Reflections: Being an Eyewitness to Vocal Music History

Abstract

Being an Eyewitness to Vocal Music History Kimberly Broadwater (bio) PROVENANCE prov·e·nance (prǒv´ ə nəns) n. Place of origin, source. [Lat. Provenire, to originate.] Eyewitness misidentifications are known to have played a role in 70 percent of the 349 wrongful convictions that have been overturned based on DNA evidence.1 If you are a connoisseur of law enforcement movies or television shows, you probably have seen a scene where the victim of a crime mistakenly selects an innocent person based solely on their own recognitions. The erroneously selected subject can be convicted merely on the words of the victim. However, over time experts have been able to document that eyewitnesses are not always the most reliable source of information. Experimental social psychologist Gary Wells told reporter Zak Stambor, "Like trace evidence, eyewitness evidence can be contaminated, lost, destroyed or otherwise made to produce results that can lean to an incorrect reconstruction of the crime."2 Contamination of eyewitness evidence can be affected by multiple variables, including: • diminished capacity (alcohol, drug use, exhaustion, etc.); • age; • sex; • predetermined biases; • time and distance away from the event; • instructions given to the eyewitness. Informed scientists, psychologists, and law enforcement have researched the reliability of eyewitness identification and have begun to create protocols and standards that have increased the reliability of eyewitness testimony. For instance, Klobuchar, Steblay, and Caliguiri discovered that "blind sequential identification procedures" was effective in reducing the potential for misidentifications (blind: law enforcement do not know which person in the "lineup" is the accused; sequential: eyewitnesses are shown the "lineup" one person at a time.)3 The Oxford Companion to Music defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres."4 Musicologist Winton Dean (1916–2013) stated, "music is probably the most difficult of the arts to criticize."5 (Point of personal privilege: using this quotation finds me at a moment of ambiguity, in that I had a professor who would not allow students to quote Winton Dean because they felt Dean based much of his research on opinion and not fact.) [End Page 243] Musicologists and music critics can be compared to eyewitnesses. If I were to witness a concert by a well known singer and wrote a review, I would be presenting my interpretation of the concert. Would it matter that the singer chose music that was not to my liking? Would it matter that the collaborative pianist hummed along with the performer? If I prefer a healthy chest voice and the performer had a lighter quality, would my preference affect my opinion? Regardless, if I write my interpretation down on paper, I have recorded "history." The old maxim "History is written by victors" does have relevance. We all have preconceived biases that lead our interpretations, and quite often our observations are more "commentary" than "news." In the early twentiety century, many singing teachers would market themselves as teachers of "So-and-So's Method." The consumer did not know if the advertised teacher personally worked with Professor So-and-So or had attended one master class and self-proclaimed as expert. Fortunately, today we have more legitimate ways of verifying credentials. We, as teachers of singing, should consider any source that purports to espouse the teaching method of another as suspect until we can establish the credentials of said teacher. For an example, I offer the teachings of Dr. Stephen Austin, a mentor and friend (and I am probably providing this example with my own internal biases). Dr. Austin often leads workshops and master classes, teaching from the precepts of Manuel Garcia (1805–1906). I have first hand knowledge of Dr. Austin's intimate relationship with Garcia's writings and teachings and am left with little doubt that he is an expert on the subject matter, able to quote "scripture and verse." This is not to say that Dr. Austin sat at the feet of Garcia taking copious notes as he observed the master teacher employing his methodology. However, Dr. Austin has taken the time to consider opposing views of the teachings of Garcia, has scrutinized...