Reflections on contemporary commercial singing: an insider's perspective

Abstract

To date, few studies have incorporated singers of contemporary commercial music styles (CCM singers) into their participant samples. When CCM singers have had some small representation, the researchers typically have been from outside the CCM areas of voice, and reports have featured either laboratory-based testing of small participant samples or investigation of symptomology from patients seeking treatment in voice clinics. For the most part, this etic (outsider) reporting lacks consideration of the real world performance contexts and environmental conditions of professional contemporary gig singers' (PCGS) work-life. What follows here are re?ections that have evolved from my lifelong career as both PCGS and teacher of CCM singing styles. Additionally, the self-reports of 102 PCGS in Australia present an "insider" view of the real world from the lived experiences of this important, yet under-researched, group of professional voice users.