Singer's Handbook

Studio of Dr. Kyle Ferrill University of Idaho Voice Department

Contents:

Vocalise Sheet

Words for Vocalizing

Technique Overview

IPA chart

Solfege exercises

Circle of Fifths for scale-singing

How to practice

How to learn a song

How to count-sing

Listening lists

12 Questions: How do I become a better singer?

Recommended reading

Vocalise Sheet Start every warm-up with 1. stretch 2. hiss 3. sigh 4. buzz 5. hum

COLUMN A COLUMN B COLUMN C

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2

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5

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7

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11

(Updated 7/30/11)

Words for Vocalizing

closed e [e] open a [a] closed o [o]

wave save late aim

maze main flame mate

sigh might

fly mob

so go

show

moan those throw

closed u [u] [I] [ae]

suit through

soon blue

muse rude

moon du (Germ.)

wish bliss

myth witch

task cat vast

match man

splash

closed e [i] open u [Ʊ] dark a [ɑ] seen three trees

mean

free these weave

zeal

put shook

look push

far dark

sharp fond

open o [ɔ] open e [Ɛ] R-colored vowel [З]

bought moth

song shawl

shed less them

fresh test west

world third

earth mirth

stressed schwa [ʌ] [y] open e nasal

humble sunk früh pure (Fr.) sein grain (Fr.)

o-nasal [õ] o-e nasal a-nasal [ã]

songe plomb chacun d'un sang chant

o-slash [ø] o-e [œ]

dieu schön fleur coeur

(Updated 7/30/11)

Technique Overview

Big ideas --Keep it simple, keep it natural. Great singing is uncluttered. It is very simple—not easy, but simple. --The main problem most singers have is a lack of energy. This leads to tension as they try to compensate for lack of energy. Nip the problem in the bud by providing plenty of mental and physical energy for singing. --Always be musical. Every phrase, and particularly every sustained note, must either get louder, softer, or both. No flat lines.

Posture --Posture is essential to good singing. Find a tall posture with the chest expanded. Imagine you're being suspended from the ceiling, your head is weightless, and there's no tension anywhere. While practicing, identify where you hold your tension, and shake it out while singing. With good singing posture, we should be physically energized and ready, like a tennis player waiting to return a serve. Use your body—it's your instrument.

Breathing --Breath is the fuel of our instrument, and is crucial. Good breathing for singing is different than breathing for talking. On the inhale, we expand the ribcage. On the exhale, while singing, we maintain the expansion of the ribcage. This is different than speech. The rib muscles, which maintain this expansion, are the primary muscles of support. There should be no feeling of “squeezing” the air out. We are instead gradually letting the air out in an efficient and controlled manner. Practice this by using the hiss to gain control over your air. Also practice speaking your text in a continuous manner (speak-singing). This will show you the difference between regular speech and the sustained act of singing.

Phonation --Phonation is the term for making a vocal sound. The vocal folds come together (“adduct”) and vibrate in a very complex pattern to produce sound. If there is too much pressure, the sound will be strained. If there's not enough energy, the folds will not come together completely, and the sound will be breathy due to excess air leaking out. We need to find the happy medium—a balanced tone that is not too strained, but not too weak.

Resonation --Resonance is often referred to as “ring” in the voice. It is the quality that makes our sound pleasing and robust. It is also the factor that makes our sound carry over an orchestra. Resonance is more important than volume. Exercises to develop resonance include humming, singing words starting with nasal consonants [m], [n], and [ŋ], and buzzing the lips (lip trills). We must have space in the back of the mouth to round out the sound, but we must balance this space in the back with focus in the front of the mouth. Imagine that when you sing, you are singing down into a funnel—space in the back, focused ringing vowel that you feel in the front of your mouth.

Registration --Different areas of the voice feel different, and this is because different muscle groups within the larynx are predominating. Large intervals require adjustment—if we make no adjustment, it will sound bad and possibly even cause strain and harm. Think ahead and prepare the space and energy for the phrase at hand. Sounds simple, but it takes lots of practice! Generally, high/ascending phrases take more airspeed than low/descending phrases. Set yourself up for success with high notes by crescendoing the few notes before the high note. The great paradox of singing is that in order for our voices to sound even throughout the range, we must constantly be adjusting the mix of head and chest voice (or light and heavy mechanism, if you prefer that terminology).

