Music Essentials for Singers and Actors: Fundamentals of Notation, Sight-Singing and Music Theory

Singers and actors who can learn music quickly and accurately have an enormous advantage in today's increasingly competitive field. With Music Essentials for Singers and Actors, award-winning composer and music director Andrew Gerle has written a music theory text especially for singers, focused exclusively on topics and techniques that will help them in the rehearsal room and on stage. Gerle leads readers step by step through every aspect of written music, using over one hundred real-world examples from Broadway scores. His common-sense, methodical approach demystifies abstract concepts, and his unique 1-STARRT method teaches singers to read musical “words” instead of single notes, enabling confident sight-singing of any score. Drawing on his years of experience as a Broadway vocal coach, Gerle also shows readers how to use music theory to think like a composer, analyzing scores for dramatic clues to create a more detailed and powerful performance. Each chapter is accompanied by downloadable audio examples and exercises to lock in newly learned concepts.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Kristen Chenoweth Author’s Note 1. Willkommen A Little Brains, a Little Talent: the ingredients for a career Racing with the Clock: how to make the most of your rehearsal time Side by Side: an artistic collaboration with the writer The Sound of Music: the elements of musical notation What More Do I Need?: required tools of the trade 2. I Got Rhythm: fundamentals The Rhythm of Life: how we divide time You Can’t Stop the Beat: first definitions, quarter notes Just in Time: time signatures, note shapes The Speed Test: metronomes and their use Breathe: rests 3. In Short: smaller note values Tonight at Eight: the eighth note We Go Together: beams A Little Bit Off: off-beats and “and”s I’m Old Fashioned: vocal notation in older scores Pretty Little Picture: musical “words” and syncopation Small World: the sixteenth note 4. Hold On: ties and dots Married: ties Stay with Me: dots 5. Play a Simple Melody: the piano keyboard, notes, clefs, and staves I Love a Piano: finding notes on the keyboard I Could Write a Book: writing notes on the staff Me, Who Am I?: clefs, letter names, and the grand staff You Will Be Found: matching notes on the piano with notes on the staff 6. I’ve Got Your Number: intervals and scale degrees Go the Distance: basic interval sizes and names Home: the tonic and scale degrees Steppin’ Out with My Baby: singing with scale degrees Do-Re-Mi: the Kodály method 7. You Do Something to Me: accidentals, key signatures, and transposition I am Changing: accidentals and the black keys of the piano Ring of Keys: the major scale, key signatures, and the circle of fifths They Just Keep Moving the Line: transposing songs 8. So Big/So Small: identifying and singing every interval type 9.Fascinatin’ Rhythm: cut time, triplets, swing; compound, composite and irregular meters Two by Two: cut time Squeeze me: triplets and grace notes By Threes: compound meter It Don’t Mean a Thing: swing notation Unusual Way: irregular and composite meters Change Don’t Come Easy: shifting meters 10. Let It Sing: combining your ear and your eye for increased fluency Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly: diatonic versus chromatic melodies Do You Want to Build a Snowman?: triads and inversions Far from the Home I Love: strategies for chromatic melodies 11. Changing My Major: minor keys Three Friends: the minor scales Sing Happy: minor scales in context Show Me the Key: distinguishing between minor and major keys Sisters: minor, diminished, and augmented triads 12. I Know Things Now: combining multiple techniques to form a coherent strategy for reading What Comes Next?: reading ahead 1-STARRT at the Very Beginning: a method for analyzing and annotating any new song 13. No One Is Alone: singing with other performers Here I Am: finding your starting note I’m a Part of That: consonance and dissonance with the piano accompaniment; piano/conductor scores Do You Hear the People Sing?: choral singing and score layouts 14. The Writing on the Wall: musical markings, repeat structure, and other score “road maps” Be Italian: tempo markings Loud: dynamic and articulation markings Stop, Time: pauses and held notes Speak Low: other expressive markings and spoken text Back to Before: repeats, D.C., D.S., and codas Ah, But Underneath: underscoring and vamps On the Street Where You Live: rehearsal numbers and letters Do It Again: AABA form and other song structures 15. Hey, Look Me Over: close score reading for dramatic and character analysis Mama, Look Sharp: every mark is a choice The Wrong Note Rag: analyzing dissonance and contour to color your performance Watch What Happens: dramatic inspiration from the piano accompaniment A Change in Me: reading key changes and altered notes for textual insight 16. I Have Confidence: continuing to practice and consolidate your technique I Can See It: eye-training exercises A Trip to the Library: the joys of reading music alone and with others

About the Author :
Andrew Gerle is an award-winning composer/lyricist, music director, arranger, and pianist. He has lived in New York City for over twenty years, working on dozens of Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and touring productions. He is also the author of The Enraged Accompanist's Guide to the Perfect Audition, and teaches musical theater performance, theory, and composition at Yale University and the Manhattan School of Music.