Marek, D: Singing

The Italian singing technique Bel Canto instructs, "He who knows how to breathe and how to pronounce, knows how to sing." Singing: The First Art incorporates the techniques of Bel Canto along with those of masters like Berton Coffin and Manuel Garcia to promote and facilitate vocal excellence. Many concepts are described, from correct posture and alignment to improving and maintaining proper breathing, from good pronunciation and diction to producing an even, pure tone, and from vocal ranges to singing within and smoothly shifting between vocal registers. Mannes Vocal Faculty member Dan H. Marek effectively breaks down these complicated concepts with clear exercises, helping the vocal student to achieve freedom and complete control over his or her instrument.A primary section on the history of singing stresses the importance of understanding vocal history while inspiring and motivating the student through the experiences of opera stars such as Enrico Caruso, Maria Callas, and Jussi Björling. The second section explains vocal techniques, including the use and proper pronunciation of the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), and provides 64 specific exercises with clearly defined goals designed to overcome faults and to develop vocal virtuosity. Complete instructions for transposing the exercises for both male and female voices are included, as well as drawings of the exercises, musical examples from vocal literature, excellent anatomical illustrations by Frank Netter, MD, and copious photographs of opera stars. Singing: The First Art is an invaluable text for students, professionals, singers, conductors, composers, and vocal medical professionals, or anyone interested in understanding and appreciating the vocal art.

Part 1 List of ExercisesPart 2 List of Musical ExamplesPart 3 List of IllustrationsPart 4 AcknowledgmentsPart 5 Practical AdvicePart 6 IntroductionPart 7 PART I: THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE ART OF SINGINGChapter 8 1 The Art of Singing in the Ancient WorldChapter 9 2 The Age of Bel CantoChapter 10 3 The Age of Grand OperaChapter 11 4 Wagner, Verdi, Virgins, and VerismoChapter 12 5 Modern TimesChapter 13 6 The Age of the MachinePart 14 PART II: VOCAL TECHNIQUEChapter 15 7 Appoggio: The Historical Bel Canto Method of BreathingChapter 16 8 The Primary VibrationChapter 17 9 The Mechanical RegistersChapter 18 10 The Acoustical RegistersChapter 19 11 ApplicationsPart 20 GlossaryPart 21 BibliographyPart 22 Name IndexPart 23 Subject IndexPart 24 About the Author