor because only two judges were used. The
findings showed that the adolescents who are most at risk for developing pathologies are
those who have little or no vocal training and then compensate using poor vocal
technique. Fatigue due to over-singing, singing too loud, lack of amplification, or lack of
knowledge on how to protect the mechanism manifested as the most common pathology
in young singers.
As noted above, there are few studies that address the effect of belt production on
the young voice. While most studies of the adolescent voice agree that the voice is in a
fragile and transitional state, little attention is given to how different styles of singing
may affect the young voice. This may be due in part to the fact that research on the use
of belt in adults is still limited and is sometimes ambiguous. There is a fairly large body
of articles on the belt and on the female adolescent singer that are found in professional
34
journals such as Teaching Music, Music Educator’s Journal, Journal of Singing, and
Journal of Voice. While these are not research studies, they are often written by teachers
with years of experience and provide insight and understanding into these issues. The
studies presented here are those that deal directly with the high school musical, the
educators in charge of the musical, or the effect of the Broadway sound on the adolescent
voice.
preparation of secondary music educators in teaching musical theater. The study focused
Ohio. Subjects (N=250) were randomly chosen from 714 high schools in the 2001-2002
school year. Of those chosen, 96 (n=96) responded to the survey. Williams employed a
mix of quantitative and qualitative research methods. The survey examined six major
topics, including listing titles of theater training courses taken as a pre-service teacher,
theater training courses taken outside of the educational system, and skills learned on the
job.
Williams found that 84.6% of the schools surveyed performed a musical at least
once every other year. Of the schools surveyed, 63.3% performed a musical every year,
and most music teachers were involved in some capacity. The majority of the work in
vocal direction (80.2%) was assigned to the music teachers. In addition, the music
teachers also performed the non-musical aspects of musical theater production. This
included the areas of producing (51%), set design (30.2%), lighting design (40.7%),
35
costume design (40.6%), prop construction (38.5%), choreography (12.5%), and direction
(51%). In fact, Williams found that music educators assumed directing responsibilities
agreed that undergraduate course work prepared them to work on the musical. Teachers
who had a general music education degree reported undergraduate preparation at only
7.8%. Of those surveyed, the most common undergraduate courses listed were theater
Respondents who received training from personal experiences outside of the educational
While the study did not ask the music educators to identify their main instrument
of study in undergraduate courses, Williams implied that vocal music education majors
will probably be faced with directing some aspect of the high school musical and that all
music educators, especially vocal, should devote some electives to theater classes in
programs to specifically provide training to deal with the musical genre in their methods
classes.
musical theater vocal and instrumental music. Davey used quantitative methods
36
employing a research-constructed survey to collect data related to the topic. The survey
included 39 questions and was modeled after William’s (2003) survey. The questions
information. After pre-testing, the survey was sent to 417 (N=417) Arizona secondary
Davey found that 46.2% of schools that responded produce a musical every year
and 35.7% of schools produce a musical every other year. Davey also found that vocal
direction usually falls to the choral teacher (29.8%) while the orchestra usually is under
the direction of the instrumental teacher (36%). The musical director (31.1%) for the
production might be either. Furthermore, Davey reported that among all faculty members
involved in producing the musical, music educators reported that the drama teacher was
Davey also examined where teachers received their training in musical theater
undergraduate. Only 24.8% agreed that they had received undergraduate training for the
musical theater voice, with 65% responding that they received no training in teaching
In summary, Davey pointed out that with 80% of Arizona schools reporting
producing a musical at least every other year, it is imperative that music educators
receive proper training at the pre-service level. Davey further suggested that music
education students should take undergraduate courses in dance and theater in preparation
for facilitating the high school musical. In addition, Davey noted there is almost no
37
literature available on how the musical affects the adolescent voice, nor are there any
educators might inadvertently select shows that will have a large box office appeal
published in Music Educators Journal, White (1978) addressed the possibility of vocal
abuse that might occur for high school students participating in a musical. White stated
that musicals should be selected based on the needs and abilities of the adolescent voice.
If the music educator is not aware of these needs or of the possible repertoire options
available, it can result in long hours and frustration for all involved or vocal damage to
young voices.
assessment scale for musical theater vocal literature. Tiboris interviewed 3 university-
level voice professors and 3 graduate students. Over the course of several meetings, they
discussed the different descriptors (such as rhythm or vocal line) that make a song
difficult to sing. The group narrowed the list down to 10 items. This list was then
employed to analyze specific songs from both musical theater repertoire and classical
why the assessment scale was not made available for use.
Several researchers (Davey, 2010; Howard, 1990; Lee, 1983) put forth lists of
shows they deem most appropriate for the young musical theater performer. In a
musicals, Howard (1990) created a form for high schools to use to identify possible areas
of difficulty when selecting a musical. Howard developed the form that was then
corrections and approvals, Howard selected 7 high schools within a 100-mile radius of
York, Pennsylvania, that were currently engaged in a musical to complete the form.
Howard also collected data from interviews. Howard developed this form in response to
the problem that musicals are usually intended for mature adult performers, rather than
adolescents.
Howard felt the form would aid educators in selecting appropriate material and
cautioned that careful attention must be paid to the abilities and limitations of student
performers. Howard further encouraged music educators to carefully analyze the musical
structure and complete an harmonic analysis, areas that she felt are frequently
overlooked. Howard completed the analysis of the following shows: Carousel; Hello,
Dolly!; Man of La Mancha;, Oklahoma!; Once Upon a Mattress; South Pacific; and West
Side Story. It should be noted that Howard did not specifically suggest these musicals as
In an article published in the Music Educators Journal, Lee (1983) presented this
list as appropriate material for the high school setting: Brigadoon; Camelot; Carousel;
Fiddler on the Roof; Finninan’s Rainbow; The Music Man; My Fair Lady; Oklahoma!;
The Sound of Music; and South Pacific. Both Howard’s and Lee’s lists are comprised of
musicals identified with the Golden Age of musicals when an accepted mode of vocal
production was still the use of legitimate placement as opposed to belting or the
39
Davey’s (2010) survey required music educators to list the shows they found most
successful. Of the 96 shows listed by survey respondents, the most frequently listed, in
order of popularity, were: Grease; Bye, Bye, Birdie; Guys & Dolls; You’re a Good Man,
Charlie Brown; Into the Woods; Oklahoma!; Fiddler on the Roof; Little Shop of Horrors;
Beauty and the Beast; Footloose; Once Upon a Mattress; Pirates of Penzance; Seussical;
and The Music Man. The shows on this list are either from the Golden Age or call for an
adolescent or character sound and could be performed without the use of heavy
mechanism belt, allowing for either the natural adolescent voice or a more legitimate
As early as 1989, Saldana was calling for research about students of all ages and
the effects of their theatrical experiences. Studies by Seidel (1991), Waack (1983),
Peluso (1971), Nocks (1970), and Burnau (1966) presented findings showing a steady
increase in the number of high schools in the United States presenting musicals
throughout the last half of the twentieth century. A study by Williams (2003) found that
up to 85% of high schools in Ohio were producing musicals at least every other year.
Davey (2010) found similar numbers among secondary schools in Arizona with 80% of
schools reporting they produced musicals. With such high numbers of musicals being
produced, it is surprising that “there is not a great deal of material that deals with the
teaching of musical theater to high school students specifically” (Tucker, 2009, p. 84).
While some studies discussed here do examine the effects of the musicals on students,
40
there are no studies that look at what high school students are being taught about belt and
There is also a lack of research examining the preparation of music educators who
facilitate the high school musical (Davey, 2010). Neither the 1974, 2002, or 2013
training in musical theater vocal pedagogy as part of the pre-service course work for
music education majors. The requirements are only that the music educator be trained
and accomplished in one major area of performance. In addition, the requirement for a
vocal performance major is just for vocal pedagogy course work, but it does not specify
style. Even the NASM requirements for musical theater majors call for “vocal
production and technique sufficient to present complete roles in full production” (p. 158),
but do not specify a particular vocal style. In a book written in 1950, Ballet addressed the
lack of technical theater training for high school theater teachers, often resulting in both
directors and students reaching beyond their abilities. Forty-three years later, Williams
(2003) still was addressing the same problem and reported that pre-service teachers did
musical.
In 2003, LoVetri and Weekly presented a study in the Journal of Singing that
examined the preparation of teachers to teach contemporary styles that include everything
(CCM). At the time it was published, LoVetri and Weekly had located 31 schools of
music and 40 schools of theater at the collegiate level in the United States and Canada
41
that were offering Bachelor’s degrees in musical theater with one school offering a
Master’s degree in musical theater. However, none of them offered courses or degrees in
CCM. Vocal training was either in the classical style pedagogy or vocal music education.
experience, knowledge of voice science and medicine, and musical theater teaching,
the end of that time, 139 surveys had been returned. The majority of respondents were
from colleges and universities followed by private teachers with their own studios. Most
of the respondents were females whose average age was 48. The average age for males
was 53.
medicine, including vocal health and clinical work. Most of the respondents indicated
that they had personal performance experience in some type of CCM. Slightly over 100
respondents listed musical theater followed by vocal jazz. Ninety-one percent (91%) of
the 139 respondents reported teaching primarily musical theater style. However, only
45% of those teaching musical theater had any training in teaching CCM and only 21%
had received their training in undergraduate or graduate level studies. The way the
survey was designed meant that only one hour of a master class or seminar was
considered trained. The remaining respondents learned on their own through attendance
at workshops or seminars. Only 20% of those teaching musical theater also had
42
the musical theater style had neither training nor personal performance experience. Of
the faculty teaching musical theater at the university level, 34% had no experience or
university level training in teaching musical theater. LoVetri and Weekly suggested that
a possible follow up research topic might include asking those teaching CCM at the
university level what training they had specifically received and by whom, how long, and
under what philosophy. As LoVetri and Weekly noted, the current demand for teachers
in CCM, and specifically the musical theater style, is much higher than those actually
The responsibilities of the vocal director can often fall to the choral director.
However, the choral director may not have the skills or training necessary to coach the
adolescent musical theater singer (Davey, 2010). The goals of the choral sound are not
always in alignment with the needs of the solo voice. The goal of training the musical
theater singer is often to develop the unique sound of that singer. A choral music director
who has been assigned to work with the musical may not have the training to recognize
In his book, Directing the Choral Music Program, Phillips (2004) addressed the
need for pre-service choral directors to be given basic training in musical theater before
the public may think of them that way. In the profession of choral music
Phillips devoted an entire chapter to discussing the musical. Within that chapter, he
devoted much time to the educational and developmental benefits of musical theater.
Davey (2010) supported these findings, stating that most music educators had no training
musical theater topics (to) be integrated into the choral, drama, and
are often required of the music educator, and should at least be introduced
The studies that do examine the impact of the musical on students tend to focus
on the emotional and social effects of participating in the school musical. In an article
written for Teaching Education, Ogden, DeLuca and Searle (2010) found the following
relationships or a sense of belonging, how the experience affected other aspects of their
Watkins’ (2005) study looked at how participation in the high school musical
Interviews were recorded and responses were coded for common themes. Watkins found
that for the high school student, the social acceptance function was more important than
44
the performance function for students participating in musicals. Watkins felt that musical
theater repertoire was very appropriate for high school students. While opera or operetta
might be beyond their abilities, musical theater remained within their physical abilities to
perform safely. This statement might hold true if all musicals were of one vocal style,
range, and character and were written for specifically for the adolescent voice. While
there are notable exceptions, such as Jason Robert Brown’s 13, Charles Strouse’s Bye,
Bye, Birdie and Annie, most musicals are written for mature adults with mature voices
(Sabella-Milles, 2011).
Watkins (2005) reported similar findings stating that music educators should
recognize the need for method courses in mounting a musical theater production. He
suggested that in addition to choral and instrumental teachers, general music teachers also
needed courses in musical theater and dramatic direction. Williams (2003) agreed,
suggesting “music teachers would benefit from training in directing musicals prior to
assuming responsibility for these responsibilities. All too frequently, the alternative is the
frustration of learning on the job by trail and error” (p. 127). In an article written for The
School Musician, Burnau (1970) also suggested that music education students enroll in
dance and drama classes, because the requirement is often that the music educator be
responsible for all facets of the musical, whether trained for it or not.
Davey’s (2010) study presented the following statistics: of those educators who
responded to her survey, only 16% reported taking a musical theater or drama methods
class in college, while only 25% reported receiving training of any kind in musical
conference sessions for training, and a few (5.6%) reported reading a book on the subject.
The highest level of experience (53.1%) was from personal experience as a pit
35% reporting having no training at all, but learn-as-you-go as the main training method.
terms of training, the four most popular answers were (1) courses in how to produce a
musical, (2) awareness of and strategies for dealing with the non-musical aspects of
musicals, (3) assistance in knowing how to select a show, and (4) vocal pedagogy courses
in musical theater.
undergraduate course in which pre-service teachers were used as the work force to put on
a musical. The authentic experience better prepared teachers for their first real-world
experience. One participant noted “it seemed like something that I could actually do; I
could actually use this and do it in high school with students” (p. 378).
issues that affect music educators. Davey (2010) found that 66% of respondents to her
survey reported the musical was an extra curricular activity with 96.5% receiving little or
no compensation for their time. Binnema’s (1996) master’s thesis addressed similar
issues, stating that “if performing in secondary musicals is without a doubt a valid
educational opportunity, then musicals should not only be clearly identified as such in
both the drama and music curriculum guides, but in-school hours should be allotted for
In a study that surveyed high school teachers in British Columbia, Robinson and
Poole (1990) also concluded that if the benefits of school musicals are many, then
musical theatre should be included in the curriculum. Davey (2010) agreed, stating,
“musical theater work can be added to the coursework for choral, drama, and
instrumental classes in secondary schools for a semester, with potentially positive results
for both teachers and students in high schools. This scheduling leads to less after-school
hours being required” (p. 178). Many schools often have to depend on large amounts of
community support to successfully produce the musical. Very often, these supporters are
Over 30 years earlier, Tiboris (1980) had already stated, “the preparation of music
graduates in musical theater production techniques, however, is lacking” (p. 17). Lebon
(2004) agreed, calling for university programs to hire vocal pedagogues who have
professional experience in belting as well as the ability to teach it. Lebon pointed out a
university or college would never hire a classical teacher who had not extensively studied
the classical voice, including a working knowledge of foreign language, yet they
commonly utilize teachers who have never belted to teach belting. This lack of properly
educated professionals often results in students having to seek training outside the
academic setting.
Summary
This chapter introduced detailed discussion of the belt voice. A brief comparison
between classical and belt vocal production was made to provide a common language for
discussion. Since classical vocal production is more readily accepted and understood,
47
comparing the styles allows for understanding of belt production within a context of
familiarity.
The first topics addressed in the chapter were attempts at defining belt and
musical theater repertoire and the adolescent singer. Ragsdale (2004) interviewed
experts, both teachers and performers, and found a lack of consensus in both the
definition of and the terminology regarding belt. Although Ragsdale noted that there was
LeBorgne (2011) undertook a large study that examined two aspects of belting,
perception and objective measures of belting. LeBorgne was able to identify specific
factors that defined a belt voice as pleasing. LeBorgne further suggested that belt can be
taught and that even among expert belters, certain aspects of the belt are specific to
individual voices. The second half of the study detailed the physical process of belting in
Lebon (1986) engaged in a study that examined if belting could be taught. Lebon
took auditory measurements of singers belting and then had those same subjects watch
videotaped lessons on how to produce belt. Evidence was presented that showed a
measureable change was perceived in the subjects that viewed the tapes in how they
produced belt.
Tucker (2009) presented a treatise that addressed using musical theater literature
as a pedagogical tool for the training of young singers. Although Tucker did not
specifically address how to train belt, Tucker did detail some of the issues that confront
young singers. Tucker concluded that the positive outcomes of using musical theater
48
gospel and musical theater styles of singing. Stroboscopy showed differences in tension
levels, but there were no perceptive auditory differences. Smith-Vaughn also discussed
Studies that specifically looked at the musical at the high school level were
examined. Williams (2003) examined the non-musical aspects of musical theater and
found that music teachers also had to work in areas of producing, set design, lighting
design, costume design, prop construction, choreography, and stage direction. Williams
found different levels of training in musical theater and ultimately called for vocal music
Davey (2010) built a study based on Williams’ study that looked at attitudes,
musical. Davey also found that there was limited to no training and further suggested
that music education teachers should also take dance and theater classes as part of their
undergraduate training.
