PhD Research

Royal College of Music, London, UK

    'Singing Between East and West: An Intercultural Approach to Best Pedagogical Practices for Teaching Non-Native Classical Singers to Sing in Mandarin'  is an a/r/tographic study based on six, multi-practice studies to address: What are the best pedagogical practices for teaching non-native speaking classical singers to sing in Mandarin? 

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    To the author's knowledge, this is the first study using a/r/tography and intercultural pedagogical review applied to classical singing and lyric diction—pronunciation for singing—and its first application to Mandarin. A/r/tography -- a/r/t being artist, researcher, teacher -- is an established methodological framework that sees the artist's experiential perspective, researcher, and teacher roles as inseparable and equal in importance. 

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    The research views teaching and learning lyric diction as an interdisciplinary activity drawing from singing, second-language learning, and motor skills. The six studies combine action research, participant feedback, recording analysis, and self-reflective learning. Three action research cycles in three countries, with participant feedback, address the needs of the 'first contact,' or beginning learner. Next, a self-reflective analysis of personal performances and new song learning provides insight into the learning patterns and needs of the intermediate and advanced learner. Intercultural pedagogical exchange with Chinese colleagues and the cross-cultural analysis of the recorded pedagogical practices of the late master teacher, Madame ZHOU Xiaoyan, create opportunities to transform the a/r/tist's practice for learners across all levels. 

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    Findings show that participants’ feedback confirms interest in singing in Mandarin, seeing it as an opportunity for cross- and intercultural exchange within musical institutions, suggesting the need to include more non-Eurocentric languages in lyric diction education. But different stages of learning Mandarin diction require different teaching approaches, a distinction not previously addressed in research about the primary singing languages, Italian, German, French, and English, which is the void this research aims to fill.

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As the second most widely spoken world language, shouldn't we all be learning to sing in Mandarin?