Best vocal & singing books according to redditors

We found 270 Reddit comments discussing the best vocal & singing books. We ranked the 135 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.

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Top Reddit comments about Vocal & Singing:

u/meepwned · 21 pointsr/Guitar

My suggestion is to learn on your own, and if you choose to go to college, pursue a major that has more profitable career options. Minor in music theory and invest your free time in practicing your instrument. Here is a reading list I recommend to start getting into serious music study and guitar playing:

u/Inman328 · 15 pointsr/Guitar

I'm guessing since you are learning all this theory and stuff that you want to be a good musician. Any good musician will want to possess the skill of reading music. I know us guitarists generally don't want to read, but it REALLY comes in handy when you want to communicate between other musicians (especially non-guitarists). I recommend this book for reading. Not only does it teach you to read, but it introduces concepts of music theory as you go. I'm currently on Vol. 2 and it's rough, but I can tell you right now that I know SO much more since starting this book than if I hadn't and just kept trying to do things by ear.

As for classes and sequences, it's a lot of theory, ear training, sight-singing, and melodic/harmonic dictations. I know sight-singing seems kind of trivial or even inapplicable, but it is honestly one of, if not the best things to be good at musically. To be able to sight sing well means that you can internalize notes in your head (relatively); i.e. you can hear in your head what's supposed to be playing. For that I would say that this book would be the best, it's the one that I'm using and will continue to use for some time. For theory I would recommend the guitar book (I was never assigned an actual textbook in my theory courses). For ear training I would recommend this site. And the dictations will come once you've gained some mastery in the previous skills.

Sorry for the long post, I kind of got ahead of myself there. But one last thing - if you just keep drilling the theory and reading, even when it gets hard, you'll progress. There were times when I just looked at a piece of music that I had to have down by the following week and thought to myself, "there's no way in hell I'm going to be able to play this." But some determination and time will get you there.

u/BlackTheta · 11 pointsr/singing

Look for a simple Italian song from the 24 Italian art song and arias book. Almost everybody who goes to college learns about a half dozen songs from this book and they are great to start with.

u/silouan · 10 pointsr/Christianity

Some years ago, when everybody was loving the CD "Chant: The Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos," cartoonist Sandra Boynton released a startlingly well-done parody called "Grunt: pigorian chant from Snouto Domoinko de Silo" Rather than the liturgical cycle of the monastery, this CD follows the sorta-liturgical cycle of a farm, as seen by the animals.

What makes "Grunt" so excellent is that it's performed by very good cantors in authentic Gregorian modes. Each species chants its own part in impeccable Latin, except for the pigs, who chant in elegant, clearly-enunciated Pig-Latin.

You can play it as background and no one will suspect a thing, except music professors and church cantors, who will get it and laugh inexplicably throughout.

I got it as a gag gift for someone and then when I heard it I bought a copy for myself.

u/ghoti023 · 9 pointsr/singing

You're going to hate this answer, but -

You won't be starting off with opera songs/arias with classical training, especially not Puccini.

While Puccini and other large-voiced operas are considered "beginner" operas, as in - operas that will get someone into the genre and like listening to it, they're far from operas that you will start your training with by actually learning.

Most classical singers don't even really touch an opera aria for the first 2-4 years of training, as they're incredibly taxing on the body and require much more advanced technique than someone just starting out will have. Even then, your first real operatic aria will probably be something from the Classical or Baroque eras, as those don't encourage pushing and oversinging like Romantic era arias can.

Which is a huge downer, because IMO Romantic era = Best era.

THIS DOESN'T MEAN THERE'S NOTHING FOR YOU TO SING.

You'll start off with things called art songs/lieder. Classical songs that aren't from a fully staged show. These are individual (sometimes grouped) songs that were made to be performed in a recital setting, and are (generally, but not always) less taxing and complicated for the voice to handle.

There's a strong chance you'll start off with something from this book, as that's become standard beginner repertoire. You may also start off with some classical arrangements of folk tunes. It's really hard to say.

I don't like saying "Get a teacher and they'll let you know," but with classical singing, that's really what it is. Classical singing is the most nit-picky of all the genres, so picking repertoire that suits your voice best is vital - and the only way to do that is to have listened to you in person and then picked out rep for you to sing.

Google "English art songs" and "German lieder" to get some rep ideas that aren't from that Italian book as to what you may like to sing best so you can bounce some ideas off of your teacher. Teachers love that (well, good ones do anyway).

u/keakealani · 8 pointsr/singing

I think the most obvious choice would be one of the arias in the Twenty Four Italian Songs and Arias collection. This book is definitely seen as a staple for beginning/intermediate classical repertoire. Something like "Lasciatemi morire" would be a really good start - it's a pretty short piece but can give you a taste of that Baroque opera style.

Another thought is to look at some Mozart arias - like "Vedrai, carino" from Don Giovanni is one of the Mozart arias normally given to younger/less experienced singers. (Actually, "Batti, batti o bel Masetto" from the same opera is also a possible choice.) "Deh vieni non tardar" from Le Nozze di Figaro could be another option.

I will say, though, that in general opera is something a beginner should tread carefully with. A lot of arias are deceptively difficult and I think it's wise to consult with your teacher before getting your heart too set on a specific piece. You can certainly bring in the stuff you've learned before or really love, but I think your teacher should be able to help you find more pieces that will be right for your voice.

And, even if it maybe isn't your genre of preference, I think studying some art song can help you gain facility in classical singing without being quite as hard on the voice - there are a lot of beautiful art songs out there that can help you with the same basic technique but aren't designed to be quite as virtuosic and showy as most arias are.

Good luck!

u/generationfourth · 8 pointsr/AskMen

Highly recommend reading Change Your Voice, Change your Life. I read it 11 years ago after I failed a job interview and felt like it was 90% how I said things not really what I said. It was key for finding my "natural" voice and has exercises that I repeat from time to time. It is a little heavy on the excessive anecdotes but I found it to be super valuable.

u/meesh00 · 7 pointsr/composer

Basso Continuo (Figured Bass)-You do not need to learn how to read it fluently or anything, but it is the building block of the composers of that time. This is especially prevalent in the Baroque period. Study it, play it, listen for it. This helps to truly understand and write good cadences and tropes of that time.

Bach - Bach is king when it comes to tonal harmony and modulation.
Study his Harmonized Chorales and learn how he constructs his harmonic phrasing and cadences.

Counterpoint - I used this book by Kent Kennan. Learn the basics of good voice leading. This is a huge subject and requires study and practice, but it is crucial to replicating the music. This will help you develop the tools needed to construct the forms and sounds of that time.

This is a good starting place. Keep in mind people spend entire lifetimes learning this stuff. God speed.

u/AdlerAugen · 7 pointsr/singing

While I am not a primary vocalist, I happen to have a few excellent resources at my disposal: a textbook from a vocal pedagogy class I took a while back and a book on the list of recommended books for that class. The first is Barbara M. Doscher's The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice. I would highly recommend it for its very in-depth look at MANY aspects of singing, and how technically minded it is. It brings up various points of view on mechanisms from vocalists, and prior pedagogues, and compares them with more recent scientific study and great detail on anatomy used in singing. The second is James C. McKinney;s The Diaganosis & Correction of Vocal Faults.

I'm mainly going to talk about head voice and falsetto as it relates to men, though some of the anatomical information present will apply to women as well. Please pick up a copy of one or both of these books if you want to study this topic further, maybe ask your vocal instructor to assist you in learning a bit more about what they both contain.

>The male head voice is a blending of heavy and light mechanisms to attain a voix mixte, but it has a very different color and projection from that of the female middle voice.

