American Idol Has America Singing a New Tune

Fess up. Are you one of the millions addicted to American Idol? Doesn’t it just make you want to belt out a song? If so, maybe you should learn how to properly use that beautiful instrument in your throat. (Simon Cowell will thank you.)

Several colleges and universities are starting to train instructors for a new type of music course. This weekend, for instance, the University of Massachusetts is offering an instructor certification course called “Vocal Pedagogy in the New Millennium” (roughly translated, "Teaching Voice for Popular Music").

Rock, pop, rap, country, gospel, jazz, and folk—the predominant popular forms of music in the past 50 years or so—all fall under the tag “Contemporary Commercial Music” or CCM. Until recently, however, if a person wanted to sing professionally in these styles the only real option was classical vocal training. Problem is, the vocal skills and style required to sing a classical piece from, say, the opera La Boheme, are different than those required to sing a CCM—say, a tune from Broadway's Sweeney Todd or a country hit like Get My Drink On.

As we reported earlier in “Dr. Bill's Alzheimer’s Reality Check," activities such as learning to ballroom dance, speak a foreign language, or play a musical instrument all exercise the brain, keep the synapses nimble. Learning to sing is no exception. And, as is true when we submerge ourselves in beautiful art, it brings joy to our lives. Whether we’re singing in the shower, in our local choir, or to an audience of millions, music makes us happy. Learning how to use that built-in instrument—our voice—could very well contribute to our overall physical and mental well-being.

So, did American Idol start this trend? There’s no way of knowing, really, but it doesn’t seem a stretch to think so. After all, TV is always shaping popular culture, influencing us in ways we’re not always paying attention to.

(The UMass music course was brought to our attention by our excellent college intern Chandni Patel. )