Preparing Popular-Music Singers for Advanced Stage Performance: A Conceptual Framework Integrating Vocal Technique, Stylistic Interpretation, And Performance Readiness
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jsshrs/V2E11/2026-05Keywords:
popular music, vocal performance, performance readiness, vocal health, music performance anxiety, STAGE framework.Abstract
Advanced popular-music performance is a multidimensional practice in which vocal coordination, stylistic interpretation, ensemble responsiveness, stage communication, and sustainable preparation operate as interdependent competencies. This article develops a practice-oriented conceptual framework for preparing popular-music singers for demanding live performance. An interpretive review synthesises scholarship on popular-music voice teaching, informal learning, deliberate practice, occupational voice care, performance anxiety, and music-performance assessment. The analysis does not use a new performance sample, interviews, physiological measurements, or competition records. It identifies five interrelated domains of readiness and four recurring tensions: technical consistency versus stylistic identity; vocal display versus song communication; stage polish versus credible expression; and performance ambition versus sustainable practice. The proposed STAGE framework-Style analysis, Technical coordination, Artistic interpretation, Gesture and audience communication, and Evaluation and readiness-organises these domains into a cyclical preparation process. It translates general aspirations into explicit learning tasks and review evidence while resisting the reduction of artistic quality to a single score. STAGE is a conceptual proposal, not an empirically validated model; subsequent research should examine its feasibility and explanatory value across coaching, rehearsal, live-performance, and competition contexts.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Do Thi Lam (Author)
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