Latest Blog Posts
“Vocal Advantage: Breath Management (part 3)” by Dina Else
VOCAL ADVANTAGE: BREATH MANAGEMENT (part 3), by Dina Else In order to ‘remain in the posture of inhalation’, ‘stay expanded’ or ‘remain in the inspiratory position’ a singer needs to master appoggio. A term used to indicate how the muscle groups work together to achieve the proper balance of push and pull. The term […]
“Vocal Advantage: Breath Management (part 2)” by Dina Else
VOCAL ADVANTAGE: BREATH MANAGEMENT (part 2), by Dina Else I’d like to start this week by sharing a few more bits of wisdom from Giovanni Lamperti…”Generally, faulty singing is caused by awkward respiration. In fact all bad habits of the throat are merely efforts of protection against clumsy management of the breath.” My other […]
“Vocal Advantage: Breath Management (part 1)” by Dina Else
VOCAL ADVANTAGE: BREATH MANAGEMENT (part 1), by Dina Else Okay, we’ve done a very thorough job covering breath intake, now on to the management of that breath! Giovanni Lamperti (Richard Miller’s teacher’s teacher) says, “The vocal folds are helpless without the power of compressed breath to feed their pulsation. Therefore the lungs should […]
Composition Spotlight: Riders on the Earth
COMPOSITION SPOTLIGHT ~ by Jack Senzig (Each week we look at one or two of the best choral works posted in the Composition Showcase here on ChoralNet. This is where we store a treasure trove of works that your choirs will love to sing and your audiences will love to hear.) Riders On The Earth […]
“Five from the Folder: Multicultural” by Elisa Macedo Dekaney
FIVE FROM THE FOLDER: MULTICULTURAL by Elisa Macedo Dekaney 1. "Twa Tanbou." Sidney Guillaume. Walton Music HL08501683/WJMS1101 Sound landscape of three drums making exciting music together. Energetic. Percussive. A bit challenging. 2. "Tres Cantos Nativos dos Indios Kraó." Marcos Leite. Earthsongs Amazon Rainforest ambience. Plenty of room for movement and improvisation. Easy to […]
Stick Time: Edifying or Ephemeral?
Among the greatest attributes of the choral art are the staggering historical depth and broad stylistic variety of the literature. The “choral playground” on which we get to frolic is enormous, rich, and vibrant. However, a number of colleagues have courageously opined in the Choral Journal and here on ChoralNet that our own conferences do […]
GUEST BLOG: “Why Contemporary A Cappella Matters” by J.D. Frizzell
WHY CONTEMPORARY A CAPPELLA MATTERS by J.D. Frizzell "Contemporary A Cappella." When you hear that phrase, what pops into your mind? Glee? The Sing-Off? Vocal Percussion? The King Singers? Regardless of your current feelings towards contemporary a cappella, I’m here to suggest to you that it is here to stay, and that is […]
What we can learn from John Wooden II
Even though I knew about and admired John Wooden earlier in my life (I was an undergrad at the University of Washington, so watched a number of UW/UCLA games in person — and after one of the games Kareem and several other players came to my dorm for a dance — to say he "stood […]