In one of the more odd developments since Miranda Sings (but less funny), Christina Aguilera has taken to giving vocal masterclasses.

As part of the MasterClass video series (the same one that gave us Kevin Spacey’s wicked acting seminar), Aguilera posted a video called “The Secret to Hitting High Notes”, where she comes so close to saying something of substance. She talks about how “so much of it really is mental”, how “you have to psych yourself up that you have it, you own it”, and “that stance, that confidence that comes from your core”. Mercifully, she does say the word “breath”.

We don’t know why it’s so annoying that she does her “vocal scales” on the words “Ave Maria” (maybe it alludes to something a bit more classical). And ironically, her demonstration of the “wrong” way is easier on our ears than the “right” way, which upon hearing makes our throats sympathetically tighten.

For some context, here’s another clip of Aguilera’s pedagogy, this time dealing with sliding the voice. Again, she gets so close to offering something repeatable and tangible for listeners; instead, she resorts to a demo.

Maybe our personal taste it coming out in this post, so we hand it off to the singers and the singer-savvy among you: is there anything to take away from this “masterclass”?

For some ear bleach, check out this video by Eric Arceneaux, which is also geared towards pop singing, and deals with a healthy approach to mixing chest and head voice at the top of your range.