A Toolbox for Better Singing.
I worked with composer Stephen Sturk for a few years back in the 1980s when I was a soloist at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York. I was fortunate enough to be in the evensong choir that recorded his beautiful Evening Service, of which the Phos Hilaron (O Gracious Light) is … Read more
Here is the Ralph Kramden chest resonance demonstration that I mentioned at the last session. For those of you who missed out, this is what happens when you use low abdominal support and keep a fine chest resonance. This is a clip I created and uploaded from an episode of The Honeymooners called The Bensonhurst … Read more
For those of you waiting with bated breath, and for those of you who couldn’t make it to our last session, here is Name That Tune #4. We will go through this at our next session and have a bit of fun. For those of you who haven’t done one of these before, the idea … Read more
The beautiful Placido é il mar from Mozart’s opera, Idomeneo. Keep the breath steady and supported, clear consonants and long vowels. Placido é il mar – 3 Parts Audio Placido é il mar – Soprano Audio Placido é il mar – Alto Audio Placido é il mar – Bass Audio
So, we start of the new term with a snappy arrangement of George and Ira’s song, I Got Rhythm, long famous as a jazzman’s standard. Listen to the click in the empty bars to help you keep tracks of the beats. The rhythm in a song like this is not straight, but swung. So quavers … Read more
Well, what can I say? I was so taken with it I had to record my own version. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks to Moondog for writing such an interesting and unusual song. Paul
To those of you whom we had the pleasure of hosting last night, here is Moondog singing Nero’s Expedition. As you may notice, we got it wrong––the round starts after 4 bars, not 3. So, now we’ll have to drag it out next meeting and get it right. Not such a bad thing. I’m really fond … Read more
So, now that we have a pretty good grip on this piece already, here are the parts for further study. You can read more about Samuel Barber here on his Wiki page. 3-Part SAB Audio Soprano part audio Alto part audio Baritone part audio
I’m posting a link to these Golden Rules for Singing Opera from Sophie Rennert‘s site. Please have them learned by heart for Thursday night as there will be a short aural exam. 20 Golden Rules for Singing Opera
Wonderful stuff. Not to be taken seriously. 😉