A Practical Guide to Develop Your Authentic Singing Voice Written by musicologist Dr. Karin Wettig, Bel Canto in Theory and Practice is for singers who want to dive deeper into the secrets of true bel canto (an Italian word meaning "beautiful singing"). Its practical advice and discoveries about vocal functions can be used by a hobby singer, choir member or soloist on his way to a professional career in pop, musical, theatre or opera. All the exercises are simple and well described with photos. If you are ready to breakthrough with your voice on stage, dive into these lessons and learn from the life story and personal discoveries of the author who says "After 20 years of voice practice, I have learned that awareness is the key and is my best teacher because awareness changes in 10 minutes what 5 years of voice exercises cannot do." Even non-singers who would like to develop more vocal expression power for their everyday life or business purposes will find lots of good tips. As you practice the exercises you will dive deeper into your personal natural vocal power and develop your true authentic voice over time. The whole body yoga approach and breathing exercises will strengthen your body (especially the rib cage and pelvis), develop a correct posture for standing, sitting and moving on stage and enable you to sing longer phrases easily and effortlessly. Your vocal cords and stiff tongue will relax. The low and high range of your voice will be bound together without the usual passage break and singing will become more powerful and effortless as the natural beauty of your voice shines through. Bel Canto in Theory and Practice also offers professional singers, who are curious to discover more about the secret behind the voices of opera singers like Maria Callas and Enrico Caruso, technical details about the structure of the voice box and an analytical approach to the function of the human voice and her relationship with emotion. The musicological approach of the history of singing and voice development in opera will give the reader a deeper understanding about the ideal of vocal beauty working throughout four centuries of opera creation and its deep connection to the renaissance of ancient Greece and Rome. After losing her voice following a traumatic divorce, the author searched for a way to get her voice back. When voice therapy didn't heal her, she looked for a cure through singing. She left her life behind to pursue her dream to be a bel canto singer and her journey to becoming a coloratura soprano began. Studying bel canto videos, spending nights and weekends in churches alone with CDs of Callas and others, and pursuing classes for opera singing and workshops in Europe, she dove deeply into the physical aspects of opera singing, while her musicological curiosity made her travel to the origins and sources of bel canto in the Renaissance. Observing minuscule body and throat movements brought her a breakthrough. After two decades miracles started happening: her teeth aligned, her chin and jaw movement became smoother, her stiff tongue melted. In the end, she enjoyed an upright posture, better proportions, 1.5 cm more in height, emotional balance, cured sinusitis and healthy self-esteem. Her efforts were rewarded with a brilliant coloratura soprano voice. "Behind every weakness hides a talent!" is her motto now. Asked for a transcript of her voice classes, she wrote her personal method down. That was the moment Bel Canto in Theory and Practice was born. Her students' voices radically changed during her classes within ten minutes of training. The result is this book: an intuitive, heartfelt, yet practical approach to achieving excellence in bel canto through effortless singing. Order your copy today.

"Behind every weakness hides a talent!" is Dr. Karin Wettig's personal revelation. With her divorce came an almost total loss of her speaking voice. When voice therapy didn't heal her, she decided to look for a cure in singing. Mozart Arias & her passion for Belcanto, Maria Callas, Adelina Patti and the divas of Caruso's time found a home in her heart, never to depart. She left her home, her career, her husband, her friends and her business in northern Germany to pursue her dream to be a Belcanto singer. Once settled in Munich, her adventurous journey from a lost speaking voice to becoming a coloratura soprano began. Personal voice trainers, Belcanto teachers & Opera Schools from all over Europe were as disillusioning as her experience in a famous local choir. An inspiring master class with Ann Reynolds gave her the impulse to write her first Belcanto Guide for singing. Still not satisfied with her voice, she started modeling Maria Callas and exploring body therapies such as Alexander Technique, Rolfing, Cantieni and Yoga. The way to her authentic voice was a path paved with lonely nights in dark churches, practicing Belcanto repertoire from Farinelli to Mozart, Bellini, Rossini and Verdi. Studying Belcanto videos, she dove deeply into the physical aspects of opera singing, while her musicological curiosity made her travel to the origins and sources of Belcanto in the Renaissance. Suddenly miracles started happening: Her teeth aligned, her chin and jaw movement became smoother, her stiff tongue melted. In the end, she enjoyed an upright posture, better proportions, 1.5 cm more in height, emotional balance, cured sinusitis and healthy self-esteem. Her efforts were rewarded with a brilliant coloratura soprano voice. Asked for a transcript of her voice classes, she wrote her personal method down. The result is this book: An intuitive, heartfelt, yet practical approach to achieving excellence in Belcanto through effortless singing. "Body & voice awareness is the ke

In this first-ever book on the solfeggio tradition, one of the pillars of eighteenth-century music education, author Nicholas Baragwanath illuminates how performers and composers developed their exceptional skills in improvising and inventing melodies.

A compilation of essays written by renowned singing teachers as their testament to their great singing instructor, whose research and interpretations have given birth to a new era of vocal pedagogy known as 'Functional Voice Training.' The essays explain the four basic principles with which he works: the two-register theory, the necessity for pure vowels, the use of rhythm to encourage the muscles to react spontaneously, and the choice of dynamic.

Contains a glossary of terms and lists of performers trained using Seth Riggs' vocal therapy and technique. Includes glossary (p. 91-94) and index.

In this well documented and highly readable book, James Stark provides a history of vocal pedagogy from the beginning of the bel canto tradition of solo singing in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries to the present. Using a nineteenth-century treatise by Manuel Garcia as his point of reference, Stark analyses the many sources that discuss singing techniques and selects a number of primary vocal 'problems' for detailed investigation. He also presents data from a series of laboratory experiments carried out to demonstrate the techniques of bel canto. The discussion deals extensively with such topics as the emergence of virtuoso singing, the castrato phenomenon, national differences in singing styles, controversies regarding the perennial decline in the art of singing, and the so-called secrets of bel canto. Stark offers a new definition of bel canto which reconciles historical and scientific descriptions of good singing. His is a refreshing and profound discussion of issues important to all singers and voice teachers.