^(Doscher 183)

Earlier in the text, Ms. Doscher talks about heavy and light mechanisms based on laryngeal function, which according to her source (Vennard, William. Singing: The Mechanism and the Technic, 4th ed. New York: Carl Fischer, 1967.), can overlap by about an octave in usage.
Heavy mechanisms:

  • utilize thickened vocal cords
  • have a wide amplitude (large range of possible volumes or dynamics)
  • exhibit firm glottal closure
  • are rich in partials (SEE THIS for information on partials)
  • utilize an active vocalis.

    In contrast, Light mechanisms:

  • utilize thinned vocal cords
  • have a narrower amplitude
  • utilize brief and/or incomplete glottal closure
  • have fewer partials
  • utilizes an active crico-thyroid

    ^(Doscher 174)

    >[still referring to male head voice] The intensity or amplitude of vibration and the multitude of overtones in the sound wave are regulated by a firm glottal closure, the longer length of time the glottis is closed, and the high air pressure used. In laryngeal appearance, this blended head voice resembles the chest register more than it does the falsetto.

    ^(Doscher 184-185)

    And on the topic of falsetto:

    >According to Hirano, the major breathing and phonatory characteristics of the falsetto are:

    > * relaxed vocalis muscle
  • stretched crico-thyroids
  • incomplete closure along the total length of the vocal ligaments
  • great increase of air flow
  • great decrease of air pressure

    >Although falsetto behavior formerly was thought to be solely the result of the damping of the vocal folds (as in a violin string), some authorities now think extreme longitudinal tension of the folds creates the effect of damping. [...] Because of all these factors, the glottal closure time is short and often incomplete, the amplitude of the folds is narrow, and there are very few upper partials in the sound wave. There is greater breath flow than in either the male chest or full head registers.

    ^(Doscher 185-186)

    Now on to Mckinney on Falsetto, contrasting against the "modal voice," which he calls the normal register for speaking and singing. This puts falsetto in a much shorter and easier to digest way (or if you'd rather: TL;DR)
    >The falsetto register lies above the modal voice register and overlaps it. The characteristic sound of falsetto is inherently breathy and flute-like, with few overtones present. This is due to the type of vibratory pattern set up by the vocal cords. As has been previously stated, the frequency of vibration is determined by the length, tension, and mass of the vocal cords. As pitch rises in the modal register, the cords are lengthened by the action of the cricothyroid muscles, tension is increased by the resistance which the vocalis muscles (the internal thyroarytenoids) offer to the pull of the cricothyroids, and mass is decreased as the edges of the vocal cords become thinner. The key factor is that the whole vocal cord is involved in the vibratory pattern of the modal register; this is not the case in falsetto.

    ^(McKinney 99)

    So that's what's different between Male head voice and falsetto.


    EDITS: a ton of formatting issues. It's readable now.
u/Zalenka · 7 pointsr/WeAreTheMusicMakers

The library.


Seriously, if you have a University nearby go to that library. They will have tons of great books on basic theory, harmony and other such things.

For actual books I recommend Paul Hindemith's Elementary Training for Musicians or Arnold Schoenberg's Theory of Harmony, there is also a workbook for the harmony book, but I can't find the link.


Both of these composers were seen as avant garde at the time and some of schoenberg's stuff is difficult to listen to (12 tone), but they both were incredibly influencial writers and educators and their books are pretty much the standard for learning theory that encompasses all of classical music history.

Go to your library, if they have it great! Otherwise interlibrary loan both books and read them. Play your instrument with them and write out some of the things on music manuscript paper for you to remember.

u/practiceprompt · 6 pointsr/Teachers

Please check into this: The Voice Book.

u/revolved · 6 pointsr/starcraft

He probably has a hoarse voice from misusing his vocal chords. Reminds me of an article I saw where an opera critic reviewed heavy metal lead singers and critiqued their use of their vocal chords. If you have no voice training, you will wreck your voice. Tasteless should try this: http://www.amazon.com/Set-Your-Voice-Free-Speaking/dp/0316441589/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314617853&sr=8-1

u/Snarm · 6 pointsr/MusicEd

You don't need any degree to teach voice privately on your own. If you want to teach at a community college or a university as adjunct applied voice faculty, you'll likely need a master's in vocal performance.

Didn't you take vocal pedagogy and methods classes as a voice major? If not, consider looking to a local university to enroll in some units from the Communication Sciences and Disorders specialty of their Speech Therapy department. Failing that, you can take some classes in Alexander Technique and do your own reading (I highly recommend The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults).

u/allemande · 6 pointsr/WeAreTheMusicMakers

For anything that involves advanced music theory, or more technical elements of music, your best bet (IMHO) is to stay clear from jazz/rock books or anything "popular" and read from traditional academic/classical composers. That is, if you're looking to understand music from a more historic point of view of how is was used, and how it worked for hundreds of years and how it still works today.

There are tons of good books out there, but off the top of my head I reccomend:

Regarding the art of counterpoint:


Preliminary exercises in Counterpoint - Schoenberg

Also, you could check out the traditional Fux's Study of Counterpoint, but I think Schoenberg's book is far more complete and incentive.

Regarding the art of Harmony:


For a long time I've always thought that books could educate you in any way, until I met my harmony teacher. After studying with her for a couple years I find it hard to believe how much information, technique, and art is missing from almost every book on the subject, some are exceptions, obviously, but my recommendation is that there is no better way of learning this but with personal intruction. Also, the teacher needs to be someone who has had a strong education in music from well-known masters of the past, as was my teacher.

Anyways, regarding harmony in the more poetical and theoretical sense I reccomend :

Rameau's Treatise on Harmony

and of course, Schoenberg's Theory of Harmony

For a more technical approach to harmony I haven't found any books I'm really fond of, but I do think that Paul Hindemith's book is a very good option.

For something in the middle I recommend this

Regarding form and structure in music:


Once again, I have never seen information and instruction similar to that which I received with my professors, however here are a few good picks...

Schoenberg's Fundamentals of musical composition

and 2 books that I found very useful were...
(these I didn't find on amazon.com)

from German composer Clemens Kuhn: "Formenlehre der Musik" (this is only in German)

and from Spanish composer Joaquin Zamacois: "Curso de Formas Musicales" (this is only in Spanish I believe)

Well, surely there are more books, but I think these are good options for you to start. However, always with a grain of salt

u/dissonantharmony · 6 pointsr/classicalmusic

This is definitely not a rule for how to write music now, just a rule for how to write music in the style of Bach/Mozart/Beethoven/Haydn etc. If you're interested in Tonal (read: Common Practice) Harmony, here are a few good theory books used in Freshman/Sophomore college music curriculums (in my order of preference):

The Complete Musician


Techniques and Materials of Music


Harmony and Voice Leading


Tonal Harmony

I'm also a composer, and I tend to write more modally (and sometimes without a strict tonality), so I just teach these, I don't necessarily follow them in my own writing.

u/vythurthi · 4 pointsr/piano

I have this book which is great. It's all 371 Bach chorales (4-voiced harmonizations of typical contemporary religious melodies, along with some new melodies) in a solid volume, at a pretty good price often.

u/LowKeyPocketMonster · 4 pointsr/singing

These are the ones I tried. I strongly encourage you to learn IPA before you get into a class though. It'll help you SOOO much.

Here's the IPA VOWEL CHART with AUDIO

  1. this ones good but a bit too much content (350pages). You really have to study it carefully. It has a good amount of exercises and tons of information on what most academies teach for singing. There's really no secret though because most of the stuff in here are really just the fundamentals. It's a bit heavy on imagery.... so if you're a visual learner, this is the one for you! It has great exercises for releasing your voice, removing tension, how to breathe and use your breath, and how to do vowel modifications.

