SE02_EP#009 *
Welcome to the first episode of Season 2 of In The Making. I'm delighted to be joined by Vocal Coach Gemma Milburn and as an introduction we discuss "Can Anybody Sing?" and how this is one of the fundamental things that makes us human. We also talk about why singing is important to our mental health, why we want to get better at it and wonder if birds and whales are actually singing. *

During the episode you'll hear us reference a few things and if you want to find out more you can use the links below... *

The Singing Neanderthals by Prof Steven Mithen
Along with the concepts of consciousness and intelligence, our capacity for language sits right at the core of what makes us human. But while the evolutionary origins of language have provoked speculation and impassioned debate, music has been neglected if not ignored. Like language it is a universal feature of human culture, one that is a permanent fixture in our daily lives.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Singing-Neanderthals-Origins-Music-Language/dp/075382051X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521487725&sr=8-1&keywords=singing+neanderthals *

Is Birdsong Music? (The Listening Service)
Birdsong has fascinated composers for centuries, but is it really music as we understand it? Tom Service asks how birdsong has inspired and equipped human music over the years. He listens to music inspired by birdsong, made up from elements of birdsong and performed alongside birdsong - why does it have such a deep effect on the human psyche and how have the sounds of the natural world informed the development of human music?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07gn6km *

The Fach System was developed by German opera houses towards the end of the 19th century and the reasoning behind it was to create distinct categories for all the roles in an opera, as well as, for singing voices, in order to aid auditions and casting. Fach means classification, specialty, category. Singers were placed in a Fach according to their voice types and they would only study the characters that belonged in that category. Opera houses would keep records of singers according to Fach and they would call them in for auditions according to which roles were available.
http://choirly.com/voice-types-fach-system/ *

Snoopy Dancing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFNLbAs3KAU *