Book Description
Singing Cowboys tells the fabled story of the men and women who shone brightly during the magical era of the singing cowboy movie star. It was an era when Western heroes sang and yodeled as well as threw punches and drew six-guns; an era where for a time nearly half the Western films churned out in Hollywood's golden age either featured a singer as a hero, or had singing second leads or singing ranch hands to provide that dreamy, romantic, exquisitely beautiful music we now think of as western.
Customer Reviews:
Singing Cowboys.......2007-08-26
A book like this has been needed for a long time. I wish that it wasn't such a brief overview, but had more depth with the characters. There were minor singing cowboys that I would like to have learned more about, but at least they were mentioned. When I picked this book up to read it, I didn't know I couldn't put it down until I had finished. The accompanying CD has good coverage, but leaves you wanting more. Good thing I have a good collection this type of music.
An outstanding, colorful history.......2007-02-03
An audio cd of music packs added punch to the review of Western cowboy music's development and colorful characters in SINGING COWBOYS, which charts a bygone era when cowboys sang, yodeled, and were active members of the real West. From the singing cowboy movie fad to the evolution of the cowboy from ranch hand to musician, the lives of some sixty 'singing cowboys' are presented in a blend of biographical sketches, photos, and music. An outstanding, colorful history, SINGING COWBOYS will interest even readers who have only a casual affection for the genre, and deserves a spot in any general or music-specific library.
Singing Cowboys.......2007-01-04
Interesting to see all the history of the original country singers that were real cowboys. The CD adds greatly to the history, especially for those who didn't hear them originally. Wish there were more of the old songs by these artists on CD.
SINGING COWBOYS: THE STORIES AND THE SONGS.......2006-12-16
Doug (Ranger Doug) Green has followed up on "Singing in the Saddle," his scholarly milestone in the history of the singing cowboy phenomena, with this delightful treat for the fans. If someone sang in a "B" western just once they are surely here. Incisive thumbnail essays describe the contributions of fifty personalities and five singing groups who made lasting impressions singing in the
silver screen sagebrush. An additional chapter covers working bands and pickup bands
that would provide music where needed.
One group forinstance, the very popular Beverly Hillbillies, appeared uncredited as the Radio Ranch band in "The Phantom Empire" before getting their due in Gene Autry's "The Big Show."
If the brief resumes of the stars fail to conjure memories of matinees past then the beautiful graphics, from a publisher dedicated to beautiful book production,
will knock your nostalgia into gear.
Opening the book provides a wide-screen, eye-poppin' (not a trite phrase in this case) spread of lobby cards, posters, songbook covers, stills and occasional publicity shots. My particular favorite is the full page picture of Roy Rogers sittin' on a fence and pickin' a guitar which I hadn't seen since my youth. This is an expanded, and strangely colorless version of a photograph originally shot in the studios of the New York Daily News for publication in their Sunday Coloroto Magazine.
There are a few minor glitches in the text. Dick Foran appeared with Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis in "Petrified Forest" not "Painted Desert," Tex Ritter's work on "High Noon" was in 1952, at the midpoint of his career, not 1950, and a bit of clarification in the Jane Frazee article would have helped. "Captain Blood" was a big picture in 1935 starring Errol Flynn and readers might think it is the film alluded to but it is "Captain Blueblood," (not Blue Blood) a two-reel Vitaphone short trading on the Flynn features' title. These caveats aside the book is a treasury of memories, pictorial marvels and music.
Accompanying the book is a 10 song CD starting with Patsy Montana's "I Want to be A Cowboy's Sweetheart" and ending with Rex Allen's "Too Lee Roll Um." In between you can hear Smiley Burnette's "Mama Don't Like Music," a song whose history deserves a couple of paragraphs, the classic "Blue Shadows on the Trail" by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers" and Ray Whitley's recording of "Back in the Saddle Again" made before Gene Autry put his brand on it.
All in all a great round-up of stars, scenes, and songs for the "B" western fan .
