What’s happening to music these days

This text is meant for singers, vocal teachers, and everyone concerned.


The pandemic has changed not only the way we live but also the way we teach music. And we can do nothing about it. Online lessons have instantly become the main form of education with students staring at the teacher on screen. And we have to deal with it. It also means that our work that implies teaching each student individually is going to be considered more valuable among students who want to become more than a karaoke singer. I often hear people supporting pop singing. I want to reiterate my point that pop singing, as compared to the academic one, is a purely Russian/Soviet term, and there's no such distinction in other countries. Every single tune produced by a human voice is considered to be the act of singing. Both in the US and Russia as well as other countries people teach each other what they are ready to pay for, selling the services and promising the results that will definitely satisfy their customers. And the existing expression “second-rate singer” is the result of equalling mediocrity to vocal prowess.
I also would like to comment on the situation when small local groups who perform at festivals and public holidays sing out of tune and claim to be professional. They even get paid for that. The listeners can’t imagine how harmful and destructive this may be to one’s artistic taste. They don’t notice how second-rate music affects their minds. Piercing screams in an attempt to hit top notes shouldn’t be viewed as a norm, contrary to popular belief. Screams and shrieks have a negative impact on our brain, singers should avoid them at all costs. Listening to flat singing also affects us badly just like the sounds produced by a broken washing machine do.
Sadly enough, over the last two decades, our society got used to listening to the so-called second-rate singers, who have been destroying the unrivaled musical legacy of the good old days. The audience has gradually resigned itself to accepting modern pop music culture and standards with all its faults. As a result, being a talentless celebrity has now more value than mastering a skill to perfection and becoming second to none in your field. New generations of singers have lost the artistic harmony and beauty inherited from true professionals of the past. Ultimately, the modern consumer cannot understand real music.
All we hear these days is shrieks and piercing screams as a parody of singing, stressing wrong syllables, terrible intonation, and tacky decorations. As I see it, the key figures in the modern music industry are to blame, as they lack proper education and sacrifice the art of singing for their own benefit. I am sure that dissonant combinations of sounds negatively affect our bodies and are a major source of stress and illnesses.
Have you ever gone through a catharsis while listening to music? If you experience it when listening to some modern rappers, you’d better make an appointment with a psychiatrist!

These are things all authoritative people should talk about. As we are professionals who learned about singing not on the Internet, our main goal is to teach those who want to discover real music. We should promote the classic approach and develop our students’ tastes instead of pushing modern singing techniques that promise instant results.
Let’s get Harmony back to people. We won’t let those second-rate singers destroy our culture and art!

Best regards,
Elvira Tkachenko
teacher at Scuola di canto