Establishing a Jazz Voice Curriculum

As the jazz voice major represents a relatively new program of comprehensive singing study in higher education it most often absorbs the course requirements of other related majors with which it is grouped. Does it belong in the jazz major with “voice” as the primary instrument, aligning with the curriculum and graduation criteria that are the same as those of instrumental jazz majors? Or should it align more with the department of voice, although it represents a non-classical genre? Or perhaps it fits best in a generalized commercial music major alongside rock, folk, gospel, metal, hip-hop, R&B, alternative, and popular styles?

Since there are many ways today’s institutions of higher learning have structured programs for jazz singers, this discussion is important for advancing this program of study while meeting the genuine needs of enrolled students. This course will reach across a multitude of program requirements in three academic contexts: grouping jazz singers with jazz instrumental majors; grouping jazz singers with voice majors; and grouping jazz singers with commercial music majors. The merits and challenges of each context will be examined and core curricular work integral to the jazz singer (regardless of academic context), as well as electives, will be recommended. These considerations yield important ramifications and a wide spectrum of variation depending on whether the student is instructed at an institution that views and categorizes jazz voice as an extension of the jazz program, the voice program, or the commercial music program. This course seeks to unify the core curricular requirements for jazz voice majors across all three academic contexts in order to better meet their needs.

Dr. Tish Oney tackles this topic with the authority of one who has pioneered the way for student jazz singers while teaching in jazz departments, classical voice departments, and commercial music departments. Dr. Oney presents a curriculum model that is adaptable to many structures of organization of the jazz voice major within schools of music, conservatories, classical voice departments, commercial voice departments, jazz departments, liberal arts programs having a jazz voice concentration, and the like. She provides practical guidance for structuring (or restructuring) the curricular requirements for the jazz voice major in order to address the practical and academic needs of every working jazz singer.

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