  2. I love this one. If you get the book, it has a beefy sound library of 417 sound examples (for both m and f), how to do those sounds at different intensities plus how to do vocal effects (after you polish your voice). It's not perfect like everything else. It really doesn't talk about EMOTIONS and expressing yourself like actors do. But sucks if you live in America like me where most people don't know what it is so you can't really clear things up and discuss with other people learning it...and most vocal teachers don't really like it (THEY HATE IT) because they don't like how it can go against their teachings and by the terms it uses. IF YOU'RE BETTER at learning through HEARING things, then THIS IS THE ONE FOR YOU. It has made me identify and imagine HOW every single person uses their voice whenever I hear a recording. However, I still get a bit confused if it's a studio recording because those recordings can make someones voice sound more powerful than it really is... One thing is it THROWS OUT ALL terms from other singing methods out the window. That can be good in a way because it removes all the confusion that people label certain sounds with (e.g. for a particular sound 3 teachers hear-- teacher 1 says this sound is FALSETTO, teacher 2 says it's MIXED VOICE, and teacher 3 says it's HEAD VOICE. They all are talking about the same thing but defining it differently!!!). It completely avoids talking about vocal fachs all together (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) because it's unnecessary for the modern times as proven with SCIENCE. They study peoples voices by using ENT and put a small video camera inside people to see what actually goes on when someone sings.

  3. Seth Riggs - Speech Level Singing. Very simple but if you want to sing with a beefy powerful "full of body" sound... then this isn't the one for you. It's basically almost falsetto-ey like. Here's some videos of people taught SLS: Guy doing his whole range, Korean guy practicing the exercises made for this program, A certified instructor singing YOU RAISE ME UP. It's a bit false advertising that they use Michael Jackson and other singers for their testimonials. Yes, they went to Seth Riggs to help their voice out... BUT they were already SINGERS before they went to him. Michael Jackson is a master of EVERY kind of sound there is.. from this soft and gentle sound, falsetto, head voice, mixed, screaming, whatever there was! But this IS against of singing with versatility I believe. Anything outside of this "speech" level is considered harmful for them PLUS they don't believe in the term "falsetto" and just call it "head voice". It's pretty easy to tell who comes from SETH RIGGS method. If they want to sing something powerful and loud, they'll get pretty scared of doing so because they've been told NO NO NO don't DO THAT, it'll hurt you!

  4. New York Vocal Coach YouTube Channel - Justin Stoney. Start from his first episode to his latest so you know what terms he refers to. It's basically similar to SPEECH LEVEL SINGING except a bit more versatile because he talks about belting, twang and using more "oomf" type of singing. It's basically CLASSICAL "musical theater" singing and pop most of the time.

  5. Ken Tamplin. He has a weird shaped lizard tongue that he claims uses the maximum openness for singing and bases his techniques off of BEL CANTO School... I'm unsure about that but he has a really STRONG voice and all of his students seem to have that same sound as his too. This is one of his students. It's very versatile and focuses on singing in styles. Very different from Speech level singing. A bit business-like though... Be cautious. I tried his purchased program -- it's basically just modifications from open vowels. You'd be better off knowing how to modify from IPA (with the #1 source I linked above)

  6. Rock the stage NYC - Kevin Richards. I find his videos and his own vocal program -- vocal fire and his breathing program really great. I haven't really tried everything he supplied to me yet when I got it on sale... they were a bit difficult to do. But he really talks about the difference between all these vocal methods. He is similar to Ken Tamplin but also is against Ken Tamplin at the same time for some of the stuff he teaches. He really tried so hard to find his voice and the way he teaches is straight to the point. Full on exercises that seem to help VERY well but his voice is okay. He is very active at replying too. He knows basically about everything SLS, Bel Canto Classical Method, and Complete Vocal Technique (he told me that on twitter). But I think he really doesn't like how CVT is because of how confusing it may be to some people. He really believes what he knows is THE BEST there is... so it may work for you or may not work for you.

  7. The best method was basically downloading a PIANO/TUNER app -- on iOS get TUNED XD. Check out of you're on the correct pitch. Sing along with your favorite songs, repeat every line till you get it right... that's basically the best way to learn how to sing without a teacher. This one works best if you're already a musician though... Some people just absolutely NEED assistance and can't do anything on their own when it comes to singing.

    I have tried other sources but I found these to help me the most to be honest.
u/darthxenomorph · 4 pointsr/moviemusic

Here's a few that I like:

Fred Karlin's On the Track is a very good place to start, and among the best books from a musical point of view. It's expensive, though. Check your bookstore and library for a used copy, but it's a great book.

There's a pretty comprehensive study of music in Hitchcock films by Jack Sullivan. Only available on kindle, but again, check your library. If you're at a school with a big music and/or film department I wouldn't be surprised to find it there.

Hearing the Movies and Reel Music both offer a pretty good overview of the history. Reel Music is from a non-musician perspective, Hearing the Movies covers musical material as well.

That being said, there are a lot of books that can be very helpful from a non-musical point of view. The Bernard Herrman biography, Heart at Fire's Center, is a fascinating read and incredibly insightful. Do you like James Bond at all? Jon Burlingame (well known around LA as the journalist/historian) wrote an incredible book, detailing every movie. The paperback is an updated version with a Skyfall chapter.

Watch these:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi5adKU9gu4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1PcGSnFlUw

The first is a roundtable with Danny Elfman, Alexandre Desplat, Fernando Velasquez, Mychael Danna, Marco Beltrami and Patrick Doyle. The second with Hans Zimmer, Christophe Peck, Henry Jackman, Thomas Newman, Steven Price and Alan Silvestri.

Google "John Williams." You've probably heard the name. Listen to him talk. He's brilliant. If you're ever in LA at the end of August, go see him conduct at the Hollywood Bowl.

And the best thing you can do? Score movies! There's value in rescoring scenes from films, and, if you can, find a film school (possible at the same school if you're at a place like NYU or USC) and reach out to the students there. Offer to score their films. The best way to get into it is really just to do it.



Amazon links:
http://www.amazon.com/Track-Guide-Contemporary-Film-Scoring/dp/0415941369/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412216822&sr=1-1&keywords=fred+karlin

http://www.amazon.com/Hitchcocks-Music-Jack-Sullivan-ebook/dp/B0015MTOQ8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412217334&sr=1-1&keywords=hitchcock+music

http://www.amazon.com/Reel-Music-Exploring-Years-Film/dp/0393925749/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412217613&sr=1-8&keywords=film+music

http://www.amazon.com/Hearing-Movies-Music-Sound-History/dp/0195327799/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412217613&sr=1-11&keywords=film+music

http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Fires-Center-Bernard-Herrmann/dp/0520229398/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412217247&sr=1-1&keywords=bernard+herrmann

http://www.amazon.com/Music-James-Bond-Jon-Burlingame/dp/0199358850/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412217281&sr=1-1&keywords=jon+burlingame

u/piwikiwi · 4 pointsr/classicalmusic

This is a great book even though it is a bit dry:

http://www.amazon.com/Harmony-Voice-Leading-Edward-Aldwell/dp/0495189758

u/self-confidence · 4 pointsr/socialskills

I have a similar problem. In my public speaking class the advice I received from everyone was that I didn't speak loud enough, even when I thought I was speaking loud and clear with confidence. I'm currently reading Set Your Voice Free by Roger Love. It's a fantastic book. I haven't gotten to the exercises yet, but have learned so much already! Here's an interesting fact:

> The human voice is set up to speak or sing twenty-four hours a day without getting hoarse or strained or creating any physical problems. If yours can't, it's because you're doing something wrong. [page 11]

I highly recommend this book! I initially got it from the library, but purchased it from Amazon because the library book didn't have the accompanying CD.

u/descara · 4 pointsr/musictheory

One thing you could do is get a chorale book - they are mostly note-against-note four part settings of melodies. Coupled with generally simple progressions, and that the fact that there are very few non-chord tones like passing tones and the like, it makes for a very good starting point for basic harmonic analysis.