Book Description
Classical singing training is no longer relevant for the theatre performer today. So how does an actor train his singing voice? Now in its second edition, this practical handbook takes the reader through a step-by-step training program relevant to the modern singing actor and dancer. A variety of contemporary voice qualities including belting and twang are explained, with exercises for each topic. This new edition has been revised throughout.
Customer Reviews:
More Vocal Pedagogy Programs Need This Type of Book.......2006-12-16
Having an actual Master's in vocal pedagogy (classical and non-classical), I would like to give an expert's opinion. This book was a great find when I was working on my master's thesis. The classical-only vocal pedagogy teachers are currently finding that they are being left behind, because of the emergence of scholarly, and expert evidence of the healthy and effective inclusion of ALL types of vocal techniques. Ms. Kayes book "Singing and the Actor" is not only CORRECT but, also desperately needed. Today's classical-only trained pedagogues may be just to embarrassed to admit they were dupped into believing that they have all the training they needed to work as a private voice teacher in the real world. If you are a voice teacher, and don't have this book, I beg you to get it- there is enough ignorance and arrogance some of today's voice teachers- it's 2006 for crying out loud!
Intelligent and Straightforward.......2001-11-12
This book contains detailed descriptions of the vocal qualities needed in today's theatre singing. It doesn't preach classical techniques, but it does tell you how to find sounds like twang, "speech", and cry safely and correctly. Clear and practical stuff with things to try out and assignments. A really useful book packed with information that I haven't seen published anywhere else. I loved it.
A self-contradicting and and completely inaccurate book.......2000-07-16
This book is filled with incorrect misleading information on ways to manipulate the human voice to achieve sounds (ie. belting) that are scientifically proven to be damaging. Many of the techniques described in this book require the physical manipulation of the vocal apparatus, a process which can lead to undue strain on the vocal folds and surrounding musculature. Though this books does occassionally contain accurate information on the process of healthy singing, there is far too much that is incorrect and poses permanent damage to the voice. The author frequently contradicts herself as she explains her process of vocal "training." The techniques of this book ask the reader to embark on an unhealthy and permanently damaging course of vocal study. I recommend this book only to those wishing to know how NOT to sing.
Great technical Walk-thru of voice mechanics!.......2000-05-05
I've read several good books on voice for acting and singing. There's a lot to learn and I've found it helpful to look at it from many points of view. Other books cover the mechanics to some degree, but this one devotes a great deal of space to exercises that help you identify all the pieces that contribute to the production of sound. With these exercises, I find it a lot easier to methodically troubleshoot when something is not working and narrow it to the problem area, eg, larynx, support, etc. and action that causes the problem, eg, nasality, "excessive pressure on the vocal folds" etc. I also learned the mechanics involved in several techniques, such as "belting" or "crying". I would recommend this to any singer or actor starting out for understanding how the voice works.
Great technical Walk-thru of voice mechanics!.......2000-05-05
I've read several good books on voice for acting and singing. There's a lot to learn and I've found it helpful to look at it from many points of view. Other books cover the mechanics to some degree, but this one devotes a great deal of space to exercises that help you identify all the pieces that contribute to the production of sound. With these exercises, I find it a lot easier to methodically troubleshoot when something is not working and narrow it to the problem area, eg, larynx, support, etc. and action that causes the problem, eg, nasality, "excessive pressure on the vocal folds" etc. I also learned the mechanics involved in several techniques, such as "belting" or "crying". I would recommend this to any singer or actor starting out for understanding how the voice works.
Book Description
This expansive series takes an in-depth look into contemporary theatre repertoire for singers, spanning the 1980s, '90s and into the 21st century. Some songs in these collections have never before appeared in print. Approximately 35-40 songs per volume represent the most interesting choices for singers from a wide variety of Broadway, Off-Broadway and London shows. Every auditioning singer will find plenty of intriguing possibilities! Men's Edition Volume 1 contains 39 songs from 32 shows, including Avenue Q, The Boy from Oz, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Rent, Titanic.
