The Singing Voice in Contemporary Cinema
Edited by
Diane Hughes [+–]
Macquarie University
View Website
Diane Hughes is an Associate Professor in Vocal Studies and Music at Macquarie University. Her research areas include vocal health and wellbeing, music industries and recording, vocal artistry, emotion in song, the singer-songwriter and vocal pedagogy. She co-authored The New Music Industries: Disruption and Discovery (2016) with Evans, Morrow and Keith, published by Palgrave Macmillan. She is an advocate for music education and for multidisciplinary voice studies more broadly.
Mark Evans [+–]
University of Technology Sydney
Professor Mark Evans is Head of the School of Communication at the University of Technology Sydney. He is Series Editor for Genre, Music and Sound. Recent books include Sounding Funny: Comedy, Cinema and Music (with Phillip Hayward) and Moves, Movies and Music: The Sound of Dance Films (with Mary Fogarty), and The New Music Industries: Disruption and Discovery (co-authored with Hughes, Morrow and Keith), published by Palgrave Macmillan.
This volume focuses on the singing voice in contemporary cinema and considers different contextual formations of singing and how they contribute to narrative, emotional affect and cultural sensitivities.
The singing voice is arguably the most expressive of all musical instruments. This volume celebrates the ways in which singing features in film. This includes the singing voice as healer, as motivator, as entertainer, and as comedic interlude. Whether the singing voice in film is personally expressive, reflexive and distant, or synchronized for entertainment, there is typically interplay between the voice and visual elements. Extending beyond the body of literature on ‘the musical’, the volume is not about musicals per se. Rather, The Singing Voice in Contemporary Cinema discusses the singing voice as a distinct agent that focuses on identity and identification. This book explores the relationship between screen, singing, singer and song; it celebrates the intersection of the singing voice and popular culture. In doing so, the volume will cross multiple disciplines including vocal studies, film studies, film sound studies, and music production (vocal processing).
Series: Genre, Music and Sound
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
The Singing Voice in Contemporary Cinema [+–] 1-19
Macquarie University
Diane Hughes is an Associate Professor in Vocal Studies and Music at Macquarie University. Her research areas include vocal health and wellbeing, music industries and recording, vocal artistry, emotion in song, the singer-songwriter and vocal pedagogy. She co-authored The New Music Industries: Disruption and Discovery (2016) with Evans, Morrow and Keith, published by Palgrave Macmillan. She is an advocate for music education and for multidisciplinary voice studies more broadly.
University of Technology Sydney
Professor Mark Evans is Head of the School of Communication at the University of Technology Sydney. He is Series Editor for Genre, Music and Sound. Recent books include Sounding Funny: Comedy, Cinema and Music (with Phillip Hayward) and Moves, Movies and Music: The Sound of Dance Films (with Mary Fogarty), and The New Music Industries: Disruption and Discovery (co-authored with Hughes, Morrow and Keith), published by Palgrave Macmillan.
This contextual analysis of singing traditions in film situates singing and its expressive capabilities in ways that inform the development of a taxonomy of cinematic singing. This taxonomy is complemented with an overview of the volume’s contributions that respectively encompass vocality, cultural considerations, industry signifiers and character/agency revelation.
Chapter 2
Edge Hill University
Dr Nessa Johnston is Senior Lecturer in Media, Film and Television at Edge Hill University,
UK. Her research and teaching interests include sound in screen media, critical production
studies, and production/sound aesthetics in low-budget and art cinema, encompassing
independent, experimental and cult cinema. She has published on film sound in several edited collections and journals including Music, Sound and the Moving Image, The Soundtrack, The Velvet Light Trap, Alphaville, Popular Music and The Palgrave Handbook of Sound Design and Music in Screen Media.
UK. Her research and teaching interests include sound in screen media, critical production
studies, and production/sound aesthetics in low-budget and art cinema, encompassing
independent, experimental and cult cinema. She has published on film sound in several edited collections and journals including Music, Sound and the Moving Image, The Soundtrack, The Velvet Light Trap, Alphaville, Popular Music and The Palgrave Handbook of Sound Design and Music in Screen Media.
This chapter analyses Icelandic singer Björk’s singing voice in her performance as Selma in Dancer in the Dark (2000), situated within the context of the Dogma 95 movement’s discourses around ‘truth’, authenticity and filmmaking, with a particular focus on the sonic mediation of Björk’s performance.
