Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #194734 in Books
• Published on: 1967-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 275 pages

Customer Reviews

Required Reading for Singing Teachers.
Mr. Vennard was the head of the voice department at USC. His book is fascinating reading for singers interested in understanding their vocal instruments, but it is essential study for voice teachers.

Voice teachers necessarily employ metaphor in teaching because so much of the human voice is controlled unconsciously. But such metaphors should be grounded in the facts of reality - in the known sciences that apply to vocal production. For instance, when a teacher tells a student, `don't swallow your tone', and is met only with a look of blank stupor, that teacher needs to be able to start talking facts instead of fantasy.

Mr. Vennard demystifies the metaphors. He systematically anchors the art of the teacher to the known sciences of tone, timbre and resonance, and especially to the physiognomy of the larynx, the breathing muscles, and the upper respiratory tract. After covering the basics, he includes extensive discussions of vowel and consonant production, as well as a number of important vocal exercises. He closes with a brief discussion of the technique of messa di voce. I say it is brief, but it is really the ultimate subject of the entire book.

Messa di voce is an ancient vocal exercise done on one note and on one breath: a long crescendo followed by a long diminuendo. But this simple exercise involves a fantastically complex coordination of muscles, and, while the student need not understand more than a tenth of the science behind it, his teacher should understand as much as possible.

Many teachers of singing, and perhaps most of them, do not feel the need for such tools as are available in Mr. Vennard's book, but I believe the best teachers do.

The ultimate, understandable source for voice production
This book demystifies the art of singing. You'll understand how centuries of well-meaning but unscientific voice teachers have confused students to this day. Get the facts now. All your questions answered. This book helped me smooth out four octaves with no break! Diagrams and throat photos are great. This book is indespensible for any voice coach or instructor or student.

The best and most complete
The title is misspelled here, it is Technic - not Technical.

Despite all the voice-teaching publications since 1967, this remains the clearest, the most common-sense, and the best learning-to-teach-voice tool besides the actual experience of teaching. No other publication on the voice even comes close.