The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the following research question: What is the new technology and equipment that can be utilized in the voice studio, and what are the advantages of such technologies in this setting? The present study is a qualitative and historical analysis designed to provide an answer to the research question. It therefore, is exploratory and analytic in nature. This analysis was drawn from an extended review of literature from a variety of published sources and computerized databases, regarding issues such as the traditional methods of voice teaching, the new computerized voice teaching technologies and equipment, singing versus speech techniques, and the use of the spectrogram in the voice studio. Findings of the study demonstrated that "best practices" should include a combination of the traditional approaches to voice instruction and the use of new electronic technologies that can provide feedback and information that might otherwise not be readily available. Spectrogram technology, has been identified as the primary technology that is now being deployed effectively by voice instructors in a variety of educational settings. Advantages of the spectrogram include that it can: help deepen the practitioner's knowledge of verbal acoustics; enhance the pedagogy of voice instruction; act as a primary feedback tool in the voice studio and the practice room; identify the difference between what singers hear and reality; assist in learning to isolate and to control the muscles and organs used in vocalization; and help to shorten the time needed to acquire singing skills.
The history of music has always been bound together with the history of technology. Indeed, it is likely that one of the very first uses of technology by humans was musically related (banging on sticks or rocks to create a pleasing rhythm. Since that day, advances in music have relied as much on technological revolutions as on artistic o...