Articulation --Articulation is the formation of your vowels and consonants. --Vowels should always be clear, pure, and forward. Since the vowel is when we hear your sound, it is crucial that your vowels be pure and beautiful. Perfect your vowels in the practice room, particularly the less common mixed vowels found in German and French. --Consonants help your audience understand what you're singing. Properly-sung consonants will have more energy than spoken consonants. Perfect the energy and vibrancy of your consonants in the practice room. Sing words rather than individual vowels when you do vocalises. You will feel like you're exaggerating the consonants when you're doing them right. Your consonants should aid the projection of your vowels: they should propel your phrase forward, not hold it back. ==========================================================================================

Technique Tidbits -- perfecting the fundamentals

Work on these daily: DIVIDE AND CONQUER the elements of vocal technique! Simplify and sing through a vocalise or a section of a song, focusing on one item at a time:

Posture/alignment Open throat on inhale AND exhale Energetic, rhythmic breath Expansion of the ribcage -- keep expansion as long as comfortable Balanced onset Line/direction/finish every phrase Freedom of jaw Freedom of neck Freedom of shoulders Freedom of arms/hands Relaxed tongue/tip of tongue on teeth Pure vowels Crisp consonants Lifted, active face muscles Dome in mouth/lifted soft palate/spread sinuses (INNER SMILE) Focused, ringing tone/stem of pear Top-down/sigh approach to high notes Think ahead/prepare for difficult passages

(Updated 7/30/11)

Solfege Exercises To help you become fluent in the language of music…

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3

4

(Updated 6/30/11)

Scale-singing --To improve your musicianship, practice singing your scales and arpeggios. Start with majors, then advance to all forms of minor. After you're comfortable, work for speed. Always remember to sing as well as you can:

build good habits all the time.

How to practice --Practicing is an essential part of developing any skill. Best to make it efficient, practical, and fun! --Some guidelines:

Know yourself: do you do better practicing in one big chunk, or in a few shorter sessions? Focus: devote your practice time solely to your solo repertoire. Turn off your phone, and immerse

yourself. We can learn a lot about discipline and focus from our singing practice. Spend a good amount of your time on vocalises, using the vocalise sheet. If you were an athlete,

vocalises would be the gym and your songs would be actually playing the game. Rotate through your repertoire: be sure to get to multiple songs every day, so that nothing grows stale. Once you've really learned a song, it's fine to sing along with a recording in the right key. This allows

you to get used to the piano part, and keeps practicing interested. However, never learn a song by rote from the recording. There could be mistakes, plus it robs you of a chance to grow your musicianship.

Keep track of your practice, using the practice log. Don't guess how much you've practiced; know how much you've practiced.

Find a balance between working on the following things in your practice time: 1. Vocal exercise

◦ Use Vocalise Sheet.

◦ Vary the words/vowels/syllables you use to strengthen the quality and purity of all vowels.

◦ Work on your weaknesses.

◦ Always build good habits. 2. Learning a piece (see below, “How to learn a song.”) 3. Score preparation

◦ For songs in English, look up words you don't know.

◦ For foreign language songs, write in the translation.

◦ Prepare an IPA transcription.

◦ Write the IPA transcription into your score.

◦ Look up and write in definitions of musical terms you don't know. 3. Perfecting a piece

◦ Once you have prepared your score and learned the piece, it is now time to perfect it. Work slowly and methodically to be sure you've learned all notes, rhythms, and words correctly. You're building muscle memory—make sure everything's right.

◦ Repetition is crucial. “Amateurs practice until they get it right; professionals practice until they can't get it wrong.”

◦ Record yourself and listen back for mistakes. 4. Memorization

Again, repetition is crucial. Decide to do the following things 3 times in a row:

◦ Sing through an entire page/section of a song.

