Choral Pedagogy

Dr. Gillyanne Kayes, Communicating Voice, The British Voice Association, (2014): "...Care has been taken to explain the principles of vocal function in user-friendly language via a series of questions as sub-headings; similarly for the chapter on medical care of voice disorders. A new and extensive chapter on hearing loss offers a clear and accessible exposition of the hearing system, and an informative section on different categories of hearing impairment. A chapter on seating problems is short and sweet but worth attention with its practical (and inexpensive) suggestions for eliciting a more forward sitting posture to avoid back pain and maximise breathing efficiency when seated for rehearsal. The chapter on choral pedagogy and vocal health gives sound advice and specifics on appropriate warm up and cool down exercises for choirs. It is also encouraging to see a chapter on the ageing voice, with suggestions for ways to adapt music, part singing and pitch range for older singers, to keep them active in the choral community. ...I was happy to see a clear directive to conductors of separating the tasks of rhythm and melody in music learning, this advice given in chapters on training for adults as well as children. ...I particularly liked the chapter on voice building for choirs, which gives a range of exercises for specific situations in response to questions used as sub-headings. There is also a chapter on rehearsal techniques, similarly structured, offering an excellent resource to choral conductors. Overall, the book is well-written, clearly structured and packed with information, definitely a useful resource. ..."