Abstract: I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE an exciting new voice pedagogy book series to be launched jointly by the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and Scarecrow Press: the You Want to Sing series. As independent studio teachers, many of you encounter students who want to sing many different styles of music. Each book in this innovative series offers a comprehensive overview of a particular style of singing from jazz to blues to music theater. The goal of You Want to Sing is to provide the necessary support for instruction in those styles. While participants in this series all agree that this is a daunting undertaking, they also sense that the time is right because the need is so great.CREATION OF THE SERIESBennett Graff, Senior Acquisitions Editor at Scarecrow Press, and Allen Henderson, Executive Director of NATS, joined forces to produce this exciting new series when both realized that the time had come for a comprehensive resource that encompassed all of singing-a project never before attempted. So You Want to Sing was inspired by my enormous respect for the vast knowledge compiled and shared over the years by the NATS membership, explains Mr. Graff, adding, When I first began to survey the field of books about singing in popular styles, I thought to myself, why aren't the smartest guys and gals in the room on vocal health and technique for classical singing writing the books on how to sing jazz, blues, rock, country, and other pop genres? We already have lots of evidence of the need, from YouTube videos to competition shows like American Idol, The Voice, and the X Factor to the dramatic increase in boutique record labels of self-recording and self-releasing musicians. As I saw it, sound advice for the many aspiring singers out there is needed now more than ever. That's when I realized it was time to consult with the NATS leadership, who saw the same need. We both agreed that NATS members could be doing far more to authoring the books needed for popular Contemporary Commercial Music singing, especially given the wealth of research members had already done on behalf of classical singing. Moreover, this divide between classical and nonclassical styles needed bridging. As the leading edge of research in vocal pedagogy and health, the organization had a duty to extend its reach to the questions of vocal performance unique to those styles: from diction in jazz scat singing to vocal health of the 'roaring' blues singer (think Koko Taylor) or the rock singer who includes high frequency 'squeals' (think Stephen Tyler) to matters of technique for the gospel singer soloing up and down the scales; and on and on.With the NATS leadership, You Want to Sing was founded as a series of works devoted to providing readers a complete and fully professional survey of singing in a variety of styles. Contributions function as touchstone works for both starting and advanced singers, either already working within the genre under consideration or exploring a foray into it. This series offers a common set of topics on each singing style, providing readers who own different works a roadmap that they can easily navigate and use personally and professionally for themselves or for teaching. Each work will also, as needed, feature chapters unique to the issues surrounding that singing style. The key selling point of each work, however, is not merely its comprehensiveness as a series and common core chapter structure, but its authorship under the imprimatur of the National Association for Teachers of Singing, the leading professional organization devoted to the science and art of singing.1OVERVIEW OF THE SERIESThe You Want to Sing series is a multiyear book project in its scope, with its first titles launching at the 2014 National NATS Conference in Boston. According to Series Editor Karen Hall, books will be published in groups of three for approximately four years, receiving updates through revised editions in the years that follow so contributions will always be current. …
Publication Year: 2014
Publication Date: 2014-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 1
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