Many countries have their own chorale books with texts in the native language, sometimes published by the church, on IMSLP the only one I found relatively quickly was an old English one: http://imslp.org/wiki/The_Chorale_Book_for_England_%28Various%29

When you want something slightly more advanced you can start looking at chorale settings outside of chorale books, for example this collection with Bach chorales (I use it for sight reading and figured bass reading, plus it's good to have such a large collection to beat people over the head with when you run into voice leading misconceptions): http://www.amazon.com/Harmonized-Chorales-Chorale-Melodies-Figured/dp/0793525748

Not all chorale books have that great harmonisations (being from Sweden I have a Swedish one which truth be told contains some pretty crappy ones), but the one up on IMSLP looked to be pretty decent.

musictheory.net has some lessons on chord progressions and such which might be of help.


edit: here are a whole bunch of Bach chorales on IMSLP: http://imslp.org/wiki/Chorale_Harmonisations,_BWV_1-438_%28Bach,_Johann_Sebastian%29 , once again though they might be a bit hard to start out with.

u/Teglement · 4 pointsr/todayilearned

My family owned the parody CD 'Grunt', a chant in Latin based around the toils of a farmyard. The pigs chanted in Pig Latin, of course.

Link

u/m3g0wnz · 4 pointsr/musictheory

You can usually get older editions of those books for significantly cheaper. That would be my recommendation. Those books are really the ones that are vetted, tried and true.

2nd edition Aldwell/Schachter for $15

1st edition Clendinning/Marvin for $10

There's only one edition of the Laitz, I think, so if you wanted that one you'd just have to bite the bullet.

u/boydeer · 3 pointsr/Guitar

yes. get instruction if you can, because it will answer a lot of questions and provide an outside perspective. find someone who respects and understands the type of singing you want to do, even though they might start you with something more traditional. also, i can recommend this book and this book, which could get you well on your way for a total of $70.

you don't hear people get better because you don't often meet people who are dedicated who haven't already been working at it for a while. it takes many many hours of dedicated work and play.

u/ispeelgood · 3 pointsr/IWantToLearn

I think his technique is Fry Screaming; the same technique used by vocalists in Metalcore and Deathcore (not to be confused with False Chord/Death Growls used in Death Metal). There are tons of tutorials online, but the best advice I can give you is to start sessions with a trainer/vocal coach, so that you don't damage your vocal chords.

I sing False Chord, but the routine exercises for all screaming always stems from singing exercises. That means sing scales on the piano etc;

I really liked this book/cd for singing: http://www.amazon.com/Set-Your-Voice-Free-Speaking/dp/0316441589

If you become a bit good at singing and breathing from your diaphragm (your stomach), things this book teaches you how to do, then you can begin adding fry screaming to your program after watching videos on YouTube or Melisa Cross' excellent DVD "The Zen Of Screaming" 1&2.

u/Arkanj3l · 3 pointsr/enhance

I feel that way as well. As such I have a bit of a data dump. It's funny because I considered Memrise and Duolingo to likely be the most powerful alternatives for structured language learning beyond just going into immersion; but I guess not. AFAIK both of them use spaced repetition.

"Polyglot: How I Learn Languages" is written from a polyglot's perspective. Might be helpful to understand the mindset.

Tim Ferriss wrote this post on grammar deconstruction which could rapidly orient language learning. His other posts are good too although the more recent ones seem like promos for referrals.

FSI Language Courses are supposed to be semi-equivalent to the Pimsleur course. The Pimsleur course focuses on phonology first, and then builds on top of that. This might require some practice in manipulative voice work; I heard that this course is good for voice training but that might be independent from accent.

Where are your keys is meant to be a game for quickly acquiring grammar. It's fun in a kitschy way, hooking up with players on Skype

Then there's the tDCS option... anthonylee hasn't emerged with the results of learning German w/ tDCS on Broca's (or Wernicke's?) area.

My French accent is actually quite good and I have some fundamental grammar, but my vocabulary is shit. I've been wanting to regenerate my understanding, but language learning isn't something I get a lot of intrinsic pleasure out of except to the extent it gives me access to interesting literature or foreign women. (The east coast has too many charming Quebecoises...)

u/waytogokid · 3 pointsr/punk

Here it is. It was a pretty cheap book I found in a used section years ago.

u/encoderboy · 3 pointsr/WeAreTheMusicMakers

https://www.amazon.com/Harmony-Voice-Leading-Edward-Aldwell/dp/0495189758

That was our music theory textbook at the Con course where I studied. It approaches all historical music theory through the lens of voice leading, and it's a great approach IMO ;-)

u/CrAzY_MoFo_13 · 3 pointsr/singing

The Schirmer 24 Italian Songs and Arias book is standard for Italian stuff but, like the title suggests, it only covers the 17th and 18th centuries.

As a (light) coloratura Soprano you will undoubtedly be working on Rossini and Donizetti roles sooner or later so if you can get some arias from roles like Rosina (from Il barbiere di Siviglia) or Norina (from Don Pasquale) that would be great. However, some of those arias are fiendishly difficult so I'd definitely consult your voice teacher first.

I would shy away from picking obscure pieces with the idea that it will impress judges; Renée Fleming mentioned in her autobiography that she, early in her career, made this mistake and she risked the judges not being able to bring any standard to her performance of a song if it was something they've never seen (they may even ask you to perform another!). On the other hand, you are right to think that choosing the overdone pieces is a bad thing, sometimes. Some songs are done a lot just because they are great for showcasing multiple strong areas of the voice in one piece, some are great for younger voices, some are just standard staples that the judges know cold (and can therefore judge you better on), and some are standard staples you are expected to know for the repertoire (a lot of Schubert is in this category). But also remember an audition is partly to show that you are a good musician, but also equally to show off your technical skill. So if you are applying as a coloratura soprano and only choose slower songs in 12/8 or only pick dramatic songs, you're not really showing how you are coloratura, are you?

Hope that helps.

u/gwyner · 3 pointsr/IWantToLearn

Just coming to second and third everyone here. Get voice lessons if you can. If you can't, this book is actually very good, though it's not a substitute for a voice teacher.

PS: It's like a little opera singer convention in here! (Opera singer in Vienna. Where are the rest of you based?)

u/NRMusicProject · 3 pointsr/WeAreTheMusicMakers

http://vi-control.net/community/

I used to frequent this forum when I was just interested in the composition scene.

Also, grab up these books if you're interested in TV or film scoring:

Music Composition for Film and Television. I just came across this, but since it's written by Lalo Schifrin, you really should get it...and I should, too.

The Reel World: Music Pro Guides. Haven't finished this one, but the book comes with a website that gives audio examples to what Rona is talking about.

Complete Guide To Film Scoring. This one is not only helpful because of the chapters on getting the jobs, but the second half of the book is full of interviews by actual composers whose jobs include writing for TV or film. You'll find every one of them got into the scene through a different avenue. Extremely informative.

On the Track: A Guide to Contemporary Film Scoring. Have it, haven't read it yet.

I feel like I'm forgetting one or two, but I think this should be a start. Also note that these links might not be the best place to buy the books; I just linked the first correct hits I found so you know what to look for.

u/blakkdiamond · 3 pointsr/classicalmusic

I second this over Tonal Harmony. Way more musical and focuses on voice leading instead of sticking a roman numeral under everything.

