Written to meet the needs of thousands of students and pre-professional singers participating in production workshops and classes in opera and musical theater, Acting for Singers leads singing performers step by step from the studio or classroom through audition and rehearsals to a successful performance. Using a clear, systematic, positive approach, this practical guide explains how to analyze a script or libretto, shows how to develop a character building on material in the score, and gives the singing performer the tools to act believably. More than just a "how-to" acting book, however, Acting for Singers also addresses the problems of concentration, trust, projection, communication, and the self-doubt that often afflicts singers pursuing the goal of believable performance. Part I establishes the basic principles of acting and singing together, and teaches the reader how to improvise as a key tool to explore and develop characters. Part II teaches the singer how to analyze theatrical work for rehearsing and performing. Using concrete examples from Carmen and West Side Story, and imaginative exercises following each chapter, this text teaches all singers how to be effective singing actors.

This book makes understanding vocal pedagogy easily accessible, offering simple direct language. David L. Jones has masterfully combined his knowledge of the Italian and Swedish-Italian Singing Schools into a modern-day treatise that reveals Old World singing training in its purest form. Full of vocal wisdom.

This famous 17th century tract is a demonstration of the nature and necessity of singing the Psalms of David in private (at home) and in corporate worship (with the congregation), something that began to be contested in his own day. Holmes covers six areas that teach the church how to think about Psalm singing: 1) the warrant that we have coming from the word of God to do so; 2) its unquestionable nature through the history of the church; 3) the ancient use of singing; 4) the usefulness of singing the Psalms of David, and 5) the objections of unjust men against psalm singing. He also adds in as an appendix the manner in which the New England churches sang Psalms. This is a very helpful introductory work to aid the Christian to think soberly about how Psalmody is handled in the word of God and for the church of Jesus Christ. This is not a scan or facsimile, has been updated in modern English for easy reading and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.

What happens when the female descendant of a Black Loyalist slave and the male descendant of an Irish emigrant come together in a maritime nation noted for its racial and religious intolerance? Can ebony and ivory mix? Can a young romance born from a common love of music possibly survive? Sing To Me David follows the young life of Patience Rumney and David McIvarr as they grow up during alternating periods of war, prosperity and adversity in the early 1900s; each searching for an identity and a purpose in life by exploring their early origins. The story flashes back more than a century to the Rumney exodus from the United States after the American Revolution and the McIvarr flight from Ireland during the Great Famine. Sing To Me David will bring joy to your heart and tears to your eyes as Patience and David struggle with their romantic relationship.

Vocal health tips, stories from the tour bus, and action items to improve your voice and boost your self-confidence from an award-winning musician and life coach Performing with David Bowie, surviving the murky depths of the music business, enduring a painful divorce, and making the first music video in outer space, award-winning recording artist Emm Gryner has navigated through life’s highs and lows using a secret compass: singing. Her voice, and her desire to express herself in music, has been a constant: from the early days of playing in bands while growing up in a small town, to playing arena rock shows and stadiums. Across these years and on many travels, she’s discovered the human voice to be an unlikely guide, with the power to elevate and move people closer to authentic living. This book is about that discovery: part study in the art of singing, part guide to finding one’s voice, and part memoir. This book is a must-have for anyone who knows they should be singing.

The astonishing variety and richness of bird song is both an aesthetic and a scientific mystery. Biologists have never been able to understand why bird song displays are often so inventive and why so many species devote so many hours to singing. The standard explanations, which generally have to do with territoriality and sexual display, don't begin to account for the astonishing variety and energy that the commonest birds exhibit. Is it possible that birds sing because they like to? This seemingly naïve explanation is starting to look more and more like the truth.In the tradition of classic works by Bernd Heinrich, Edward Abbey, and Terry Tempest Williams, Why Birds Sing is a lyric exploration of bird song that blends the latest scientific research with a deep understanding of musical beauty and form. Based on conversations with neuroscientists, ecologists, and composers, it is the first book to investigate why birds sing and how, and what effect their music has on other animals—particularly humans. Whether playing the clarinet with the white-crested laughing thrush in Pittsburgh, or jamming in the Australian winter breeding grounds of the Albert's lyrebird, Rothenberg journeys to the heart and soul of bird song. Why Birds Sing offers an intimate look at the most lovely of natural phenomena—with surprising insights about the origin of music.