"The Voice and Diction Connection, A Diction
Instructor's Approach to Voice Pedagogy"
The Journal of Singing, Jan/Feb 2018
The Lyric Diction Workbook Series
S.T.M. Publishers presents a series of workbooks for English, Italian, German, French,
and Latin diction courses. The workbooks provide exercises that give students practice
in applying standard textbook rules as defined by Madeline Marshall, Evelina Colorni,
Corradina Caporello, William Odom, John Moriarty, Pierre Bernac, and Thomas Grubb.
The worksheets use words collected from over 7,000 art songs and highlight frequently
occurring words. The most frequently occurring words are short in length and appear in
the enunciation exercises. Other words are introduced in a graded order and categorized
according to sounds as defined by the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). A study of
articulatory phonetics is included. Consecutive units highlight specified symbols providing
transcribed art songs, enunciation instructions with exercises, transcription rules, group
assignments, individually assigned word lists, and transcription quizzes. Units progress in
cumulative order culminating with exercises that give students the opportunity to transcribe
phrases from art song literature.
Designed for Singers
* Utilizes a basic lyric vocabulary
* Provides daily opportunities for in-class enunciation
* Provides transcription work for the entire class to complete during individual assessments
* Provides listening assignments that contain a frequent occurrence of the highlighted sound
Excellent for Instructors
* Encourages student accountability for memorized rules
* Simplifies the grading process (transcription is assessed based on in-class enunciation)
* Contains a summary of rules with prep quizzes for easy reference and review
* Includes three products per language: student manual, instructor's manual (student manual
with answer key), and answer key (available to students with the instructor's approval)
Workbooks for Private and Class Voice
The Singer's Daily Practice Journal, Volume I
Textbook, workbook, and journal are combined in one resource for private and class voice
students. Each section of the 15-week journal begins with manuscript paper for recording
weekly lesson notes, exercises, and assignments. A check-list of vocal concepts is included.
This gives the teacher the ability to direct students to the precise concept (with lesson and
page number) that requires attention for the week. The following page provides space for
the student to record progress and log daily practice times.
Vocal concepts in this text are discussed using the IPA. The symbols selected represent an
elegant manner of pronunciation as recommended by Madeleine Marshall, author of The
Singer’s Manual of English Diction. Space is provided beneath the IPA for students to supply
the English translation. This approach gives students the opportunity to hear proper English
and complete a daily written assignment. An answer key is included and can be used to flip
the daily exercise into a vowel transcription test.
The Singer's Daily Practice Journal, Volume II
Both volumes combine textbook, workbook, and journal in one resource. Volume II pairs
vocal training with musicianship, diction, and phrasing. The concepts needed to develop
these skills are introduced using excerpts from Italian, German, and French art song lyrics.
These topics are presented simultaneously and in a graded order. A grading rubric of vocal
concepts and glossary of terms are included.
An abbreviated version of the pedagogy within both volumes is published in The Journal
of Singing: The Voice and Diction Connection, A Diction Instructor’s Approach to Voice
Pedagogy. See the featured article on this page.
Order Information
A form for bookstore and library orders is available on the "bookstore orders" page.
Students may purchase their workbooks from their bookstore or on the "student orders"
page. Instructor’s manuals with free shipping are available on the "instructors" page.
Free Resources on this Website:
* Sample pages from each workbook (see "instructors" page)
* The Lyric Diction Listening Lab (see "listening" page)
* Sample gradebook (see "instructors" page)
* Sample syllabus schedules (see "instructors" page)
* IPA charts (see "charts" page)
* IPA Scramble - template for group playing cards and free app for IPhone (see "apps" page)
* Journal of Singing Articles: The Dynamic Diction Classroom and The Voice and Diction
Connection (see the featured articles on this page)
Phonetic Readings for Lyric Diction
Phonetic Readings for Lyric Diction is an enunciation-based text designed to prepare the
student for English, Italian, German, French, and Latin repertoire assignments. It functions
easily as an all-in-one workbook for programs that offer diction in a single semester, or as
an introductory text for the two semester diction study. The IPA Handbook for Singers is a
companion text. Together, these publications provide a study of enunciation that is uniquely
merged with English transcription rules and worksheets.
IPA Handbook for Singers
The IPA Handbook is a dictionary of phonetic symbols. The International Phonetic Alphabet
provides a general guide for pronunciation, but exact sounds vary from language to language.
This text defines the sounds as they apply to the specific language. Additionally, dictionary
transcription represents the spoken form of a language. Adjustments to the IPA are necessary
for lyric purposes. The enunciation instructions are designed for sung application.
Phonetic Transcription for Lyric Diction
Phonetic Transcription for Lyric Diction offers an efficient approach to Italian, German,
French, and Latin transcription. It is second in the two-part series (Phonetic Readings is
the introductory text). Together, these workbooks address enunciation and transcription
respectively. Enunciation is established in part one so that students are adequately prepared
for the rigorous approach to transcription provided in part two. An expanded version of
this workbook contains 10 additional units to cover English transcription.
Phonetic Transcription for Lyric Diction and the IPA Handbook for Singers may be used
together to provide a fast-paced transcription course or graduate level review. Syllabus
schedules are provided on this website. See the supplemental resources on the "instructors"
page.
"The Dynamic Diction Classroom"
The Journal of Singing, Sept/Oct 2011
Featured Articles
Workbooks for the 1-2 Semester Diction Study
Workbooks for the 3-4 Semester Diction Study
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