Howard (1990) developed a form to assist music educators in selecting age and
ability appropriate musicals for the high school performers and produced a list of
possibilities. Davey (2010) and Lee (1983) also presented lists of appropriate shows.
Tiboris (1980) developed a difficulty assessment scale for musical theater vocal
unclear why the scale was not made available or is not currently utilized. It was noted
49
that the National Association of Schools of Music does not mention the need for training
LoVetri and Weekly (2003) examined the preparation of teachers to teach CCM.
Over the course of 16 months, they surveyed voice teachers who were members of
National Association of Teachers of Singing. They found that few teachers had formal
training in teaching belt, but most teachers felt comfortable teaching belt. They
This chapter ends with a look at the role of the choral director as vocal director for
musicals. Phillips (2004) addressed the need for choral directors to have training in
musical theater. Watkins’ (2005) study examined the emotional and social impact of
participating in a musical. There are no studies that specifically examine the preparation
of high school music educators to deal with belt vocal production in the adolescent
singer. Davey (2010) and Tiboris (1980) both stated that if the musical is considered a
valid experience for the high school student, then educators should receive training and
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
In the previous chapter, issues regarding the definition and use of belt were
discussed. Vocal pathologies were examined within the context of misuse of the voice.
The use of amplification as a method of vocal preservation was also discussed. The
literature review concluded with a look at studies that specifically examined musicals at
the high school level. Those specific studies were examined and used to inform the
methodology of this study. The collection of data regarding knowledge and opinions and
specific training in the use of belt is what made this survey different from previous
surveys.
A survey was developed comprised of 114 questions sorted into three sections.
Section One served to collect demographic information including the subject’s in-service
teaching assignments. Content was written that examined how much classroom
experience music educators had and what courses they taught at their specific high
school. Section Two examined knowledge and opinions of high school music educators
regarding the use of musical theater belt as a style and the use of belt by female (ages 13-
19) adolescent singers. Section Three collected information regarding the subject’s
undergraduate course work such as private voice lessons or vocal pedagogy and training
Use of the Likert-scale was used to give respondents options for more selective and
51
nuanced approaches beyond a simple yes/no format. The five options were; strongly
agree, agree, neither agree or disagree, disagree, strongly disagree. Respondents were
required to choose a response before being allowed to proceed to the next question.
Forced response was used to elicit an answer even when the subject might be unsure or
unwilling to choose an answer. This was done in an effort to gather as much data as
possible without questions being left unanswered. Each of these questions was followed
by an open-ended question that allowed free written response by the subject. Subjects
Numbers were assigned to the survey items within the limitations of Qualtrics.
Each item, including the letter of introduction and all instructions, was assigned an item
numbers were skipped. For example, the letter of introduction was assigned question
number one, so the actual survey did not start until question number two. Question
number 39 is located at the beginning of Section Two and gives the instructions for
There were also several places in the survey where skip logic was employed.
Skip logic is a method of allowing the subject to skip sections of the survey. For
automatically skip the next five questions that were all related to the first question. If a
subject answered yes to the question, the survey would proceed in a logical fashion. The
opportunity for written response. (Refer to item numbers 2-38 in Appendix B).
teaching and courses offered at the respondent’s specific high school. Answers were
Section Two contained 16 questions, each with the opportunity for written
response. (Refer to item numbers 40-72 in Appendix B). This section examined
knowledge and opinions regarding use of the belt voice. These questions ranged from
how belt is produced to the safety of using the belt voice. Questions 40, 42, 63, 65, and
67 were designed to measure opinions and questions 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 69
and 71 were designed to measure knowledge. The responses were based on a five-point
Likert scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. For coding purposes, strongly
agree=1, agree=2, neither=3, disagree=4, and strongly disagree=5. When the data
analysis was started, it was determined that due to some categories showing a small n, the
results might be more reliable if the categories were collapsed into larger sections. The
new recoding grouped had three options; strongly agree/agree, neither, and strongly
disagree/disagree together.
Section Three contained 20 questions, each with the opportunity for written
response. (Refer to item numbers 74-114 in Appendix B). This section collected
The questions focused on personal training and experiences the subject may have had in
sources such as workshops or readings. There was a final open-ended question that
allowed the respondent to write any comments s/he wanted to include regarding the
topics addressed in the study. The opportunity for written comments provided a wealth
Survey Development
The development of this survey was informed by several sources that addressed
research design and planning (Davey, 2010; Fowler, 2009; Dillman, 2007; LoVetri and
Weekly, 2003; Williams, 2003; Howard, 1990). Fowler (2009) specifically addressed
survey research methods in his book on applied social research, focusing on sampling and
question design. Of specific use to this study was the information on nonresponse and
nonprobability samples. Fowler discussed the bias associated with nonresponse. In the
case of nonresponse, it is not known if the answers of the respondents differ from the
potential answers of those who did not respond. This is often a problem with mail
surveys. A nonprobability sample does not involve random selecting, so the findings
may not represent the whole population or explain why a subject would self-select not to
way to encourage a response from the subject. The initial contact letter (Appendix A)
was constructed using Fowler’s suggestions. The letter first explained the purpose of the
study, requested volunteer participation in the study, stated that confidentiality would be
maintained, explained that there was no risk to the participants, and offered the results of
formats and then discussed what the problems specifically were and then how to fix
them. Fowler cautioned including more than one concept in the same question and the
use of poorly defined terms. These examples were particularly helpful in showing how to
write a good question and served as a reference when the questions for this survey were
developed. Questions for this survey were examined to make sure that only one piece of
information was requested for in each question. The issue of using specific terms was
addressed through discussions with music educator experts (see section titled Pilot
Study). Since the same term can have different meanings to different people, care was
taken to select terms that would be most familiar to participants. In addition, questions
were designed to be as brief, but specific, as possible to provide clarity of what was being
asked.
Dillman’s (2007) book on using mail and the internet to conduct surveys
provided specific steps for distributing a survey online. Dillman addressed the
move from telephone and mail surveys to Internet and cellular phones as the main
the timeline for the distribution of this survey. Dillman suggested a four-week
window with three follow-ups was the best time frame for an online survey,
which was the model adopted for this survey. Dillman also noted that most
people who respond to a survey will do so within the first few days of receiving it
and reported that surveys that lie unanswered after a week are unlikely to be
returned.
55
While mail surveys can be costly and time consuming, instant communication
with the survey population via e-mail can significantly speed up the data collection
process. It also allows for easy reminders to complete the survey to be made quickly in
an effort to increase the number of respondents. Online survey programs such as Survey
Monkey and Qualtrics allow data to be transferred directly into statistical programs
without having to code by hand. This also increases the speed of the process. Internet
surveys also allow for anonymity, as the researcher never personally meets or sees the
participant. Upon logging into the survey, subjects receive an identification number
rather than being identified by name or email address. Qualtrics is the online survey tool
selected for use by Kent State University. The decision to use on online survey was
made to decrease the time it would take to get the survey to the participants and then
receive a response. Using an online survey also provided an easy way to send reminder
There were three studies that used surveys as the data collection methods that
were similar in size and content that served as models in building this study. Davey’s
(2010) study used two data collection instruments. The first was Howard’s (1990)
Production Planning Form that Howard built to assist high school music educators in
choosing appropriate material for production. The second was a survey developed by
Davey that examined various aspects of the high school musical. Davey’s survey had 39
questions, with many questions taking different forms. Some were Likert-type questions
and others provided a list of options from which the respondent could select. Other
questions also allowed multiple responses to the same question. There were also several
56
Williams’ (2003) study utilized a survey to gather data in order to examine the
role of the music educator in the non-musical aspects of producing a musical. Williams’
survey was administered via paper and pencil. The first section of the survey was used to
collect demographic information utilizing a four-point Likert-type scale. The survey had
a limited number of questions (16), but each question required multiple responses. The
final question was an open-ended question. Although Williams’ survey was carefully
examined, it did not serve as a model but rather informed the decision to make each
question of this survey as simple and clear as possible by not requesting multiple
LoVetri and Weekly (2003) also used a survey to gather data on their study of
questionnaire containing 21 questions; many that were multi-part and open ended. Their
survey was sorted into four sections and included a final optional section on
demographics. The survey also ended with a section for general comments. LoVetri and
Weekly gathered their information over a 16-month period with most of the surveys
international conferences.
Several of the questions in this study are similar to the LoVetri and Weekly
survey, but the questions are close-ended with ordered answer choices instead of open-
ended. Dillman (2007) proposed that closed-ended questions are most appropriate when
questioning attitudes and beliefs about a specific issue. Dillman further stated that open-
57
ended questions are most appropriate when the researcher cannot always anticipate how
subjects might respond to a question. Since the survey employed close-ended questions
with ordered answer choices, providing the opportunity for free response allowed for
subjects to give suggestions, clarify positions, vent frustrations, or state strong opinions.
The use of open-ended questions can also uncover the most salient aspects of a topic that
were perhaps not addressed in the survey. Jackson (2009) further supported the validity
participants but are difficult to analyze statistically because the data must
question must be developed. The items are examined, common themes identified,
and then all responses are coded into the defined themes. Several researchers
this study was not qualitative, the responses to the open-ended questions were
transcribed in full and simply sorted into categories (see Appendix G-I). These
comments were then available for examination and added depth and clarity to the
closed-ended responses.
This study was submitted to and approved by the Kent State University
58
Participants
The participants in this study were choral music educators who were members of
the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) in the state of Ohio. NAfME is
students through music professionals. The Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA)
is the state affiliate of NAfME. It was founded in 1924 and is the third largest group of
affiliates of NAfME. Members of OMEA serve 1.8 million students in the state of Ohio.
The population of this study was limited to choral music educators as representative of
educators that would have both an undergraduate degree in teaching music and would
have received some sort of vocal music training as part of that degree. The population
music educators elect to become members and self-identify their area of specialty, e.g.
choral, instrumental, general, etc. E-mail addresses for participants were accessed
through the OMEA online directory and those who had identified themselves as choral
music educators were selected. The list was examined and those educators who had
either participated in the pilot study or were collegiate-level educators were excluded. In
the state of Ohio, the teaching license for music educators is a K-12 license. Some
teachers may teach in diverse areas or at multiple levels. Subjects were given the
opportunity to specifically identify what they were teaching and even if not currently
59
teaching at the high school level, they may have had experience teaching at that level.
For clarity, from this point forward, subjects will be defined as members of OMEA.
However, nonprobability sampling may not include each element represented in the
population at large. Since the membership list was used to establish the population, those
contacted had the right to refuse to participate either through not responding to the email
unknown factor to the researcher as to why subjects self-select not to participate, and,
therefore, a nonprobability sample may not represent each element of the population at
large.
The survey was distributed using the online survey service Qualtrics to 965
Qualtrics as being either incorrect or no longer in use for a total of 917 (N=917) subjects
receiving the email inviting them to participate in the survey. Five (n=5) subjects elected
not to participate by selecting the “I do not wish to participate” option at the end of the
introductory letter (survey question one). A total of 193 (n=193) subjects started the
survey. Of those, 17 (n=17) did not complete the survey past the first question for a total
Pilot Study
It was determined that this research was exploratory in nature and was primarily
concerned with discovery and with generating directions for further research. As
60
previously mentioned, exploratory studies are used to generate large amounts of data,
which are narrowed down and used to demonstrate direction for future research. Since
the topic of the use of belt by the adolescent female, and pre-service teacher training and
preparation to teach belt had not been examined before in this way and since this was an
original survey tool, it was deemed appropriate that prior to public administration, a pilot
study needed to be run to establish validity and reliability of the survey questions.
Before releasing the pilot study to test subjects, multiple in-person conversations
regarding the survey questions were held with three experienced music educators from
Kent State University. The three represented a total of over 60 years of public school
choral teaching experience. All were active members of OMEA. Two of the experts
were graduate assistants. Both had experience working with high school and middle
school choirs for 10 or more years in public schools. They also had experience as private
voice teachers and were working with the university choirs as part of graduate
assignments at Kent State University. The other was a college professor with more than
25 years experience in public school working extensively with high school choirs as well
Those discussions helped to establish content validity, as these experts were able
to ask for clarification or specificity regarding the survey questions especially for the
questions in Section Two. The questions in Section Two required exact wording to
specifically define what was being asked. Conversations regarding those questions
allowed the experts to ask variations of “Do you mean this or that?” This resulted in
some questions being reworded or eliminated as the experts responded to what they
61
thought was being asked. These conversations also helped to establish the need for the
opportunity for written response as the experts often wanted to qualify the yes or no
answer that the survey required. The experts expressed concern that requiring only a
“yes/no” choice when answering questions was too limiting. This was especially true
when attempting to identify the difference between opinion and knowledge. As a result
of these conversations, questions in Section Two were expanded from simple “yes/no”
choices to levels of agree/disagree. Several terms and questions were also changed or
In order to establish reliability of the survey tool, a pilot study was administered
to 185 (N=185) music educators representative of the larger sample that would receive
the survey. The survey was sent to subjects via Qualtrics. There were 29 (n=29)
responses for a total of 15% response rate with α=.448. The data was examined using the
Section Two contains the questions that examined knowledge and opinions about
belting. Since these questions were specifically constructed for this study, correlations
among the items were run to determine how strongly each question was related to the
others. This was done to identify any questions in the survey that needed to be
Table One
Correlations Between Responses in Section Two (these are the original item numbers)
Item 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57
55 1.000 -0.157
57 1.000
63
Item 59 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 75
73 1.000 -.604
75 1.000
64
determine if the items were similar enough in content to either discard or combine one or
more of them; the higher the correlation, the stronger the relationship between two
variables. The findings were sorted into four categories, split by the size of the
The first category examined the items with a correlation of r=>.6. There were
nine correlations that fell in this category. The second category looked at correlations
with a score of r=.3-.599. There were 29 responses that fell in this category. Changes to
items in the first category affected changes to some of the items in the second category.
The third category examined correlations with a spread of r=.1-.299. There were 76
responses that fell in this category. These questions were left as originally written due to
low correlations. Responses that were r=<.1 were not included for examination because
they lacked statistical significance. There were 36 responses that fell in this category.
An exploratory factor analysis was used to identify relationships among items that
are part of concepts. The findings were examined to allow similar variables to be omitted
resulting in a smaller number of variables in a data set. The correlation matrix for the
Table Two
Correlation Matrix for Exploratory Factor Analysis (these are the original item numbers)
Correlation 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57
Correlation 59 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 75
communalities. The closer the communality is to 1.0, the more the question shares with
the other items. Conversely, the smaller the communality, the more unique the item is
Table Three
Initial Extraction
41 1.000 .723
43 1.000 .733
45 1.000 .808
47 1.000 .825
49 1.000 .831
51 1.000 .894
53 1.000 .871
55 1.000 .773
57 1.000 .757
59 1.000 .766
61 1.000 .681
63 1.000 .503
65 1.000 .674
67 1.000 .769
69 1.000 .903
71 1.000 .759
73 1.000 .850
75 1.000 .819
69
The factor analysis extracted 18 eigenvalues, which are based on the shared
variance of the items. Eigenvalues calculate characteristic values and are a combination
of the original items. Any eigenvalue above one is generally considered useable. Based
on this cut off point, the first six components were selected for analysis as shown in
Table Four.
Table Four
Initial Eigenvalues
These six components were identified as: Factor 1, healthiness of belt; Factor 2,
how belt is produced; Factor 5 and Factor 6 both dealt with the definition of belt and had
Table Five
Component Matrix for the First Six Factors (these are the original item numbers)
F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6
manner, belting causes vocal nodules in adolescent female singers”) and 51 (“Even when
done correctly, belting causes hoarseness and weak laryngeal muscles”) were combined
and rewritten to form a new question (“Belting causes damage to the vocal mechanism”).
This was done because the high correlation suggested the questions were basically
seeking the same information. After questions 45 and 51 were rewritten, question 65 (“If
an adolescent female singer has physically completed the voice change, there is no
danger to the singing mechanism if correctly singing in the belt style”) was eliminated
because it was basically addressing the same question of healthy singing. Question 63
(“If an adolescent female singer has physically completed the voice change, there is no
danger to the singing mechanism when correctly singing in the bel canto style”), which
was originally a companion to question 65, was rewritten to match the format of question
75. This resulted in Section Two having a final total of 16 questions (Appendix E). The
Procedures
The survey in its final form (see Appendix B) was distributed using Qualtrics to
the OMEA members who had self-identified as choral music educators. Emails were
accessed through member databases. All names from the list were input into the
Qualtrics program. The list was then crosschecked to remove any names of those
teaching at the collegiate level or those who had participated in the pilot study.
