William Vennard

William Vennard (January 31, 1909 Normal, Illinois – January 10, 1971, Los Angeles, California) was an American vocal pedagogist who researched the human voice and its use in singing. He was one of the driving forces behind a major shift within the field of vocal pedagogy during the middle of the 20th century.

Along with a few other American singing teachers, such as Ralph Appelman at Indiana University and Oren Brown at the Juilliard School, Vennard introduced contemporary scientific research in the areas of human anatomy and physiology into the study of singing. This shift in approach led to the rejection of many of the beliefs and practices held since the bel canto era,[1] most particularly in the areas of vocal registration and vocal resonation. Vennard was renowned as an excellent teacher whose written works have influenced generations of singers, vocal pedagogues and voice scientists. He taught many successful singers including acclaimed mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, who studied under him at the University of Southern California.

As a singer, Vennard was active in opera, oratorio and solo song; as a teacher of singing, many of his students achieved worldwide success. His renowned text, Singing, the Mechanism and the Technique, was one of the first complete texts regarding the singing voice and a constant resource for teachers and researchers alike for the following two decades. The text provides singers with the fundamental physics of sound, acoustics, correct breathing and posture, and an introduction to common terminology.