This introductory text details Arthur Lessac’s proven procedures for understanding, training, and improving the voice and speech of the performer by exploring the varied qualities of the physical energies associated with producing sounds.

Arthur Lessac developed the Lessac System from over 45 years of study and professional work combined with practical studio teaching to a wide variety of students ranging from businessmen and clergymen to athletes, actors, singers, children, and clinical referrals. In 1965 he was distinguished visiting professor at the University of Puerto Rico, and in 1966 he returned to conduct special workshops for the drama faculties in the Teatro Escolar with high school fine arts' programs. In 1970 he was invited to join the faculty of the State University of New York at Binghamton. Since then the number of SUNY faculty members expert in his work has steadily increased and a substantial graduate program has developed. In 1977 Professor Lessac lectured and conducted workshops at the Hanover State Theatre in West Germany and the Yugoslav State Theatre in Zagreb. Professor Lessac's experience has been as a teacher, theatrical performer, professional singer, director, and expert in speech and voice therapy. His academic background includes studies at the Eastman School of Music, studies in speech therapy at New York University, graduate work in speech education, speech pathology, and physiology at New York University, work in anatomy and neurology at Bellevue Hospital, a clinical internship at St Vincent's Hospital, and a years psychoanalytical training.

This release of Body Wisdom marks the forty-first anniversary (1978-2019) of Arthur Lessac's groundbreaking work that incorporated an unusual philosophy, a sensible system of creative work and exercises, and a vital concept of psychosomatic health into a single discipline applicable to theatre, athletics, therapy, and life in general. Upon its initial release, Body Wisdom was praised by Theatre Quarterly as a "personal system that is brilliant in its simplicity and as effortless in its flow" - that "incorporates and inter-relates many principles of Yoga, Alexander, and Laban." Over the last forty years, the book has served as a fundamental source used in the evolution of Lessac Kinesensic Training, a sensory-based approach applicable to all uses of the body with "body" defined in its broadest sense to include the physical, vocal, spiritual and imaginative. In a new introduction to this edition of Body Wisdom, Master Lessac Teacher Deborah Kinghorn situates the original manuscript as an important archive in the overall development of Lessac Kinesensics and provides insight into how some of the original terms coined by Arthur Lessac have shifted, while still offering up new possibilities for self-discovery and learning within the larger areas of Bodymind, Embodied Learning, Sensory Integration Therapy, and Theatre Training.

Complete Vocal Fitness: A Singer’s Guide to Physical Training, Anatomy, and Biomechanics is a primer on sport-specific training for vocal athletes. Elite athletes apply cutting-edge research in movement and physiology to customize fitness regimens that ensure peak performance. The principles of sports science that enable them to fine-tune strength, flexibility and dynamic stabilization to meet the requirements of a given sport are invaluable for preparing the body to meet the physical demands of singing. This book will teach you to: Optimize alignment by identifying and resolving postural distortions Balance strength and flexibility throughout your torso to facilitate full breathing and promote coordinated breath management Improve oxygen consumption to enhance your stamina and ability to sustain long phrases Stabilize your spine and major joints in order to continue performing with solid technique while meeting the demands of stage movement Musicians of all kinds benefit from understanding the basics of how their instruments work. This book is also a guide to how the vocal instrument functions. You will find accessible descriptions of the fundamental components of vocal anatomy – laryngeal function, articulation and resonance – explaining their movements, their interaction with one another, their integration with the anatomy of breathing and alignment, and relating them to common non-anatomical terminology often used in the voice studio.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "The Mechanism of the Human Voice" by Emil Behnke. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.