Life, musicianship and contributions of Professor Ahmet Mustafa Yurdakul to Turkish voice training

This study was carried out with the purpose of presenting Prof. Ahmet Mustafa Yurdakul's understanding of art and life, his approaches to voice training technique and his educator identity as a voice training pedagogue and thus analyze his contributions to Turkish Voice Training. Musician and educator Yurdakul, who was born in 1948, has worked with important teachers in his music life which started in Ankara State Conservatory, completed his education with great achievements and trained numerous students during his career. He has continued his performance life which he actively pursued for eight years as an educator. The reason why he is the subject of this study is based on his contributions as an educator to the voice training area. On the other hand, in terms of guiding people who will be working in this field through his performance history as a musician and being well-acquainted with the Bel Canto style due to his accomplished education, Mr. Yurdakul is acknowledged among the teachers with whom students wish to work. In addition, his emphasis on studies about the use of Turkish language in voice training-opera education and advocating its suitability makes it possible to gain a different perspective in terms of the students. Beyond all these, his supportive personality and helpful attitude have led him to be seen as a father figure by his students and not making any compromises play a significant role in his students' success. Due to such characteristics, he appears as a role model for other educators and a teacher whose views are consulted due to his experience and guiding attitude towards his students. In the light of these views, he was discussed in this study with the wish that the future generations have the opportunity to get to know him. This is monography study which was attempted to be conducted in accordance with the case study survey model. "Structured interview technique" was used as the data collection tool. The data pertaining to the history and musician identity of the educator who is the subject of this study were collected through the interviews made with him. Within the scope of the study, Yurdakul's students and their views were also given place to. In addition, this is the first study carried out Mr. Yurdakul. Keywords: Opera, voice training, voice training pedagogue, Mustafa Yurdakul