The survey was sent to 965 (N=965) participants. All were given four weeks to
respond. Three follow-up notices were sent to encourage participation (Dillman, 2007).
72
Thus, at the 10-day mark, the 20-day mark, and the 22-day mark, participants who had
not yet completed the survey received a reminder email (see Appendix D). A total of 176
(n=176) subjects responded. This is a response rate of 17%. The reasons for the low
response rate were unclear. However, Dillman (2007) noted that email or written surveys
commonly have low response rates. The survey responses were collected from Qualtrics.
The data was then downloaded into an Excel worksheet and from there loaded into the
Analysis Procedures
Each of the three sections was examined independently of the other two. This
was done to gain knowledge regarding the general characteristics of the sample.
Frequency tables were used to obtain basic information about the three sections. Then
findings were examined to determine how the items in Section One and Section Three
influenced knowledge and opinion regarding belt (Section Two). Items in Section One
and Three that affected items in Section Two were further examined. Independent T-tests
were used to examine differences between two groups. An ANOVA was also used to
examine the survey item Years of Experience, which employed three groups.
Independent T-tests were also run to determine differences between the items within
Section Two. This analysis was performed to determine if there was a difference
between the responses that measured questions regarding knowledge and questions
regarding opinions. The level of significance used was (α<.05) for all tests.
Private statistical consultants were used in developing and analyzing this survey.
This included Statistical Consulting located at Kent State University. These consultants
73
were used as a resource to the researcher in determining what statistical tests to perform
Summary
for design of the study, identified the research instrument, explained the choice and
application of validity and reliability measures, explained procedures for distribution, and
presented a plan for data analysis. Details were given regarding the physical layout of the
survey identifying the number of sections, what those sections addressed, and the total
number of items.
educational level, number of years teaching, and what courses were offered at the
subject’s specific location. Each question with the exception of one offered the
knowledge and opinions regarding the use of the belt voice. A Likert-scale was used to
collect information ranging from how belt is produced to the safety of using belt. Each
question offered the opportunity for written response. Section Three had 20 questions
training and experiences. Each question but one offered the opportunity for written
response. The survey concluded with an open-ended question to provide opportunity for
the respondent to comment on the survey or on specific topics that the respondent wished
to address.
That was followed by a discussion of studies regarding the use of surveys as the
74
data collection method as well as previous surveys specific to the field of musical theater
that served as a model for this study. These studies served to define type of survey,
length of time given to subjects to respond, question construction, and other items that
population to whom the survey would be administered was identified, with the procedure
of administering the survey online explained. Before distribution of the survey, a pilot
study was employed. The rationale and plan for development and pilot testing of the
survey was explained. Procedures for establishing validity and reliability were identified.
Validity for the survey was established through advisement of respected field experts and
responses to the pilot study. Pilot study participants had the opportunity to both answer
the survey questions and also comment on each question. Those comments were
analyzed for content and clarity of the survey questions. The pilot study had 29 (n=29)
respondents.
A description of the statistics used to develop the survey questions was presented.
Section Two items were written to measure knowledge and opinions regarding the use of
belt. A correlation matrix was used to identify if any of the questions were measuring
similar topics. A factor analysis was run to identify the common elements of each
variable. Eighteen principle components were identified, and the first six were
the findings of the statistical test, an explanation was given regarding changes to the
survey questions.
75
The procedure for the administration of the survey and the collection of data was
described. The analysis plan for the collected data was introduced. Independent T-tests
were used to examine differences between two groups. An ANOVA was also used to
examine the survey item Years of Experience, which employed three groups. The use of
statistical consultants in the collection and analysis of the data was noted.
76
CHAPTER 4
Introduction
This chapter includes the analyses and statistical findings of the responses to the
survey questions. Each of the three sections of the survey is addressed separately using
Participants were Ohio Music Education Association members who had identified
themselves as vocal music educators. Nine hundred seventeen (N=965) subjects received
the initial email inviting them to participate in the survey. Five (n=5) subjects elected not
to participate by selecting the “I do not wish to participate” option at the end of the
introductory letter (question 1). A total of 193 (n=193) subjects started the survey. Of
those, 17 (n=17) did not complete the survey past the first question for a total of 176
Descriptive statistics are presented in the form of Frequency Tables (Appendix J).
These tables allow for a closer look at differences between groups on the questions that
were found to be statistically significant (p<.05). Independent sample T-tests were used
to assess differences in the means between gender and educational level for each of the
items in Section Two. An ANOVA was used to assess differences in the means between
years of experience and the items in Section Two. The significance level was (α<.05) for
all tests. Cronbach’s Alpha was used to measure the internal consistency of the items in
Section Two. The alpha index for items in Section Two was α=.15. It was expected that
77
with a larger sample size this number would increase from the alpha calculated for the
pilot study (α=.448). It was unclear as to why this number was so low. Although low
reliability can negate a study, in this case, a study of the written answers to the Likert-
scale questions provides some clarification, a foundation, and direction for improving the
Section One collected demographic information from each subject within the
preceding question. The first three questions collected demographic information. The
next eight questions collected information regarding the subject’s teaching assignments
and responsibilities. The following six questions asked about the subject’s involvement
in musical theater at her/his respective teaching position. The final two questions asked
about the use of sound reinforcement at the subject’s respective teaching position. It was
possible for the subject to give a written response to each question. There were a total of
253 written responses for Section One that are located in Appendix G. Frequency Tables
for Section One are presented in Appendix J. Table Six presents the question numbers,
Table 6
Questions two, four and six with their respective written responses collected
of the experience of the subject. Question two asked, “How many years have you been
teaching music in a public or private high school?” There were seven categories to select
from. Since several of the groups had a small n, the seven categories were collapsed into
three categories to create larger numbers for statistical analysis: 1-10 years (n=70), 11-20
years (n=58), and 21-30+ years (n=48). Using these numbers, 39.8% of subjects had
been teaching for 10 years or less, 32.9% of subjects had been teaching for 11-20 years,
and 27.3% of subjects had been teaching for 20+ years. Looking at percentages, the
distribution of participants was fairly even with the largest percentage within the first 10
years of teaching. This was about 7% more than those in the category of 11-20 years,
and about 13% more than those in the 20+ years category. Thus, the subjects represented
a cross-section of years of experience. The most common answer for number of years
teaching was 6-10. There were 19 written responses. Responses varied from specifying
Since the Doctorate category had a small n (n=4), the three categories were collapsed into
two: Bachelor’s degrees (n=58) and graduate degrees (n=118). Using these numbers,
33% of the subjects had their Bachelor’s degrees and 67.1% had graduate degrees. These
numbers show that the number of subjects with graduate degrees were slightly more than
twice as many as those with Bachelor’s degrees. The most common answer was Master’s
specific degree.
Question six asked, “Are you female/male?” There were 125 female (71%) and
51 male (29%) subjects. There was no option for a written comment with this question.
Question seven asked, “Do you teach choir in grades 9-12?” A little over
seventy-six percent (76.1%) of subjects responded yes. This question was included
because choral music utilizes a more classical vocal production than other more
contemporary styles. Also, as noted previously, the Ohio music education license is K-
12, so music educators may find themselves teaching a variety of music courses.
Therefore, subjects may define themselves to OMEA as a vocal music educator, but also
be teaching band or general music. There were 16 written responses. Responses either
explained a “no” response such as, “I’m retired now,” or described current
responsibilities if the position wasn’t specifically high school choir such as “8-12 choir.”
information regarding what specific curriculum each subject taught beyond traditional
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choir. These types of choirs often employ more contemporary vocal styles and were
included to determine if subjects were providing students with the opportunities to sing in
other styles beyond traditional choral production. Question nine asked, “Do you teach
show choir in grades 9-12?” A little over thirty-five percent (35.8%) of subjects
responded yes. This question was included because show choirs often perform music that
requires the use of belt, such as Broadway or popular music. This would provide the
music educator exposure to the use of or opportunity to teach belt. There were 20 written
responses. They were sorted in three categories. The first category was clarification of
what the subject taught such as, “In previous years, yes.” The second category was
clarification regarding curricular choices available or not available at the subject’s school,
such as, “No show choir in our school.” The third category introduced curricular choices
that were not offered as part of the survey. Three of the four answers reported a
contemporary a cappella group and one reported a contemporary all-female pop group.
These findings would suggest that styles other than traditional choral singing are being
offered at the high school level and may employ belt vocal technique.
Question 11 asked, “Do you teach jazz choir in grades 9-12?” A little over fifteen
percent (15.3%) of the subjects responded yes. This question was included because vocal
jazz production can utilize belt production as well as other non-classical methods of vocal
production. This would provide the educator exposure to the use of non-classical vocal
production, as vocal styles of pop and jazz are closer to belt vocal production than
classical. There were 16 written responses. They were sorted into three categories. The
first category clarified a no response, but described that vocal jazz repertoire was taught
83
as part of other choirs. One respondent clarified that jazz choir was not offered at the
subject’s school. The third category introduced curriculum offerings that differed from
the options given in the survey. Those four answers reported contemporary a cappella
pop groups. Once again, these findings would suggest that styles other than traditional
choral singing are being offered at the high school level and may employ belt vocal
technique.
Question 13 asked, “Do you teach gospel choir in grades 9-12?” A little over
seven percent (7.4%) of subjects responded yes. This question was included because
gospel vocal production often uses heavy mechanism belt. For example, one of the
written responses stated, “I learned how to belt in church.” There were eight written
responses. The responses were sorted into two categories. The first category clarified a
no response, but described that gospel music was included in the styles taught as part of
other choirs. One respondent stated that gospel choir was not offered at her/his school.
Questions 15, 17, 19 and 21 with their respective written responses were designed
Ohio music license is K-12, a music educator who self-identifies as a vocalist might
actually be teaching instrumental courses. Thus, these questions did not ask what they
were teaching, but rather how the subjects identified themselves. Question 15 asked, “Do
you consider vocal music your major area of teaching?” A little over eighty-two percent
(82.4%) of subjects responded yes. This might indicate whether or not the subject
choral music education for this survey may be teaching this area, but originally were
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instrumentalists, not vocal majors. There were 15 written responses. The responses
either clarified the exact teaching responsibilities that included vocal or specified a
different major area of teaching. There were several subjects that identified themselves
as teaching only choir, while others specified teaching both choir and band, or choir and
general music. It is also interesting that although 82 % of subjects report voice as their
major area of teaching, only 72% of subjects reported taking a vocal pedagogy class.
Question 17 asked, “Do you consider instrumental music your major area of
teaching?” A little over thirteen percent (13.6%) of subjects responded yes. This
question was provided as an alternative selection if the answer to question 15 was no. As
explained above, this could indicate that the subject was a vocal education major, but
currently has the assignment of teaching band or orchestra. There were 11 written
responses. The responses either clarified the exact teaching responsibilities that included
state that the subject was a vocal person who was teaching instrumental music. Other
Question 19 asked, “Do you consider general music to be your major area of
teaching?” A little over twenty-one percent (21.6%) of subjects responded yes. This
question was provided as an alternative selection if the answer to question 15 was no.
Answering yes to this question might indicate limited exposure to vocal pedagogy at the
undergraduate level. There were 16 written responses. They were sorted into two
categories. The first category was clarification of what the subject was teaching that
often included general music as well as other subjects. The second category introduced
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curriculum offerings that were not included in the survey such as music theory or piano.
Based on the written responses for questions 15, 17, and 19, it appears that there is a
cross section of subjects teaching in just one area as well as those teaching in two or more
areas.
Question 21 asked, “Do you teach voice lessons in a private or high school
setting?” A little over thirty-nine percent (39.2%) of subjects responded yes. This
individual voice as opposed to a choral setting. There were 18 written responses. They
were sorted into three categories. The first category was clarification about why a subject
was not currently teaching private voice. All 11 responses stated that lack of time was
the predominant reason for not teaching private lessons. The second category clarified
that private lessons were being given in the high school setting only in preparation for
solo and ensemble. The third category specified private lessons in the areas of flute and
piano.
Questions 23, 25, 27, 29, 31 and 33 with their respective written responses
gathered information regarding the subjects’ involvement with the musical in their
respective teaching positions. Options were given for identifying how the subject was
involved. Question 23 asked, “Does your high school produce musicals?” A little over
eighty-six percent (86.4%) of subjects responded yes. This finding is similar to those of
Davey (2010) who reported 80% of high schools producing musicals and Williams
(2003) who reported 85% of high schools producing musicals, so the number of musicals
produced at the high school level has remained consistent for at least 12 years. If the
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subject responded no to this question, the survey skipped to question 39. There were six
written responses. All responses were placed into one category that clarified either the
yes or no answer. Two of these answers stated that the music educators were also
Question 25 asked, “Are you or have you ever been involved in your high school
responded yes. There were four written responses that clarified in what capacity the
subject was involved. Three of these responses clarified that the subject is also the
director of the musical. This would suggest that the music educator also would need
Question 27 asked, “Are you or have you ever been responsible for selecting the
musical for your high school?” A little over seventy-seven percent (77.6%) of subjects
responded yes. There were eight written responses clarifying a yes response, detailing to
what degree the subject was involved. Five of these responses suggested that the subject
worked with others in selecting a musical, but did not define who the other collaborators
were.
Question 29 asked, “Do you provide vocal direction for your high school’s
musical?” A little over eighty-five percent (85.6%) of subjects responded yes. There
were nine written responses clarifying a yes response, detailing to what degree the subject
was involved. Some subjects reported being the vocal director or having done it in the
past, while others stated that they also direct and choreograph.
Question 31 asked, “Have you served as the stage director for your high school
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musical?” A little over fifty percent (50.4%) of subjects responded yes. There were six
written responses clarifying a yes response, detailing to what degree the subject was
involved. Two subjects stated that they only handle the music while several others
reported having stage directed at least once before. This would suggest other educators
are involved in producing the musical. It also raises the question regarding the training of
Question 33 asked, “Have you ever conducted the pit orchestra for your high
school musical?” A little over sixty-seven percent (67.2%) of subjects responded yes.
There were eight written responses. Six of the responses clarified a yes response. The
other two clarified that no pit orchestra was used at the subject’s school. It would be
Question 35 and 37 with their respective written responses focused on the use of
professional level. These questions were asked to determine how much, if any, sound
reinforcement was being used at the high school level. Question 35 asked, “If your high
school does a musical, does your school use sound reinforcement for the singers?”
Ninety-six percent (96%) of subjects responded yes. This question was included as a
chapter two. The ability to be heard over large orchestras or electric instruments as well
safety for the singer. Answering yes to this question might indicate an understanding of
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this need. There were 12 written responses. The responses either clarified a yes or no
Question 37 asked, “If yes, does each singer have an individual dedicated
microphone?” A little over forty-nine percent (49.2%) of subjects responded yes. If the
subject responded no to question 35, the survey would skip to question 39. There were
45 written responses, the highest number of written responses in Section One. Four of
the responses clarified a yes or no answer. The remaining 40 responses clarified that only
Survey Section Two included questions regarding how the use of belt is perceived
and produced. These questions were developed from issues presented in the literature
regarding the use of belt. Questions 40, 42, 63, 65, and 67 were designed to measure
opinions regarding belt. Questions 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 69, and 71 were
clarifications of the preceding question. The subject was asked to read a statement and
select a response from a five-point Likert scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly
disagree. It was possible for the subject to give a written response to each question.
There were a total of 305 written responses given for Section Two. All written responses
were sorted as clarification of the written response unless otherwise noted and are found
in Appendix H. Frequency Tables for Section Two are presented in Appendix J. Due to
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several categories with a small number of responses, the five categories were collapsed
into three: strongly agree/agree, neither, disagree/strongly disagree. This would allow for
stronger statistical analysis and was done for every question in Section Two. Table
Seven presents the question numbers, possible responses, and number of responses for
Section Two.
