Use of Imagry in Teaching Voice to the Twenty-First Century Student

When instructing voice, teachers have had to develop a variety of methods to explain pedagogical principles to their pupils. There are teachers whose methods use only anatomical manipulations and scientific fact, teachers who use only images and analogies, and teachers who use a combination of both. The purpose of this treatise is to illustrate ways to choose images and analogies and link them to specific pedagogical principles when teaching voice. This treatise includes the following: 1) a historical background for vocal pedagogy and imagery, 2) how to help a student establish an image vocabulary, 3) a guideline for creating the appropriate image when teaching certain pedagogical principles, and 4) suggestions for imagery use in the instruction of style and music, as well as the power of word choices.