Chapter 3
Bowling Green State University
Katherine Meizel is an Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She earned her PhD in ethnomusicology at UCSB, and also holds a doctorate in vocal performance. Her research includes topics in voice and identity, popular music and media, religion, American identities, and disability studies. Her book, Idolized: Music, Media, and Identity in American Idol (IU Press), was published in 2011; she also wrote about Idol for the magazine Slate from 2007 to 2011. She is currently co-editing the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Voice Studies, and completing a monograph for Oxford University Press titled Multivocality: An Ethnography of Singing on the Borders of Identity.
This chapter explores the gendered implications of voice loss. It traces a rhetorical history of voice as agency, and of the manifestations of that equation in American cinema, where the transformation of voices—especially women’s— are clearly seen and heard.
Chapter 4
Universität Innsbruck
Gianpaolo Chiriacò is a Lise Meitner researcher at the Archive of Popular Music–Universität Innsbruck. He is mainly interested in the history and anthropology of black singing voices, and in musical expressions of Afro-Italian identities and communities. He has been a fellow researcher at the University of Chicago and worked for three years at the Center for Black Music Research (Columbia College Chicago) thanks to a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship. He authored the book Voci Nere. Storia e antropologia del canto afroamericano (2018) and curated the symposia “Black Vocality: Cultural Memories, Identities, and Practices of African-American Singing Styles” (www.afrovocality.com). Chiriaco taught ethnomusicology and popular music at the University of Salento, where he also earned his PhD, and at the Freie Universität Bolzano-Bozen.
This chapter explores the role of singing voice in defining the condition of “free slave” within Steve McQueen’s 2013 12 Years a Slave. While comparing the movie to historical documentation of black American vocal expressions, it emphasizes how they ultimately represent – both in the documentation and in the movie – the unbroken search for a safe space through the delivery of vocal sounds.
Chapter 5
Macquarie University
Dr Sarah Keith is a Senior Lecturer in Music and Media at Macquarie University. Her research areas include Korean and Japanese popular music and culture, the Australian music industries, and music and cultural policy. Sarah’s current research focuses on Korean popular culture within Australia.
Macquarie University
Dr Alex Mesker is an Associate Lecturer in the Department of Media, Music, Communication, and Cultural Studies at Macquarie University. He completed a Masters in 2007 on compositional strategies for electronic music, and a PhD in 2017 on the use of sound and music in 1960s television cartoons. His research interests span computational arts, animation, and screen soundtrack studies.
Korean popular culture exports have rapidly increased in popularity across Asia, and, more recently, beyond Asia. This chapter examines two fictional film portrayals of K-pop singers. It addresses how the centrality of the voice in these films illustrates concerns over competitiveness, the K-pop industry, globalisation, commodification, and commercialisation.
Chapter 6
Univeristy of Florida
Nina Menezes completed her Ph.D. at the University of Florida in 2018 and currently teaches at the University of Tampa. As a soprano, she has performed recitals, and has toured with groups and ensembles internationally. Nina held an extensive recording career in her hometown Chennai; her voice has featured on several award-winning film soundtracks for Bollywood and Kollywood cinema. As a music educator, Nina has taught voice, piano, music theory in her private studio; some of her students have been female playback singers in the film industry.
This chapter examines how elements borrowed from prior musical contexts are re-signified in popular Bollywood song-and-dance sequence “Sheila ki Jawani” (Sheila’s Youth). As the song moves beyond its filmic context through re-enactments in popular culture, it acquires new meanings and takes on a life of its own.
Chapter 7
Before #MeToo: Hearing Vulnerability [+–] 112-131
Macquarie University
Diane Hughes is an Associate Professor in Vocal Studies and Music at Macquarie University. Her research areas include vocal health and wellbeing, music industries and recording, vocal artistry, emotion in song, the singer-songwriter and vocal pedagogy. She co-authored The New Music Industries: Disruption and Discovery (2016) with Evans, Morrow and Keith, published by Palgrave Macmillan. She is an advocate for music education and for multidisciplinary voice studies more broadly.
University of Technology Sydney
Professor Mark Evans is Head of the School of Communication at the University of Technology Sydney. He is Series Editor for Genre, Music and Sound. Recent books include Sounding Funny: Comedy, Cinema and Music (with Phillip Hayward) and Moves, Movies and Music: The Sound of Dance Films (with Mary Fogarty), and The New Music Industries: Disruption and Discovery (co-authored with Hughes, Morrow and Keith), published by Palgrave Macmillan.
