Teaches singers to analyze their songs in order to understand their deeper meanings and create more powerful performances.
Perfect for song literature courses, vocal studios and master classes, collaborative pianists, and theory and analysis courses.
Introduces singers to techniques of text and musical analysis of songs and gives them practice through a series of guided analysis questions, one for each song.
Contains a “Hints for Analysis” sheet that students can use to analyze any song.
THE BOOK
REVIEWS
"From basic elements of poetry to complex harmonic analysis, Unlocking Meaning in Art Song: A Singer's Guide to Practical Analysis Using Schubert Songs is an invaluable guide that will lead singers, collaborative pianists, and teachers to a deeper understanding of the genius and beauty that is art song. Teachers will find that Beverly Stein's text is easily adapted to young singers' first foray into the discovery of art song, and it will also challenge university students in crafting research projects of their own."
ROBIN FISHER, Professor of Music, California State University, Sacramento; co-author of American Art Song & American Poetry
"I'm thrilled to discover Stein's book. For the first time, there is a `how to' book with step-by-step instructions for thinking about harmony, alliteration, texture, and a hundred other things in crafting a compelling performance of art song. Stein uses components of familiar songs to make her points with great success."
BRIAN HORNE, Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Voice Department, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
More About the Book
The first part of the book introduces important practical skills for analyzing the text as well as key musical elements including melody, rhythm, structure, linear motion, and harmony. The remainder of the book presents an in-depth guided analysis of twenty Schubert songs. The questions and prompts in these chapters allow students, singers, and other readers to discover for themselves the amazing ways in which music and expressive meaning are structured. Songs range from simpler analytical difficulty (such as “An die Musik”) to medium difficulty (such as “Gretchen am Spinnrade”), and finally to more complex (such as “Erlkönig”).
The techniques presented in this book can be applied to all types of songs, allowing singers to build critical skills and artful consciousness. This is an ideal resource for song literature courses, master classes, voice teachers, students and emerging professionals, collaborative pianists, and music theory faculty.
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Book Contents
PART ONE: Intro & Basic Skills
How to Analyze a Text
What to Look for in the Music I: Mood, Form, Structure, Melody, Rhythm
What to Look for in the Music II: Tonal Structure (Cadence Levels), Linear Motion, Harmony
PART TWO: Simpler Songs to Analyze
Analysis guides for Heidenröslein, An die Musik, Die Forelle, Gute Nacht
PART THREE: Songs of Medium Difficulty to Analyze
Analysis guides for Der Neugierige, Der Tod und das Mädchen, An die Nachtigall, Ave Maria, Du liebst mich nicht, Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, Du bist die Ruh, Frühlingstraum, Gretchen am Spinnrade
PART FOUR: More Complex Songs to Analyze
Analysis guides for Erster Verlust, Meeres Stille, Die junge Nonne, Die Liebe hat gelogen, Ganymed, Dass sie hier gewesen, Erlkönig