Music & Reading Recommendations
Books
The following is a list of recommended books for singers looking to build their knowledge in the discipline of singing. By hovering over each link, you can see basic ordering info from Amazon, and clicking on the link will take you to their site. Some of these books are also available through local independent booksellers like Common Good Books.
Singing Manuals
For some of the most thorough technical and scientific explanations of the singing voice, Richard Miller's works are unsurpassed. However, for singers looking for a more basic approach to technique, Oren Brown's book is perhaps a better starting point.
- The Structure of Singing: System and Art of Vocal Technique, by Richard Miller
- On the Art of Singing, by Richard Miller
- Discover Your Voice: How to Develop Healthy Voice Habits, by Oren L Brown
Diction Manuals
The following three works are the standard diction manuals, and are highly useful for any serious singer. For French diction, some may prefer the more straight forward manual by Thomas Grubb, and singers specializing in repertoire outside the 'big four' are advised to find suitable reference works.
- The Interpretation of French Song, by Pierre Bernac
- Singer's Italian: A Manual of Diction and Phonetics, by Evelina Colorni
- German for Singers (with CD-ROM), by William Odom, Benno Schollum
Diction Handbooks
Singers looking for a more basic all-in-one approach to diction should consider the following references.
- A Handbook of Diction for Singers: Italian, German, French, by David Adams
- Diction for Singers: A Concise Reference for English, Italian, Latin, German, French and Spanish Pronunciation, by Joan Wall & Robert Caldwell
Song Texts
Both of these books give line by line translations of hundreds of song texts, as well as other pertinent information about the texts. Miller's work includes all song genres, while Fischer-Dieskau's is for German Lieder exclusively.
- The Ring of Words: An Anthology of Song Texts, by Philip Lieson Miller
- The Fischer-Dieskau Book of Lieder, by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
History and Performance
These works give the singer information about the history and performance practices of various song genres. For those particularly interested in historical styles, Martha Elliott's book is the most comprehensive.
- The Nineteenth-Century German Lied, by Lorraine Gorrell
- Singing in Style: A Guide to Vocal Performance Practices, by Martha Elliott
- Song: A Guide to Style and Literature, by Carol Kimball
Opera
While nothing beats Milton Cross's "Stories of the Great Operas" (and if you see it at a used book store, buy it), the Penguin guide is much more comprehensive and scholarly, if not quite so fun a read. The Oxford History is a fine reference for those interested in the historical context of opera's development.