Filmic narratives, whether fictional or documentary presentations, provide a powerful medium through which to explore topics related to exploitation within the music industries. This chapter explores pre- #MeToo depictions of vulnerability in various filmic vocal manifestations.
Chapter 8
Trailer Trash or Inspired Vocality? Song as Promotion and Aesthetic Object in Cinematic Previews [+–] 132-149
Carleton University
Professor James Deaville is a musicologist specializing in music, composers and musical
practices and institutions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, having published and
spoken about such diverse topics as Franz Liszt, music criticism, television news music,
African-American entertainers in turn-of-the century Vienna and “fascist” Nordic composers during the Third Reich. He has published in the Journal of the American Musicological Society, Journal of the Society for American Music, 19th Century Music Review, Echo, Current Musicology, Hamburger Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft and Canadian University Music Review (among others).
practices and institutions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, having published and
spoken about such diverse topics as Franz Liszt, music criticism, television news music,
African-American entertainers in turn-of-the century Vienna and “fascist” Nordic composers during the Third Reich. He has published in the Journal of the American Musicological Society, Journal of the Society for American Music, 19th Century Music Review, Echo, Current Musicology, Hamburger Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft and Canadian University Music Review (among others).
Carleton University
Agnes Malkinson is a PhD candidate in Communication and Media Studies at Carleton
University, Canada. Her research area focuses on Canadian advertising history, advertising
regulation, and audiovisual promotional media. She has previously worked and published in
the areas of sound/music in film promotion and television advertising.
University, Canada. Her research area focuses on Canadian advertising history, advertising
regulation, and audiovisual promotional media. She has previously worked and published in
the areas of sound/music in film promotion and television advertising.
This chapter explores singing and songs as heard in film trailers. It positions song in film trailers as being both aesthetically and commercially significant. The uses of singing in trailers are discussed in ways that position the voice as a contributor to the expression and diversity of the trailer landscape.
Chapter 9
Independent Researcher
Dr Natalie Lewandowski is a research collaborator, educator and consultant specializing in screen sound, public relations, media copyright, regional music and Australian contemporary art. With a background in marketing, communications and economics, Natalie’s approach integrates industry insight with critical analysis, resulting in a holistic approach which involves key stakeholders. Recent research projects and publications include an edited volume on music, health and wellbeing; ethnographic studies of Australian regional live music scenes; and case studies on creators in the Australian and New Zealand film soundtrack industries.
Australian Film, Television & Radio School
Dr Penny Spirou is Student Learning Support Manager at AFTRS (Australian Film,
Television & Radio School). Her research has been published in journals including Comedy Studies, Celebrity Studies, and Studies in Australasian Cinema. Most recently Penny has published book chapters in Singing Death (2017) and Music in Comedy Television (2017).
Television & Radio School). Her research has been published in journals including Comedy Studies, Celebrity Studies, and Studies in Australasian Cinema. Most recently Penny has published book chapters in Singing Death (2017) and Music in Comedy Television (2017).
Created by Pixar films, the Toy Story series uses the singing voice as an aid to character development and narrative progression. Drawing on animation studies, film sound theory, vocal analysis, and star studies, this chapter demonstrates how the voice is integral to narratives of the first three Toy Story films.
Chapter 10
University of Technology, Sydney
Dr Liz Giuffre is a Senior Lecturer in Communication at the University of Technology
Sydney. She also regularly works in the national independent arts press as a journalist and
commentator, including work as the regular contributing editor for Metro magazine, a regular contributor to Critical Studies in Television, and columnist for The Conversation.
Sydney. She also regularly works in the national independent arts press as a journalist and
commentator, including work as the regular contributing editor for Metro magazine, a regular contributor to Critical Studies in Television, and columnist for The Conversation.
Coventry University
Dr Mark Thorley’s research centres on the creative industries, with particular emphasis on
the role of technology. This work draws upon his background as a classically-trained
musician, technologist and entrepreneur. His is a past Director of the Music Producers’ Guild
in the UK, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
the role of technology. This work draws upon his background as a classically-trained
musician, technologist and entrepreneur. His is a past Director of the Music Producers’ Guild
in the UK, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
This chapter explores the potential for the singing voice to evoke unease, discomfort and even violence. It shows how the singing voice, as key to a film performance can become motivator, marker and enabler of dramatic action. Two types of performances are proposed; the use of individual singing voices related to their ability to perform violence; and the use of communal singing with its relationship to competition and power.