Average customer rating:
- A Definite Ispiration!
- Amazing!
|
The Actor Sings
Kevin Robison
Manufacturer: Heinemann Drama
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On Singing Onstage (Applause Acting Series)
ASIN: 0325001774 |
Book Description
"Thank you for the monologues; do you have a song prepared?" Many actors shy away from singing, despite the fact that it could more than double their chances at auditions. they feel, and fear, that because they do not have a gorgeous voice, the don't have a singing voice at all - and they couldn't be further from the truth, according to Kevin Robison of PCPA.
This book is guidance and encouragement for actors who want to discover a voice for the musical stage and offers as examples actors such as Judi Dench, Gene Barry, Natasha Richardson, Zero Mostel, and others whose singing voices are not considered traditionally "beautiful," but who know how to make a song their own. Acting a song is more important than making beautiful sounds; Kevin Robison shows the actor how to work with the tools they have to discover a voice for the musical stage.
Customer Reviews:
A Definite Ispiration!.......2000-04-09
For a book aimed at hepling actors without the confidence and/or will to sing in the musical theatre discover their voice, it is amazing how much this wonderful guide can teach someone who has been singing for years! I thought I knew everything there was to know about singing. I couldn't have been more wrong! Robison's book is very easy to follow as he walks the reader through many techniques and exercises, focusing on things as seemingly simple as breathing, to emotional connection to the lyric. This book offers fantastic insights for even the most experienced singers, starting from scratch, and working all the way up to performance. An invaluable asset to any performer in the theatre!
Amazing!.......2000-03-26
This book is so incredible! It offers views on how to become an actor who also sings, and when you should start. I found the book enjoyable and an incredible learning experience. I found myself going through the book highlighting certain aspects! It's such a great BOOK!
Book Description
This book, lavishly illustrated with 149 photos, is a wealth of information that comes out of decades of research. Green has unearthed never-before-published photos and rare movie posters, including one from an all-black western, Harlem on the Prairie (1938). He also traces the history of cowboy music, from popular songs such as "Sweet Betsy from Pike" to the instantly recognizable harmonies of the Sons of the Pioneers. More important, Green reveals how the imagery of the singing cowboy has become such a potent force that even now country musicians don cowboy hats to symbolically take part in the legend. Nowhere has the recorded history of the singing cowboy and the film history been collected in one volume, and this book is sure to become the resource for students of the style.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful!.......2004-11-04
This is a most informative book...with enough information to keep the truly serious Western Music researcher happy, while not "drowning" the average leisure reader with "monotonous" facts.
Douglass B. Green (aka: Ranger Doug, "idol of American youth") is a very important figure in the preservation of Western Music History. His book is strong enough to be used as a college text, yet engrossing enough to keep most reading to the very end.
This is a most enjoyable book.
An engaging and impressively informative presentation.......2003-06-19
Singing In The Saddle: The History Of The Singing Cowboy by music historian and performer Douglas B. Green is an engaging and impressively informative presentation of the history of western music, films, and performers of America, both before and after World War II. Black-and-white photographs enhance this avidly detailed and lovingly written survey of an aspect of American Popular culture. Douglas B. Green ("Ranger Doug" from the Grammy Award-wining group Riders in the Sky) is to be commended for his expertise, his ability to write for the non-specialist general reader, and his ability to acquire anecdotal stories and recollections by some of the most experienced and influential members of the "singing cowboy" community.
slightly disappointed.......2003-03-25
"Singing in the Saddle" is a very nice book with a slightly different angle to to it's counterparts. There is information in this book that I have not found in other books about the singing cowboys. All in all the book is very well worth it's money for what it offers. What I do find disappointing however is the fact that the book does not quite live up to it's title.For example the book covers a lot of information about artistes who had nothing to do with 'singing in a saddle', such as radio and stage singers only, a good many of whom either died a long time ago and/or I have never heard of.