Find an older edition if you can. No one should have to spend $150 on a used music theory book.

u/DeathByPetrichor · 2 pointsr/PSVR

I think a book like this would have a lot of the same information as my friend was studying. The reviews seem pretty positive on the book, I'd say its worth checking out.

u/ottentj1 · 2 pointsr/singing

"What Every Singer Needs to Know About the Body"
http://www.amazon.com/What-Every-Singer-Needs-About/dp/159756494X

This is a great book. Easy and interesting read with input from singers and other musicians.

u/BeefiousMaximus · 2 pointsr/Music

There was book about there American tour, written by the tour manager. I haven't read it in years, but I remember it being pretty interesting.

http://www.amazon.com/12-Days-Road-Noel-Monk/dp/0688112749

u/MrSullivan · 2 pointsr/classicalmusic

If you want to study Bach and functional harmony, this should suit your needs. Starting with the chorales would be advisable, as they are much easier to study and will teach you everything you need to know about four-part writing. Once you have, though The Well-Tempered Clavier has been a major inspiration to many composers of keyboard music and will serve you just as well. Beethoven could apparently play all 48 from memory and drew on his knowledge of them in the creation of some of his later and greater works.

The Art of Fugue and the Goldberg Variations would also be great additions to your library someday, but for now the chorales and WTC should be fine.

As Friedso has already mentioned, Bach's music can be obtained freely (and legally) on IMSLP, also known as the Petrucci Music Library. There you will find multiple editions of the Art of Fugue, WTC, Goldberg Variations and more in PDF.

Hope this helps!





u/Loindsey · 2 pointsr/ClassicalSinger


The Structure of Singing by Richard Miller

Securing Baritone, Bass-Baritone, and Bass Voices by Richard Miller

What Every Singer Needs to Know about the Body

I didn't learn about these books until graduate school. I think every singer needs them in their personal library. The Miller texts are very thorough on technique with scientific explanation of phonation. Lots of diagrams and lots of exercises with very specific purposes. Also a lot of very good references to other texts. If you're more of a right brain thinker and respond better to metaphors and abstract approaches, Miller may not be your go-to reference guide, but it's important to at least study for pedagogy's sake.

The other book focuses on body awareness. It will change your life. For real. Posture, balance, alignment, movement - everything you need to know. Teachers toss around terms and commands such as "tension," "relax," "stand up straight," "chest high," "shoulders back," etc. but none of this is specific enough to actually correct anything and can actually cause other problems! This book will save you. It is my precious and I love it.

u/bnovc · 2 pointsr/asktrp

Have you tried to work on your voice, if it bothers you so much? Perhaps something like The Voice Book: Caring For, Protecting, and Improving Your Voice 1 Pap/Com Edition
(which I have no affiliation with but have read parts of)

u/ortofon88 · 2 pointsr/socialskills

A doctor wrote a book about proper voice technique that i've read and am reading again that's pretty insightful. dr morton cooper

u/AleatoricConsonance · 2 pointsr/TheCure

Then there's this: https://www.amazon.com/Grunt-Pigorian-Chant-Snouto-Domoinko/dp/0761105948

It sounds like Gregorian chants, it's performed by professional choristers, the only catch is that it's things like Old McDonald Had A Farm in Latin, complete with the EIEIO; and other pieces in Pig Latin. If you ever have the misfortune to have to attend professional development sessions, innocently offer "Gregorian Chants" as a background (and don't show them the cover), then sit back and quietly chuckle to yourself when everyone relaxes and oohs and aahs, but absolutely nobody twigs the lyrics...

u/Yeargdribble · 2 pointsr/piano

My suggestions are going to be very simple. I highly recommend you don't try to skip anything thinking it's too easy for where you are. This is how you end up with lots of gaps. I speak from deeply personal experience and some of the best improvements in my playing have come from realizing that unless it's easy enough that I can sightread it perfectly and effortlessly the first time, it's worth working. Every small thing even in children's beginner books helps build that scaffolding that remove ability gaps and helps you be a better and more consistent player.

>1) get some classic stuff that we learn at the begining and

Not entirely clear about what you want in terms of if you just want the basics or you specifically mean you want some classical style stuff. Either way, here are some recommendations.

Alfred All-In-One - This is just a generally good book to work through with a lot of fairly basic stuff mostly sticking to a very small harmonic palette used in a ton of music. You can carry on to level 2 and 3 when you're done.

Masterwork Classics - If you're looking for actual simple literature, this is a great place to start. Very easy pieces and a great progressive series of books.

Burgmuller Op. 100 - Probably a it more challenging, but great progressive stuff as well and very classical.

Czerny Op. 139 - More progressive goodness.

Czerny Op. 821 - Not progressive, but lots of very short, bite-sized exercises that isolate specific things that show up in classical music, but in a fun musical way rather than just dull exercises.

>2) get better at sight-reading. I have lots of gaps in my piano skills.

Progressive Sightreading - These are ridiculously easy, but this is really where you should start. They are easy enough to let you be successful quickly and focus on keeping your eyes on the page because they are all within a 5 finger pattern reach covering all keys.

Paul Harris books - These are progressive sets of books that slowly introduce specific concepts. My favorite part about them is the articulations and stylistic directions that go beyond just having you hit the right notes, but have you actually thinking about how you want a piece to sound.

Mikrokosmos - These start a bit easy, but get hard very quickly. They also tend to not stick to predictable western harmony, which helps with getting your reading out of its comfort zone. Additionally, there tends to be a good deal more left hand motion and even melodies which really helps your left hand not just be the accompaniment hand.

Bach Chorales - I'm honestly not a huge fan, but some people swear by these. I would actually instead recommend finding a hymnal instead. These chorales are not only more difficult than most hymns, but will be extremely frustrating if you don't have a comfortable 10th.

In general, you should be learning lots of small pieces constantly. A huge part of sightreading is actually being technically capable. If you can't execute it technically, you can't read it. So find lots of pieces in a variety of styles that you can learn in no more than a week, or better, several of in a week. Lots of short focused pieces will chip away at very small weakness in your playing very quickly and efficiently. This will make your reading much better. Better technique and reading will lead to you being able to learn increasingly difficult music much faster. You'll likely find that something that once might've taken you a month to learn could be learned in a week. Something that could be learned in a week might be learned in a day or even sightread.

Try to remember when learning new, simple pieces, to try to keep your eyes on the page. Not matter how slow or out of tempo you need to go, really learn to trust your ability to feel the distances and shapes of chords you need to play. You might need to look early on for stuff that is more difficult for you, but try to get to a point where you don't need to look. When you can trust yourself in that regard, your reading ability will increase a ton.

u/_The_Professor_ · 2 pointsr/musictheory
u/BaroquenRecord · 2 pointsr/ClassicalSinger

Thanks for posting!

I agree with all that others have said. This song is a bit on the low side for you, which is causing you to do some of the things mentioned. Any of the higher notes in the song sound very natural in your voice, so I would encourage you to look into higher repertoire with your teacher. If you're now thinking "I don't have a teacher", then you should totally look into getting one!

I think the best single book of songs a young singer can pick up is the 24 Italian Art Songs and Arias. It's inexpensive and an incredible tool for a singer looking to improve, as each song has things to teach.

Welcome to the sub, don't be afraid to ask questions!

u/xgideon · 2 pointsr/opera

There are many great arias in this book (https://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Four-Italian-Seventeenth-Eighteenth-Centuries/dp/0793510066). Pieta Signore, O del mio dolce, etc. You don't want to walk into a college audition or even freshman jury with Giovanni. Not yet. :)

u/theOnliest · 2 pointsr/musictheory

Ditto to this...learning Schenkerian analysis is more like learning to play an instrument than learning to use Roman numerals, for example. It's nearly impossible to get good at it without a Jedi master holding your hand, as it were. Most of the noted Schenkerians working today can trace a direct line back to Schenker himself, and it's rare to find someone doing really good Schenkerian analysis today that didn't learn from one of the 2nd-generation Schenkerians. The C&G text is the best out there, but there are very few hard and fast rules with Schenkerian analysis, so it's exceedingly difficult to learn from a book (do, however, avoid the Forte & Gilbert textbook, and absolutely do not attempt to learn Schenkerian analysis by reading Free Composition).

