BVA Training Day – Saturday 26 July 2025

The Multi-Genre Singing Teacher: What tools do we need?

Dr Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher, Lucinda Allen, Jo Walling

Mountview Theatre School, London SE15 5JT

Opportunities to watch Dr Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher at work are always worth taking. Fisher and Kayes are renowned in the UK and international voice scene as teachers, coaches, teacher trainers, authors and podcasters. Together, they are Vocal Process, a partnership that has trained and mentored teachers for more than 20 years, offering courses which blend science and practice (Gillyanne is also an academic researcher).

Both Gillyanne and Jeremy started their professional training as classical musicians and have expanded into CCM (contemporary, commercial music) and musical theatre (MT); a multi-genre perspective is central to their thinking. A core principle of VP’s approach is the importance of genre in teaching or coaching voice. Whilst a good deal of technique is universal, many technical functions arise from the specific aesthetic expectations of the musical genre. The days when classical or lyric singing was the default in teaching are gone. Even if a teacher’s practice keeps them in one stylistic area, it’s indefensible to lack awareness of the broader landscape. The reality for a large proportion of teachers is a mix of musical interests across their client group. Professional singers need to be much more versatile than single-focus training can prepare them to be.

Jeremy introduced the day with a practical demonstration of the importance of context to our understanding of, well, pretty much everything. The components of musical notation exemplified this: note heads without a stave are just dots and bubbles. Then, to illustrate how limiting it can be to think in genre-silos, contrasting recordings of Amazing Grace were played: LeAnn Rimes and Jessye Norman sing the song so differently to one another, but each with depth of expression and authenticity. Interestingly, Norman’s performance shows more gospel influence than in her usual repertoire. Connecting the singer to the music was a key objective of the day, learning to listen and to “map those dots onto the singer”.

Further considerations were set out:

• We shouldn’t underestimate the significance of taste as a filter to what we hear.
• Most songs aren’t written specifically for the artist who performs them. One exception to this is singer-songwriters, who will often write songs at the edges of their own vocal limits.
• The importance of both mic and studio editing to the final output is huge. Teachers are often confronted by a student who wants to replicate a performance that never existed live in the form heard on the track.
• In CCM, the idea of the ‘correct’ version is redundant.
• Technical characteristics and artistic priorities differ across genres. Knowing what to foreground and which ‘rules’ can be bent are critical for teaching or performing more than one style.
• The freedom assumed by a CCM artist contrasts with that of the classical performer for whom many decisions are made by the score. That, of course, doesn’t preclude individual artistry. As a recording of (BVA Patron) Dame Sarah Connolly singing Ivor Gurney’s Sleep showed, an interpretation is much more than a rendition of notes, words and performance directions chosen by other people.

Gillyanne and Jeremy are generous and enthusiastic collaborators. Their session offered room for audience input and a platform to other professionals, including those they have trained and helped become experts in their own right.

After an hour of ‘theory’, the energy of the morning session was switched up with presentations by Joanna Walling and Lucinda Allen. Lucinda gave a packed talk centering on the functional breathing method at the heart of her practice, MDH Breathing Coordination. She too has a broad-range musical background, moving from classical choral, through musical theatre, to CCM. She asked the audience to consider which genre had primarily influenced their individual musical identity. Though many teachers now work with a variety of styles, their starting points tended to be one main genre.

Lucinda’s methodology invited us to consider what is consistent between one genre and another and what are the variables that bring difference. Her core belief is that the teacher puts themselves at the client’s service; that the relationship is a collaborative partnership supported by student-centred, empathetic and positive language-led way of behaving. This is in line with the VP way of thinking. Lucinda’s presentation would have benefited from having a longer slot. Another time, hopefully?

Joanna has a truly varied musical CV as a singer, voice teacher, lecturer, and examiner. Her high-energy presentation on the ‘Amplified Voice’ was full of practical tips to help teachers prepare students for performance, whether in the studio or flourishing on stage. Mics and in-ear monitors were helpfully explained. But the session offered much more. Singers of any genre can be extremely self-critical, and part of the teacher’s job is to help each student form a good working relationship with their own voice. Joanna advocated the thoughtful use of language as well as judiciously deploying technology. Joanna’s interactive 45 minutes left us with lots of takeaway ideas that could easily be incorporated into our teaching.

The afternoon session was what is typically called a masterclass. However, Gillyanne and Jeremy may well resist that term (‘master’….), so perhaps we should reframe it as an open coaching session? Three young singers, all currently focused on musical theatre but with contrasting back stories, put themselves in the spotlight. They represent slightly different stages of professional training.

Barney is soon to start the Actor-Musician degree course at Guildford School of Acting. He chose the opening number of Honeymoon in Vegas (Jason Robert Brown), delivering it with great joy and energy. Jeremy immediately identified ways to make Barney’s performance both technically easier and more dramatically effective.

Aiden is a recent music graduate of the University of Chichester, who joined his course as a classical musician but from second year was directed to musical theatre. Aiden sang an English art song (George Butterworth’s Loveliest of Trees), which seemed to encapsulate his dilemma about which genre to pursue. The influence of his MT training was evident in his beautiful singing, yet it seemed clear to us all that Aiden’s heart remains in the classical field. Hopefully the input of Gillyanne and Jeremy, as well as that of the audience, will have encouraged all the young singers to hold on to their authentic musical identities amidst the realities of making a career.

The last of the three was a bubbly and enthusiastic soon-to-be Year 3 acting student at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Savannah gave us One Last Time by Ariana Grande, neatly covering the third of the three genres that had provided most of the day’s musical references. Jeremy and Gillyanne were able to tap straight into Savannah’s energy level, harnessing her enthusiasm and eagerness to try ways to ease vocal effort and enhance her already assured performance.

This session concluded with a group discussion and, as usual, some high-quality commentary from delegates, rounding off a brilliant day of learning and professional community.

Review by Gerry McElearney who is a singing teacher, BVA Past President 2022-23, and currently Reviews Editor