Vocal technique and vocal hygiene of future primary school teachers

Speech and singing play an important role in the work of a primary school teacher. The aim of this master’s thesis is for students and future primary school teachers to further strengthen their skills in the area of vocal technique, in addition to the knowledge they already obtain in this area during their formal education. The theoretical part of the thesis defines two basic terms onto which the thesis is founded – vocal technique and vocal hygiene. The first section defines individual elements of vocal technique and expert terms that pertain to the subject or that appear in the curriculum for primary school music education. The second section of the theoretical part refers to vocal hygiene. Along with defining vocal hygiene, recommendations and steps for its implementation are also specified. Also highlighted is the place of the teacher within the professions that require the use of the voice. The empirical part of the thesis presents the qualitative research of a case study with the example of three students studying primary education at the Faculty of Education of the University of Ljubljana. The goal of the study was to examine how learning vocal technique with exercises for vocal breathing, resonance, vocal formation, vocal articulation and pronunciation, and vocal range can contribute to improved singing skills, even during early adulthood. The work was based on a proprietary model for developing vocal technique while considering the bases of vocal hygiene. Each student took eleven or twelve lessons lasting around 30 minutes and each lesson was analysed with the help of a proprietary evaluation protocol and descriptive analysis. For each student, I analysed the results of all the lessons, which showed the starting situation, the work process, and the final result. The qualitative research that I conducted and based on the principle of open coding showed an improvement in all five monitored areas (vocal breathing, resonance, vocal formation, vocal articulation, and expanding the vocal range). With vocal breathing, the most visible was the change in the mastery of correct singing or diaphragmatic inhalation and the length of the exhalation. Results in expanding the vocal range and developing resonance often varied due to the changing health status of the students