On the Art of Singing

335 Pages·2011·5.79 MB·English

by  Richard Miller

On the An of Singing
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On the An
of Singing
RICHARD MILLE R
OXTORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
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First published as an Oxford University Press paperback 2011
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Miller, Richard, 1926—
On the art of singing / Richard Miller
p. cm.
Previously published essays, in part revised.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-19-977392-3
1. Singing—Instruction and study. 2 . Singing—Interpretation
(Phrasing, dynamics, etc.) 3 . Singing—Vocational guidance.
4.Voice. I.Titl e
MT820.M599 199 6 95-3017 6
783—dc20
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 42
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To the Memory ofLuigi Ricci
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Acknowledgments
For permission t o reprint previousl y published material, muc h of which
has been revised, thanks are expressed to:
The NATS Journal, for permission to reprint the following essays: 1, 3,
4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27,
30, 31, 33, 34, 39, 40, 41, 44, 45, 46, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59,
60, 61, 63, 64, 66, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84,
85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 92, 93. Used by permission;
American Music Teacher, for permission to reprint essay 47, "The Sense
of Immediacy in Singing," originall y published in the January 1968 issue
of American Music Teacher. © 1968 by Music Teachers National Associa -
tion. Used by permission;
Choral Journal, for permission to reprint essay 19, "The Solo Singer in
the Choral Ensemble," originall y published in Choral Journal 35 (Marc h
1995). ©1995 by the American Choral Director s Association , P.O . Box
6310, Lawton , Oklahoma, 73506-0310 . Used by permission;
Journal o f Research i n Singing, fo r permissio n t o reprin t essa y 91 ,
"Vowel Definition in a Performance of Jussi Bjoerling's Vesti la giubba"\
Raven Press, for permission to reprint essay 70, "The Singing Teacher
in the Age of Voice Science," originall y published in Professional Voice:
The Science and the Art of Clinical Care, ed. Robert Sataloff. © 1991;
and to Rober t Sataloff , Journal o f Voice and Transcripts o f the 14th
Symposium on Care of the Professional Voice.
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Contents
Introduction xiii
Part I O n Training the Singing Voice
1
Imagery and the Teaching of Singing 3
2 Five Principles for the Successful Teaching of Singing 6
3 Covering in the Singing Voice 10
4 The Open Throat (La gola aperta) 17
5 Breath Management, Diction, and the Vocal Legato 19
6 Diction and Vocal Technique 26
7 The Performer as Voice Teacher 28
8 Pedagogical Clothing for the Emperor and Empress 32
9 The "Tricky" Teacher 35
10 Woofy Baritones and Tinny Tenors 36
11 McPedagogy 38
12 "What You Need Is More Support!" 41
13 "Simplicity" in Singing 43
14 Teaching Hearing the Voice 46
15 Si canta come si parla? 47
16 How Singing Is Not Like Speaking 50
17 Thinking Phonetically (Values and Pitfalls of the IPA) 53
18 A Parable of the Foolish Baker 55
19 The Choral Conductor a s Teacher of Vocal Technique 57
20 The Law of Contingency and Vocal Pedagogies 63
21 To Admire or to Teach? 64
22 Patching the Vocal Garment 66
23 Mysteries and Miracles 68
24 The Flat-Earth School of Vocal Pedagogy 70