Personally, I would have liked the book to have covered only the movie singing cowboys, not enough was said about some of them, apart of course from Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Tex Ritter.
As a book that deals with the history of country and western music and the performers of such, then you are getting good value for money.
Essential Singing Cowboy text.......2002-12-06
Green's Singing in the Saddle provides an articulate wide-ranging history of the Singing Cowboy from its origins in western folk culture to the triumph of the B Westerns. He draws strong portraits of both primary stars and lesser known actors who contributed to the genre. An excellent introduction and a must for country music collections.
The definitive work.......2002-10-26
Clearly a labor of love, this book covers in detail the history of the singing cowboy in popular music -- and the American imagination. Mini-bios of dozens and dozens of not-so-well-known singers and Western musical groups, in more or less chronological order, stand beside fuller explorations of the work of the Sons of the Pioneers, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and Tex Ritter. Green also puts the singing cowboy phenomenon into cultural context and delineates the shift from ranch-hand songs, to romantic paens about the West itself, to the current mini-renaissance. This is no hard-eyed social history, but an affectionate valentine. My only complaint: Out of humility or whatever, Green gives himself and fellow members of Riders in the Sky relatively little credit for the resurgence of interest in Western music. So let me add a footnote: For many of us out here, Riders in the Sky reawakened long-buried childhood dreams of tumbling tumbleweeds and blue shadows on the trail, making awesome music and contributing some classic songs to the canon themselves. For that -- and this excellent book -- thanks!
Average customer rating:
- Disappointing
- A necessity for any singer wanting to get to the next level
- The best book on learning how to sing!
- The primary reference work for singers and teachers
|
Singing Professionally, Revised Edition: Studying Singing for Singers and Actors
Arabella Hong-Young
Manufacturer: Heinemann Drama
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0325005850 |
Book Description
For the opera singer, the chapter on crossover is pertinent. Hong-Young's solutions to the challenge of making the operatic voice sound idiomatic on Broadway are straightforward.
- Opera News
. . . one of the best books on this subject that we have seen.
- Stage Directions
This technical handbook on studying singing provides what few others do: both a scientific basis
and practical guide. In it, Arabella Hong-Young, who has been a singer for 60 years and a teacher for 40 years, explains the vocal apparatus and process in simple, comprehensible terms. She also offers extensive exercises to guide students through detailed steps in learning to sing.
The vocal techniques she presents are geared to solve specific challenges throughout the range from the simplest approaches for the beginnerproper posture, breath control, voice placementto the more advanced study for professional students, including:
- the adaptation of a classical technique for improving vocal quality and control in musical theatre, pop, rock, and jazz singing
- "Zen in the Art of Studying Singing" for focusing the mind to get the most out of one's studies
- "How to Audition" for the complete process from the audition package, attitude, preparation, and presentation to controlling fear.
For this revised edition, Hong-Young offers a new featured chapter, "Conquer the Hole in the Voice," in which she supplies unusual insight into handling the upper and lower passaggio changes in voice. Passing from one register into another requires adjustment in vocal placement and Hong-Young explains exactly how this is achieved. Her detailed and numerous exercises help singers solve this universal problem.
Anyone serious about singing, whether amateur or professional, will benefit from the wealth of instruction in this book. It is also ideal as a supplement and reference guide for students, teachers, and classes.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointing.......2007-09-06
This book is full of wrong information, too much to go into, that is easily recognized by someone who actually took the time to get an actual vocal pedagogy education. This book would get an "F" if it was turned in as a project in a vocal pedagogy class. I am still fascinated and dismayed by what "experts" get away with when it comes to teaching voice. What is equally disappointing, is that there are so-called "teachers" that consider this a valuable text. Please do not teach because you could not make it as a singer.
