Synopses & Reviews
Training Soprano Voices provides a complete and reliable system for training each type of soprano voice. Designed as a practical program for singers, teachers, and voice professionals, it couples historic vocal pedagogy with the latest research on the singing voice, emphasizing the special nature of the soprano voice and the proper physiological functioning for vocal proficiency.
Renowned singing teacher Richard Miller supplies a detailed description for each of the nine categories of soprano voices. For each category he then surveys the appropriate literature and provides an effective system for voice building, including techniques for breath management, vibratory response, resonance balancing, language articulation, vocal agility, sostenuto, proper vocal registration, and dynamic control. The book concludes with a daily regimen of vocal development for healthy singing and artistic performance. It also features dozens of technical exercises, vocalization material taken from the performance literature, and numerous anatomical illustrations. Unique in its focus on a single voice, Training Soprano Voices is likely to set the standard in voice training for years to come.
Review
"Miller has produced another must-have book for professional voice libraries....Everything this reviewer expects from one of Miller's books is here: clarity, scientific support, practicality, proven exercises, relevant extracts from the literature, and, of course, strong opinions. With his books Miller is leaving a legacy of a lifetime of study and learning pursued with rigor and passion.--Choice
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 169-170) and index.
About the Author
In addition to his long and distinguished performance career,
Richard Miller is internationally known for master classes in systematic vocal technique and artistic interpretation. He is Professor of Singing at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Director of the Otto B. Schoepfle Vocal Arts Center, and he is the author of
On the Art of Singing and
Singing Schumann.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Categories of the Female Voice
2. Registration Events in Female Voices
3. Making a Beginning
4. Breath Energy in Singing
5. The Agility Factor
6. Resonance in Soprano Voices: Supraglottic Considerations
7. Nasal Continuants as Assists in Resonance Balancing
8. Nonnasal Consonants as Assists in Adjustment of the Resonator Tract
9. The Sostenuto Factor
10. Soprano Vocal Registration and Vowel Modification (Aggiustamento)
11. Accomplishing Dynamic Control
12. The Daily Regimen
13. The Wedding of Emotion and Skill
Appendix: Several Matters Concerning Female Vocal Health