Chapter 11
Western Sydney University
Associate Professor Anne Power’s research interests include music education, research methods, and leadership qualities that emerge through service learning. Her work with service learning and disadvantaged students, especially in First Nations communities, converges with themes of creativity. Anne has written on contemporary Australian opera, on approaches to singing in snapshots of Australian contexts, on developing a pedagogy for the voice across the K-10 curriculum, and she is an advocate for care of the voice in music education.
This chapter seeks to critically evaluate ways in which the female voice contributes to animated films. Vocal ornaments are used to emphasise humorous and dramatic moments and the chapter evaluates elements that produce emotion in music. The chapter concludes with a discussion of what can make music memorable, with particular reference to the films analysed throughout.
Chapter 12
Sydney Voice Studio
Dr Veronica Stewart is a singer, teacher and researcher, with a keen interest in the singing voice, songwriting and associated creative processes. Her PhD investigated the creativity of Australian singer-songwriters (2019). Veronica is also the director and principal voice teacher of the Sydney Voice Studio. She has worked with singers for over 15 years and now frequently works with contemporary singer-songwriters, fellow singing teachers and artists with a focus on sustainable vocal, musical and entrepreneurial creative practices.
Macquarie University
Diane Hughes is an Associate Professor in Vocal Studies and Music at Macquarie University. Her research areas include vocal health and wellbeing, music industries and recording, vocal artistry, emotion in song, the singer-songwriter and vocal pedagogy. She co-authored The New Music Industries: Disruption and Discovery (2016) with Evans, Morrow and Keith, published by Palgrave Macmillan. She is an advocate for music education and for multidisciplinary voice studies more broadly.
The role of animated vocality is explored through analyses of Pharell Williams’ songs as featured in Despicable Me films. Williams’ singer-songwriter vocality – cumulative and identifying factors – atypically encompasses sound production, songwriting, and singing. Such vocality is identified within a purposefully developed framework that informs the development of animated characterisation.
End Matter
Index [+–] 213-224
Macquarie University
Diane Hughes is an Associate Professor in Vocal Studies and Music at Macquarie University. Her research areas include vocal health and wellbeing, music industries and recording, vocal artistry, emotion in song, the singer-songwriter and vocal pedagogy. She co-authored The New Music Industries: Disruption and Discovery (2016) with Evans, Morrow and Keith, published by Palgrave Macmillan. She is an advocate for music education and for multidisciplinary voice studies more broadly.
University of Technology Sydney
Professor Mark Evans is Head of the School of Communication at the University of Technology Sydney. He is Series Editor for Genre, Music and Sound. Recent books include Sounding Funny: Comedy, Cinema and Music (with Phillip Hayward) and Moves, Movies and Music: The Sound of Dance Films (with Mary Fogarty), and The New Music Industries: Disruption and Discovery (co-authored with Hughes, Morrow and Keith), published by Palgrave Macmillan.
This volume focuses on the singing voice in contemporary cinema and considers different contextual formations of singing and how they contribute to narrative, emotional affect and cultural sensitivities. The singing voice is arguably the most expressive of all musical instruments. This volume celebrates the ways in which singing features in film. This includes the singing voice as healer, as motivator, as entertainer, and as comedic interlude. Whether the singing voice in film is personally expressive, reflexive and distant, or synchronized for entertainment, there is typically interplay between the voice and visual elements. Extending beyond the body of literature on ‘the musical’, the volume is not about musicals per se. Rather, The Singing Voice in Contemporary Cinema discusses the singing voice as a distinct agent that focuses on identity and identification. This book explores the relationship between screen, singing, singer and song; it celebrates the intersection of the singing voice and popular culture. In doing so, the volume will cross multiple disciplines including vocal studies, film studies, film sound studies, and music production (vocal processing).
ISBN-13 (Hardback)
9781781794456
Price (Hardback)
£75.00 / $100.00
ISBN-13 (Paperback)
9781781791127
Price (Paperback)
£26.95 / $34.00
ISBN (eBook)
9781781797389
Price (eBook)
Individual
£26.95 / $34.00
Institutional
£75.00 / $100.00
£26.95 / $34.00
Institutional
£75.00 / $100.00
Publication
24/11/2020
Pages
232
Size
234 x 156mm
Readership
students and scholars
Illustration
11 figures, black and white