◦ Write out the lyrics and translation of an entire page/section of a song.

◦ Speak the lyrics of an entire page/section of a song as a poem.

◦ By doing this sort of repetition in small chunks, you will memorize quickly and thoroughly. 5. Mock performances

◦ Practice what it will actually be like in performance: don't let studio class be the first time you perform your pieces.

◦ Sing along with recordings (in your key of course) to get the feel for the accompaniment/orchestration.

◦ Sing for friends if they can give you good feedback.

◦ Record yourself (with video if possible), and listen back for things to tweak.

How to learn a song 1. Read the poem/libretto. We should know what we're singing about before we begin, or else the

process will feel mechanical. If it's in a foreign language, find a good translation. See the “Resources” section of this Handbook for translation resources. If the song is in English, make sure you know what every word means.

2. Practice speaking the text as a monologue. In the case of foreign language pieces, monologue the translation first, then monologue the original poem until it is at least as expressive and meaningful to you as the English translation.

3. Separate the elements: rhythm, pitch, and text. Approach them separately. Count-sing and clap the rhythm according to the guidelines below.

4. Sound out the pitches, playing them on the piano as necessary. 5. Speak the words out of tempo, fixing any diction issues that may arrive. 6. Speak the words in tempo. 7. Sing the pitches in tempo. Use a neutral syllable like [la] or [nu] or [do]. 8. When all errors are fixed, “put Humpty together again” and sing the song!

Note: We should be able to play all of our melodies on the piano, in time and up to speed. If your piano skills are weak, work on them—don't let them hold you back. Eventually, it would be great to be able to play at least the melody line and the bass line at the same time. If you can do more, great.

How to count-sing --Count-singing is a very common tool of professional choirs. Singers should use it often, as it works both notes and rhythms. Count-singing is an excellent way to solidify pitches and rhythms on a new song. --Some guidelines:

Always sing beautifully and musically. Even when learning a song, maintain good technique—you're always either building your habits or tearing them down.

Subdivide! The “singer stereotype” is to zone out on sustained notes. Avoid this by subdividing to a reasonable level. For most songs, this means subdividing down to 8th notes. (For example, a half note would be “one and two and” rather than “oooooone”)

Use the following subdivisions: 16th notes = 1 e & a 2 e & a etc. Triplets = 1 & a 2 & a etc. When you have a rest, say the beat or beats of the rest under your breath. This accounts for the

rest and keeps you from zoning out. (For instance, if you are in 4/4 and you come in on beat 3, say “(one two) three and four and.”)

(Updated 8/15/11)

Listening lists (These are by no means complete—these will get you started!) OPERAS Carmen -- Bizet Peter Grimes -- Britten Albert Herring -- Britten Don Pasquale -- Donizetti Elisir d'amore -- Donizetti Lucia di Lammermoor -- Donizetti Faust -- Gounod Romeo et Juliette -- Gounod I pagliacci -- Leoncavallo Manon -- Massenet Don Giovanni -- Mozart Nozze di Figaro -- Mozart Così fan tutte -- Mozart Die Zauberflöte -- Mozart La bohème -- Puccini Madama Butterfly -- Puccini Tosca -- Puccini Dido and Aeneas -- Purcell Il barbiere di Siviglia -- Rossini Die Fledermaus -- Strauss, J. Pirates of Penzance -- Sullivan La traviata -- Verdi Otello -- Verdi Rigoletto -- Verdi Falstaff -- Verdi ORATORIOS St. Matthew Passion -- Bach B Minor Mass -- Bach St. John Passion -- Bach Requiem – Berlioz Ein deutsches Requiem -- Brahms Requiem -- Duruflé Requiem -- Fauré Messiah -- Handel The Creation -- Haydn Lord Nelson Mass -- Haydn Elijah -- Mendelssohn Requiem -- Mozart Coronation Mass – Mozart Carmina Burana -- Orff Stabat Mater -- Pergolesi Gloria -- Poulenc Requiem -- Verdi Belshazzar's Feast – Walton

