Singing and Communicating in English: A Singer's Guide to English DictionOxford University Press, 2007 M12 21 - 352 pages From the Foreword by Renee Fleming: "Kathryn LaBouff has developed an approach to singing in the English language which is wonderfully user-friendly, and which has surely saved much wear and tear on my voice. It is a technique that has empowered me with the knowledge and skills to bring a text to life and to be able to negotiate all of the sounds of the language with the least amount of effort. I have found her clever and extremely creative use of substitute consonants or combinations of consonants in creating clear diction utterly delightful because they are surprising and because they work. These techniques have been equally useful when singing in foreign languages. We sopranos are not usually known to have good diction, particularly in our high range. I found that working with Kathryn improved my ability to be understood by an enormous percentile of the audience with much less vocal fatigue than I would have experienced if left to my own devices. I have often told my colleagues enthusiastically of her interesting solutions to the frustrating problems of diction. I am thrilled that her techniques are now in print for all to benefit from them." 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. Her thorough and much sought-after technique clarifies the physiology of speech, emphasizes the studied practice of careful and articulate pronunciation, and focuses on the study of English cadence. Covering aspects of phonetics from vowels to diphthongs to fricatives, the book includes multiple practical exercises in International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions, helpful diagrams, and pronunciation drills, each chosen from the most essential English art song and operatic repertoire. 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 by theater and voiceover actor John Keating, as well as an exercise answer key, and publishers' lists to help the singer locate a vast array of English language works for performance. This book is an invaluable resource for all vocalists (both professional and aspiring), diction instructors, teachers, and coaches, and choral directors. VISIT THE COMPANION SITE AT www.oup.com/us/singinginenglish |
From inside the book
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Page vii
... speech to the graduates he said : " Words on a page only exist in two dimensions , as do notes in a score . The arts we're talking about this morning— theater , music , dance - exist , happily , in three dimensions . We need you to ...
... speech to the graduates he said : " Words on a page only exist in two dimensions , as do notes in a score . The arts we're talking about this morning— theater , music , dance - exist , happily , in three dimensions . We need you to ...
Page viii
... speech , but often sounds bland and emotionally detached in the performance of a song . In addition to offering techniques for " getting it across , " I hope to offer an approach to singing in English that is singer - friendly and ...
... speech , but often sounds bland and emotionally detached in the performance of a song . In addition to offering techniques for " getting it across , " I hope to offer an approach to singing in English that is singer - friendly and ...
Page ix
... speech in the United Kingdom . Special thanks to dialect coaches Terry Besson and Gillian Lane - Plescia for their guidance on the English regional dialects . Thanks to Abe Jacobs , director of sound for the New York City Opera , for ...
... speech in the United Kingdom . Special thanks to dialect coaches Terry Besson and Gillian Lane - Plescia for their guidance on the English regional dialects . Thanks to Abe Jacobs , director of sound for the New York City Opera , for ...
Page 3
... speech may be separated into these three distinct areas : Pronunciation : The cultivation of sung speech that is free from regionalisms and is easily understood by the audience . Enunciation : The study of the physiology of speech ...
... speech may be separated into these three distinct areas : Pronunciation : The cultivation of sung speech that is free from regionalisms and is easily understood by the audience . Enunciation : The study of the physiology of speech ...
Page 4
... speech , vowel precision is not a require- ment for intelligibility . But when a word must be sustained musically in slow motion , it is very important that the vowel sound is precise or else no one will know what we are singing about ...
... speech , vowel precision is not a require- ment for intelligibility . But when a word must be sustained musically in slow motion , it is very important that the vowel sound is precise or else no one will know what we are singing about ...
Contents
3 | |
17 | |
CHAPTER 3 Introduction to Vowels | 31 |
CHAPTER 4 The Fronting Vowels | 43 |
CHAPTER 5 The Backing Vowels | 59 |
CHAPTER 6 The Mixed Vowels | 71 |
CHAPTER 7 Diphthongs | 79 |
CHAPTER 8 The Three SemiVowel Glides | 99 |
The Rain in Spain | 207 |
CHAPTER 15 The MidAtlantic Dialect | 241 |
The Finesse Factor | 255 |
APPENDIX 1 The International Phonetic Alphabet for English | 259 |
APPENDIX 2 ThreeDialect Overview | 263 |
APPENDIX 3 Regional Dialects Found in Vocal Repertoire | 265 |
Glossary | 291 |
Music Publishers Guide | 305 |
CHAPTER 9 Introduction to Consonants | 113 |
CHAPTER 10 The Plosives | 119 |
CHAPTER 11 The Fricatives | 141 |
CHAPTER 12 The Nasal Consonants Plus the Lyrical L | 167 |
Connecting the Dots | 185 |
Selected Bibliography and Resources | 309 |
Index of Song Texts | 315 |
General Index | 319 |
Other editions - View all
Singing and Communicating in English: A Singer's Guide to English Diction Kathryn LaBouff Limited preview - 2007 |
Singing and Communicating in English: A Singer's Guide to English Diction Kathryn LaBouff Limited preview - 2007 |
Singing and Communicating in English: A Singer's Guide to English Diction Kathryn LaBouff Limited preview - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
accents Action Tongue articulators Ask List breath lift British Received Pronunciation burred chapter consonant clusters Copyright diction diphthong Drill the following elongated EXAMPLES EXERCISES expressive doublings flipped r's following text following words fricative G. F. Handel glide vowel glottal attacks grace note gum ridge hard palate Historic RP implosion International Phonetic Alphabet Italian language legato listener lower front teeth medial merge Mid-Atlantic pronunciation Modern RP mouth Music nasal consonants opera optimum pitch passaggio phrase Pitfalls to Avoid plosive consonants position primary stress produced pronounced r-colored r-colored vowels Received Pronunciation related vowel relaxed release repertoire RULE Samuel Barber schwa shadow vowel sides of tongue singers singing soft palate spellings stop-plosive stressed syllable stressed word-types stressed words sung symbols technique Tips for Vocal tongue arch tongue tip Transcribe the following triphthongs unstressed unvoiced verb Vocal Ease voiced consonants vowel sounds W. S. Gilbert