Waveland Press - Royal Stanton

This outstanding volume, now available from Waveland Press, is well-known for its simplicity, inclusiveness, and integrity to the fundamentals of the art of singing. The late Royal Stanton—an experienced teacher; the founder of Schola Cantorum, a symphonic choir of 150 voices; and a composer and arranger of many nationally published pieces—wrote with the flair to engage and hold the interest of newcomers venturing into the organized process of singing. His nine-step format provides students the opportunity to build on their voice-training achievements. Singing is more than endless exercises and technical devices, and Stanton’s methods have proven effective in guiding beginning students from their initial tentative approaches to phonation, to the outer edges of performance and the rudiments of interpretation. Learning the joys of controlled singing in a friendly environment encourages beginners to think of singing as a natural, peer-approved activity.

“I was impressed by the way the book is organized and the breadth of the information covered.” — Elaina Robbins, Purdue University, Fort Wayne

“This is the best book for teaching beginning voice class for nonmajors. It is easy to follow and understand.” — Johnnie Bankens, Southeastern Louisiana University

“I love this book. The explanations are clear enough for the beginning singer to grasp. I like the practical exercises and activities at the end of the lesson that give clear direction on how to apply the information from the chapter.” — Kimberly L. Cone, Columbus State University

“Well-written textbook with excellent pacing! The book addresses aspects of singing that most other textbooks have overlooked, and it is written in a way that invites the student to explore and discover his/her own voice.” — Ursula Kleinecke, Scripps College

“This is a really fine textbook! This is my first time teaching class voice and I am currently using another textbook, but find myself constantly referring to Stanton’s book for more material, more depth, and pertinent student exercises.” — Catherine Robbins, York University

“This is exactly the book beginning singers need to study. I cannot recommend it highly enough.” —Marilyn Horne

Step 1. MAKING PREPARATIONS
1. A Preliminary Briefing for the Singer
2. Why Are You Self-Conscious?
3. How to Build Confidence
4. Where Does Your Singing Start?
5. Making Motivation Work for You
6. Your Phonation Machine

Step 2. BREATHING TO SING
7. Posture: Let Yourself Sing
8. Breathing to Sing
9. Breath Control: Diaphragmatic-Costal Breathing in Action
10. Breath Support as the Foundation of Singing

Step 3. MAKING TONE
11. On Opening Up
12. What Is a “Beautiful” Tone?
13. Controlling Your Registers
14. Making Your Ideal Tone
15. Resonance and Projection

Step 4. COLORING TONE
16. Are You a Kansas Yankee from Birmingham?
17. Vowels and Diphthongs
18. Consonants
19. What Is Placement?

Step 5. PUTTING THE PARTS TOGETHER
20. Seeing Words as Successions of Sounds
21. Legato Technique: The Smooth Vocal Line
22. Making Phrases

Step 6. LEARNING TO PERFORM
23. Understanding Your Singing as “Performing”
24. Evaluating Your Own Performance
25. Controlling Specific Vocal Faults

Step 7. LEARNING MUSICIANSHIP
26. What Is Accuracy in Singing?
27. Reading Notation: The Fundamental Musical Skill

Step 8. MAKING SINGING MEANINGFUL
28. What Is Interpretation?
29. What Is Meaning in Singing?
30. What Is Expression in Singing?
31. Mood as an Expressive Tool
32. Dynamics as Expressive Tools
33. Tempo as an Expressive Tool

Step 9. MOVING TOWARD ARTISTRY
34. What Is Artistic Singing?
35. Stage Presence: Self-Consciousness Mastered

Appendix 1. Seven Steps to Learning a New Song
Appendix 2. A Sample Vocal Performance Evaluation Form
Appendix 3. Musicianship Information for Singers

Song Collection

Concert Songs
O Rest in the Lord Felix Mendelssohn
Awake, Sweet Love John Dowland (High and Low Keys)
Model of a Modern Major-General Arthur Sullivan
Beau Soir Claude Debussy
Bid Me to Live Royal Stanton
Caro Mio Ben Giuseppe Giordani (High and Low Keys)
Come Again! Sweet Love John Dowland (High and Low Keys)
Dedication (Widmung) Robert Franz
Dedication (Zueignung) Richard Strauss
My Despair (Star Vicino) Salvatore Rosa (High and Low Keys)
Forever Blessed G. F. Handel (High and Low Keys)
Grant Me This Favor G. F. Handel (High and Low Keys)
I Attempt from Love’s Sickness to Fly Henry Purcell
Litany (Litanei) Franz Schubert (High and Low Keys)
Lord, to Thee G. F. Handel
Old Lovesong Traditional (High and Low Keys)
O Lord Most Holy (Panis Angelicus) César Franck
Sebben, Crudele Antonio Caldara
The Silver Swan Orlando Gibbons (High and Low Keys)
Take My Heart Orlando di Lasso (High and Low Keys)
To Music (An die Musik) Franz Schubert (High and Low Keys)
Where’er You Walk G. F. Handel
With Thee and Desolate Moor G. F. Handel (High and Low Keys)
You Fill My Heart (Wie bist du, meine Königin) Johannes Brahms

Folksongs
America Henry Carey
All through the Night
Auld Lang Syne
Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms
Black Is the Color (High and Low Keys)
O Dear! What Can the Matter Be?
Down in the Valley
Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes (High and Low Keys)
Du, Du!
Go Down, Moses
He’s Goin’ Away (High and Low Keys)
On Top of Old Smoky
Poor Wayfarin’ Stranger (High and Low Keys)
The Turtle Dove (High and Low Keys)
When Love Is Kind

Rounds
O How Lovely Is the Evening
Combination Round: Are You Sleeping? and Three Blind Mice
Dona Nobis Pacem