Incidentally, what textbook did you (OP) learn from originally? I'd recommend getting a copy of the Aldwell/Schachter harmony text. Carl Schachter is the most important Schenkerian alive today (he learned from Felix Salzer, who was a student of Schenker's), and this harmony textbook, while not actually Schenkerian, will help a lot in grasping some basic concepts. You might also take a look at Robert Gauldin's textbook, which includes some basic Schenker instruction (if I remember correctly...I don't have a copy handy). There are plenty of us Schenkerians hanging around here in the wings, so we can probably help a lot (and I haven't gotten into a good Schenker argument in a while!).

u/robocalypse · 2 pointsr/singing

For musical theatre, I would recommend referencing The Singer's Musical Theatre Anthology. There are 4 books for each voice type.

For classical you can reference the G Shirmer Opera Anthology. There is one for each voice type. The 24 Italian Art Songs and Arias is another great resource, especially if you are wanting classical rep for students.

Those resources have a ton of options. Not sure if you were wanting just a few examples.

u/DaveCouture · 2 pointsr/edmproduction

Note: All the books I recommend are expensive and I suggest you torrent them before buying them to make sure you like their style. Then if you decide to use them buy them of course. The vocabulary used in the book can be a real bitch too, but if you stick with it and google the words you don't know, it'll be worth it.

I've self studied classical and pop music, even composed a few rondos and sonatas in my time. The easiest book you can read is Harmony for Computer Musician http://www.amazon.ca/Harmony-Computer-Musicians-Michael-Hewitt/dp/1435456726

It explains everything in piano roll. It's one of the first book I read and the only thing I didn't like about it is that it left me with so many unanswered questions. It will teach you how to form and use all chords.

It takes probably about 20 hours to go through the book with no prior knowledge. I don't recommend this book unless the only time you want to invest is 20 hours. Knowing only 50% of theory can really restrict and fuck with your mind.

The other books I'll recommend are written in music notation, but the thing with music theory books is that you don't need to know music notation, just look at the examples you want, and slowly transcribe them into pianoroll. It takes me like 5 minutes to read an 8 bars music notation (slow as fuck) and it didnt prevent me form learning all my classical knowledge from theory textbooks with music notation.

So if you want a real and full unrestricted understanding of western music, from classical to pop to EDM, I'd recommend this book http://www.amazon.ca/Harmony-Voice-Leading-Edward-Aldwell/dp/0495189758/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381010907&sr=1-1&keywords=harmony+and+voice+leading

The difference with this books and the other one, is that it goes through all exceptions you will see in western music, so you see that almost anything is possible in music, and after you've finished the book you won't really have any questions per say regarding theory. Looking at a midi from a beatles song or a mozart's song won't really puzzle you.

The book probably takes about 200 hours to go through from start to end with no prior knowledge. I highly recommend it. Even if you start now and it takes you 10 years to finish it.

Now that you know everything about harmony, you might want to end your learning here, and that would be fine. This would allow you to create your own style.

But you also might to be able to analyze and imitate a composer or style that you like. You might still be confused about why a composer decided to use which harmony in the verse and which harmony in the chorus, and which harmony in the bridge, and which harmony before the chorus, etc. You might also be confused about how to create your melodic motives, how long should they be? how many times should they repeat? Why should my bridge be 12 bars or 8 bars? Why should my chorus be in a different key? Why did he use the same melodic motif (pattern) twice and then then the harmonic rhytmn accelerated before the chorus?

For this I recommend this book http://www.amazon.ca/Classical-Form-Functions-Instrumental-Beethoven/dp/019514399X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381011568&sr=1-2&keywords=classical+form+caplin

It also takes about 200 hours to go through (and that is if you have prior knowledge of harmony). After that composition of classical music won't have much secret to you. You'll know how to write a sonata and rondo, which most pop music is a simplified version of. I highly recommend this if you really want to be able to compose highly musical pieces, maybe something similar to video game music, or film score. I highly recommend reading at least the few chapters, where they talk about how to form 8 bars sections and ABA' sections (which most pop is based on).

Keep in mind that those 2 books are timeless and their information takes you from complete beginner to advanced. They are like bibles. So even if you buy them are read 1 chapter per month for 10 years, it will be invaluable to your musicianship. Like I'm sure you all know, music is an endless learning experience, so don't be intimiated with their size and complexity.

Now after reading that you want to get back to pop music but your brain is all about classical now (which is like western pop but on steroids). Don't worry, now that you know how to analyze classical, you will be able to understand and analyze most type of music. I would go with the classics and read those analysis of the beatles songs to come back full circle and write pop/EDM music with simple form. http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/awp-notes_on.shtml

You can try reading the beatles analysis without prior knowledge, but a lot of the vocabulary you won't understand. You could also skip the Classical Form book and skip strait to the beatles analysis but then again, you might not fully understand what you're reading.

If anyone is interested I've made some video tutorial on the topic (it doesn't go in depth like the books) http://www.youtube.com/user/DaveCoutureMusic

And here's some examples of classical pieces I've composed (I dont play any instrument and learned everything from books by myself):

https://soundcloud.com/dave-couture/rondo-for-strings

https://soundcloud.com/dave-couture/creepy-piano-piece

Also anyone that wants to PM for tips or get me on facebook if you have questions, I'm always glad to help.

u/donald2000 · 2 pointsr/singing

Thanks. I actually have Brett Manning's Singing Success as well as Set Your Voice Free by Roger Love and Singing For The Stars by Seth Riggs (who I believe developed the speech level singing program that the first two admittedly built their programs around). I use a combination of those programs as well as Secrets of Singing by Jeffrey Allen (which I actually consider the most useful of all of those programs).

I'm definitely a believer in warming up and cooling down as well, but I still inevitably push it too much during practice. Just wondering if I should give myself a rest day or not afterwards, though.

Thanks for responding!

u/kingpatzer · 1 pointr/Guitar_Theory

Knowing theory won't really help you create better songs. It will help you understand what's going on in a song and can help you solve many compositional problems for arrangements. But that's not the same thing.

I'm not trying to dissuade you, I'm a theory geek myself. But I do want to convey what theory will and won't do for you. Having a good ear for melody and a sense of song structure is far more important for making a great song than theory is.

If you want some great theory books, I can heartily recommend the text Tonal Harmony, by Kostka and Payne as well as Harmony and Voice Leading, by Aldwell, Schacter and Cadwallader

While pricey because of their academic audience, these texts avoid much of the confusion rigorous texts demonstrate, particularly with regard to the importance of modes to understanding the relationship between melody and harmony.

