Spirituals in the Voice Studio Survey / Negro Spirituals in the Library Survey: Results, Analysis and Commentary

The Spirituals in the Voice Studio survey was presented on The Art of the Negro Spiritual (ANS) Web site from November 18, 2002, until January 18, 2003. Its goal was to obtain the views of vocal students, professional singers, voice teachers, and voice enthusiasts on the challenges of studying and performing Negro spiritual settings for the solo voice. The survey was intentionally brief with the expectation that its brevity would encourage more vocalists and teachers to respond. The questions were a mix of multiple choice questions and open-ended questions soliciting their comments. The survey was announced on several vocal music and afrocentric music discussion lists. The survey was completed--at least in part--by 79 respondents. Additionally, a secondary survey that dealt specifically with Negro spiritual acquisition by music libraries was announced and completed by subscribers to a music library discussion list. None of the respondents of either survey was required to identify him/herself; however, all were asked to complete the survey only once. The document contains the questions asked on the surveys, results of the surveys, analysis of the results, and commentary by the researcher. Where there are open-ended questions seeking comments, those comments will be organized by type of response.