After 50 Years of Teaching Singers, Kathryn Kasper Releases Comprehensive Technical Guide

Kathryn Kasper has spent more than five decades teaching singers how to breathe, stand, and open their throats. Now, she has written it all down in her new book, Singing: A Technical Guide. The book is not a theory or history text but a working document that tells singers exactly where to place their tongue, how to expand their ribs, why they should stop listening to their own voice through their Eustachian tubes, and what it feels like when the vocal tract is functioning correctly.

Across 19 chapters, Kasper walks through the entire singing system from the diaphragm up. Chapters 1 and 2 cover inhalation and support, treating breathing as a coordinated athletic event involving the diaphragm, external intercostals, and upper abdominals. Chapter 3 introduces the larynx, tongue, and pharynx, while Chapter 4 maps the lips, hard palate, soft palate, cheeks, and jaw. The middle chapters tackle what Kasper calls "the fundamental," the raw sound created at the vocal folds before the vocal tract shapes it into language. She revisits this concept from multiple angles, adding layers such as vowel projection, resonance tuning, the Alexander Technique for pharyngeal space, and the relationship between the first and second harmonics.

Chapter 6 recounts her own humbling lesson in resonance, when a doctoral teacher told her he did not hear much of it in her voice. That moment sent her on a years-long search that eventually led to an old Italian method involving inhaling through the mouth while smelling a flower. Chapters 9 and 10 address registration and the passaggio transitions that trip up nearly every developing singer. Kasper favors the glissando as the primary tool for smoothing those breaks and is direct about the fact that popular singers, Broadway performers, and classical vocalists all share the same underlying technique even when their choices about register mixing differ. Chapter 15 provides an accessible introduction to the International Phonetic Alphabet for English, and Chapter 17 covers melisma, interpolation, and runs with attention to both Baroque ornamentation and contemporary popular style.

The final chapters are practical and personal. Chapter 18 positions the book within the broader tradition of vocal pedagogy, citing William Vennard, Richard Miller, Joan Wall, Robert Caldwell, and Theodore Dimon while arguing for a return toward empirical, feel-based teaching. Chapter 19 addresses special issues: pitch matching, singing in tune in the upper register, vibrato problems, TMJ, and the concept of "covering" the voice.

Kasper's approach is unified and inclusive. The book is designed for voice teachers, professional and amateur singers, pop soloists, and choir members, covering classical, Broadway, and popular technique within a single system. Information is repeated from chapter to chapter because, as she writes, "repetition is how we learn." Exercises appear at the end of most chapters, many drawn from real studio sessions: sit-ups while singing, wall squats for posture, lip trills for pitch matching, and the finger-in-front-of-the-nose trick for checking projection. The book is meant to work alongside Kasper's YouTube channel (Kathryn Kasper or kaspervocalmethod), where many exercises are demonstrated on video.

Kasper's career spans continents and genres. Born in Lima, Ohio, in 1940, she grew up in a Mennonite family that sang in four-part harmony. She earned a Music Education degree from Bethel College and a Master of Music in Voice from Wichita State University. A Fulbright fellowship took her and her husband, Arlo, to Wiesbaden, Germany, for two years. She then spent three decades teaching voice at Bethel College, performing annual recitals, and co-producing theater with Arlo. After retiring in 2006, a second Fulbright brought the couple to the UniNorte Opera Company in Asuncion, Paraguay, where they have lived for 20 years. During that time, Kasper helped prepare a 540-voice choir for the visit of Pope Francis in 2015. She continues to teach at university programs and privately across Paraguay. She and Arlo have been married for 63 years.

Singing: A Technical Guide matters because it consolidates a lifetime of teaching experience into a single, accessible resource. In an era when vocal instruction is often fragmented across genres and styles, Kasper offers a unified system that emphasizes empirical, feel-based learning. The book's practical exercises and clear explanations make it valuable for anyone who uses their voice professionally or recreationally. By bridging classical, Broadway, and popular techniques, Kasper provides a common language for singers of all backgrounds. Her insistence that the system is learnable, though not simple, empowers singers to take control of their instrument. For voice teachers, the book serves as a ready-made curriculum; for singers, it is a manual for self-improvement. As vocal pedagogy continues to evolve, Kasper's work stands as a testament to the enduring value of hands-on, experiential teaching.