Voiceworks 1: A Handbook for Singing

This was recommended to me by several other singing leaders, at first I was a bit reluctant to purchase it given the price... but I finally gave in and it really is an excellent resource.The introduction and warm up sections are particularly informative giving lots of suggestions for warm up activities (physical, breathing and vocal) and some great fun ice-breakers to get a group using their voices in a way that is fun. Then in the main section the range and variety of songs are great. Having the audio CDs is useful for learning the parts, checking any tricky rhythms and also for checking pronounciation of any songs that aren't in a language you are familiar with.I would recommend this to anyone working with a choir or group of singers of any age. I work with children and with a community choir of adults and this book will be really useful for both!

This is a brilliant song/work book for choir leaders. I wish I had bought it when I first started leading my choir. It has lots of excellent ideas and tips for warm-ups and exercises and how to teach each song.

This was bought as a present for my son. He was very pleased with it.

This book was recommended to me by the course teachers at the abcd (Association of British Choral Directors) Initial Conducting Course. As a fledgling conductor I think the book is pitched completely at my conducting level and at my new choir's level. The fact that one can photocopy the music allows new (and established) choirs to build a repertoire quickly at a low cost.I think inexperienced musicians looking to start a choir would find this book very easy to follow. More experienced musicians can still benefit greatly from the author's notes and rehearsal guidance - it is always easier to rehearse a group if you understand the composer/author's requirements for the piece!Overall a brilliant book and I will be investing in more of the series.

This book with CD's is a wonderful resouce for the choral director. It is useful for those with little experience in working with a choir/vocal ensemble, for those with years of experience, and for those of us who are somewhere in between!Peter Hunt first addresses the notion of singing. There is just enough information here to be useful without becoming bogged down in technicalities. The section on rehearsing has sub-headings which clearly identify things to consider before and in rehearsal. It is right to the point, easy to understand and makes you want to keep turning the pages.The warm-up section contains a great number of suggestions, beginning with physical warm ups, posture, controlling the air flow and lots of experimenting with what the voice will do. We then move on to creating the vowel and consonant sounds, and the vocal warm ups. These are progressive and are laid out very well. The latter part of this section focuses on singing rounds, most of them in Latin. The newcomer to choral music should not despair here! There is even a pronunciation guide!'Voiceworks' then has three main sections entitled 1. Unison 2. Into parts 3. Harmony. This comprises the bulk of the book. It is extremely well graded with no great leaps between any of the pieces.The selected repertoire in 'Voiceworks' is drawn largely from traditional/folk music from Africa, Jamaica, Spain, America, Malaysia, Macedonian, Caribbean, even Australian Aboriginal. There are plenty of spirituals and gospel songs, one or two Christmas carols and in the latter section some arrangements of popular songs.For every new piece there is a CD track number guide as well as suggested warm ups. There are so many ideas for teaching, rehearsing and performing that you begin to realise there is not just one way to perform and enjoy music. 'Voiceworks' really gives you the confidence to try your own ideas as well.There are limited piano accompaniements in this book which is a good thing for the developing choir.I especially liked vocal graphics, dynamics etc. Sections 15 through 19; something a little different which was received very well by my choir.Here is a particularly fine vocal resource. It is clearly laid out and so, so usable. This book combines the best bits of several I have on my shelf, none of which are as usable in their entirety as this one. I can highly recommend it!