For really expanding your understanding of harmony on the guitar, and if you like Jazz, Johnny Smith's "Mel Bay's Complete Johnny Smith Approach to Guitar" is an amazing book, but requires a lot of hard work on the part of the student (not least of which due to Smith's insistance of writing the music in actual pitch using bass and treble cleffs.

u/sjp2 · 1 pointr/opera

Since you are just beginning taking vocal lessons, one of the best places to start is the Twenty-Four Italian Songs & Arias book. There is a "medium low" book, but even as a soprano the music in the medium high book isn't very, well, high. I live under the "schooling" of don't sing big rep/arias until you can work good technique into them, though that's always up for a debate. The 24 Italian songs may come off as "simple," but some of them are actually really beautiful and good for first time singers. Good luck and have fun! :)

u/monkai · 1 pointr/piano

i was in the same boat as you

havent played since elementary school and just started up again at 21 last November.

i started off pretty slow in the beginning not even being able to play scales or do the most basic music for the first month

but the general plan that I've taken
i've used

http://www.amazon.com/Elementary-Training-Musicians-2nd-Edition/dp/0901938165/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395538406&sr=8-1&keywords=hindemith (this might not be as necessary if you're really good with rhythms?)

http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Classics-Moderns-Music-Millions/dp/0825640172

after doing about 5 of those pieces from that i moved on to beethoven sonata 49, then i moved on to eyes on me (http://ffmusic.ffshrine.org/ff8sheet/ff8-sheet-music.php), suteki da ne (http://ffmusic.ffshrine.org/ff10sheet/ff10-sheet-music.php), and then debussy's arabesque

so if you were looking for a timeline thats how I've been progressing so far with a teacher;

what was kind of helpful for me was just to go in with the mindset that each new piece you're gonna improve on reading and technique so that the next piece will be easier and to pick pieces that helped me; for example, i really wanted to play debussy's arabesque which involves a lot of polyrhythms and arpeggios in the left hand; while i definitely couldn't play it right after playing the sonata, the two songs i played before it was really helpful; eyes on me was great for the arps in the left hand and suteki da ne was great for the polyrhythms

u/IAmVeryAttractive · 1 pointr/AskMen

This book helped me.

u/[deleted] · 1 pointr/classicalmusic

Good advice--but if you are interested in music theory, have a look at Paul Hindemith's Elementary Training for Musicians:

>Paul Hindemith was one of the 20th Century's preeminent composers, and was also known as a superb teacher. This book is not a textbook on harmony or composition. Rather, it is a collection of exercises intended to develop basic musicianship skills, including note-reading, and rhythmic and melodic sight-singing and dictation. The exercises start off deceptively simple and increase rapidly in difficulty. For example, a typical rhythmic exercise might have two separate rhythmic lines to be performed by each hand tapping, or by singing one of the lines and clapping or tapping the other. Melodic exercises are often accompanied by a contrasting rhythm line. Exercises are presented in alto and tenor clefs as well as the more usual bass and treble. Determination is the key to success with this book. Many of the exercises must be practiced assiduously--slowly at first, then faster as skill improves. Anyone who completes at least half the book will have improved his or her musicianship level significantly.

Another fun, painless way to practice reading music again is to watch Youtube videos with sheet music graphics. The more you practice, the more you'll see in them--choose the pieces you like best, and work entirely at your own pace. Good luck and happy listening!

u/janecekjanecek · 1 pointr/musictheory

I've been slacking on this skill, but I can tell you what my ideal method would be for this skill. Note that aural skills were the bane of my existence as an undergraduate, and my current struggles have probably kept me from full funding at the graduate level, which is why I've been woodshedding (I'll show them! I'll show them all!)

  • Buy "A New Approach to Sight Singing, 4th Ed." (because the newest editions are too expensive) http://www.amazon.com/New-Approach-Sight-Singing-Fourth/dp/B000L3K71I. Why? Because the interval of a 4th (do --> fa, re --> so, mi --> la, so --> do, la --> re, ti --> mi) feels different in each of those contexts, relative to whatever is your tonic note. For that matter, so do all other intervals. At any rate, sing through Part I of each chapter, and then Part II of each chapter, etc. Expect this to take a long time. Expect to be frustrated when the keys go outside of a comfortable range (e.g. a major 2nd which is easy in G major is incredibly difficult in the key of B, a major 3rd above)

  • Buy "371 Harmonized Chorales and 69 Chorale Melodies with Figured Bass" by J.S. Bach (http://www.amazon.com/Harmonized-Chorales-Chorale-Melodies-Figured/dp/0793525748), and play three voices while singing the other. This will also take forever. Use sol-fege

  • Buy MacGAMUT (http://www.macgamut.com/) MacGAMUT looks really, really outdated. But it isn't--if you use Windows you'll need to get a Virtual MIDI Synth and some SoundFonts, because the way it sound out-of-the-box will probably hurt more than help. But where MacGAMUT succeeds is in it's refusal to coddle you as a musician. Either you know it or you don't. Expect to spend dozens of hours using the program. The most vital exercises are going to Melodic Dictation and Harmonic Dictation. They are both difficult and will require you to use staff paper. But they work.

  • If you are fortunate enough to be studying music at the Undergraduate level or beyond, look for "error detection" methods in your music library. If you are not fortunate enough to be studying music but you have money, you can buy something like "Error Detection: Exercises for the Instrumental Conductor" for around $200. (http://www.jwpepper.com/10087652.item#.Vy0lh76b2CM)

  • Realize that ear training is different for everybody. Some people just have great aural skills, and they will treat you like dirt because they'll wonder "why can't you hear that?" Others believe that aural skills are like athletic abilities and thus cannot be trained to a consistent standard. I disagree. I do think that ear training requires devotion and it is time-consuming, and the payout is not the same now when everything is on youtube than it was in the 17th-19th centuries when you had to be able to relay information accurately to other musicians. Consider that most of the educated populace had better skills with the visual arts before the age of photography and you have a striking parallel to music before the age of recordings.
u/am-ranse · 1 pointr/musictheory

If you have the patience, Harmony & Voice Leading by Aldwell & Schachter, hands down.

It depends on how much of a "Beginner" you are. I went through Music Theory for Dummies before I moved on to the above monster of a textbook. The Shaping of Musical Elements and its second volume are also some recommendations. However, they also require a deal of patience (and possibly a knowledgeable friend/teacher if you'd like your work examined). The aforementioned Laitz book is also a great text worth of perusal.

I wish you the best of luck in your learning ventures!

u/HotelEscapism · 1 pointr/WeAreTheMusicMakers

The whole major=happy/minor=sad is too simplistic and too black & white in my opinion. I think it's just an easy way to describe it when your starting out with music. Of course minor has more dissonance since the third is closer to the (unstable) 2nd/super tonic and the major third neighbours the perfect fourth, which gives the feeling of moving towards a stable sound. But there are still plenty of happy songs in minor and vice versa.

I found the book Harmony and Voice Leading to have some interesting info about this discussion.

u/hlyghstpwr · 1 pointr/singing

I’ve been really working on enhancing everything about my singing and happened across “The Voice Book”.

I’m only a couple chapters in but they give pics and exercises for posture and supporting your voice. Just a couple minor changes to my stance and I can immediately see/feel/hear the difference in my voice.

Below is the link for it on Amazon. Hope it helps!

The Voice Book: Caring For, Protecting, and Improving Your Voice https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556528299/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_xEGoDbJ4RPZ2V

u/Rowy-van-Hest · 1 pointr/musictheory

Yes it does, but you would have to study harmony a bit more first. Take lessons or read the excellent 'Harmony and Voice Leading' by Aldwell and Schachter: https://www.amazon.com/Harmony-Voice-Leading-Edward-Aldwell/dp/0495189758

Good luck!

u/starshipmachine · 1 pointr/singing

I'm pretty new to this, but Set Your Voice Free has been a great help in stopping me straining when reaching higher notes :)

u/burningtoad · 1 pointr/piano

WTC is awesome - maybe don't go THROUGH it per se, since the level of difficulty vary a lot. The Inventions and Sinfonias are a bit more consistent, and I think they're at a great level to practice bringing each line out, which is really the point.

As for getting comfortable with counterpoint in general, The Riemenschneider is essential. There are 69 chorales at the end for which only the figured bass is provided and you have to improvise the other three parts. It can be tough at first, but your musicianship will skyrocket if you can get the hang of it.

u/rverne8 · 1 pointr/musictheory

My approach is classically oriented and requires an ability to read music at a level found say at the beginning of intermediate piano lesson books-just to give an example of what I'm thinking of here.

J. S. Bach four part Chorales-tough to follow up on this. But understanding the rules becomes a task of inscrutable difficulty so these two books might help-could need require some additional tutoring on the side.

Robert Ottman's Elementary Harmony -Theory and Practice approachable but lacks some thoroughness. Available at the online booksellers too.

