Hey guys please help me out here! 
I’m looking to double major in psych and music, and I want to enter a music program with a focus on vocal performance and pop music. But it seems like many of the uni music programs are based heavily on opera, or sometimes they offer music theatre, but would that training be good for me? I like to dance and act as well, but I don’t watch musicals often 
Opera training would benefit you in many ways for any kind of vocal performance.
Opera existed before mic technology was invented; when the only way to project the human voice to an audience was physical: Bel canto opera techniques enhance the natural qualities of a good voice, and enlarge its musical range; the voice becomes big and strong enough to carry through a large theater. The techniques also protect and preserve the voice by controlling pressure on the vocal cords with support from the rest of the body.
Go to the great opera houses and witness the effectiveness today of that 18th century Italian innovation. Imagine the tenor, the light lyric soprano, or countertenor whose tender voice confidently can reach into the back rows of La Scala: It’s amazing what the trained human body can do.
Bel canto requires developing the muscles of the diaphragm through daily vocal exercises–it makes Scwartzenneggers of the lungs. Singers also learn to drop their lower jaws to utilize fully the cave-like amplification of the head and mouth.
A dedicated singer can expand vocal range sometimes quite substantially–as in the case of Maria Callas–while increasing overall vocal reach. (Youtube Luciana Serra as Olympia or the Queen of the Night for an impressive example of a bel canto voice in full beauty and power.)
Broadway musical voices, of which I am also a fan–South Pacific, Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, LesMiz–are a different thing. Though my favorites are opera-trained and sound great, others sound a bit nasal, because they don’t open up enough. Mic’ed voices always sound a little metallic, and the loudspeakers distort sound and usually are uncomfortably loud.
–Plus, I find those weird mic thingies hanging over their foreheads a bit distracting. Don’t you?
Let’s not even get started on the appalling use of prereorded voices in some musicals. Anyway…
Broadway singers are not the only ones to opt for operatic training to improve musicality and to preserve their vocal cords. You also hear of popular touring singers (maybe Adele?) resetting their voices with bel canto technique when their untrained, overworked voices suddenly fail on the road and/or they develop cord nodes: I think Axel Rose could have preserved his gorgeous voice if he’d had bel canto training earlier on. Today, I’d recommend it to Brian Urie.
And to you: Any vocal performer can benefit from bel canto training: There’s no downside.
Good luck to you!
I meant Brendon Urie, leadsinger, Panic! At the Disco
Thank you so much for your advice, you have been really helpful to me!
I’m just worried that being trained in opera or the MT way of singing would cause me to develop a non-pop voice which would make it difficult for me to transition back into pop, or are my worries unfounded?
I’m also interested in composition of pop songs so would a music program with elements of studying pop music be better for me?
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Pat Benatar was trained as an opera singer and became a huge success in pop music due to her vocal range. Check out her bio here: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0070232/bio
There is also the category of music called “operatic pop” that contains elements of both genres. A very successful example is Sarah Brightman also made the crossover from classical to pop: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0109208/ These albums often do well in both opera and pop charts.
Your worries are unfounded, new friend.
If you aren’t singing Mozart, you won’t sound like The Queen of the Night. Bel canto techniques are for breath control–very important for all the reasons above. You won’t sprout a crown, unless you want to.
Too many singers fail to get a good foundation. They tour until the voice breaks down, and then they discover what they should have learned earlier. Many over-too-early careers.
Some successful belters (Byoncé, Mariah Carey, etc.) may be genetic anomalies–simply born with thick, flexible vocal cords (like Joan Sutherland had,) and they may have developed athletic diaphragms through other means, like sports.
But even their voices may be at risk without proper vocal technique.
–And too, the training vocalists like you would receive at college probably borrows heavily from bel canto, without giving credit where it’s due, and perhaps, not quite accurately.
You won’t suddenly sound like a docente of LaScala (as Serra is) simply by learning bel canto technique. She reads and sings exactly what’s on the page, so she sounds as Mozart intended.
You’ll sound like you and in the style of your material. You’ll just be smarter than the average pop singer for training to prevent vocal strain and to enhance your instrument.
Treating your voice right from the beginning is much better than having to resort to the surgeon’s knife or laser later. That isn’t always a sucessful solution, either, just ask Julie Andrews.
Ahh I see, thank you for your advice IvyGrad09
@mysticmayhem You may want to ask a moderator to move this to the music majors forum, or post there yourself. It will be seen by more people there who are (or have children) pursuing majors in music. There is a contingent of parents whose children are pursuing contemporary commercial music and/ or jazz vocals who may have suggestions and details about schools they have been visiting.
In many programs the foundational vocal training for musical theatre, contemporary commercial music, jazz, etc… is similar to foundational classical training. You may want to look at programs with that solid foundational training, and where teachers also have experience with the repertory and the techiques specific to contemporary commercial music style.
They also will be able to give feedback in programs where a double major (or dual degree) with music may be more possible.
I think the bigger issue is that you want to double major in psychology and music. We don’t know anything about your qualifications in music or academics, so we cannot suggest specific schools at this moment. But read the Double Degree Dilemma essay about different ways to study music.
There are several schools that offer double degree programs that take 5 years and are quite intensive. They also (mostly) tend to be classical in orientation, require auditions at the conservatory/school of music part of the degree and are quite intensive.
