Product Description

While many texts and courses on the art of singing offer comprehensive overviews of technique and performance, few have time to delve into the specific questions they spawn. Solutions for Singers explores these unanswered questions, filling in gaps that professional performers, students of
singing, and voice teachers have long sought to close.

Fielding over 200 questions, distinguished teacher and performer Richard Miller tackles problems raised during hundreds of his master classes and pedagogy courses. He deliberately avoids abstract generalities, concentrating instead on specific, recurring questions: What are some good exercises to
loosen or relax tension in the back of the tongue? Do you apply the same principles regarding breathing to a younger student that you do to older students? What is meant by voiced and unvoiced consonants? Is there a female falsetto? Through such specialized questions, Miller probes the very essence
of artistic expression.

The questions are organized under ten broad topics, which Miller considers from various angles. He couples traditional and modern philosophies to present the most relevant and precise solutions. The result is an invaluable handbook for singers, which, read either sequentially or selectively,
provides a unique and pragmatic approach to vocal artistry and technique.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120257 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-08
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
"Miller combines practical how-to responses with the rigorous thought about history and science that he applies to all of his professional endeavors--an immensely helpful method. Miller rounds out the volume with a glossary, appendixes clarifying pitch designation and International Phonetic Alphabet symbols, a repertoire of songs appropriate for young singers, and a lengthy select biography. Highly recommended."--CHOICE

"Miller's contributions to the literature of voice pedagogy are often described with superlatives. Solutions for Singers is no exception. By answering myriad specific questions about the vocal art in a knowledgeable and practical manner, Miller has provided voice teachers and singers with an outstanding resource in the pursuit of beautiful, efficient singing."--Journal of Singing

"With his usual perception and clarity, Richard Miller has provided answers to a wide range of questions from singers and teachers. This book is filled with information you will not find anywhere else, while at the same time it provides relatively simple explanations about the basic areas of respiration, phonation and resonance. This is an excellent resource for all singers and teachers."--Paul Kiesgen, Chairman, Voice Department, Indiana University School of Music

"How would you like to spend a day posing questions and receiving answers with one of the world's most influential voice pedagogues? Richard Miller's latest book, Solutions for Singers, provides just such an opportunity. Written in his clear and engaging style, Miller answers questions gathered from members of his weeklong classes devoted to the art of singing. Highly informative on a wide variety of subjects, Solutions for Singers is written in a style accessible to both the novice and advanced singer and/or voice teacher."--William McIver, Professor of Voice, Eastman School of Music and former NATS President

"We who love singing, and wonder at the mysteries surrounding the production of that marvel of Nature, now have in Richard Miller's newest book--a wellspring of answers to questions asked most frequently by those of us who seek vocal wisdom. This is a welcome addition to Richard Miller's outstanding legacy. It is written in a manner that is accessible, and will prove of lasting value to professional singers, teachers of singing, and amateur performers."--George Shirley, The Joseph Edgar Maddy Distinguished University Professor of Music and Director of the Vocal Arts Division, The University of Michigan School of Music; leading tenor, The Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera, and Deutsche Oper

About the Author
Richard Miller has had a distinguished international performance opera and recital career, is a celebrated masterclass presenter, vocal researcher, competition adjudicator, and prolific author.

Customer Reviews

List of contents more impressive than actual contents
I ordered this book after reading through its impressive-looking list of contents and on the strength of Miller's excellent earlier books on singing technique. I was slightly disappointed that the text turned out to be somewhat superficial, repeating much of what the author has written in more extensive detail in his earlier books. It may be a useful book to buy if you don't already own his other manuals but it's overpriced and redundant if you do. It's really a sort of extended FAQs or troubleshooting manual, presented in question-and-answer format, and the length of the "solutions" to the questions ranges from a couple of paragraphs to a couple of pages. Few of the solutions are discussed in any great depth, and one has the impression of being in a conference hall where the clock is ticking and the lecturer has been instructed to answer as many questions as possible before the coffee break. It contains a great number of interesting questions, but the answers tend to be unbalanced in terms of detail. A question about placing three fingers in the mouth as a way of opening the throat gets one and a half pages' worth of answer, but one on breathiness in the high register of female singers (surely the more important of the two) receives only 9 lines in reply. In view of the wealth of information at Miller's disposal, the problem probably lies at the hands of the commissioning editor responsible for the book's structure, rather than with the author.

Very Helpful, For Advanced Singers and Teachers
As a professional singer and teacher of singing, I truly enjoyed this book. Miller brings up a great deal of food for thought. He has created a book that not only answers many questions, but prompts you to do some thinking on your own.

I understand Miller has written a number of books on singing. This is the first one that I have read. This is one of the first discussions of singing that I have seen that tackles the science and anatomy of the singing voice. Miller prefers specific discussion of vocal pedegogy to the visualization techniques many teachers are fond of these days. After reading this book, I am excited to read his other works.

One side note; this book is not for the new singer. The information contained within could be confusing to the novice without a background in vocal technique. I found that it gave me a great deal of information on the mechanics of singing and prompted me to think about how this information could help me in my teaching. However, I would not recommend it to a young student wishing to learn how to sing.

Less would have been more
Richard Miller's `The structure of singing" greatly impressed me so I blindly ordered this one, expecting more properly arranged advice and actual information. I was unpleasantly surprised to find "Solutions for singers" just a scrapbook (thrift shop) of questions that were put to the maestro sometime in his life, and the answers he has given. Solutions ? Tools ? If this book was on cooking it would be one of those where the chef uses page after page for delivering personal anecdotes and totally self absorbed opinions, and the reader finds himself left with 3 teaspoons of recipes and 50 gallons of unrestrained bla bla bla. Hardly any help.