A necessity for any singer wanting to get to the next level.......2004-09-21
As a singer, sometimes what is taught to you is ethereal and ineffable. Hong-Young effectively lays out the ground work for developing and maintaining an effective, efficient, and exceptional voice. Not only does she explain things in a pedogological manner, she also brings heart and soul into the voice and its power. An all-around great resource for the beginner to the advanced professional.
The best book on learning how to sing!.......2004-08-24
This is the best book I've seen on teaching you singing techniques. The book addresses typical problem areas that all students encounter with simple approaches on how to solve them. The books' format is easy to follow and the chapters are clear and to the point. Exercises are included which are of great value to any student.
The primary reference work for singers and teachers.......2004-02-17
Mrs. Young brings forty-plus years of teaching experience into this book, offering a clear and concise overview of various methods of vocal technique. She includes clear descriptions of each approach and practical ways of applying these techniques.
This is the best book about vocal technique that I have ever read. I recommend it to my own students and to everyone interested in the voice.
Average customer rating:
- A Well-Written Overview
- [professional singing
|
Singing Professionally: Studying Singing for Actors and Singers
Arabella Hong-Young
Manufacturer: Heinemann
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0435086774 |
Book Description
This book presents a method created from a variety of classical vocal techniques that have been adapted for the musical theatre. This technical handbook will also be helpful to opera singers who seek a vocal approach suitable for musical theatre.
Customer Reviews:
A Well-Written Overview.......2005-11-01
As a private voice teacher I read everything I can find on vocal study, techniques and approaches. Singing Professionally, is a solid well-written overview that I would recommend to anyone starting or thinking about starting vocal training. While this book is clear and well organized, it can best be used as a broad summary to help make prospective students aware of the many aspects involved in voice study.
[professional singing.......2001-07-24
I don't have this book but I got it from the library and I is a great book it explains the diffrent parts of the voice and teaches you how to fix the problem in the diffrent areas like the phonations,breaks in the voice how to smooth it over and also where the chest,mix,head ,and the flageolet ranges. I tells you how to smooth it over and make you a better singer and sing with confidence. So if your a singer this is the book for you
Average customer rating:
- I recommend it for anyone who grew up in the 40's and 50's
- Like riding a Golden Palamino back to Yesterdays Saturdays.
|
Singing Cowboy Stars/Book and Cd
Robert W. Phillips
Manufacturer: Gibbs Smith Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Singing Cowboys
ASIN: 0879055936 |
Customer Reviews:
I recommend it for anyone who grew up in the 40's and 50's.......1998-06-16
I grew up liking Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. I found Western Stars I had not heard of or had not heard of in years in this delightful and useful book. The Cd takes us from Back in the Saddle to Happy Trails, framing the lesser knowns with Gene and Roy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have
Like riding a Golden Palamino back to Yesterdays Saturdays........1998-06-05
Author Phillips certainly knows his subject. His material is well researched. No studio hype here. The photos are so crisp and clear, they seem to jump off the page and sit in your lap. For those who grew up during the 30's, 40's and 50's this book is like stepping back to those days. For everyone else, you can see and hear, what you missed. America still needs these kind of heroes. The biographical information on the 25 western stars is brief and accurate. Excellent reference book.
Book Description
A Performer Prepares is a 13-part master class on how to perform on any stage from bleak rehearsal room to the Palace Theatre. The class covers the basic Broadway song numbers, from show ballad to showstopper. With precise, logical steps and dynamic and entertaining dialogues between himself and his students, David Craig takes anyone with the desire to shine from an audition to final curtain call. These lessons on the pages recreate as closely as possible the unique interpersonal dynamic of Craig's legendary coaching encounters in New York, Los Angeles and across the country.
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- Soundscapes
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- Style and Idea: Selected Writings
- Teen's Musical Theatre Collection - Young Women's (Book/CD): Young Women's Edition Book/CD Pack
- The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich
- The Bad Seed (P.S.)
- The Beethoven Compendium: A Guide to Beethoven's Life and Music
- The Big Book of Breasts
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- The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text
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