You also have the option of looking at BA programs in music, and BA programs in psychology, and choosing one or the other as a major, doing a minor in the other subject, or, say, majoring in psychology but taking lessons for voice and performing in extracurriculars on or off campus. Many of these would not have auditions for admission but extracurricular ensembles would have auditions in the fall on campus.
A BM program will be 2/3-3/4 music classes. A BA in music will be 1/4-/1/3 classes in music. Generally, a major in any area at a BA program will be 10 classes out of 40 or so. So a BA, with major and gen eds covered, still has room for substantial study in another area, as a minor or just as electives.
I would suggest, for you, with the little you have written (disclaimer) that you look at some universities and liberal arts colleges that offer good classes in both areas of interest. Depending on your admission chances and finances, I think of Skidmore, Vassar, Sarah Lawrence, Clark University, College of Wooster, St. Olaf, Macalaster, Lesley (holistic psych., music therapy, no voice program), and you could also look at a school like Bennington, which has a “Plan” rather than a major and can combine areas of study in interesting ways.
Others may have good suggestions. In general, if you do look at schools of music, the schools often cited for contemporary music are USC Thornton, Berklee, MIami Frost, Belmont. There are threads now on jazz vocals which you can look at. Look at the curricula and see what you think. Consider a summer program.
Double degree schools often mentioned at Oberlin, Lawrence, Bard, Ithaca, Michigan, Tufts/NEC and Harvard/NEC (and now Harvard/Berklee).
My sense from your post is that you might do better looking at schools based on the psychology offerings, as well as size, location, finances, and “vibe” and then look at the music classes and see if there are classes in voice and in contemporary/popular music.
Apply to options for both psych. and music if you like and decide later in senior year. Take lessons and do a summer program in singing or volunteer in a position related to psychology and generally test things out to help with deciding if that helps. Good luck!
I’m going to comment solely on your original post. I’m guessing that you have looked at some traditional universities like Michigan for example and are seeing the “silos” for vocal performance of either opera or MT.
For contemporary or pop vocals, you will need to expand your search. Not many traditional big state universities do contemporary/pop vocals. @compmom gives some examples of schools above to research and reading some of the music threads on the subject will help. While you could consider a more classical vocal performance degree, you would want to talk with the music dept to see if there would be a good teacher for your interests (being less operatic and more contemporary). A well-known classic vocal performance program may not be the best fit as the focus will be opera and a lot of language study as well as the history and literature of opera. A program focused on contemporary vocals should teach good technique too but without all the focus on opera studies. I’m not familiar with curriculum in that area so I’ll let the experts in that area respond.
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For the OP, @mysticmayhem , I can’t find the information easily online now, but it seems to me that during my D’s search, Shenandoah Conservatory had a program where the last full year of applied voice in the Undergraduate Vocal Performance degree was focused on popular music (with a different teacher who focuses on this…). Can anyone comment on this? Am I remembering correctly? It seems like a pretty cool program and worth adding to your list to research.
Edited to add:
I found what I was thinking of and it is a part of the MT degree program: “One year of pop/rock/country/R & B styles training under a vocal pedagogy and physiology expert for healthy singing technique as well as microphone training.”
The Conservatory is connected to Shenandoah University and minors are offered in MT and VP, so I think it would be worth your time to investigate!
I’m going to differ with those who suggested you go the VP route with classical voice if you wish to pursue contemporary/pop vocals. Yes, such vocal technique is important as a foundation for any type of singer, but programs in musical theater or contemporary/jazz also teach proper vocal technique, including private voice lessons. I can’t imagine someone who has an interest in contemporary voice being happy in a classical/opera focused program.
In my opinion, I would shoot either for a music program focused on contemporary music or jazz music or a musical theater program.
Speaking; of musical theater programs (since you are also considering those), many also include pop/rock in their curriculum because many contemporary musicals sing this style. So, you do get training in that style of singing.
On a personal note, I have a daughter who is 29 and a professional performer and songwriter. She trained in a BFA in MT program (NYU/Tisch). She performs in musicals (many actually involve the pop/rock voice). However, she also has a career as as singer/songwriter performing pop/rock/jazz/soul…including monthly solo concerts at a well known music venue in NYC, her own concert of original songs at Lincoln Center, and is going into the studio to work on her 3rd album this week. She does musical theater and is a singer/songwriter of pop/rock/jazz/folk/soul. Honestly, several of her peers from college are successful in the contemporary music field. My daughter also is a writer/composer/lyricist of original musicals and her style of music is a contemporary style, not traditional musical theater. This is just one person’s story of someone who trained her whole life in MT, but also is working in contemporary music as well. She’s not nearly the only person I know who has a MT background who straddles both those genres.
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I am in agreement with soozivt and there are some very good contemporary/pop programs around.
A vocal performance degree would be good training, but you probably will NOT like what you are singing- mostly art songs and songs in foreign languages. If you don’t watch musicals often, I’d forget the MT route too- the MT kids eat, breathe, and sleep musicals LOL. The double major is going to be the hard part of your plan. Why do you want a degree in music? To tie into psychology/therapy or just because you enjoy it? There are great music therapy degrees out there, and maybe some minors in music therapy. If you just like both, do an internet search for schools that will allow you to double major. The info is out there- Good luck 