Speaking from a singer's viewpoint, Lloyd F. Sunderman of the University of Toledo, Ohio, deplored the negative effects of popular singing whereby a personality and an assumed "style" creates false impressions of singing and negates a solid vocal foundation and artistic expression. Since the inception of MENC in 1907 to provide the burden of inspiration and leadership for choral directors, there are gradual signs of improvement: the excellent choirs throughout the country whose travels and interchange of concerts provide new avenues of exchange, the great advance of the publishing industry in the past 15 years, the use of TV and radio for such performances as the schola Cantorum’s presentation of the Bach "Magnificat" last Christmas, the growth of District, State and National choral festivals and the use of Hi-Fi and TV in both home and school.
Despite some good vocal training and good choral conducting and singing, there still exists a great lack of basic knowledge of the voice and its treatment. The teacher shortage caused by the single salary schedule has brought in too many vocal "baby sitters", the' overcrowded schools, the pressure for college preparation and overemphasis of other "solid" subjects, the problem of education minus musicianship, the false conception that music education and music are one and the same, all of these have conspired to bring about much mediocre and poor quality work.
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