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Table 7
questions designed to elicit responses regarding the subjects’ own perceptions regarding
belt. Question 40 presented the statement “I know what is meant by the term belt.” A
little over eighty-six percent (86.2%) of respondents strongly agree/agree with the
statement. This number was higher than expected given the difficulty in defining belt as
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presented in chapter two. However, a definition of belt was given at the beginning of the
survey. (For the purposes of this survey, the term “musical theater belt” or “belt” is used
in its broadest sense to mean the Broadway sound or production of a sound that is not
classical or bel canto in nature.) If the respondent used the proffered definition, the
response could actually be stating the subject agreed with the definition that was
presented, not that they know for themselves. However, since this question was designed
to be an opinion question, the subjects could be answering that they know based on their
own definition. There was also no way of knowing if that definition was positive or
negative toward belting. There were two written responses. Both responses stated that
the respondents’ understanding of belt was based on conversations with others and not
students in singing in the belt style.” A little over forty-three percent (43.7%) of subjects
strongly agree/agree with the statement. This finding is of interest when only 9.2% of
subjects reported having studied in the belt style (question 82). Since this question is
opinion based, there is not a way to directly measure where the confidence comes from.
It would be of interest to have subjects describe why they feel confident. There were
eight written responses. They were sorted into two categories. The first category had
four statements that varied from a statement of feeling secure in the ability to teach belt to
a request for more training on how to teach belt. The second category contained four
comments or opinions that expressed negativity towards belting. These four statements
all specifically stated that belting was harmful to the singer and would never be taught by
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that subject.
Questions 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, and 60 with their respective written
responses were designed to measure the subjects’ knowledge of belt. The questions were
developed from issues discussed in the literature review. Question 44 presented the
statement “Belting is the same as chest voice.” Sixty-two percent (62%) of subjects
disagree/strongly disagree with the statement. There were 14 written responses. The
subjects provided different definitions of how belt and chest voice are or are not related.
These findings support the contention that there are different understandings of how belt
is produced.
Question 46 presented the statement “Belting is more strenuous on the voice than
agree/agree with the statement. There were 27 written responses. Most of the responses
were qualifying statements regarding the conditions under which belt could safely be
produced. The remaining responses were statements such as “I don’t know” or “It
depends.” These answers suggest that this question may have been difficult to answer or
disagree/disagree with the statement. Another way of looking at this finding is that
41.8% of subjects neither agree nor disagree with the statement, and 29.7% agreed with
the statement. With the highest percentage being neither response, it is not clear if
subjects truly don’t know the correct answer, or if the answers are tempered with the
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response “it depends.” There were 52 written responses. They were sorted into two
categories. The first category contained fifty clarifying statements that if produced
correctly, belt vocal production is not damaging; several subjects responded they didn’t
know. One subject provided a comment stating that some voices are naturally able to
Question 50 presented the statement “Belting and classical styles cannot be sung
by the same person.” A little over ninety-two percent (92.2%) of subjects strongly
disagree/disagree with the statement. This is a surprising finding because it suggests that
the subjects understand that classical singing and belting are both styles of singing. This
finding is supported by the results for question 58 that belting can be taught. There were
nine written responses. Seven of the responses clarified statements that it is possible,
although it takes a very proficient singer to be able to produce both. Two responses
sound into a nasal placement.” A little over thirty-one percent (31.1%) of subjects
strongly disagree/disagree with the statement. A little over thirty-two percent (32.9%)
responded neither agree nor disagree and 35.9% strongly agree/agree with the statement.
The percentages across groups are close, suggesting that subjects had varying opinions
but no consensus regarding the statement. There were 12 written responses. Nine
statements clarified an agree response such as the belt sound is brighter in nature or that
yes, belting is very nasal, and three subjects responded they didn’t know. However, this
nasally when in fact it is not being produced in the nose, but sounds as if it is due to the
Question 54 presented the statement “Belt can be any dynamic from soft to loud.”
A little over twenty-six percent (26.5%) of subjects disagree/disagree with the statement.
That would indicate that a majority of subjects either didn’t know or had incorrect
knowledge regarding the volume of belt. If a singer wants to utilize a softer volume, s/he
has to switch to a different method of vocal production. There were nine written
responses. Seven statements clarified an agreed response such as belting by its nature is
loud or it is hard to produce belt softly and two subjects responded they did not know.
just like mezzo or soprano.” A little over seventy-seven percent (77.8%) of subjects
strongly disagree/disagree with the statement. This means that for this finding, most
subjects had correct knowledge regarding this statement. There were four written
responses that all correctly stated that belting is a style, not a classification (Jamison,
1996).
disagree/disagree with the statement, again supporting the idea that, in general, the
subjects have an understanding of the nature of belt. There were six written responses
that all clarified the subject’s response. These comments ranged from agreeing with the
Question 60 presented the statement “Belt produces more tension in the muscles
in the throat than classical singing.” A little over thirty-four percent (34.7%) of subjects
strongly disagree/disagree with the statement. That means that 65.3% of subjects either
didn’t know or had correct knowledge regarding belting and tension. It has been shown
in the research that belting does, in fact, produce more tension in the throat than classical
statements clarified that it depends if belting is being done correctly and one subject
The next five questions with their respective written responses were a subset of
this category that focused specifically on the use of the belt voice in adolescent females.
Questions 63, 65 and 67 were opinion questions and questions 69 and 71 were designed
to measure knowledge. Question 63 presented the statement “It is vocally appropriate for
an adolescent female singer to perform major opera roles.” A little over sixty-two
percent (62.9%) of subjects strongly disagree/disagree with the statement. Zero percent
(0%) strongly agree and only 10.8% agree with the statement. This shows that few
subjects held the opinion that opera roles would be appropriate for adolescent singers.
The forced choice responses received much clarification from the 33 written responses.
Most of the responses presented qualifiers such as, it would depend on the difficulty of
the literature, the maturity of the individual singer, and the quality of the training the
female singer to perform major musical theater roles utilizing belt vocal production.” A
little over twenty-six percent (26.3%) of subjects strongly agree/agree with the statement,
38.9% neither agree nor disagree, and 34.8% strongly disagree/disagree. The percentages
across groups are close, suggesting that subjects had varying opinions, but no consensus
regarding the statement. Since this was an opinion question, it is unclear as to source of
the response. For example, one subject might have the knowledge needed to answer the
question, while another subject might simply be of the opinion that it would be
inappropriate. The 38 written responses provided some clarity. Most of the responses
presenting qualifiers such as, it depended on the difficulty of the literature, the maturity
of the individual singer, and the quality of the training the singer received. Three
female singers to perform major musical theater roles utilizing non-belt vocal
with the statement. This was also an opinion question and the majority of the subjects
agreed that it would be appropriate. Only 4.8% of subjects felt it would be inappropriate.
Since the question specified non-belt vocal production, the singers would be using a
different style such as legit or even a more classical production. There were 16 written
responses. Several of the responses presenting qualifiers such as, it depended on the
difficulty of the literature, the maturity of the individual singer, and the quality of the
training the singer received. One subject responded s/he did not know.
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Question 69 presented the statement “It is vocally safe for the adolescent female
to sing in the bel canto style.” A little over seventy-three percent (73.7%) of subjects
strongly agree/agree with the statement. However, for this survey, bel canto was not
defined, so that was not a way to measure exactly what the subject thought the term bel
canto means. The 22 written responses helped to clarify the responses. Many of the
responses agreed with statement with some of those specifying only if done correctly, and
depending on the literature. Two subjects responded they did not know.
Question 71 presented the statement “It is vocally safe for the adolescent female
to sing in the belt style.” A little over thirty-seven percent (37.7%) of subjects strongly
responses agreed with the statement with the qualifiers that only if belt is taught correctly
and used under guidance. Several statements responded it depended on the individual
ability of the singer and two subjects responded they did not know
clarifications of the preceding question. The final question of the survey allowed for
open response if the subject had additional thoughts or comments s/he wanted to share.
The first two questions asked what undergraduate degree the subject held. The next 16
undergraduate. The remaining two questions asked if musical theater were produced at
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the college the subject attended. It was possible for the subject to give a written response
to each question. There were a total of 142 written responses given for Section Two. All
written responses were sorted as clarification of the written response unless otherwise
noted and are found in Appendix I. Frequency tables for Section Three are presented in
Appendix J. Table Eight presents the question numbers, possible responses, and number
Table 8
regarding educational and licensure status. Question 74 asked, “Do you have an
subjects responded yes. There were 12 written responses. Seven of the responses listed
performance.
Question 76 asked, “Do you currently hold state licensure to teach music?”
Ninety-seven percent (97%) of subjects responded yes. There were 4 written responses.
All responses specified what license the subject held, except one subject who implied
s/he worked at a private school that did not require licensure, and one subject held a
Questions 78, 80, 82, 84, 86, and 88 with their respective written responses
focused on the types of singing opportunities the subject may have had in her/his
classical singing may suggest willingness to use or accept other forms of vocal
production. Question 78 asked, “Did you take applied private voice lessons in college?”
Eighty-five percent (85%) of subjects responded yes; however, there was no indication of
number of semesters the subject took lessons. This could imply anything from one to
eight semesters. There were two written responses. Both responses specified the subject
Question 80 asked, “ If you took applied voice in college, did you study in the
classical style, including opera, art song, songs in foreign languages, etc.?” A little over
question 78, the survey skipped to question 94. There were five written responses. The
responses clarified a yes response, detailing what type of music was studied, such as art
Question 82 asked, “If you took applied voice in college, did you study in the belt
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style?” A little over nine percent (9.2%) of subjects responded yes. If the subject
responded no to question 78, the survey skipped to question 94. There were 15 written
responses. They were sorted into two categories. The first category clarified subjects’
responses. One respondent introduced curricular choices not included in the survey,
stating that s/he studied the Estill method. The written responses present a wide range of
amount of time spent studying in the belt style from a discussion in vocal pedagogy class,
a few lessons over four years, to occasionally using they style her/himself.
Question 84 asked, “If you took applied voice in college, did you study in the
musical theater legit style?” A little over fifty-nine percent (59.3%) of subjects
responded yes. If the subject responded no to question 78, the survey skipped to question
94. There were six written responses that specified when the style was used, such as in
jazz or barbershop. However, the style of jazz is different from musical theater and
barbershop often utilizes elements of belting, so the answers could have suggested a lack
Question 86 asked, “Did you sing in the jazz style in college, either as a soloist or
the subject responded no to question 78, the survey skipped to question 94. There were
five written responses. They were sorted into two categories. The first category clarified
when the style was used. One respondent introduced curricular choices not included in
Question 88 asked, “Did you sing in a gospel choir in college?” A little over
question 78, the survey skipped to question 94. There were three written responses that
clarified when the style was used. One of the comments was especially interesting,
stating, “My college roommate did sing in gospel choir and lost her voice after every
concert due to belting.” The use of the belt style in other genres (CCM) presents similar
Questions 90, 92, 94, 96, 104 and 106 with their respective written responses
were seeking information regarding the availability of belt training as part of the subjects’
responded yes. This number was higher than expected given the lack of study
specifically devoted to musical theater styles. If the subject responded no to question 78,
Question 92 asked, “If yes, did you study with the musical theater voice
teacher/coach?” A little over fifteen percent (15.6%) of subjects responded yes. If the
subject responded no to question 78, the survey skipped to question 94. If the subject
responded no to question 90, the survey skipped to question 94. There were four written
responses that clarified that only musical theater majors were allowed to study with that
teacher.
Question 94 asked, “As an undergraduate, did you take a vocal pedagogy class?”
A little over seventy-six percent (76.5%) of subjects responded yes. Vocal pedagogy
courses teach anatomy of the voice and how sound is produced. This question was
comments.
Question 96 asked, “If yes, was the technique of belting taught in the vocal
pedagogy class.” A little over eleven percent (11.1%) of subjects responded yes.
However, there was no indication if belt was taught to be used or as something to be wary
of. This question was asked as follow up to question 94. If the subject responded no to
question 94, the survey skipped to question 98. There were eight written responses.
They were sorted into two categories. The first category was clarification of the subject’s
response, including two negative comments stating that they were taught not to teach
Questions 98, 100 and 102 with their respective written responses were written to
identify other sources beside undergraduate experiences where subjects could have
received training in belt. Question 98 asked, “Have you attended workshops, master
classes, or conferences that focused on the teaching of belting?” A little over twenty
percent (20.1%) of subjects responded yes. This question was included to try to identify
where subjects were receiving belt training if not as part of their undergraduate training.
There were two written responses. One response named a specific master class
instructor. One subject stated s/he was introduced to the Estill method at classes offered
at conferences.
Question 100 asked, “If yes, did the information you received in those events
significantly inform the way you teach belt?” A little over sixty-five percent (65.7%) of
experience with belting, than any amount of information would seem significant. If the
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subject responded no to question 98, the survey skipped to question 102. There were
three written responses. One response named a specific teacher, one response was
negative towards belting, and one response expressed a desire to know more on the
subject of belting.
Question 102 asked, “Have you read articles, books, essays, etc. that you feel
(28%) of subjects responded yes. There were six written comments. Three of the
responses specified what exactly was found to be useful, one response was negative
toward belting, and two responses expressed a desire to know more on the subject of
belting.
Question 104 asked, “Did you take any undergraduate classes that specifically
trained you to teach belt?” Zero percent (0%) of subjects responded yes. This is an
astounding finding when examined with the results from questions 40 and 42. Subjects
were stating knowledge of belt and confidence in teaching it without having received
attempted to discover where the training might be coming from. There was one written
Question 106 asked “Did you receive any content regarding the use of belt in any
course you took as an undergraduate?” A little over fifteen percent (15.2%) of subjects
responded yes. There were eight written responses. Six of the responses specified how
or when the content was received. The remaining two responses expressed negativity
Questions 108, 110 and 112 with their respective written responses were written
education courses. Question 108 asked, “If you have a music education degree, were you
required to take any courses in acting or theater?” A little over eleven percent (11.6%) of
subjects responded yes. There were 10 written responses. The responses specified under
Question 110 asked, “Did your college produce musicals?” A little over eighty-
eight percent (88.4%) of subjects responded yes. There were six written comments. Four
of the responses stated that the theater department, not the music department, produced
the musical. This brings up an interesting point. If music departments are not producing
musicals, then who is? The most likely answer is the theater department, so then the
question becomes what is the training and philosophy of vocal production of college
Question 112 asked, “If yes, did you participate as a vocal performer in the
musical?” A little over thirty-eight percent (38.4%) of subjects responded yes. If the
subject answered no to question 110, the survey skipped to question 114. There were 17
written responses. Of the 17, three of the responses specified playing in the pit orchestra
write comments. The comments were not sorted into categories. However, 10 of the
responses were requests for additional information on the topic of belt or an expression of
the need to include training in belt and musical theater in the field of music education.
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Independent group T-tests and an ANOVA were run with respect to educational
level, gender, and years of experience for the items in Section Two. Questions in Section
Two were examined for differences based on gender (question 6.) Only question 50
“Belting and classical styles cannot be sung by the same person” was significant (p<.05).
An independent T-test revealed that females (M=4.21, SD=.783) differed from males
(94.1%). Since the question does not distinguish between male and female voices, this
finding could be due to the differences in female and male vocal production. The male
experience might be that it is difficult for the same singer to use both styles while females
might find it easier use both styles or vice versa. Table Nine presents the items from
section two with respect to gender. Table 10 presents the findings of the T-test by
gender. Frequency Tables for question 50 by gender are shown in Table 11.
