Often underestimated, lyric diction is a portal to powerful performance. It is through lyric diction that singers are able to communicate the wishes and desires of the poet, as well as the composer. Amanda Johnston takes a modernized approach in English and German Diction for Singers, making German increasingly accessible through the recognition that English and German are related languages, and thus have many things in common with regard to lyric diction. This comprehensive resource includes a thorough analysis of the German and English languages, as well as lists, tables, charts, musical examples, and even tongue twisters. Designed for both undergraduate and graduate courses in German and English lyric diction, this book is an invaluable resource for classical singers, vocal coaches, and voice teachers alike.

Geoffrey G. Forward, acting coach and leading expert in American diction, clearly illustrates for the singer how to gain control by eliminating vocal tension and poor diction and replacing it with clear pronunciation. Put the finishing touches on your singing not only with the excellent diction you will gain by using this text, but also through the concepts of phrasing, identifying key words and singing with emotion, which are brought to life in this book. This 270-page book is an essential addition to the library of every singer, voice teacher and vocal coach.

Singing American English helps singers, teachers, and directors to negotiate the many difficulties involved in singing beautiful American English. Designed for use in diction for singers classes, this book is the fruit of more than a quarter-century of teaching by Dr. John T. Blizzard. Now in its second edition, Singing American English is useful also as both a reference and a workbook, full of drills designed for the student to master new information. Readers will learn how to use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as a guide to their understanding, singing, and hearing. Chapters include discussions of the International Phonetic Alphabet, vowels and consonants, diphthongs, triphthongs, glides, and several articles on the relationship of diction to many facets of the performance of songs and arias. Students learn about the concept of the Hellwag Triangle, which, the author states, may be the most important chapter in the entire textbook in terms of their own singing.

In Singing and Communicating in English, internationally renowned diction coach Kathryn LaBouff provides singers with an accessible guide to the principles of English diction they need to communicate the text successfully. In addition to standard American and British English, a variety of regional dialects and accents are covered in depth. A companion website features a full range of vowel/consonant drills, poems read aloud by the author and veteran theater and voiceover actor John Keating, as well as an instructor's answer key, and publishers' lists to help the singer locate a vast array of English language works for performance.

Diction in Context is a unique and highly practical textbook for singers learning to sing in English, Italian, German, and French. Each chapter is designed for use in diction courses in academic music and voice programs, helping students learn through pronunciation, articulation, enunciation, punctuation, and cultural context in each language. Students and teachers of singing will benefit from the text’s pertinent biographical, historical and literary sources along with diction rules and textual examples of English, Italian, German and French song. For each language, there is a section on sentence structure and syntax intended to assist readers with poetic analysis and word-by-word translations. Representative song texts are provided for the purpose of comparative listening and phonetic transcription. Comparative listening reveals subtle differences in expression and diction. In addition, the texts are presented in a workbook format, allowing space for IPA dictation practice. Diction in Context provides singers with the tools needed to delve deeply into the poetry and music they sing, to pronounce text accurately and to feel confident in expressing it. By combining English, Italian, German, and French into one easy-to-use textbook, students will benefit from a comparative perspective of singing in each language. Key Features: *Repertoire lists are provided for each language and are designed to be used for class presentations and assessments *Discussion questions to challenge reader comprehension of key concepts and songs *Word-by-word translations to accompany foreign language texts *An end-of-book glossary featuring definitions of terms in the text as well as terminology encountered in related literature *Three practical appendices, including: o Practice drills, quizzes, and assessment forms o A list of additional resources for diction learning o An Index of Works Cited featuring all poems and songs referenced in the book in one easily accessible list Disclaimer: Please note that ancillary content (such as documents, audio, and video, etc.) may not be included as published in the original print version of this book.

Excerpt from English Diction for Singers and Speakers While this book is put forth by the author especially for the guidance of singers, it is also intended to meet the needs of public speakers, and, in fact, all who pretend to refined or artistic use of the English language. No one who listens to the average singer and public speaker can doubt the need of more careful culture in the art of enunciation; for the concert platform, the lyceum, and the pulpit are constantly giving evidence of a pitiful lack of appreciation of the orthoepic beauty and strength of our language. It is to the discredit of Americans that of all people pretending to art and literature, we are the most careless in our speech. If our American singers, to say nothing of public speakers, would realize the beauty of correct "speech," and study English diction as faithfully as they do their Italian, French, or German, it would not be long before a justifiable pride in our beautiful, varied, elastic, and powerful language would ensue, and a new era in vocal art be established here. To enter into a discussion of diction for singers and public speakers is a serious thing, and the author is well aware that no written treatment of the subject will prove sufficient for the student; the proper study of diction really requiring a personal instructor who is an expert orthoepist, as well as a singer. If then, in this essay a clear course be shown the student, that he can pursue his study of "language in song" with a better understanding of its many-sided difficulties, and with a true method of practice, the book will accomplish all that may be hoped for it. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.