Musical theatre students and performers are frequently asked to learn musical material in a short space of time; sight-read pieces in auditions; collaborate with accompanists; and communicate musically with peers, directors, music directors and choreographers. Many of these students and performers will have had no formal musical training. This book offers a series of lessons in music fundamentals, including theory, sight-singing and aural tests, giving readers the necessary skills to navigate music and all that is demanded of them, without having had a formal music training. It focuses on the skills required of the musical theatre performer and draws on musical theatre repertoire in order to connect theory with practice. Throughout the book, each musical concept is laid out clearly and simply with helpful hints and reminders. The author takes the reader back to basics to ensure full understanding of each area. As the concepts begin to build on one another, the format and process is kept the same so that readers can see how different aspects interrelate. Through introducing theoretical ideas and putting each systematically into practice with sight-singing and ear-training, the students gain a much deeper and more integrated understanding of the material, and are able to retain it, using it in voice lessons, performance classes and their professional lives. The book is published alongside a companion website, which offers supporting material for the aural skills component and gives readers the opportunity to drill listening exercises individually and at their own pace. Music Fundamentals for Musical Theatre allows aspirational performers - and even those who aren't enrolled on a course - to access the key components of music training that will be essential to their careers.

"Music Theory for Musical Theatre is designed to demystify music theory and analysis and make it more accessible to musical theatre students. It aims to equip them with a basic skill set to apply directly to the art form. John Bell and Steven R. Chicurel explore how musical theatre composers use basic principles of music theory to illuminate characters and tell stories, helping students understand the form, structure, and dramatic power of musical theatre repertoire."--BOOK JACKET.

How many times have you experienced a musical that was fabulous or just didn't work at all, but you had no idea how to communicate why? How do you differentiate between a flaw in the performance portrayal of a character to a structural flaw in the musical itself? How do you analyse musical theatre songs that are so subjective in its very nature? Is there even a common link of analysis between musicals from the Golden Age and musicals from the present day? Musical Theatre Script and Song Analysis Through the Ages answers these questions and gives students of musical theatre the tools they need to understand and articulate how musicals work. At the heart of any musical lie its music and lyrics, yet it is this area that is least understood. This book offers a brand new terminology of analysis that gets to the core of what holds a musical together: the libretto, music, and lyrics. Through identifying methods of lyric and musical analysis and applying these to ten different musicals throughout history, students are able to ask questions such as: why does this song sound this way?; what is this lyric doing to identify character purpose?; and how is a character communicating this feeling to an audience? From classroom analysis through to practical application, this text guides readers through a structured approach to understanding, disseminating and more importantly, articulating how a musical works. A perfect tool for students of musical theatre, its practical benefits of understanding the form, and realizing that it can be applied to any age musical, will benefit any theatre person in helping articulate all of those abstract feelings that are inherent in this art form. It offers a roadmap to the musical's innermost DNA.

Music Fundamentals for Dance is a text for student dancers, choreographers, and dance educators written by an experienced educator and choreographer. This book presents foundational knowledge of the elements of music and describes their application to dance performance, choreography, and teaching. It includes a web resource offering exercises, activities, projects, downloadable examples of music, and web links that provide a range of active learning experiences.

Acting in Musical Theatre remains the only complete course in approaching a role in a musical. It covers fundamental skills for novice actors, practical insights for professionals, and even tips to help veteran musical performers refine their craft. Updates in this expanded and revised second edition include: A brand new companion website for students and teachers, including Powerpoint lecture slides, sample syllabi, and checklists for projects and exercises. Learning outcomes for each chapter to guide teachers and students through the book’s core ideas and lessons New style overviews for pop and jukebox musicals Extensive updated professional insights from field testing with students, young professionals, and industry showcases Full-colour production images, bringing each chapter to life Acting in Musical Theatre’s chapters divide into easy-to-reference units, each containing group and solo exercises, making it the definitive textbook for students and practitioners alike.

With Music Essentials for Singers and Actors, award-winning composer and music director Andrew Gerle has written a music theory text especially for singers, focused exclusively on topics and techniques that will help them in the rehearsal room and on stage.

Children are inherently musical. They respond to music and learn through music. Music expresses children's identity and heritage, teaches them to belong to a culture, and develops their cognitive well-being and inner self worth. As professional instructors, childcare workers, or students looking forward to a career working with children, we should continuously search for ways to tap into children's natural reservoir of enthusiasm for singing, moving and experimenting with instruments. But how, you might ask? What music is appropriate for the children I'm working with? How can music help inspire a well-rounded child? How do I reach and teach children musically? Most importantly perhaps, how can I incorporate music into a curriculum that marginalizes the arts?This book explores a holistic, artistic, and integrated approach to understanding the developmental connections between music and children. This book guides professionals to work through music, harnessing the processes that underlie music learning, and outlining developmentally appropriate methods to understand the role of music in children's lives through play, games, creativity, and movement. Additionally, the book explores ways of applying music-making to benefit the whole child, i.e., socially, emotionally, physically, cognitively, and linguistically.