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Table 9
Table 10
Table 11
level (question 4.) An independent T-test was used due to the three categories of
Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, and Doctorate being combined into two categories of
Bachelor’s and graduate degrees as previously explained. Only question 50 “Belting and
classical styles cannot be sung by the same person” and question 52 “Belting is created in
part by pushing the sound into a nasal placement” were significant (p<.05). For question
50, an independent T-test revealed that those with Bachelor’s degrees (M=4.49,
SD=.605) differed from those with graduate degrees (M=4.21, SD=.796), t=2.348(165),
p=.020. This meant that for question 50, subjects with Bachelor’s degrees disagreed
more with the statement “Belting and classical styles cannot be sung by the same person”
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than those with graduate degrees. This finding might be due to differences in training
levels with the assumption that graduate students have more training or experience in
For question 52, an independent T-test revealed that those with Bachelor’s
degrees (M=2.76, SD=.860) differed from those with graduate degrees (M=3.05,
SD=.899), t=-1.967(165), p=.049. This meant that subjects with Bachelor’s degrees
agreed more with the statement “Belting is created in part by pushing the sound into a
nasal placement” than those with graduate degrees. Table 12 presents the items from
section two with respect to educational level. Table 13 presents the findings of the T-test
by educational level. Frequency Tables for questions 50 and 52 by educational level are
Table 12
Survey
Ed Level N Mean Std. Deviation
Question
Bach 55 4.29 1.031
40
Mas/Doc 111 4.05 1.074
Bach 55 3.22 1.166
42
Mas/Doc 112 3.09 1.103
Bach 55 3.58 .809
44
Mas/Doc 111 3.47 .872
Bach 55 3.53 .979
46
Mas/Doc 111 3.61 .983
Bach 55 3.00 1.036
48
Mas/Doc 110 2.94 .901
Bach 55 4.49 .605
50
Mas/Doc 112 4.21 .796
Bach 55 2.76 .860
52
Mas/Doc 112 3.05 .899
Bach 55 2.80 .931
54
Mas/Doc 111 2.67 .928
Bach 55 3.82 1.073
56
Mas/Doc 112 4.02 .838
Bach 55 4.22 .658
58
Mas/Doc 112 4.19 .546
Bach 55 3.02 1.130
60
Mas/Doc 112 3.13 .991
Bach 55 3.93 .920
63
Mas/Doc 112 3.67 .934
Bach 55 2.89 1.149
65
Mas/Doc 112 2.78 .887
Bach 55 4.02 .805
67
Mas/Doc 112 3.85 .713
Bach 55 3.98 .757
69
Mas/Doc 112 3.92 .749
Bach 55 3.13 .963
71
Mas/Doc 112 3.04 .904
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Table 13
Table 14
Frequency Table for Question 50 by Educational Level
Table 15
teaching (question 2). Only question 50 (“Belting and classical styles cannot be sung by
the same person”) was significant (p<.05). For question 50, a one-way Analysis of
Variance was used to examine the difference in the means of three groups (<10 years
experience, 11-20 years experience, >20 years experience) and showed F=5.258, df
Table 16
According to these findings, there were significant differences among the three
groups. Frequency Table18 demonstrates that for those with <10 of teaching experience
88.5% strongly disagree/disagree with question 50, while for those with 11-20 years of
experience 93.1% strongly disagreed with question 50. However, for those with >20
pairs of means of the three groups were significantly different, a Tukey’s HSD test was
performed. This test is a post-hoc test performed after an analysis of variance test. It is
used to determine which groups in the sample have significant differences when there are
more than two groups. Results of the Tukey are show in Table 17. The results
demonstrated that the mean of the >20 group was significantly different (p=.043) from
the mean of the 11-20 group. The mean of the >20 group was also significantly different
(p=.005) from the mean of the <10 group. However, the mean of the 11-20 group is not
significantly different (p=.772) from the mean of the <10 group. Overall, this means that
the group with >20 years of experience strongly disagreed/disagreed less strongly than
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both of the other two groups. In other words, those with 20+ years of experience agreed
more than the other two groups that belting and classical styles can be sung by the same
person. However, there was not a significant difference in response for the 11-20 years
Table 17
Table 18
Selected Questions
For most of the questions in Section One and Section Three, there were no
statistically significant differences (p<.05). However, seven questions (9, 27, 74, 78, 94,
106, 110) that were statistically significant were selected for examination using an
independent T-test with the questions in Section Two. These questions were selected
because they might suggest the subjects either had direct exposure to, training in, or use
of belt, all of which would affect opinions or provide knowledge. Results of the t-test for
Table 19
Independent T-test for Question 9: Do you teach show choir in grades 9-12? (yes/no)
For question nine (“Do you teach show choir in grades 9-12?”), item 40 (“I know what is
An independent T-test revealed that for item 40, those responding yes to question nine
SD=1.153), t=2.245(164), p=.026. In other words, those subjects that teach show choir
agree more with the statement “I know what is meant by the term ‘belt’” than those who
do not teach show choir. As show choirs often utilize belt vocal production, it would
follow that those educators who teach a course in show choir would be more familiar
For question nine (“Do you teach show choir in grades 9-12?”), item 42 (“I am
confident in my ability to instruct students in singing in the belt style”) was also found to
be statistically significant (p<.05). An independent T-test revealed that for item 42, those
responding yes to question nine (M=3.53, SD=1.112) differed from those responding no
subjects that teach show choir agreed more with the statement “I am confident in my
ability to instruct students in singing in the belt style” than those who do not teach show
choir. As mentioned above, this finding might be expected if the educator teaches a
course or directs an ensemble that utilizes this style of vocal production. Further
investigation on exactly what vocal production is taught in show choir classes would give
Table 20
Independent T-test for Question 27: Are you or have you ever been responsible for
selecting the musical for your high school? (yes/no)
For question 27 “Are you or have you ever been responsible for selecting the
musical for your high school?” item 52 (“Belting is created in part by pushing the sound
T-test revealed that for item 52, those responding yes to question 27 (M=2.84, SD=.932)
p=.022. In other words, the subjects who reported responsibility for selecting their high
school musicals disagreed with the statement more than those who were not responsible.
It is unclear as to why those two statements would be correlated. One does not seem to
have common content with the other. A possible connection might be that educators who
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are willing to select musical theater literature are more accepting of the brighter sound
that is used in belt production. Another possibility is that educators are attending to vocal
needs when selecting a musical, including which characters use what type of vocal
production.
Table 21
Independent T-test for Question 74: Do you have an undergraduate degree in music
education? (yes/no)
independent T-test revealed that there were no responses from section two that were
undergraduate degree in music education has no effect on the opinion regarding the use
of belt. The absence of any correlation might signify the lack of exposure to anything
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belt related. However, responses to other questions show this is not the case, so it
Table 22
Independent T-test for Question 78: Did you take applied private voice lessons in
college? (yes/no)
For question 78 “Did you take applied private voice lessons in college”, item 40
(“I know what is meant by the term ‘belt’”), item 42 (“I am confident in my ability to
instruct students in singing in the belt style”), and item 54 (“Belt can be any dynamic
test revealed that for item 40, those responding yes to question 78 (M=4.23, SD=.974)
p=.004. In other words, those subjects that took applied private voice in college agreed
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with the statement “I know what is meant by the term ‘belt’” more than those subjects
responding no. This finding suggests that subjects who took private voice in college
might have more exposure to the concept of belt. It was not possible from this survey to
An independent T-test revealed that for item 42, those responding yes to question
SD=1.046), t=3.237(165), p=.001. In other words, those subjects that took applied
private voice felt more confident in their ability to instruct other singers in the belt style.
However, in response to item 104 (“Did you take any undergraduate classes that
specifically trained you to teach belt?”), not one subject answered yes (0%). This would
suggest that subjects either had training in belting either as part of another course or
An independent T-test revealed that for item 54, those responding yes to question
SD=.898), t=-2.674(164), p=.008. This would suggest that subjects who had taken
private voice as an undergraduate disagreed more with the statement “Belt can be any
dynamic from soft to loud” than those subjects who had not had private voice lessons.
This would suggest that those subjects who had received private voice lessons had some
Table 23
Independent T-test for Question 94: As an undergraduate, did you take a vocal pedagogy
class? (yes/no)
For question 94 “As an undergraduate did you take a vocal pedagogy class?” item 58
statistically significant (p<.05). An independent T-test revealed that for item 58, those
who took a vocal pedagogy class disagreed less with the statement “Belting cannot be
taught; it is only a natural individual phenomenon” than those subjects who did not take a
vocal pedagogy class. This suggests that those subjects who took a vocal pedagogy class
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had a better understanding of what vocal training could accomplish than those who did
not.
Results of the T-test for question 106 are presented in Table 24.
Table 24
Independent T-test for Question 106: Did you receive any content regarding the use of
belt in any course you took as an undergraduate? (yes/no)
For question 106 “Did you received any content regarding the use of belt in any course
you took as an undergraduate?” item 40 (“I know what is meant by the term ‘belt’”) was
found to be statistically significant (p<.05). An independent T-test revealed that for item
40, those responding yes to question 106 (M=4.56, SD=.507) differed from those
words, subjects who received content regarding belt at the undergraduate level agreed
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with the statement “I know what is meant by the term ‘belt’” more than those who did not
receive content.
Results of the T-test for question 110 are presented in Table 25.
Table 25
Independent T-test for Question 110: Did your college produce musicals? (yes/no)
For question 110 (“Did your college produce musicals”), item 40 (“I know what is meant
by the term ‘belt’”) and item 63 (“It is vocally appropriate for an adolescent female
independent T-test revealed that for item 40, those responding yes to question 110
produced musicals agreed with the statement “I know what is meant by the term ‘belt’”
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more than those subjects responding no. The next question (112) in the survey asked if
the subject participated in the musical as a vocal performer. Of the 146 responses, 56
replied yes and 90 replied no. This finding would suggest that the production of musicals
might have exposed the subject to the belt style. The survey did not ask what vocal style
subjects used that participated in the musical. Therefore, it is not clear if the exposure
was to other performers using belt or if the subject her/himself was belting or using a
An independent T-test revealed that for item 63, those responding yes to question
110 (M=3.70, SD=.944) differed from those responding no to question 110 (M=4.26,
produced musicals agreed less with the statement “It is vocally appropriate for an
adolescent female singer to perform major opera roles” than those whose colleges did
performing an on-stage role. Beyond that, it is unclear how these items are related. The
opinions of and questions regarding characteristics of belt and the appropriateness of belt
singing and the adolescent female voice. An independent T-test was run to examine the
42, excluding written comments. Questions 40 and 42 were selected because they were
designed to measure the subjects’ opinions of their own knowledge and confidence levels
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regarding belt. Questions 44-60 dealt with statements regarding the production of belt.
Questions 63-71 were specific to vocal production by the adolescent female. Questions
Table 26
Independent T-test for Question 40: I know what is meant by the term ‘belt’.
(agree/disagree)
An independent T-test revealed that for question 40 (“I know what is meant by the term
voice just like mezzo or soprano.”) (M=3.30, SD=1.02) differed from those responding
subjects who responded strongly agree/agree to question 40 disagreed more with the
statement “Belt is a classification of the female voice just like mezzo or soprano” than
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those who strongly disagree/disagree with question 40. This would suggest that those
subjects who believe that they know what belt is better understood that belt is not a vocal
classification.
An independent T-test revealed that for question 40 (“I know what is meant by the
term ‘belt’.”), those responding disagree to item 69 (“It is vocally safe for the adolescent
female to sing in the bel canto style.”) (M=3.52, SD=.73) differed from those responding
that self-identified as knowing what belt was also felt that adolescent females could
Table 27
to instruct students in singing in the belt style”), those responding disagree to item 46
(“Belting is more strenuous on the voice than classical singing.”) (M=3.82, SD=.867)
p<.0001. This means that those respondents that self-identified as feeling confident in
their ability to teach belt also felt that belting is more strenuous on the voice than
classical singing.
to instruct students in singing in the belt style”), those responding disagree to item 48
(“Belting causes damage to the vocal mechanism.”) (M=2.78, SD=.952) differed from
means that those respondents that self-identified as feeling confident in their ability to
teach belt did not feel that belting will cause damage to the vocal mechanism.
to instruct students in singing in the belt style”), those responding disagree to item 60
(“Belt produces more tension in the muscles in the throat than classical singing.”)
(M=3.39, SD=.997) differed from those responding agree to item 60 (M=2.71, SD=.964),
t=4.443 (165), p<.0001. This means that those respondents that self-identified as feeling
confident in their ability to teach belt also felt that belting produces more tension in the
to instruct students in singing in the belt style”), those responding disagree to item 65 (“It
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is vocally appropriate for adolescent female singers to perform major musical theater
roles utilizing belt vocal production.”) (M=2.61, SD=.975) differed from those
responding agree to item 65 (M=3.08, SD=.924), t=-3.199(165), p<.002. This means that
those respondents that self-identified as feeling confident in their ability to teach belt felt
that it was appropriate for adolescent females to sing with belt vocal production.
to instruct students in singing in the belt style”), those responding disagree to item 71 (“It
is vocally safe for the adolescent female to sing in the belt style.”) (M=2.8, SD=.875)
differed from those responding agree to item 71 (M=3.42, SD=..865), t=-4.616 (165),
p<.0001. This means that those respondents that self-identified as feeling confident in
their ability to teach belt felt that it was safe for adolescent females to sing utilizing belt
vocal production. These findings would suggest that those subject that self-identify as
feeling confident in teaching belt did have some knowledge regarding the correct
production of belt.
Summary
Chapter 4 presented the statistical results for the survey. The descriptive statistics
were presented in both narrative form and table form for each of the three sections of the
survey, including the number of responses and a brief description of the written
comments for each question. Section One had demographic questions and gathered
information regarding the subject’s teaching assignments. The findings showed that the
distribution of years of service was basically equal across the subjects, but the most
common answer was 6-10 years of teaching experience. The number of Master’s degrees
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was slightly less than double the number of Bachelor’s degrees. There were 4 Doctoral
degrees. Seventy-one percent (71%) of respondents were female and twenty-nine percent
(29%) were male. Many different types of choirs or styles of music within a choir were
being taught, including traditional, show, jazz, a cappella, gospel, and contemporary pop
groups. Subjects came from multiple areas of teaching, including vocal music,
subjects reported they teach voice privately, but most subjects indicated that private
lessons in the school setting only occurred around the annual solo and ensemble
adjudicated events.
When asked if their high school produces musicals, 86.4% of respondents said
yes. Of those responding yes, 87.4% reported they are involved with the musical.
Slightly over seventy-seven percent (77.6%) help to select the musical. A little over
eighty-five percent (85.6%) provide vocal direction and 50.4% serve as stage director as
well. Slightly over sixty-seven percent (67.2%) of subjects also conduct the pit orchestra.
A surprising number of written responses were given regarding the use of sound
reinforcement. Ninety-six percent (96%) of subjects reported that their school uses sound
reinforcement, but all of the subjects also reported only principal performers received
individual microphones.
percentage (86.2%) reported knowing what belt meant and 43.7% of subjects reported
feeling confident in teaching it. The percentages were not as high for knowledge-based
questions. Sixty-two percent (62%) knew that belting is not the same as chest voice and
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28.4% agreed that belting is more strenuous on the voice than classical singing. There
was disagreement if belting causes damage to the vocal mechanism and if belting is
produced using a nasal placement. A large percentage (92.2%) agreed that belting can be
taught and 77.8% were able to identify that belting is a style, not a classification of the
female voice. The final five questions focused specifically on the use of belt by
adolescent females. There was a wide range of opinions on what the subjects felt was
vocally appropriate for the adolescent female. A little over seventy-eight percent (78.5)
of subjects felt it was appropriate for adolescent females to sing in the non-belt musical
theater style and 73.7% felt it was appropriate for adolescent females to sing in the bel
canto style. However, only 26.3% of subjects felt it was appropriate for adolescent
Section Three examined what sort of training subjects received as part of their
degree in music education and 97% hold state licensure in music. When asked if they
studied applied voice in college, 85% said yes, although the amount of time was not
specified. Most of the subjects studied in the classical style (98.6%), 9.2% studied belt,
and 59.3% studied in the musical theater legit style. Subjects reported singing in other
number of subjects (49.6%) reported that their college had a musical theater voice
specialist, but only 15.6% reported having studied with that teacher. A little over
seventy-six percent (76.5%) of subjects reported having taken a vocal pedagogy class, but
only 11.1% of those who took the class received any information regarding belt. Zero
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percent (0%) reported taking a class in belting, but 20.1% reported attending classes or
workshops focused on belting and 28% reported reading material that focused on belting.
Slightly over fifteen percent (15.2%) of subjects reported receiving some sort of content
on belting somewhere in their undergraduate training, but it was not specified if the
exposure was positive or negative towards belting. Some subjects (38.4%) reported
Independent T-tests were run to examine the relationship between gender and the
questions from Section Two, educational levels and the questions from Section Two. An
ANOVA was run between years of experience and the questions from Section Two.
Question 50 showed significance for all three areas. Question 52 also showed
Seven questions from Sections One and Three that had shown statistical
significance (>.05) with questions from Section Two were selected for further
examination. Subjects that taught show choir felt they knew what belt was and felt
confident in teaching it. Those who were at least partially responsible for selecting the
musical knew that belt is not made with a nasal placement. Interestingly, there was not
evidence to suggest that a degree in music education affected the subject’s opinion of
belting. Subjects who had studied applied voice in college felt they knew what belt was
and felt confident in teaching it. Subjects who had taken vocal pedagogy classes were
aware that belting can be taught. Subjects who had some sort of exposure to belting,
whether mentioned in a class or used by the subject in performance, reported they knew
Questions within Section Two were examined for relationships. Subjects who felt
they knew what belting was also knew belting was a style of singing and not a
classification of the female voice as well as being of the opinion that it was safe for
adolescent females to sing in the bel canto style. Subjects who reported feeling confident
in their ability to teach belt also knew that belting is more strenuous and produces more
tension than classical singing and that belting does not automatically cause vocal damage.