SONG CYCLES Six Elizabethan Songs -- Argento The Andree Expedition -- Argento Hermit Songs – Barber An die ferne Geliebte -- Beethoven Winter Words -- Britten Holy Sonnets of John Donne -- Britten Songs and Proverbs of William Blake -- Britten Poems of Emily Dickinson -- Copland Ariettes oubliées -- Debussy La bonne chanson – Fauré Let us garlands bring -- Finzi To Julia -- Quilter Die schöne Müllerin -- Schubert Winterreise -- Schubert Dichterliebe -- Schumann Frauenliebe -- Schumann Liederkreis Op. 24 -- Schumann Liederkreis Op. 39 -- Schumann Songs of Travel -- Vaughan Williams On Wenlock Edge -- Vaughan Williams SINGERS Sopranos Angela Gheorghiu Barbara Bonney Elly Ameling Renee Fleming Joan Sutherland Lucia Popp Natalie Dessay Beverly Sills Elizabeth Schwarzkopf Mirella Freni Anna Moffo Patricia Petibon Veronique Gens Diana Damrau Edita Gruberova Luciana Serra Barbara Frittoli Barbara Hendricks Sondra Radvanovsky Leontyne Price Mezzos

Anne Sofie von Otter Cecilia Bartoli Janet Baker Joyce DiDonato Vivica Genaux Elina Garanca Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Magdalena Kozena Frederica von Stade Christa Ludwig Susan Graham Agnes Baltsa Vesselina Kasarova Teresa Berganza Sarah Connolly Angelika Kirschschlager Nathalie Stutzmann Alice Coote Tenors John Aler Fritz Wunderlich Juan Diego Florez Alfredo Kraus Jussi Bjoerling Placido Domingo Richard Tucker Luciano Pavarotti Jose Carreras Luigi Alva Nicolai Gedda Giuseppe di Stefano Ian Bostridge Fabio Armiliato Peter Pears John Vickers Jonas Kaufmann John Mark Ainsley Mario del Monaco Jan Peerce Richard Tauber Webster Booth Richard Crooks

Baritones Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Gerald Finley Roderick Williams Thomas Hampson Thomas Allen Simon Keenlyside Bryn Terfel Sergei Leiferkus Thomas Quasthoff Hermann Prey Theo Adam Stephan Genz Sherrill Milnes Teddy Tahu Rhodes Nathan Gunn Dmitri Hvorotovsky Peter Mattei Bo Skovhus Hakan Hakegard Jose Van Dam Gerard Souzay Russell Braun William Sharp Leonard Warren Robert Merrill Lawrence Tibbett Giorgio Tozzi Basses or Bass-baritones Rene Pape Samuel Ramey Cesare Siepi Alexander Kipnis George London Willard White Paul Plishka Nikolai Ghiaurov Andreas Schmidt Paul Robeson (Updated 11/7/11)

How do I become a better singer?

1. Do I have a burning desire to become the best musician and singer that I can be?

2. Do I believe in my talent and in my potential?

3. Do I practice like I perform and perform like I practice?

4. Do I practice each and every day?

5. Do I have specific goals and a detailed plan for each practice session?

6. Do I have short term and long term goals for myself as a singer?

7. Do I learn my music without the aid of recordings to strengthen my musicianship?

8. Do I record myself and analyze my singing each week?

9. Do I understand all the texts and foreign language markings in my scores?

10. Do I listen to recordings of the great artists with my score to better understand subtleties of style, nuance,

and diction?

11. Do I take good care of myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually?

12. Do I love music even more than singing?

Recommended reading Books:

“Singing and Imagination” by Thomas Hemsley “The Inner Game of Music” by Barry Green “A Soprano on Her Head” by Eloise Ristad

Magazines:

Classical Singer Magazine Opera News

The Journal of Singing (aka “the NATS Journal”) The Choral Journal

Gramophone BBC Music

Websites:

YAP Tracker (competitions, auditions, summer programs) New Forum for Classical Singers

www.recmusic.org/lieder (art song translations) www.aria-database.com (background on opera arias)

www.imslp.org/wiki (free sheet music