Kelly K. Garner - So You Want to Sing Country: A Guide for Performers

So You Want to Sing Country

So You Want to Sing

A Guide for Professionals

A Project of the National Association of Teachers of Singing

So You Want to Sing: Guides for Performers and Professionals is a series of works devoted to providing a complete survey of what it means to sing within a particular genre. Each contribution functions as a touchstone work for not only professional singers, but students and teachers of singing. Titles in the series offer a common set of topics so readers can navigate easily the various genres addressed in each volume. This series is produced under the direction of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the leading professional organization devoted to the science and art of singing.

So You Want to Sing Music Theater: A Guide for Professionals , by Karen S. Hall, 2013.

So You Want to Sing Rock n Roll: A Guide for Professionals, by Matthew Edwards, 2014.

So You Want to Sing Jazz: A Guide for Professionals , by Jan Shapiro, 2015.

So You Want to Sing Country: A Guide for Performers , by Kelly K. Garner, 2017

So You Want to Sing Country

A Guide for Performers

Kelly K. Garner

Allen Henderson

Executive Editor, NATS

Matthew Hoch

Series Editor

A Project of the National Association of Teachers of Singing

Rowman & Littlefield

Lanham Boulder New York London

Published by Rowman & Littlefield

A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706

www.rowman.com

Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB

Copyright 2017 by Rowman & Littlefield

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Garner, Kelly K., author.

Title: So you want to sing country : a guide for performers / Kelly K. Garner.

Description: Lanham, Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield, [2017] | Series: So you want to sing | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016025572 (print) | LCCN 2016026884 (ebook) | ISBN 9781442246409 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781442246416 (electronic)

Subjects: LCSH: SingingInstruction and study. | Country musicInstruction and study. | Country musicHistory and criticism.

Classification: LCC MT820 .G23 2017 (print) | LCC MT820 (ebook) | DDC 783/.0642143dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016025572

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Foreword

S o You Want to Sing Country: A Guide for Performers is the fourth book in the NATS/Rowman & Littlefield So You Want to Sing series and the first book to fall under my editorship. And what a joy it was to work with Dr. Kelly Garner on this endeavor! Her experience, passion, and deep knowledge of the subject matter have coalesced into the valuable resource that you hold in your hands. This book has truly been a labor of love for her, and its content has been distilled over the course of many years in the industry and as a teacher of singing.

I hadnt met Dr. Garner before working with her on this project, but it turns out that we have an important connection to one another: Kelly is a born-and-bred Alabamian and an alumna of Auburn University, where I currently serve as an associate professor of voice and coordinator of voice studies. In the introduction to this book, she speaks of a Southerners childhood in which she was steeped in country music. As she moved forward through her schooling, she found opportunities to continue her passion for singing country through commercial music and jazz performance degrees from Belmont University, Middle Tennessee State University, and the University of Miami, as well as many years of experience in the country music industry. Finding someone who is equally at home as a professor and industry professional is rare, and she has important wisdom to share with performers and teachers of singing who are eager to learn more about the country music genre. Perhaps most importantly, Dr. Garners experience with other contemporary commercial music (CCM) styles informs the perspective of her writing: she understands how country fits into the commercial music industry as a whole.

Beginning with this volume, we are also pleased to welcome a third common chapter to the series: Using Audio Enhancement Technology by Matthew Edwards (author of So You Want to Sing Rock n Roll ). This chapter will stand alongside the voice science and vocal health chapters by Dr. Scott McCoy and Dr. Wendy LeBorgne. Dr. Edwards is highly regarded as a specialist in this topic, and all future So You Want to Sing books on amplified CCM topics will now include this chapter so that the reader can benefit from his expertise.

The collected volumes of the So You Want to Sing series offer a valuable opportunity for performers and teachers of singing to explore new styles and important pedagogies. I am confident that voice specialists, both amateur and professional, will benefit from Dr. Garners important resource on country music. It has been a privilege to work with her on this project.

Matthew Hoch

Acknowledgments

T o my parents, James R. Garner and Martha Yancey Garner, for their constant love, support, and tireless assistance to help me manage a busy schedule and lots of transition through the past five years. I love you!

To my aunt and copy editor, Dr. Nancy Hoagland, for reading through this work with me and catching all my mistakes. Thank you!

To my fabulous colleagues at Belmont University. What an honor and privilege it is to teach alongside you.

To my current and former students. You are the reason I love being an educator! What a privilege to help you develop your artistry and careers. You inspire me! I love my students!

To my series editor, Dr. Matthew Hoch, for your guidance and direction in this process and for helping me push toward the finish line!

To Allen Henderson and the NATS organization, thank you for giving me the opportunity to be one of the writers in this very important book series.

To my friend, Jennifer Kitchens, for compiling and editing the index. Thank you!

To my big dog, Clarence, for his unconditional love and for being a constant reminder that the simple things in life are sometimes the most important!

The content for chapter 1 and appendix C is drawn primarily from the following resources: Kingsbury and Nashs Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music in America (2006); Kingsburys The Grand Ole Opry History of Country Music: 70 Years of the Songs, the Stars, and the Stories (1995); Malone and Neals Country Music, USA (3rd ed., 2013); and Neals Country Music: A Cultural and Stylistic History (2013). Full citations are listed in the bibliography.

Online Supplement Note

So You Want to Sing Country features an online supplement courtesy of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Visit the link below and click on the button for the So You Want to Sing Series to discover additional exercises and examples, as well as links to recordings of the songs referenced in this book.