CHAPTER 5
DISCUSSION
Introduction
These classes often include both instrumental and vocal training. Vocal training is more
in depth for those who identify voice as their major applied area study. However, as
shown in this study, the training does not often include formal training regarding the use
of belt. Out of 164 subjects who took applied voice, only 13 subjects received some sort
of content regarding belt. One hundred twenty-two subjects reported having no training
in either teaching or using belt, and zero subjects reported taking a class that focused on
belt.
As noted in this study, 86.4% of high schools in Ohio produce a musical at least
every other year. The research presented in this study showed that little attention is given
to teaching the undergraduate music education major the skills to correctly coach the use
of belt in adolescent females. Those studies that do exist often focus on the social aspects
of a musical (Rajan, 2010; Searle, 2010; Watkins, 2005) or production (Davey, 2010;
Williams, 2003; Binnema, 1996; Howard, 1990). This study examined issues that have
not yet been addressed in the research to identify areas for future research.
A review of the literature showed that there were no comparable studies that
specifically examined the use of the belt voice in young singers at all, let alone
specifically the adolescent female. This is of concern in that young voices are not usually
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mature enough or strong enough to handle the rigors of belting, and yet young singers
often attempt to imitate or force this sound in performance of their high school musicals.
There were also no studies that addressed the training or ability of the high school music
educator to teach or coach students in the use of the belt voice. This study was designed
to examine specific training or exposure music educators may have received in the use of
Participants in this study were vocal music educators who taught at the high
school level. They were invited to participate in the survey based on their membership in
population at large. However, the findings and the written comments presented
This chapter will first address the research questions and major findings, followed
of the written comments will be included throughout the discussion to add depth and new
understanding to the data. This will be followed by recommendations for further study
and conclusions.
The research questions that guided this study were: (1) What are the opinions and
knowledge of high school music educators regarding the use of belt by female (ages 13-
19) adolescent singers? (2) What education or experiences do high school music
educators have to prepare them to instruct female adolescents in the correct production of
belt? The expectation was that the data would present a strong correlation between lack
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of training and negative beliefs about the use of belt. However, the findings did not
support that theory. For most of the questions, independent T-tests did not reveal
significances between variables. While there were a few findings that presented as
statistically significant (p<.05), there are other possible explanations for those findings.
The first possible explanation could be simple alpha inflation. When calculating large
numbers of statistics, it is numerically probable that some of the findings will show as a
false positive. This would mean that in those few circumstances in this study where
p<.05, the findings could actually be a false positive, meaning there was no significance.
gender. A T-test revealed that for question 50, there was a significant difference between
male and female responses. However, this could have been due to the imbalance between
the number of female respondents (125) and male respondents (51). The effects of using
nonprobability sampling could also account for this difference in that subjects were self-
selecting to participate in the survey based on their interest in the topic or personal
knowledge regarding the topic. It is also possible that participants selected to participate
in order to learn more about the topic or that, since the survey focused on the female
voice, it could have held more interest for females. Another possible explanation may be
that subjects who were interested in belt before beginning their undergraduate studies
sought out opportunities to study belting while those who did not have previous interest
did not. Those variables were not accounted for in this study.
comments provided insight to issues that were not directly addressed in the survey. For
example, question four asked, “What is your highest completed educational degree?”
Even though the question specified completed degrees, several respondents provided a
written comment explaining where they were in their studies. Another example can be
seen in question 15, “Do you consider vocal music your major area of teaching?” One
respondent commented, “My specialization was instrumental, but I have a lot of vocal
written comments for each section. When appropriate, the answers were also sorted by
common theme. Presentation of the findings will include reporting comments related to
The first research question asked, “What are the opinions and knowledge of high
school music educators regarding the use of belt by female (ages 13-19) adolescent
to instruct students in singing in the belt style”). Slightly over forty-three percent
(43.7%) of the respondents strongly agreed/agreed with this statement. However, zero
respondents reported taking any undergraduate courses regarding belt and only 11.1% of
the respondents received any course content regarding belt as an undergraduate. It would
be of interest to know why the subjects felt confident in teaching a style in which they
had no or limited formal training. This might suggest that the training is coming from
personal experience, non-collegiate experience, or trial and error on the part of the
educator. It would be of interest to ask the subjects why they felt confident or to have
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belt style”) was one of only a few questions that generated negative written responses
from the subjects. The comments were very specific and strongly stated from “I am
confident in my ability to teach them to NEVER belt . . .” and “I will never teach
determine what contributed to such negative perceptions and feelings regarding belting.
Questions 9, 27, 74, 78, 94, 106, and 110 were examined using independent T-
tests to determine if exposure to or personal use of the belt style affected personal beliefs
regarding the use of belt. Only questions 9 (“Do you teach show choir in grades 9-12?”)
and 78 (“Did you take applied private voice lessons in college?”) showed significant
results (p<.0001) and (p<.001), respectively, for question 42. Show choirs often perform
Broadway or contemporary pop style music. The use of different styles of music by these
choirs shows at least a willingness on the part of the music educator to let students utilize
the belt voice. Private voice studies may signify exposure to belt techniques, but the
survey did not differentiate if the exposure was positive or negative. In this instance, the
written comments did not provide clarification of the type of exposure the subjects
received in private lessons. A good follow up question would be to ask subjects if their
might signify reluctance on the part of the educator to allow his/her student to use the belt
with this statement. It is understandable that an educator would not allow their students
comments qualified the response with some form of “if done incorrectly”. Several of the
written responses suggested insecurity in the response as seen in this statement, “I would
think it would, but as I do not understand how it is taught I cannot answer the question”.
These statements might help explain why the largest category of response to this question
The results for question 56 (“Belt is a classification of the female voice just like
mezzo or soprano”) by gender yielded interesting results. Of the males, 94.1% strongly
disagreed/disagreed with the statement compared to 84.8% of the females who strongly
due to the differences in numbers of subjects. However, the differences between males
and females in the perception of how belt is produced may be due to the differences in
vocal production between males and females. It is curious, then, why, in this sample,
males appear to have a better understanding of the production of belt in the female voice.
The written comments did not provide clarification of the perceived differences.
that belting can be taught. This is a surprisingly high percentage. It would then follow
that if belting can be taught that there would be a methodology or pedagogy to follow.
The comments presented three different takes on this statement: “It needs to be taught in
advance of it's [sic] use - it rarely is!”; “Some singers may naturally gravitate toward this
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type of vocal production but any singer can be taught to belt”; “I only allow students
who have a natural belt to use it.” The first two statements follow with LeBorgne’s
(2011) idea of the singer as the vocal athlete. With proper and appropriate training and
guidance, all singers could be taught to belt. The third statement is interesting in that it
suggests the idea that the ability to belt is limited to a select few who perhaps are
because it suggests that belting is a natural state of vocal production and raises the
question that if someone can produce the sound easily and naturally, then is it an
unhealthy vocal choice? It would be an interesting inquiry to the same respondent to see
The next five questions represent the sub-section of the survey that focused
specifically on the use of belt by the female adolescent singer. Questions 63-67 and
questions 69-71 were designed to work together in an attempt to ascertain what would be
considered an appropriate use of the female adolescent voice. Each of those five
questions generated a large number of written comments. Questions 63, 65, and 67 each
asked if a particular vocal style was appropriate for use by the adolescent female.
Question 63 asked about performing major opera roles. Question 65 asked about
performing major musical theater roles utilizing belt vocal production. Question 67
asked about performing major musical theater roles utilizing non-belt vocal production.
For question 63, 62.9% responded that they strongly disagreed/disagreed that it
was appropriate for adolescent females to perform major opera roles. There were a total
would be needed in the young singer for healthy singing. The comment “The young
female doesn't have the muscle structure to sustain an operatic role. The female voice
continues to change and strengthen throughout the twenties and often into the woman's
early thirties” succinctly presented the common argument against the adolescent female
performing a role beyond her respective abilities. Eleven of the comments presented
some kind of qualifier, such as it would depend on the difficulty of the literature, the
maturity of the individual singer, or the quality of the training the singer had received.
roles that utilized belt. Since both belt and opera are strenuous vocal activities, it was of
interest to compare the two questions. For question 65, the responses were much more
even. Slightly over twenty-six percent (26.3%) strongly agreed/agreed with the
statement, 38.9% neither agreed nor disagreed, and 34.8% strongly disagreed/disagreed.
the difficulty of the literature and the ability of the singer. Several of the comments
addressed the idea that belting should only be attempted under qualified supervision or
guidance. The concern for the adolescent female belter was best reflected in this
comment, “I have not yet heard an adolescent girl ‘belt’ (using my definition) and not had
roles using non-belt vocal production. A little over seventy-eight percent (78.5%) of
responses to question 67. Four of the responses were “it depends.” Not one comment
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stated that it would be inappropriate for an adolescent female to sing using non-belt
production. The interesting finding is that many respondents balked at the idea of a
young singer performing a major opera role (question 63), stating that the voice is too
young and not strong enough for such an undertaking. However, there was not one
comment regarding either belting or non-belt musical theater style as being inappropriate
for young singers. This would suggest a lack of understanding regarding the nature of
belt vocal production. Just as it would be inappropriate for an adolescent female to sing a
major opera role, it is inappropriate for an adolescent female to sing a major belt role
2009). Although there are always exceptions, it would be inappropriate for most
adolescent females to attempt to sing a role in any style and expect a mature sound to be
produced. This is not to suggest that musicals are inappropriate for young performers. It
just means vocal teachers need to approach vocal production in an age-appropriate and
healthy manner. While many of the roles of the Golden Age do not require the belt style,
one of the comments stated, “Major musical roles will not be won without using belt.”
This comment might suggest a lack of knowledge regarding the literature. Another
comment suggested that there are some roles that even if performed without belting
These comments are similar to those in response to question 63. The general consensus
seems to be that it depends on the vocal maturity and training of the singer and the
difficulty of the literature. It would then follow that the educator working with the
adolescent singer would need to know the literature, be able to correctly assess the
individual voice, and have the knowledge to train the singer in the use of belt.
Questions 69 and 71 both dealt with the vocal safety of the adolescent female
singer. Question 69 stated, “It is vocally safe for the adolescent female to sing in the bel
agreed/agreed with the statement. Question 71 stated, “It is vocally safe for the
adolescent female to sing in the belt style.” The responses were similar to the responses
for questions 63 (opera roles) and 65 (belt roles) in that the responses to question 71 were
much more equal across the categories; 37.7% strongly agreed/agreed with the statement,
36.5% neither agreed or disagreed, and 25.8% strongly disagreed/disagreed with the
statement. These findings suggest that respondents either are more comfortable with or
have more knowledge of the use of classical voice styles than of belt style. Written
comments such as, “I lack knowledge” and “It depends” express the confusion regarding
the use of belt voice. Again, this idea of its being inappropriate for adolescent females to
sing with a mature bel canto sound, but appropriate for adolescent females to sing with a
mature belt sound if done correctly seems to indicate a lack of understanding regarding
how belt is produced and the abilities and limits of the young singer.
The opinions and knowledge of music educators regarding the use of the belt
belting have a better knowledge of how it works. Opinions regarding the appropriateness
of different vocal styles for the young singer are varied. A few subjects reported negative
school music educators have to prepare them to instruct female adolescents in the correct
production of belt?” Question two requested the number of years the educator had been
teaching (“How many years have you been teaching music in a public or private high
school?”). It was anticipated that the findings would show that those educators with
more years of experience would be less prepared to use belt than those educators with
fewer years of experience. As the use of belt vocal production has become more
mainstream, especially with popular television shows such as Glee, American Idol,
America’s Got Talent, and Pitch Perfect in which the singers all use various styles of
CCM, including belt, it would not have been surprising to find that teachers just entering
the workforce would have more experience or exposure to the style. The findings,
however, showed significant differences only for question 50 (“Belting and classical
styles cannot be sung by the same person”) and that the greatest difference was between
the groups having taught 11-20 years and 20+ years. This finding suggests that music
educators with more that 20 years of teaching experience have a greater understanding of
belt than those with less. An interesting written comment in this section was, “Many
cultures throughout the world belt, and spend their lives belting, without damage to the
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voice.” This comment serves as a reminder that classical singing has functioned under
western European values for hundreds of years and that belt is measured against these
standards. It would be of great interest to examine the beliefs and practices of non-
Question 78 asked “Did you take applied private voice lessons in college?”
Eighty-five percent (85%) responded yes. The following five questions in the survey
were only accessible to the subjects if they answered yes to question 78. Question 80
asked, “If you took applied voice in college, did you study in the classical style, including
opera, art song, songs in foreign languages, etc.?” Of the 142 that responded, 98.6% said
yes, that they had studied in the classical style. As addressed in the literature review,
study in the classical style is the common practice in collegiate programs. However, only
9.2% of the 142 that took applied voice reported having studied in the belt style (question
82) and 0% of the subjects responded yes when asked if they took any undergraduate
classes that specifically trained them to teach belt (question 104). It is therefore of great
interest that 43.7% of those surveyed feel confident in their ability to instruct students in
singing in the belt style (question 42). It would be unlikely that collegiate programs
would hire faculty based on their confidence level rather than specific training in their
area of expertise, yet teachers are often required or requested by a student to teach belt
without any training in that style. However, 18% of subjects reported taking workshops,
classes, attending conferences, etc., and 26% reported reading information that informed
their teaching of belt. These two numbers add up to 44%, which is almost exactly the
same as those who reported feeling confident in their ability to teach belt (43.7%).
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The written comments to question 82 provide further insight into these findings.
There were three particularly compelling responses. The first comment was, “I wasn’t
interested in belting or teaching belt.” However, a vocal music educator will probably be
required to coach belt vocal production by a student at sometime in her/his career. Even
if the educator did not like or agree with belting, there is still a need for understanding of
belt production in order to best serve the needs of students. The second comment was, “I
am a dramatic soprano, so the belt style was not necessary for me to be heard.” This
comment shows a lack of understanding of the purpose of belting. Belting is not about
being heard. It is a vocal style with a specific dramatic intent. The final comment was,
“If I could go back to my undergraduate work, I would definitely request it.” This
comment suggests that the respondent found that once in the classroom, s/he realized a
Question 86 asked, “Did you sing in the jazz style in college, either as a soloist or
in an ensemble?” This question was included as being representative of the CCM vocal
style. Jazz singing is not produced in the same manner as belt, but use of the jazz idiom
may signify a willingness to use vocal production styles other than classical. Slightly
over forty-one percent (41.1%) responded yes. Willingness to utilize vocal production
other than classical was also the reasoning behind question 88, “Did you sing in a gospel
choir in college?” Only 17.7% responded yes. The gospel choir sound is similar to the
musical theater belt sound both in production and auditory quality. There were only four
written comments provided for question 88, but one of the comments describes the
concern when using the belt voice. “My college roommate did sing in gospel choir and
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lost her voice after every concert due to belting.” It would bear study to examine if
gospel choir members receive proper training in the use of belt. Similar questions
regarding the training and knowledge regarding the use of belt could be asked of gospel
singers.
teacher/coach?” Almost 50 % (49.6%) responded yes. This finding was much higher
than expected given the lack of training in belt as discussed above. Question 92 asked,
“If yes, did you study with the musical theater voice teacher/coach?” Of the 66 subjects
that responded yes to question 90, 14 subjects (15.6%) studied with the musical theater
specialist. There were only four written comments, but a few of them provided insight:
One stated that, “Only musical theater majors studied with these coaches—or performed
Most of the voice faculty at my school taught both styles and therefore
music theatre, music therapy and music ed. So I consider that I studied
with a voice teacher who taught musical theater style as well as other
styles.
A third respondent stated: “That person did not happen to be my voice teacher, I had a
different teacher. They did not really specialize in musical theater voice, it was just the
voice teacher who worked with the theater person to do the musical.” These findings
were further supported by the written comments given in response to question 110 (“Did
your college produce musicals?”). Of the six comments given, three stated that the
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Question 94 asked, “As an undergraduate did you take a vocal pedagogy class?”