Harmony and Voice Leading (2nd Edition) /Aldwell and Schachter -very thorough, steep learning curve.

​

u/HashPram · 1 pointr/musictheory

Might be a voice-leading thing, might be a case of your use of inversions being a bit haphazard.

For less haphazard use of inversions, hit the theory books and may God have mercy on your soul.
For voice-leading you could try:

"Tendency Tones and Functional Dissonances"
"Tonal Degrees and Degree Tendencies"
"Advanced Music Theory Lesson 2: Scale Tendencies"

TBH the clearest explanation I've seen is in Harmony and Voice Leading (unless you're flush with cash just buy a 2nd-hand copy of an older edition - music theory hasn't changed that much since 1988 - you'll save yourself a small fortune). And that book will also teach you about inversions, chord progressions, sequences, &c albeit in Classical style. You'll need to be able to read bass & treble clef.

C13 question. Root, 3rd, 7th and 13th are enough. You can add other stuff as well if you like. See /u/lasercrusters post for additional details.

u/Singologist · 1 pointr/ebooks

If you follow the link in the title it should take you to Amazon.com
Try https://amazon.com/dp/B075VQP1PX

u/kitchenham · 1 pointr/singing

My friend Neil is a multi award winning singer and chorus director. He has a wealth of experience to share. He is the musical director of top flight British Barbershop Chorus and current British Champions the Cottontown Chorus.

He has an ebook available from amazon .

His chorus website do online auditions/voice testing.

u/musitard · 1 pointr/musictheory

A counter argument to Solfege is contained in this book: http://www.amazon.ca/Elementary-Training-Musicians-Paul-Hindemith/dp/0901938165.

In my experience though, Solfege has been invaluable. It was probably one of the best things I worked on for my ears. But Hindemith was a really smart guy and I was already "corrupted" before I started his book.

u/sedawkgrep · 1 pointr/musictheory

Do you have a good edition you can point me to for this? Would this Reimenschneider edition be ok?

u/orbweaver82 · 1 pointr/singing

Here is an excerpt from "The Voice Book":

>Voice quality and ease, or the lack thereof, is closely linked to posture and muscle tension. Slouching posture or tension in the throat, jaw, shoulders, and neck can negatively affect the voice. Therefore, we will start our journey to vocal efficiency by first addressing body alignment.
>
>Heads are heavy (15 pounds or so), and the human body is designed such that the bones of the skeleton support the weight of the head. However, many of us don’t have a sufficiently straight carriage, or posture, to allow the head to be fully supported by the bones of the skeleton. Therefore, we have to overuse neck muscles to support the weight of the head. This state is called misalignment and can create several negative repercussions for voice quality and comfort.
>
>One vocal consequence of misalignment is extraneous tension in the muscles of the neck, which then creates tension in the vocal system. Another issue is the contraction of muscles at the back of the neck and the base of the skull. Keep in mind that muscles shorten when they contract. Most people unknowingly contract and shorten muscles at the back of the neck and base of the skull, thereby causing misalignment. Tension in these muscles not only creates discomfort (this is an area of tightness for many people), but can also create tension in the jaw, because tension in the back of the body tends to lead to corresponding tension in the front. Therefore, misalignment of the head can easily lead to jaw tension, which negatively affects voice by constricting the channel through which the voice flows.
>
>Yet another effect of misalignment is related to the shape of the vocal tract, which is the tube that runs from the larynx to the lips and includes the throat, mouth, and nose. If the head is misaligned, the vocal tract’s shape is distorted in a way that is disadvantageous for voice. The vocal tract is essentially a built-in amplifier that makes your voice louder and more resonant if you don’t constrict it. By mis-aligning the head, we basically unplug the amplifier and cut out many of the acoustic benefits of the vocal tract. Therefore, proper head alignment can not only reduce laryngeal tension, but can also improve vocal projection and reduce vocal effort.

​

As far as how to train good alignment well the go to method is The Alexander Technique

u/Luguaedos · 1 pointr/languagelearning

There is a book that talks about diction for singers of Italian, French, and German. I thought it was pretty useful for Italian. Based on my experience with both languages, I am going to say it will not be directly applicable. But learning to sing in a foreign language will make you more sensitive to sounds in any language you learn after that. And the largest predictor of success in learning any skill is the learner's ability to detect their own errors. So it would be helpful to learn to sing in Spanish. IMO, you should find an accent reduction course for Spanish. I'm sure they exist. Here is the book I mentioned if you are curious.

https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Diction-Singers-Italian-German/dp/0195325591/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1504119521&sr=8-2&keywords=diction

u/dounis42 · 1 pointr/violinist

It'll be difficult to schlep your instrument unless you are otherwise travelling very light (and you have a light and compact case), especially if you will be flying a lot, since the violin would take the place of your carry-on bag (and I don't know your baggage situation).

If you would like to self-study music theory, I would strongly recommend either of these textbooks:

  • Aldwell and Schachter, Harmony and Voice Leading

  • Steve Laitz, The Complete Musician

    The Schachter book is the old standard that is still in use at many conservatories; it was especially prevalent in east-coast conservatories, where Schenkerian analysis was in vogue. Many schools seem to be switching to the Laitz textbook (it's spreading from my alma mater, the Eastman School of Music Theory), I'm not altogether sure as to why, but they are both fantastic resources.

    I would also suggest considering self-study in music history, the textbook by Grout would be a great starting point.
u/bonerOn4thJuly · 1 pointr/singing

Is this one any good?

u/CabinDownBelow · 1 pointr/jackwhite

>It was the only US stop on the Sex Pistols first tour.

I’m a few days late for this, but that’s not accurate. They only did one US tour (not counting the money grab reunion stuff decades later) and they played several cities, not just Tulsa.

They played San Antonio, Dallas, Atlanta, Memphis, Baton Rouge, and San Francisco. Cain’s Ballroom was the second to last show the band ever played before breaking up.

There’s an excellent book about it, written by the US tour manager. Total disaster, very fun to read.

u/TravellingJourneyman · 1 pointr/composertalk

Sing everything you write. Every note. If you can't sing, get a sight singing book (I recommend this one). Get a pitch pipe or a tuning fork to check yourself if you don't have a piano or something already.

u/iTelope · 1 pointr/musictheory

Look at some of the Chorales in riemenschneider, have a look at what Bach does.

u/elerico · 1 pointr/singing

You should pick up a diction book! If you only sing in English, get this one, and if you're a classical singer, get this one. I'm not sure about other languages.

If you're isolating vowels and learning how to properly shape them, do it right and learn what the books say. They can help you think about vowels in different terms that you're used to.

u/DigDugged · -83 pointsr/giantbomb

Found some extra items to add to his list:

  1. A book to help him use his biological voice instead of the chain-smoking Kermit the Frog voice he uses: http://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-Voice-Finding-Natural/dp/0879804416

    (That Thanksgiving podcast where he skyped in and you could barely hear him was the best one yet - he didn't dominate the conversation with his droning monotone microphone-swallowing voice that happens on the rest of the podcasts.

  2. This next Amazon item would help Alex to stop making terrible jokes like "that's a thing" or others where he basically reduces creativity into a Jon Lovitz-style "It Stinks!" soundbyte which sounds hilarious to only him. http://www.amazon.com/Complaint-Free-World-Complaining-Enjoying/dp/0770436390

    Edit: Downvote away, I'm not joking. Alex ruins podcasts with his affected voice and endless pursuit of negativity. As Giant Bomb transitions into a source of entertainment from a source of information, these two books would help him with two areas where he detracts from entertainment. Take solace, Alex: In the words of the Beatles, it's a fool who plays it cool while making his world a little smaller. Rejecting 99% of everything doesn't make you more interesting.