Vocal Pedagogy books are an AMAZING tool to learn more about your voice. They are a great place to learn about the science of singing and familiarize yourself with the vocabulary you will likely hear as a singer.
These books do NOT take the place of a private voice teacher!
It’s important to always work with a qualified professional to apply the techniques you learn in these books, but this is a great way to expand your knowledge and learn new tools that might help yourself and your students if you teach.
I’ve read a lot of vocal ped books, and these are my 5 favorites.
1. The Vocal Athlete by Marci Daniels Rosenberg and Wendy D. LeBorgne
The Vocal Athlete is a comprehensive book that analyzes voice science from both a classical and commercial angle. The authors also share valuable information about healthcare for singers from acid reflux and medication to intubation with surgery. Any singer receiving medical care would do well to be armed with the information found in this book.
The Vocal Athlete is my personal favorite vocal pedagogy book.
2. Your Voice: An Inside View by Scott McCoy
Your Voice: An Inside View is a very approachable vocal pedagogy book, and I personally was first read this book as a part of my undergrad vocal pedagogy class. It was also used as the primary textbook in my master’s program, and I referenced it a lot in my thesis.
This is not the best book for anatomy in my opinion, but the science is very clear and comprehensive. I find myself referencing this book frequently.
3. The Structure of Singing by Richard Miller
This book is older than the previous 2 mentioned. In it, Richard Miller very clearly illustrates technical concepts while providing exercises and suggestions for in-studio application. This is a fantastic resource if you are looking for new vocal exercises that train specific techniques.
I personally love the section on respiration in this book. Miller shares a lot of great analogies as to how respiration works and exercises to strengthen the mechanism.
4. The Basics of Vocal Pedagogy by Clifton Ware
Disclaimer: I have not read all of this book. I have read a couple chapters that I used as reference for my thesis.
The sections that I read share great information about exercise, nutrition, and overall physical health for singers. I thoroughly enjoyed the sections I read, and have personally referenced many of the studies cited. The studies themselves are slightly outdated as the book was written in the early 90s, but they still contain great information and there are not many recent studies that compare to those cited in Ware’s book
5. The Naked Voice: A Wholistic Approach to Singing by W. Stephen Smith
To say I love this book is a colossal understatement. If you know me, you know that I fully believe in a wholistic approach to singing. Smith is a true expert on singing, and I love his approach of both vocal technique AND the psychological and spiritual elements that effect singing. The Naked Voice was one of my favorite finds as I was researching for my thesis.
There are so many incredible vocal pedagogy books out there, but these are my favorite 5 books. Which one(s) are you adding to your reading list?
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