Slightly over seventy-six percent (76.5%) responded they had taken the class. The next
question in the survey asked, “If yes, was the technique of belting taught in the vocal
pedagogy class?” Of the 127 subjects that responded yes to question 94, only 11.1%
reported that belt was taught in the vocal pedagogy class. These findings further
illuminate the question of where teachers are getting their training in the use of belt voice
when 43.7% of subjects reported feeling confident in their ability to teach belt (question
42).
belting were taught as part of the subject’s vocal pedagogy course. One subject
responded, “I was not taught as a technique to teach—but to be wary of. This was not
just an opinion, but was also studied with the physical limitations of the vocal
mechanism . . .” Another subject responded, “My college voice faculty was completely
against belting.” It would be interesting to know the source of the negative view of
belting.
The next two questions in the survey looked for outside sources of belt training.
Question 98 asked, “Have you attended workshops, master classes, or conferences that
focused on the teaching of belting?” Slightly over twenty percent (20.1%) responded
yes. Question 100 asked, “If yes, did the information you received in those events
significantly inform the way you teach belt?” Of the 33 that responded yes to question
98, 23 responded yes (65.7%) to question 100. In the comments, several subjects named
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specific industry specialists such as Tim Shrew and Sunny Wilkinson as the source from
Question 102 (“Have you read articles, books, essays, etc. that you feel
significantly informed your teaching of musical theater belt?”) continued that line of
questioning. Only 28% of subjects responded that readings had informed their teaching
of belt. Question 104 asked if the subjects had taken any courses that specifically trained
them to belt and 0% responded yes. One subject responded, “This is (or was) an area
lacking in training, which is why I sought out help when facing it within a musical.” In
the follow-up question (question 106) the subjects were asked, “Did you receive any
content regarding the use of belt in any course you took as an undergraduate?” This
would include voice lessons, vocal pedagogy classes, master classes, etc. Only 15.2%
responded that they had received content on belting in any part of their undergraduate
training. Two of the written responses might provide insight as to why content wasn’t
offered. The first comment was, “Would not be appropriate.” The subject did not
elaborate as to why it would not be appropriate. The second comment identified a major
obstacle regarding the teaching of belt technique: “If it was ever mentioned, faculty were
against.” It would follow that if faculty of undergraduate courses felt that belting was
unhealthy or dangerous, they would not allow their student to engage in it. It would be
worth investigating the source of the negative opinion of belt held by the faculty and to
identify if it comes from training, personal use of or bad experiences with belt, or
personal belief or personal dislike of the belt sound that drives that opinion.
One of the surprising findings was the number of written comments given in
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response to question 35 (“If your high school does a musical, does your school use sound
reinforcement for the singers?”) and question 37 (“If yes, does each singer have an
ascertain if high schools were using this safety measure. There were a total of 56 written
comments between the two questions. However, there were a few specific comments that
stood out. While most of the responses were variations of “only soloists get mics,” the
volume of responses indicated that this was an issue of concern for the respondents.
What was surprising was the frustration that was expressed regarding missing or broken
equipment and the lack of personnel who knew how to correctly use the equipment. “No
to run the stage/sound but does not fund that position correctly and so the equipment gets
stolen, abused, wired incorrectly, etc.” Another comment talked about having to rent
expensive equipment in order to mount the musical. If a high school thinks the expense
of producing a musical provides a valid educational experience, then all efforts should be
made to provide the appropriate tools to support the musical, including funding a working
sound system to provide for the vocal needs and health of young singers. In an attempt to
sing over an orchestra or band, the fragile adolescent voice can quickly develop vocal
personal experience or education, to train young singers in the use of belt. Only 9.2% of
subjects had personal experience in the belt style. Not one subject reported having taken
any course on belting as part of the undergraduate experience and only 11.1% reported
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having received content on belting in any course. The use of outside sources to inform
belting practices was very limited and required the subjects to specifically seek it out.
Information was presented that suggested that training in musical theater singing was
happening in the theater departments and not the music departments. There were also
frustration in both the lack of availability and quality of sound reinforcement at the high
school level.
The final question of the survey (114) allowed for open-ended written response by
providing respondents with the opportunity to share final thoughts or comments. Of the
23 comments, nine of them expressed a desire to know more about the topic of belting or
frustration that belting was not addressed as part of the subject’s undergraduate program.
One subject responded this way: “Much more needs to be done in this area in music
education as many music teachers employ this style incorrectly in musical theater as well
as show choir at the high school and junior high school level.” Another subject
responded, “Most college vocal professors view belting as singing incorrectly and
therefore do not instruct or encourage their students to pursue this style of singing. This
puts us, high school educators in a very difficult situation when we have to direct a
musical that is full of belting.” It is for these exact reasons, expressed by the subjects
themselves, that the use of belt needs to be included as part of vocal music educators’
This study was successful in that it revealed many avenues for further research on
this topic. One of the major areas to examine would be what influences the way
educators feel about or understand belt if other than the options presented in this survey.
misinformation on belting, simply being asked the questions can trigger the bias. The
response to a question can demonstrate responder bias for the same reason. One way to
ascertain the origin of opinions regarding the use of belt would be to ask the question and
then ask the subject to identify if their answer was based on opinion or knowledge.
vocal music educators in other states or theater/musical theater educators. The same
topics could be examined, such as whether theater educators have any vocal training as
vocal styles are being hired into high school theater departments. At the time of
publication, there are only two musical theater graduate programs (Pennsylvania State
Main and Shenandoah University) in the United States specifically offering degrees on
training teachers to teach belt and musical theater styles. However, these teachers are
going into collegiate programs to teach voice to musical theater students, not into music
performers graduating from programs that focus on CCM or belt production. High
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school students who have the opportunity to work with music educators who know how
to properly teach belt might be more successful at getting into collegiate vocal programs
or building professional careers. There have not been any studies that have looked at the
examination of depth and breadth of belt training could provide valuable information
Another way of looking at the same topic of training at the collegiate level would
be to look at the professors in the undergraduate programs that are training high school
music educators. It would be enlightening to mine the beliefs and knowledge of the
professors training the teachers. As suggested by some of the written comments, some
collegiate vocal teachers refuse to teach or let their students use belt. It would be
interesting to identify whether the source of this unwillingness to use belt comes from a
lack of knowledge or because of a personal bias against the style. And if the bias exists,
This study focused on the use of belt by the adolescent female. That choice was
made in part according to available research on the topic. There is little in the literature
regarding the use of belt by males. Indeed, there is disagreement as to whether men belt
is unclear if the issues that are present for adolescent females are the same in adolescent
males. Any study into the use of belt by males would indeed be exploratory and an entire
During the completion of the current study, two new vocal technique books
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focusing on belting were released: the first was written by Karen Hall with contributions
by Scott McCoy and Wendy LeBorgne. So You Want to Sing Musical Theater: A Guide
for Professionals (May, 2014) takes an overview look at music theater, the vocal styles
used, and contains some instruction for musical theater vocal production. The second
publication is titled The Vocal Athlete (July, 2014) and was written by Marci Rosenberg
and Wendy LeBorgne. This book was written for educators and specifically addresses
the use of CCM, including a CD containing examples and exercises. It also has an
belt voice is long overdue and it will be interesting to see if that book will help bring the
vocal community together in terms of finally defining what belt is and how it can be
taught.
Conclusions
This exploratory study was designed to assess what high school music educators
believe and know about teaching belt to the adolescent female. There were no other
studies found in the literature that specifically addressed this issue. As an exploratory
study, it was unclear as to what to expect regarding the findings. While the study did not
Of specific concern to this study is the apparent lack of training in preparing the
music educator to deal with the vocal requirements of a musical. With musicals being
produced at the high school level at such a high rate (86.4% of high schools produce a
musical at least once a year), it is imperative that music educators are given the necessary
training to be able to correctly teach and guide young singers in the use of belt. Out of
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176 subjects, 0% reported taking any classes as an undergraduate on belt and only 11.1%
received content of any kind regarding belt, which included both negative and positive
information. Of the 85% of subjects that studied applied voice in college, 98.6% of them
gospel, and only 11.1% of those who studied voice received training in the use of belt.
regarding the use of belt. When asked about their confidence level regarding teaching
belt, 43.7% of subjects felt secure in their ability to teach belt. This was an interesting
finding considering only 11.1% of subjects reported receiving content on belting. This
finding highlights the need to determine where subjects received the information that
shaped their opinions and knowledge regarding belt if not in an academic setting. It
regarding belt and what was opinion and specifically how those opinions were formed.
The written comments provided the insight that many of the subjects seemed to
understand that the use of the voice by the adolescent female depends on several factors,
such as the maturity of the individual voice and the training of the individual singer.
However, this study did not examine the parameters that would define how or when a
Collegiate programs that train music educators need to add content regarding belt
to their curricular requirements. Even if there were no room in the curriculum to devote
and well-constructed training would be better than none. Several written comments
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identified the theater department as being responsible for the musical and the training of
musical theater singers. It would be interesting to administer this same survey to that
population and compare the depth of training with the findings of this study. While the
written comments provided much insight to all the questions of the survey, the one
comment that appeared over and over again was a request for more training. Many
subjects were aware of their personal lack of knowledge regarding the use of belt, and the
written comments suggested that subjects understood that there were variables that
needed to be considered regarding the use and training of belt in the adolescent female
singer. Those comments in general are best summarized by this statement given by a
In college, vocal music ed. majors were taught that belting was singing
We were never instructed in how to sing, let alone teach the Broadway-
style or even belting. Most college vocal professors view belting as singing
pursue this style of singing. This puts us, high school educators in a very
It is imperative that music educators who work with that population are given the
necessary training and education needed to successfully train and protect young voices.
training regarding the use of belt must be included in academic standards as well as
aware of the need for appropriate amplification and good quality equipment as a way to
protect young voices. The financial commitment needs to be made by high schools to
APPENDIX A
APPENDIX A
If you wish to receive a copy of the study results, they will be available
approximately August 2014. If you have any questions about this study or wish to
receive results, you may contact me at nawolfgang@ysu.edu.
There are no anticipated risks beyond those encountered in everyday life. All
information will be kept confidential within the limits of the law. Any identifying
information will be kept in a secure location and only the researcher will have access to
the data. Participant responses and e-mail addresses will remain confidential in any
publication or presentation of research results. Your research information may, in certain
circumstances, be disclosed to the Institutional Review Board (IRB), which oversees
research at Kent State University, or to certain federal agencies. Confidentiality may not
be maintained if you indicate that you may do harm to yourself or others.
Due to federal laws governing protection of human research subjects, you cannot
be required to take part in this study; rather, you are being given the opportunity to
participate voluntarily. You may choose not to participate or you may discontinue your
167
participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise
entitled.
If you have any questions about this research, you may contact Nancy Andersen
Wolfgang at nawolfgang@ysu.edu. This project has been approved by the Kent State
University Institutional Review Board. If you have any questions about your rights as a
research participant or complaints about the research, you may call the IRB at
330.672.2704.
The survey is designed so that you have to answer each question before the survey
will let you move to the next question. Once you have begun your survey, if you do not
complete all answers within a week, your previously entered answers will be deleted and
you will have to begin again.
If you are 18 years of age or older, understand the statements above, and freely
consent to participate in the study, click on the “I Agree” button to receive access to the
survey.
Your assistance in completing and returning the survey would be greatly appreciated.
o I agree
o I do not wish to participate
168
APPENDIX B
APPENDIX B
This appendix presents the questions in a narrative format, and is not presented here in
the online format. The Survey in its online format can be accessed at
kent.Qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_23HKimTgo60442v
Directions: Please answer each question. If you are undecided on an answer, please
make a choice that is closest to what you think. It should take no longer than 10 minutes
to complete the survey.
For the purposes of this survey, the term “musical theater belt” or “belt” is used in its
broadest sense to mean the Broadway sound or production of a sound that is not classical
or bel canto in nature.
Section One
2. How many years have you been teaching music in a public or private high school?
o 1-5 years
o 6-10 years
o 11-15 years
o 16-20 years
o 21-25 years
o 26-30 years
o 30+ years
6. Are you:
o Female
o Male
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25. Are you or have you ever been involved in your high school musical in any capacity?
o Yes
o No
27. Are you or have you ever been responsible for selecting the musical for your high
school?
o Yes
o No
29. Do you provide vocal musical direction for your high school musical?
o Yes
o No
31. Have you served as the stage director for your high school musical?
o Yes
172
o No
33. Have you ever conducted the pit orchestra for your high school musical?
o Yes
o No
35. If your high school does a musical, does your school use sound reinforcement for the
singers?
o Yes
o No
Section Two
39. In the next section, you will be asked questions regarding how the use of belt is
perceived and produced.
50. Belting and classical styles cannot be sung by the same person.
o Strongly Disagree
o Disagree
o Neither Agree nor Disagree
o Agree
o Strongly Agree
52. Belting is created in part by pushing the sound into a nasal placement.
o Strongly Disagree
174
o Disagree
o Neither Agree nor Disagree
o Agree
o Strongly Agree
56. Belt is a classification of the female voice just like mezzo or soprano.
o Strongly Disagree
o Disagree
o Neither Agree nor Disagree
o Agree
o Strongly Agree
60. Belt produces more tension in the muscles in the throat than classical singing.
o Strongly Disagree
o Disagree
o Neither Agree nor Disagree
o Agree
o Strongly Agree
62. This sub-section will focus specifically on belting and the female adolescent singer.
175
63. It is vocally appropriate for adolescent female singers to perform major opera roles.
o Strongly Disagree
o Disagree
o Neither Agree nor Disagree
o Agree
o Strongly Agree
65. It is vocally appropriate for adolescent female singers to perform major musical
theater roles utilizing belt vocal production.
o Strongly Disagree
o Disagree
o Neither Agree nor Disagree
o Agree
o Strongly Agree
67. It is vocally appropriate for adolescent female singers to perform major musical
theater roles utilizing non-belt vocal production.
o Strongly Disagree
o Disagree
o Neither Agree nor Disagree
o Agree
o Strongly Agree
69. It is vocally safe for the adolescent female to sing in the bel canto style.
o Strongly Disagree
o Disagree
o Neither Agree nor Disagree
o Agree
o Strongly Agree
71. It is vocally safe for the adolescent female to sing in the belt style.
o Strongly Disagree
o Disagree
o Neither Agree nor Disagree
o Agree
o Strongly Agree
Section Three
73. The final section will collect demographic information regarding your undergraduate
experience.
80. If you took applied voice in college, did you study in the classical style, including
opera, art song, songs in foreign languages, etc.?
o Yes
o No
82. If you took applied voice in college, did you study in the belt style?
o Yes
o No
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84. If you took applied voice in college, did you study in the musical theater legit style?
o Yes
o No
86. Did you sing in the jazz style in college, either as a soloist or in an ensemble?
o Yes
o No
92. If yes, did you study with the musical theater voice teacher/coach?
o Yes
o No
96. If yes, was the technique of belting taught in the vocal pedagogy class?
o Yes
o No
98. Have you attended workshops, master classes, or conferences that focused on the
teaching of belting?
o Yes
o No
100. If yes, did the information you received in those events significantly inform the way
you teach belt?
o Yes
o No
102. Have you read articles, books, essays, etc., that you feel significantly informed your
teaching of musical theater belt?
o Yes
o No
104. Did you take any undergraduate classes that specifically trained you to teach belt?
o Yes
o No
106. Did you receive any content regarding the use of belt in any course you took as an
undergraduate?
o Yes
o No
108. If you have a music education degree, were you required to take any courses in
acting or theater?
o Yes
o No
o Don’t have that degree
o Yes
o No
114. If you have any thoughts or comments to share, please write them here.
APPENDIX C
IRB APPROVAL
181
APPENDIX C
RE: Protocol #13-359 - entitled “Training and Preparation of the High School Music
Educator in Teaching Musical Theater Belt to Adolescents”
The Kent State University Institutional Review Board has reviewed and approved your
Application for Approval to Use Human Research Participants as Level I/Exempt from
Annual review research. Your research project involves minimal risk to human subjects and
meets the criteria for the following category of exemption under federal regulations:
Please contact an IRB discipline specific reviewer or the Office of Research Compliance to
discuss the changes and whether a new application must be
submitted. http://www.kent.edu/research/researchsafetyandcompliance/irb/index.cfm
Kent State University has a Federal Wide Assurance on file with the Office for Human
Research Protections (OHRP); FWA Number 00001853.
Respectfully,
Kent State University Office of Research Compliance
224 Cartwright Hall | fax 330.672.2658
For links to obtain general information, access forms, and complete required training,
visit our website at www.kent.edu/research.
