How to Sing

Lehmann, Lilli, 1848-1929Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8

Word count: 188K words
Chapters: 19

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.How to Sing by Lilli LehmannAuthor: Lehmann, Lilli, 1848-1929,Language: English, Class: MT: Music: Musical instruction and study, Composition, Release Date: Aug 25, 2006

Editor's review

How to Sing is a vocal pedagogy work written by soprano Lilli Lehmann in the early twentieth century. Belonging to the category of music teaching and study, it has been prepared by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain e-book. Its value lies in systematically setting out training points such as phonation, breathing, resonance, and register transitions, with a distinctly practical orientation rather than being a general artistic essay. The methods in the book took shape within the vocal tradition of a particular era, and some terminology and training concepts differ from contemporary teaching; readers should treat it as a historical text for reference rather than the sole standard. It is suitable for readers with a vocal foundation who are practicing or teaching, to consult with specific questions and to verify and select while reading through their own phonation. For general readers, it can also serve as primary material for understanding early approaches to vocal teaching.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Vocal students currently studying bel canto who need key training points
Voice teachers using it as historical reference material for teaching approaches
Enthusiasts interested in vocal training methods and the principles of voice production
Readers studying music pedagogy literature and public-domain professional books

Not a good fit for

People with no vocal foundation at all who only want quick singing tricks
Readers expecting contemporary vocal medicine or scientifically grounded training guidance
Readers who only want light music essays and are unwilling to do vocal exercises

Reading tips

Read chapter by chapter by theme such as breathing, resonance, and register, and do the corresponding exercises right after reading.
Record yourself as you read and compare, checking the differences between the book's descriptions and your own voice production.
Mark period-specific terminology first, then compare it with contemporary teaching materials for understanding.
Practice only one or two points at a time to avoid vocal fatigue from copying too many methods at once.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can I self-study this book without a voice teacher?

You can read it, but it is not advisable to practice from it entirely on your own. Vocal training involves breathing and the state of the larynx, and without feedback it is easy to develop bad habits or even strain your voice. A safer approach is to treat the book as theoretical reference and, under a teacher's guidance, select some exercises to verify, rather than imitating advanced vocal methods alone based on written descriptions.

Are the methods in the book still applicable today?

Some principles, such as breath support and resonance adjustment, still have reference value, but the book was written in the early twentieth century, and its terminology and training concepts differ from contemporary vocal teaching and voice science. Readers should read it with a critical eye, comparing its methods with current textbooks and teachers' opinions, rather than adopting everything wholesale.

Is this book helpful for pop singing?

Its help is limited. The book is oriented toward the classical vocal training tradition and focuses on the breath and resonance system required for bel canto. Pop singing has separate requirements in timbre, microphone use, and stylistic handling; readers can borrow the general parts about breathing and relaxation, but should not apply classical training methods directly to pop singing.

Why is it recommended to practice while reading rather than read straight through?

The key points of vocal books lie more in physical sensation than in textual understanding, and reading straight through makes it easy to remember concepts without putting them into practice. Reading by theme chapter by chapter and practicing immediately lets the written descriptions correspond to your own vocal sensations, and makes it easier to discover which methods suit you and which need further explanation or adjustment from a teacher.

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About the author

Lehmann, Lilli, 1848-1929 Author · German · 1848–1929

Lilli Lehmann (1848–1929) was a German soprano known for her performances in Wagner and Mozart operas. Active on European opera stages from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, she earned a reputation among colleagues and audiences for her singing technique and character interpretation. Beyond the stage, Lehmann was devoted to setting down her experience in vocal pedagogy; she wrote How to Sing, a book discussing singing methods, vocal training, and artistic expression, which has become a frequently cited reference in vocal studies. Public information on her early life, teachers, and specific performance records is limited, so this introduction draws only on in-house facts and well-established general accounts, focusing on her singing achievements and the influence of her writings.