Dear David and Vocalist:
This is partially in reference to David's request for repertoire
recommendations for younger voices, and partially in reference to the
recommendations of Joan Boytim's "First Book" and "Second Book" series.
While I would also recommend those books, and I think all voice teachers
should have them in their music libraries, I sometimes run into problems
with them. It all depends on the level of student you're working with.
I'll use "The First Book of Soprano Solos" as an example because it's the
one that I know the best.
For example, some (not all) of the songs lie, even in the "First Book," in
my experience, a little high in the passaggio. I would prefer for rank
beginners to work more in the middle voice, with the occasional excursion up
to and above the staff. For one example, a beginner soprano can have
trouble with "I love all graceful things" because it hangs right in the E-F#
area. Until students learn a little technique (breathing, easy phonation),
this region can be a little uncomfortable. Secondly, there are a couple of
selections that I think are too rhythmically complex for rank beginners
("Bel piacere" and "The Green Dog" are two songs that feature some metrical
modulation; the second piece is also a little on the dissonant side and I've
known beginners who struggled with it). Finally, some of the songs are a
little on the "corny" side as far as harmonies and texts go; also, some of
the songs are extremely little-girlish. I've had college students roll
their eyes at the idea of singing "Everywhere I Look" or "A Little China
Figure." I guess some college students of the new millennium want more
grown-up material, and I can't blame them for that. Other college student
have had no problems with this material whatsoever; as I said, it depends on
the individual student.
I offer these observations out of my own experience, and also to bring up
the idea of "repertoire readiness," to coin a phrase. When I first started
to teach voice at the college level, I found out that many students (not
all) were coming into college unprepared for private study, and with a lack
of private study in their background. So even some of the songs in the
24/26 Italian Songs & Arias and the First Book Series were too difficult
right off the bat. This is not to say that these students can't catch
up--they can, it just takes a little work and time. But there's nothing
worse than watching a student who doesn't read music very well floundering
with a piece that's too difficult. They need to have some successes and
build their skills as they go.
To that end, I would recommend the Song Book Series from the Royal
Conservatory of Music (published by Frederick Harris Music). It's a graded
repertoire series. The first two books contain repertoire that is probably
best suited to children's voices, but starting with about book 3 or 4, there
are selections that pose modest vocal and musical demands, for the student
who has some catching up to do in the early years of college.
I have also built up a small library of "class voice" books and I use them
often! The Van Christy books (I've picked up many of the older versions at
yard sales and flea markets, so be on the lookout because a lot of these
gems are out of print), Charles Lindsley, Clifton Ware, Jan Schmidt, and
Joan Wall books are a few of the good ones. There's a good variety in these
books (classical, folk songs, musical theater, and some opera arias), and
David, as a college professor you can get several of them for free (I got
both the Ware and Van Christy books as freebies from the publisher). Look
on the WWW for publisher's sites.
Finally, one other good investment I made early in my teaching career was to
get the International edition, all keys, of Handel arias. I get a lot of
good use out of those with the beginners.
Good luck--pick and choose from all the recommendations given. In choosing
songs for individual students, I would look very closely at range,
tessitura, length of piece, language demands, technical challenges, musical
challenges, and the personality of the student you're working with. Enjoy
your new position--it's the best job in the world!
Cheers!
Jana
--
Jana Holzmeier
Dept. of Music
Nebraska Wesleyan University
5000 Saint Paul Ave.
Lincoln, NE 68504
jjh@n...
402-465-2284
Visit the Music Department website at http://music.nebrwesleyan.edu/
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