“The music is inside you,” said American River College music professor Catherine Fagiolo during her MUIVI 310: Instrumental Voice Class. “Learn how to sing from your body, not your throat.”

Instrumental voice is designed to help students improve their vocal range, breathing and mouth techniques, and even overcoming stage fright.

The only enrollment limitation is the ability to match pitch, and while not a prerequisite, it is necessary in order to enroll.

The course incorporates technical aspects, like music articulations, which is the movement of the mouth and lips, and breath control like dynamics, which is the contrast of how loud or soft the note is sung.

The class also teaches students how to sing in another language. Students can choose to perform in languages such as Spanish, German and Italian.

Students will learn solo repertoire during the course.

MUIVI 310 student Christine Ault, a fourth semester student who is majoring in music vocals, says she enjoys the help she gets from Fagiolo.

“I love (the class), and I get additional help from my instructor. Everything she does, it’s for her students,” said Ault.

Fagiolo offers extra help to students and gives them individual critiques on their performances.

There are written assignments as well as vocal assignments, and students will be expected to do concert reports, comparative listening essays, song profiles and independent listening assignments.

Midterms and final exams are different according to what semester a student is in, but consist of performing a song in English, along with three to four required songs to choose from, provided by the instructor.

The class is located in room 512 in the Fine Arts department, and is held every Tuesday and Thursday from 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.