The Singing Book (Third Edition) by Meribeth Dayme

by Meribeth Dayme

The Singing Book gets students singing on the very first day.With a "sing first, talk later" philosophy encouraging beginning students to sing without judgment or criticism, The Singing Book opens the door to learning repertoire and the more technical aspects of the voice. A three-part structure begins with motivational chapters and imaginative exercises focusing on basic technique, then offers a wide-ranging repertoire including improvisations, world songs and hymns, music from shows and films, popular songs, jazz standards, duets, art songs, and arias. Part Three thoroughly explains how the voice works and how to develop healthy technique.Designed for all skill levels and voice types, The Singing Book includes an anthology of over 70 songs, many brand new to this edition and all chosen specifically for the beginning singer. The text's appendices feature a new quiz for students to test their Singing IQs, methods for preparing song texts, extra warm-ups and exercises, a guide to the International Phonetic Alphabet, a brief primer on reading music, and a bibliography and list of online resources. Also included in this edition is the two-CD set specially designed to accompany The Singing Book. This 2-CD set, recorded in split-track format, provides melody and rhythm on one channel and accompaniments on the other for all selections, with additional keys available on the Student Website.

Genres: Music, Textbooks

Spiral-bound

First published December 1, 2007

Reviews

[Genni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Noted for inclusion of repertoire rather than lists, introductions to genres and individual songs, and annotations.

[Kayla Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is going to be a great text to teach from. There is so much good information - I was reminded myself of many techniques for healthy singing! There are plenty of exercises to be used in a group setting and a wide variety of songs, so there is something to appeal to every student. The CD is great as well - for every song it has a track of just the melody, accompaniment alone, and the two combined. I highly recommend this book to teachers of a group singing class and to singers wanting a fun-to-read review of the basics.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was required for sequential group voice courses at a junior college, where students represented an enormous range of ages, musical training, and cultures. Unfortunately, the book was prohibitively expensive for many, so they didn't benefit from all it had to offer, but students were able to share the book to explore selections and everyone found something they enjoyed.

With only a few songs so popular they've been beaten to death, the selection is very interesting and the authors put in a valiant effort to include songs from other cultures and to include jazz and musical theater pieces. Overall, the book is a great introduction to many genres of song and styles of singing. The more instructional chapters on technique were enlightening, digestible, and are likely most helpful for a more well-rounded learner—some of the anatomy and IPA might be overwhelming for someone using the book without much guidance and might lead to incomplete understanding or poor habits.

Unfortunately, I didn't use the included CD.! I don't have a disc-drive anymore, and as they disappear from computers (or don't exists for mobile devices), it would be advantageous to have the songs online. For legal reasons, I'm guessing, this might have to be a site where you create a login and/or prove you're a student. Or perhaps the professor who assigns the book could create an account and grant students access that way.

[K.B. Pellegrino · Rating 5 out of 5]

We who are not singers need this book. Will use it for our large family. Another way to introduce community.