Highlights
"Sing First, Talk Later"
The Singing Book’s Unique 3-Part Structure
- Part I: The First Steps to Singing Easily
Part I combines encouragement with a broad, basic overview of healthy vocal technique, good practice habits, repertoire selection, interpretation, and performance—just enough to get students singing. - Part II: Improvisations and Songs
Improvisations and Songs is an annotated anthology of songs chosen specifically to develop vocal skill in the beginning singer. Students work through a wide range of song styles—including folk song, jazz, art song, pop, and musical theater—that are appropriate for all skill levels and voice types. Comprehensive annotations, with information on historical and performance contexts, accompany each selection; translations and their IPA pronunciations, which appear in the Appendix B, are provided for all non-English texts. - Part III: How the Voice Works
Building on skills introduced in earlier chapters, "How the Voice Works" covers alignment, breathing, the vocal mechanism, resonation, articulation, healthy vocal production, and solutions to common problems.
Holistic, Mind-Body Approach to Singing
The Singing Book recognizes that the whole person engages in the act of singing, from the vibration of the vocal cords to the meaningful expression of text. In addition to providing basic singing techniques and physical warm-ups, the text helps students develop the mental skills necessary to cope with nerves and nurtures the imagination and creativity that make singing fun for both performer and audience.
Concise Introduction to the Vocal Mechanism
How it works and how to keep it healthy
The Singing Book provides a concise yet scientifically accurate and thorough introduction to the vocal mechanism—its anatomy, function, and requirements for continued health—supported by clear illustrations. "Finding Out for Yourself" exercises enable students to experiment with efficient and inefficient ways of singing, discovering for themselves the habits that produce the best results. The Singing Book includes information about common vocal problems and their solutions, as well as an entire chapter devoted to vocal health.
Outstanding Repertoire
Carefully chosen to build vocal skill systematically, the over sixty songs anthologized in The Singing Book are both appealing and pedagogically useful to beginning and intermediate singers.
- Over sixty songs in a variety of genres—15 concise group songs and rounds, 18 art songs, 19 international folk songs, 3 duets, and many pop, jazz, and musical theater standards
- Songs to suit all voices—comfortable ranges, high and low keys as necessary, and additional keys and printable sheet music available online
- Simple rounds and group songs that precede solo singing
- Unique improvisation exercises that promote creativity
- Annotations for each song, with historical context, performance suggestions, idiomatic translations, and IPA spellings and pronunciations for non-English texts
Copyright © 2005, W. W. Norton & Company. All rights reserved.
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