Full Description
If you are looking for a practical, step-by-step guide to developing
the tone and techniques required of a singer who sings in the classical
or romantic style this is just the book for you.
How to Get Off the Sofa and Sing Like a Professional (Opera) Singer
is by author, broadcaster and singer Robert Little. Robert says:
"It's now some time since I decided I wanted to learn how to
sing. It took me about ten years to pluck up the courage and find the
opportunity to begin to learn to sing - which was just as well since an
adult male should be at least eighteen years old before starting to have
his voice trained. It's a skill, an art and a technique which, many
years later, I'm still trying to perfect.
"This booklet tells something of my sojourn in singing but it
sets out a lot more of the singing technique that I've learnt along the
way. That technique, along with some excellent vocal coaching, has been
culled from professional opera singers who, in turn, learnt their
technique from the rather stern teacher of experience and, in one case,
the even sterner (but ultimately hugely rewarding) experience of working
with a world-class singing teacher in Rome.
"I hope that you'll have at least as much fun from this extremely
demanding but rewarding performing art as I've had over the years."
Contents
Preface
1 The maestro - and his teacher
1.1 Roles
1.2 Opportunity
1.3 Covent Garden audition
1.4 Well respected
2 Setting the scene
2.1 Recommendation
2.2 Advice which broke the ice
2.3 Deeper appreciation
3 The art of singing
3.1 To begin at the beginning...
3.2 What goes in must come out
3.3 Schools of thought
3.4 The hard and soft palates
3.5 The soft palate
3.6 The "passaggio"
3.7 The value of a vocal coach
3.8 Singing sounds
3.9 The lips
4 Which one are you?
4.1 Voices: types and ranges
4.1.1 Bass
4.1.2 Baritone
4.1.3 Tenor
4.1.4 Contralto
4.1.5 Mezzo Soprano
4.1.6 Soprano
4.2 Voices: derivations
5 Tenors
5.1 Some history
5.2 The formation of the tenor voice
5.3 Power
5.4 Types of tenor voice
5.5 Getting to the top
6 Down to business
6.1 Recap
6.2 Some basics .
6.2.1 Breath
6.2.2 Eyebrows
6.2.3 Listen
6.2.4 Singing softly
6.2.5 The face
6.2.6 The jaw
6.2.7 The mouth
6.2.8 Think
6.2.9 Throat
6.2.10 Vocal cords
6.3 Vocal Exercises
6.4 "Line" in singing
6.5 The value of a reputable vocal coach
6.6 And finally...
7 Words of wisdom
7.1 Preparing a role
7.1.1 Performing
7.1.2 Rehearsing opera
7.1.3 The voice
7.1.4 The work
7.2 Pitch
7.3 Potential and perseverance
7.4 Points to ponder
7.5 Pronunciation
7.6 Technique
7.7 Training
7.8 Vocal development
7.9 Vocal maturity
7.10 Vocal power
7.11 Workload
8 Glossary of musical terms
