Singing and Teaching Singing: A Holistic Approach to Classical Voice

Drawing on her experiences as a singer with some of the world's leading opera companies, the author has developed a teaching technique specifically focusing on classical and opera singing. Chapman peppers the text with vignettes from her life and career, keeping the reading fresh, while helping the reader conceptualize the concepts and methods. The author's style is conversational and vibrant and her teaching unfolds logically and in a step-by-step fashion.

Her philosophy of teaching combines three main facets: holistic, physiological, and incremental. The holistic approach emphasizes singing as a whole person (that is, body, mind, spirit, emotion, and voice). The physiological segment stresses teaching based on the anatomy, muscular function, and the effects of muscular interactions. Students and teachers alike can understand and visualize the function of the torso, larynx, and the vocal tract and their impact on good singing practices. Finally, the incremental section breaks down the manageable components of singing, laying them out in a natural hierarchy of harmony. Chapman's teaching model provides a framework to master one element at a time, resulting in a complete and seemingly effortless sound.