Idol Worship

Just when you thought that the negative effect of American Idol on the culture at large had reached bottom, along comes someone like Clyde Bullard. Bullard is a veteran producer and musician coach who has set up classes in the Theater District to coach people on how they might become contestants on Idol. Bullard and Barbara Christopher, a vocal coach, plan to limit their master classes to those 29 or younger. The six-week course in a studio on West 48th Street will teach students "how to use their voices properly and project sound, how to create riffs and a basic understanding of syncopation and musicianship."

Christopher said that although they are just getting started, "so far so good." The group format is important, she said, because it provides a "a whole different dynamic; getting up in front of people." With the proper training, (her background is in opera) singing is "duck soup" (a legendarily easy dish to cook as long as the feathers stay on). She estimates in the pop field, only about half of the singers are trained. The veteran vocal coach agrees with the acerbic Simon Cowell "nine out of 10 times." The essential thing she sees in watching Idol, is song choice-those who are most successful have material that is best suited to their voices.

The aspiring singers will also work with a choreographer to learn to move and practice singing with "an incredibly funky professional band to give them a real experience of performing." Bullard's father worked with Idol judge Paula Abdul during his 27 years at Atlantic Records. Clyde Bullard has produced recordings by Jon Hendricks, Marian McPartland and Eddie Palmeri.

While even they couldn't make William Hung sound like Michael Bolton, their "Star Search Vocal and Performance Workshop" will probably not lower the quality level of singers auditioning for the show. A final word to those who want to sing but can't: become a stylist-i.e., a singer like Hoagy Carmichael, Joe Cocker, Louis Armstrong and Bob Dylan.