GOOD ROCK SINGING, LIKE GOOD CLASSICAL SINGING, is natural (organic), stylistically and emotionally integrated (authentic), and transformative (artistic). To learn rock stylization, classical and traditional music theater students must set aside their genre-of-origin filters to appreciate and imitate rock singing. To emulate the rock aesthetic: employ a more natural, conversational vocal production; deemphasize classical virtuosity and formality in matters of pitch, vibrato, structure, and rhythm; be available to respond to the impulse to move; stylize, using ornamentations (e.g., neighbor notes, appoggiaturas, acciaccaturas, inverted rhythms, inverted pitches, and ladders) in a manner consistent with rock; add, delete, or alter lyrics as needed; and experiment with intriguing and compelling breathing patterns. With patience and consistent effort, these skills can be developed by open minded and willing students and utilized in their rock performances.

Yet, while a performance grounded in these techniques will yield a generic "rock" styling, training more sophisticated techniques greatly increases both the performer's artistic and vocal capacities for delivering rock songs; and, most importantly, allows the audience to experience an undeniably authentic performance. The ability to make nuanced artistic choices is the technical and artistic bedrock for the successful, authentic rocker. Though these advanced skills may be resistant to training, they are transformative once acquired. To produce authentically rocking performances, students should master the artistry of organic delivery, theatrical pitch nuances, and "with it" ornaments.

ORGANIC DELIVERY

Nine ingredients, essential for rock credibility, contribute to a spontaneously authentic delivery (organic delivery). By counteracting expected structural mechanisms, and planning rehearsed emotional interpretations, the singer can present a genuine, in-the-moment character while being true to the rock aesthetic.

1) Allocate an unstressed syllable on the beat to emphasize the lyrics and deemphasize the beat. This is not syncopation, which highlights the beat by stressing the off-beat, but a tactic to obscure the beat by removing the expected stress pattern. Have the student clap a standard beat and sing the well known opening phrase of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" with the "er" of "over" on the beat. The initial training can be frustrating, but the student should be able to see just how effective disguising the beat can be and how it can inform the audience's attachment to conversational, organic delivery of a lyric. With concentration and practice the student can acquire this skill. This tactic is ubiquitous in popular music, including Vanessa Williams's version of "Colors of the Wind" ("or ask the grinning bobcat why he grinned") and Diana Krall's "Baby, Baby All the Time" ("kind of curly hair"). It is not confined to popular music; it resides in hybridized rock vocals (e.g., folk-rock and jazz-rock), and examples in contemporary music theater include Brian Lowdermilk's "The Girl Who Drove Away" ("how the miles keep on flying by") and Scott Alan's "Watch Me Soar" ("I'm dreaming big so watch me soar").

2) Layer your emotive lyrics with "the growl" to establish psychological pressure. Applying the growl should be approached as an emotional contextualization rather than a musical effect: this technique does not add vocal...