Pop Pedagogy
Monday 17th February 2025, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
As the ‘newest’ of the singing styles to be taught in music institutions and private studios, the pedagogy for teaching popular singing is still in its early stages relative to other styles of singing, particularly classical singing. However, pop pedagogy has been developing steadily since the year 2000 when the author was part of the team that developed and delivered one of the very first degrees in Popular Music in the UK. Since then, pop music courses have proliferated worldwide.
We also live in a time when some successful pop stars are celebrating career lengths of over sixty years, having been around since the 1950s when pop music emerged and diversified from jazz, so pop singing has been in existence sufficiently long now that, for teaching purposes, we can observe and analyse what type of approach serves it best, in and of itself.
Whilst contemporary singing certainly shares many areas with other styles of singing, the specifics are distinctive and “non-generic”, thereby requiring a certain level of specialised knowledge, training, experience, and competence to perform it authentically. This course will deliver an overview of the requirements for teaching contemporary singers, presented under three main headings: Technique, Musicianship and Interpretation.
To further fill out the content for each category, the author has reverse engineered what pop singers need to be able to do and know about to be effective in the music industry, so it’s based on observations from her many years of high-level performing, teaching experience and post-graduate studies. These findings have been published in book form and summarised as a curriculum poster.
Kim Chandler
Kim Chandler (MMus BMusEd) is a renowned contemporary vocal coach & session singer. She runs a busy private studio in Marbella, Spain, where she coaches an elite clientele of stadium band singers, including BRIT award winners & GRAMMY nominees, artists from a range of genres, professional singers and vocal coaches online.
Attend this course for as little as £22 as part of the Voice Professional Training CPD Award Scheme.
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Monday 6th July 2026
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Friday 10th July 2026
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Considering our MA Voice Pedagogy? Join our Director for a focused online presentation and discussion to explore the course, ask questions, and discover whether postgraduate study at Voice Study Centre is right for you.
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Dr David Cane
Reading music at sight is an invaluable asset for singers and singing teachers of all genres. Whether you want to ace auditions, learn repertoire faster, or expand your versatility as an educator, this short course hosted by Dr David Cane offers practical, evidence-based strategies to build your skills and broader musicianship. No formal prerequisites are required, though a basic familiarity with standard music notation is beneficial.