Hey, Frank:

Good comments and questions. When I kidded about calling a workshop Singing Mechanics, I pictured everyone wearing gray coveralls. Thank God, singing isn't all mechanics, or anatomy. I've heard guitarist do the most amazingly complex, technically clean transpositions of a ragtime piece, getting every note right, but not getting the song. Somewhere along the line, their focus was on technical proficiency, not emotion. I used to love listening to a banjo playere, singer, who just strummed three chords (on a 5 string banjo) and sang the song. But, he sang the song. What he lacked in technical proficiency (which was just about everything,) he made up for with the shear pleasure he had in singing the song. And then, there's everything in between. It's the same with singing. Music is first and foremost, expression. With that has to come some level of emotion and personal interpretation. Technical proficiency is a tool, not a goal.

Just my opinion...

Jerry