182
APPENDIX D
APPENDIX D
Dear Participant,
survey regarding your training in and the use of the vocal style known as belt when
utilized in your high school ensembles and performances. Your willingness to share your
knowledge and opinions is very important to the outcome of this project. The survey will
take approximately 5-15 minutes of your time. We would appreciate your completion of
the survey by ___________. The survey is attached. If you have any questions or
Sincerely,
APPENDIX E
APPENDIX E
45. Even if produced in a healthy manner, belting causes vocal nodules in adolescent
female singers. (New question: Belting causes damage to the vocal mechanism.)
51. Even when done correctly, belting causes hoarseness and weak laryngeal muscles.
53. Belting and classical styles cannot be sung by the same person.
55. Belting is created in part by pushing the sound into a nasal placement.
57. It is vocally appropriate for adolescent female singers to perform major opera roles.
59. It is vocally appropriate for adolescent female singers to perform major musical
theater roles utilizing belt production.
61. It is vocally appropriate for adolescent female singers to perform major musical
theater roles utilizing non-belt musical theater production.
63. If an adolescent female singer has physically completed the voice change, there is no
danger to the singing mechanism when correctly singing in the bel canto style. (New
question: It is vocally safe for the adolescent female to sing in the bel canto style).
65. If an adolescent female singer has physically complete the voice change, there is no
danger to the singing mechanism if correctly singing in the belt style.
69. Belt is a classification of the female voice just like mezzo or soprano.
73. Belt produces more tension in the throat than classical singing does.
75. It is vocally safe for the adolescent female singer to sing with a belt.
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APPENDIX F
APPENDIX F
Question Description
Number
1 Introductory Letter; Subject agreed to participate or declined to participate
2 Instructions for Section One; Question
3 Option for open-ended comment
4 Question
5 Option for open-ended comment
6 Question (Note: no comment option given)
7 Question
8 Option for open-ended comment
9 Question
10 Option for open-ended comment
11 Question
12 Option for open-ended comment
13 Question
14 Option for open-ended comment
15 Question
16 Option for open-ended comment
17 Question
18 Option for open-ended comment
19 Question
20 Option for open-ended comment
21 Question
22 Option for open-ended comment
23 Question If no, skip to question 40.
24 Option for open-ended comment
25 Question If no, skip to question 40.
26 Option for open-ended comment
27 Question
28 Option for open-ended comment
29 Question
30 Option for open-ended comment
31 Question
32 Option for open-ended comment
33 Question
34 Option for open-ended comment
35 Question
36 Option for open-ended comment
189
37 Question
38 Option for open-ended comment
39 Instructions for Section Two
40 Question
41 Option for open-ended comment
42 Question
43 Option for open-ended comment
44 Question
45 Option for open-ended comment
46 Question
47 Option for open-ended comment
48 Question
49 Option for open-ended comment
50 Question
51 Option for open-ended comment
52 Question
53 Option for open-ended comment
54 Question
55 Option for open-ended comment
56 Question
57 Option for open-ended comment
58 Question
59 Option for open-ended comment
60 Question
61 Option for open-ended comment
62 Instructions for sub-section
63 Question
64 Option for open-ended comment
65 Question
66 Option for open-ended comment
67 Question
68 Option for open-ended comment
69 Question
70 Option for open-ended comment
71 Question
72 Option for open-ended comment
73 Instructions for Section Three
74 Question
75 Option for open-ended comment
76 Question
77 Option for open-ended comment
78 Question If no, skip to question 94.
190
APPENDIX G
APPENDIX G
Question 2: How many years have you been teaching music in a public or private high
school?
o 1-5 years
o 6-10 years
o 11-15 years
o 16-20 years
o 21-25 years
o 26-30 years
o 30+ years
• 7 years
• Twenty years in public schools, twelve years in a private school.
• Part time
• Middle school not high school
• Although I pull up gospel songs to use in choir and for OMEA Solo contest.
• Not specifically, however I use the style of music.
• Gospel music is part of our literature rotation, but there is not a choir dedicated to
it.
• We have done a couple of gospel songs in the past.
• As above, I include gospel/spirituals in my classroom repertoire
• Again, we do random gospel selections with all grade levels.
Question 15: Do you consider vocal music your major area of teaching?
Question 17: Do you consider instrumental music your major area of teaching?
Question 19: Do you consider general music your major area of teaching?
Question 21: Do you teach voice lessons in a private or high school setting?
Question 25: Are you or have you ever been involved in your high school musical in any
capacity?
Question 27: Are you or have you ever been responsible for selecting the musical for
your high school?
Question 29: Do you provide vocal musical direction for your high school musical?
200
Question 31: Have you served as the stage director for your high school musical?
Question 33: Have you ever conducted the pit orchestra for your high school musical?
Question 35: If your high school does a musical, does your school use sound
reinforcement for the singers?
Question 37: If yes, does each singer have an individual dedicated microphone?
APPENDIX H
APPENDIX H
Question 42: I am confident in my ability to instruct students in singing in the belt style.
Question 46: Belting is more strenuous on the voice than classical singing.
Category One:
• If done improperly
• Not if done correctly
• It can be if done improperly.
• When done properly it should not be more strenuous, but improper belting is more
strenuous.
• It depends on your training
• Classical singing - Operatic singing -without proper warm up can also be
damaging. However, vocal pedagogy is stressed in classical singing - where the
belt is often pushed by directors who want louder, but not better.
• If you are belting correctly, it should be equal weight on the voice as classical
singing
• It can be if not done properly
• Everything is relative to point of development and amount of training.
• More likely to be. Easy to do it in a strenuous way.
• It can cause damage unless done properly.
207
Question 50: Belting and classical styles cannot be sung by the same person.
Question 52: Belting is created in part by pushing the sound into a nasal placement.
• But mainly forcing the chest voice to sing higher than it should
• I teach students to have a twangy placement, but I personally would not describe
it as nasal.
• I am not sure about belting and nasal position.
• Pushing yes
• I flip into a belt generally when I’m going from piano to forte. I suppose it
depends on the technique and practice
• I lack knowledge
• If you are referring to a head voice
• I really do not know
• This is an uneducated or ignorant point of view. Being versatile in many styles is
the sign of a talented and trained performer.
• You might get a more adequate answers from voice professors regarding this
question since they may define the process of belting differently due to the use of
different methodologies.
• The more modern “broadway belt” is VERY nasal!
Question 56: Belt is a classification of the female voice just like mezzo or soprano
Question 60: Belt produces more tension in the muscles in the throat than classical
singing.
Category One
• While it often causes more because done incorrectly, a well-trained belter can
sing open-throated
• It should not if done properly
• If taught correctly, it will not cause more tension
• Unless it’s done incorrectly!
• Has the potential to, but if taught correctly, can be done healthfully.
• It can.
• Every style of singing can be done in a healthy way, and can also be done in an
unhealthy way. As long as the vocal folds and false vocal folds are retracted, the
singing is healthy.
• Not when done correctly
• For most singers
• This is based on the individual.
• I don't know where a adolescent female would sing an opera role. Arias I think
are good learning tools
212
• I would say belting USUALLY causes more tension, but an untrained singer can
have tension singing any repetiore
• There may be more tension in the supporting muscular systems... strap muscles,
etc... but not necessarily the throat (certainly not the nasopharynx)
• I lack knowledge
• Only if done incorrectly
• Depends on if it is being done correctly
• Again, when done correctly, it does not create tension. Incorrectly, it does.
• There should not be any tension in the throat.
• I would say no if properly taught
• I teach all of my students to belt, it only depends on the style of the song as to
whether it is appropriate.
• Again, healthy and proper training should enable a singer to produce the desired
sound in a healthy way.
• I believe incorrect classical singing can cause just as much tension if not more in
some cases.
• Just as much
Question 63: It is vocally appropriate for an adolescent female singer to perform major
opera roles.
• Exposure to choruses that may contain solo passages is important literature for
adolescent voices.
• Usually not. Depends on the singer and the type of role though.
• Generally disagree, but individual singers can have more maturity than others.
• This is based on the individual.
• Some voices can handle light opera. I have taught many that could. We have also
produced The Light In The Piazza.
• They may be able to dabble in some rep From major opera roles...
• Depends on the kid
• I have never encountered an adolescent who could even approach that concept or
ability
• It takes time for the voice to mature, but I don't know why it would be
inappropriate to perform opera roles.
• The ability to sustain will be limited but proper bel canto placement is always
proper.
• It depends a GREAT DEAL on their training.
• When given proper instruction this can be possible within reason.
• Depends on demands of the role and vocal ability.
• It depends on what you mean by "adolescent." An older high school female singer
WITH APPROPRIATE TRAINING could, conceivably, perform a major opera
role.
• It usually depends on the voice thought.
• Only if it is a junior version with modified parts.
• it depends on the maturity of the student and of the voice and of the comfortable
range of the voice
• If their voice is mature enough to handle it, then yes.
• Any style of singing creates tension in the throat if not performed correctly.
• Depends on the individual
• you may want to be more specific than "adolescent". I have had some
junior/senior women capable of an operatic major role but I still would not tax the
voice that way.
• Depends on the role
• With care in instruction
Question 65: It is vocally appropriate for adolescent female singers to perform major
musical theater role utilizing belt vocal production.
• One of my students is being taught this in a local musical theater and regularly
has laryngitis.
• If taught how to do correctly
• I would hope that every HS vocal director would work with his/her singers to
teach appropriate technique
• Not unless they have a coach who knows what they are doing.
• If taught how to safely belt, yes, it is okay. But often belt roles are throaty and
pushed, which can cause vocal nodules like in cheerleading
• However, it depends on the singer and their ability :)
• Depends on the musical
• Depends on the individual
• Depending on the individual singer and the role, yes.
• Depends on the individual
• I have not yet heard an adolescent girl "belt" (using my definition) and not had the
urge to cringe.
• I have some students who can handle it, but very few over the years
• Doing so healthfully is key.
• Depends on their training and dedication
• That would depend on the role and the capability of the performer
• we do it but I don't think it's good for them
• This is based on the individual
• Most do not have the range or stamina to do this
• depends on the role. If the performance practice is to belt it should be belted
• Under careful supervision
• With guidance
• This all depends on the individual development of the singer. Some may have it
earlier than others. also, belt is not always the best stylistic choice...
• It depends on the kid
• It depends on the person
• I lack knowledge
• I would agree if she had been properly taught how to produce it
• It depends on their training
• When given proper instruction this can be possible within reason.
• Depends on demands of the role and vocal ability.
• It depends on what you mean by "adolescent." An older high school female singer
WITH APPROPRIATE TRAINING could, conceivably, perform a major
(musical theater) role.
• Depends on the student and their maturity
• I believe belting can be ok in moderation
• I do not teach opera, so I am not an expert. I would think that it is not a good idea,
though, because a woman's voice doesn't fully develop until her 20's. However,
there are a lot of talented performers out there that may have the skill required to
215
Question 67: It is vocally appropriate for adolescent female singers to perform major
musical theater roles utilizing non-belt vocal production.
Question 69: It is vocally safe for the adolescent female to sing in the bel canto style.
216
Question 71: It is vocally safe for the adolescent female to sing in the belt style.
217
APPENDIX I
APPENDIX I
Question 78: Did you take applied private voice lessons in college?
Question 80: If you took applied voice in college, did you study in the classical style,
including opera, art song, songs in foreign languages, etc.?
Question 82: If you took applied voice in college, did you study in the belt style?
Question 84: If you took applied voice in college, did you study in the musical theater
legit style?
Question 86: Did you sing in the jazz style in college, either as a soloist or in an
ensemble?
Question 90: Did your university have a musical theater voice teacher/coach?
No written responses.
Question 92: If yes, did you study with the musical theater voice teacher/coach?
No written responses.
Question 96: If yes, was the technique of belting taught in the vocal pedagogy class?
Question 98: Have you attended workshops, master classes, or conferences that focused
on the teaching of belt?
Question 100: If yes, did the information you received in those events significantly
inform the way you teach belt?
Question 102: Have you read articles, books, essays, etc., that you feel significantly
informed you teaching of musical theater belt?
Question 104: Did you take any undergraduate classes that specifically trained you to
teach belt?
225
Question 106: Did you receive any content regarding the use of belt in any course you
took as an undergraduate?
Question 108: If you have a music education degree, were you required to take any
courses in acting or theater?
Question 112: If yes, did you participate as a vocal performer in the musical?
Question 114: If you have any thoughts or comments to share, please write them here.
No categories given.
• Please educate all of us with more detail on this nebulous subject. Thanks. Good
luck.
• Belt has a place in musical theater.
• I have worked as the musical director as well as the rehearsal pianist under several
talented musical directors where I have learned most of what I know about
singing in musical theater. Much more needs to be done in this area in music
education as many music teachers employ this style incorrectly in musical theater
as well as show choirs at the high school and junior high school level.
• I auditioned for Sweet Charity and was placed in the chorus, but dropped out due
to course load. I never auditioned for another show.
• Wow- I never realized just how little I know about the technique of belting. I
would like to know more! I guess I don't know how to teach it or even if I should
teach it!
• As a vocal teacher, I can see and hear when students are belting incorrectly. A
good belt sound is pushed from the abdomen, not the throat. Also, I focus upon
where the "break" is in the belt voice and do not push students too high in the belt
range.
• If a student does not have the basic fundamentals of proper singing, I feel that the
belt style will hinder their growth as well as hurt their vocal cords. I have taught
students that have complete control of the diaphragm breathing and working on
health and safe belting was appropriate during the musical season.
• I wish belt was properly taught in all college music programs and that high school
and younger students were taught the cause and effects of using the belt voice at
their age, and as they mature. Too many young singers are being taught that
belting is ether horrible and you should never do it, or they are taught to do it
improperly (screaming).
• I am interested in the results and direction your study will take.
• I think this is a very important topic! So many adolescent females are unaware of
proper vocal production - both belting and bel canto style - because of so much
pop-culture influence. It is very obvious which voices are trained and untrained.
When I work with our vocalists for the musical each year, I strongly encourage
"mixing" voices instead of a full out belt. With either mixing, or full out belt, I
strive to bring the student to a forward, high placement with plenty of support and
as little tension as possible. I find that helping them get rid of tongue and jaw
tension is the best start to finding a more relaxed and free sound.
• Good Luck! I got my PhD from Kent in 92. And thanks for letting my daughter
Elise shadow you a couple years ago- Chuck Szabo
228
• In college, vocal music ed. majors were taught that belting was singing incorrectly
and we were not permitted to be part of any theater productions. We were never
instructed in how to sing, let alone teach the Broadway-style or even belting.
Most college vocal professors view belting as singing incorrectly and therefore do
not instruct or encourage their students to pursue this style of singing. This puts
us, high school educators in a very difficult situation when we have to direct a
musical that is full of belting.
• Your line of questioning is quite specific. Your survey was designed in such a
way to demonstrate the apparent lack of understanding of the "belt style" by the
people surveyed. Due to the fact that your survey is so narrow in scope, I believe
your findings will bear out the assertions you have likely made in your research
questions. I think there is a misconception in the terminology that you are using.
I'm not sure that your results will reflect people's apparent lack of use of the "belt
style" or their confusion over the terminology. Make sure you are able to clearly
delineate between these two critical distinctions.
• I love to belt! and I love to sing without belting! I have no qualms about teaching
my students to belt. Just like any style of singing proper breathing needs to be
taught.
• You should contact Karen Wicklund about teaching belting techniques
• I would be interested learning more about the "belt" style voice. I would be
interested in attending workshops about musical productions.
• It is safe to say that I am well trained as a vocal performer, but I have much to
learn about being a vocal teacher at the adolescent level.
• In junior college I coached singers for one production.
• Although I am happy to help by taking this survey it was WAY too long. Please
consider shortening any future surveys.
• If I had a student that sang primarily through belting I would try to retrain them
and have them strengthen the head voice rather than bring the chest voice up.
There have been a few times where I have encouraged toward a belt style, but
never enough to where I thought the student was hurting her instrument.
• I have taken Vocal Pedagogy classes in my graduate work. All of my higher
education has grossly neglected and/or taught me that belting is detrimental to the
voice. I would love to know more and I look forward to reading your results.
• There are simply roles you must belt. If they can do it my feeling has always
been to let them - but saving it until just before showtimes.
• I am interested in learning more on this subject.
• Good luck with your project!
229
APPENDIX J
APPENDIX J
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