Books for the Daily Choral Conductor
from Dr. Jeffrey Richard Carter
© 2004
Jordan, James. The Musician’s Soul. Chicago: GIA, 1999. 184 pp. A guided journey examining spirituality for performers, teachers, composers, conductors and music educators. One of the finest, most inspiring, most incredible reads you’ll ever have.
May, Rollo. The Courage to Create. New York: Norton, 1975. 143 pp. What if imagination and art are not, as many might think, the frosting on life, but the fountainhead of human experience? This book helps clarify creative impulses and the drive to art.
Petty, Jo. Wings of Silver. Norwalk, Conn.: C. R. Gibson, 1967. The wisdom of the ages, in short phrases and pithy aphorisms. Read half a page daily. Share one thought each day with your ensembles. Live these truths.
Armstrong, John. The Solo and Ensemble Singer. Warner Bros., 1995. 48 pp. A collection of vocal exercises, vocalizes, choral rounds, and warm-up activities. Singer’s guide is printed separately, and conductor’s guide has rational and practical suggestions included. Applicable to private studio too.
Boyd, Jack. Rehearsal Guide for the Choral Director. Champaign, Ill.: Mark Foster, 1970. 228 pp. Auditioning, marking your own score, running a rehearsal, rehearsing chamber works, rehearsing major works, setting and standing positions, and so on—he covers it all. One of the most useful single volumes of its kind.
Brewer, Mike. Kick-Start Your Choir. London: Faber, 1997. 32 pp. A compendium of simple, well-tried skills, new perspectives on style and method, and hints on problem-solving. He covers the gamut in a lively style.
Brewer, Richard H. Developing Effective Choral Tone. Tustin, Calif.: National Music Publishers, 1991. 70 pp. Sound, well-reasoned, accurate. See especially his thoughts on mood and choral tone, on the spinning of sound. Short chapters with many musical examples.
Decker, Harold A. and Julius Herford. Choral Conducting Symposium, 2nd. ed. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1988. 290 pp. The gods of music themselves could not have written a more insightful, appropriate book. Six expert conductors contribute their own advice.
Dehning, William. Chorus Confidential: Decoding the Secrets of the Choral Art. Pavane Publishing, 2003. 165 pp. A slightly humorous, always honest look at our art. Not a textbook, but more of a check-up and thought-provoker.
Dickau, David C. and Allan Robert Petker. Choral Questions and Answers. Intrada Music, 1990. 44 pp. Many, many, many musical examples make this treatise a true friend. Written in the Socratic method, with a separate singer edition having only the musical excerpts.
Ehmann, Wilhelm and Frauke Haasemann. Voice Building for Choirs. Hinshaw, 1982. 142 pp. THE BIBLE of methods and schemes. An absolute must. Imagery, metaphor, practical vocal etudes all sit side by side with an affluence of collected wisdom.
Ehret, Walter. The Choral Conductor’s Handbook. Marks Publishing, 1959. Dist. Hal Leonard. 55 pp. and a gold mine of practical advice in short, pithy statements.
Gordon, Lewis. Choral Director’s Rehearsal and Performance Guide. West Nyack, New York: Parker, 1989. 256 pp. In addition to the usual information and helpful directions, Gordon includes ideas on group-building, inspiring individuals to sing better, and building rapport between singers.
Haasemann, Frauke and James M. Jordan. Group Vocal Technique. Hinshaw, 1991. 196 pp. Vocal technique, marking the score, Latin diction, use of the sigh—it’s all here from two acknowledged masters of pedagogy and performance. An invaluable and worthwhile investment.
Hammar, Russell A. Pragmatic Choral Procedures. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow, 1984. 358 pp. For my money, the best single “how-to” book around. Also addresses church music and contemporary worship, although now in a somewhat dated fashion.
Harris, Frederick, Jr. Conducting with Feeling. Galesville, Maryland: Meredith Music, 2001. 101 pp. For grad students, doctoral students, and active conductors. A freely-constructed fantasia, drawn from interviews with Frederick Fennell, Craig Kirchhoff, Weston Noble, Gunther Schuller, and other luminaries. There's not a chart or diagram to be found. It's all esoterica for the committed conductor.
Hill, David, Hilary Parfitt and Elizabeth Ash. Giving Voice: A Handbook for Choir Directors and Trainers. Bury St. Edmonds, Suffolk: Kevin Mayhew, 1995. 92 pp. A psychotherapist, a voice teacher, and a choirmaster collaborate. The British viewpoint will take a bit of adjustment for this country, but the information is highly appropriate. Hill is arguably on of the finest, and certainly busiest, choral conductors in the United Kingdom.
Holst, Imogen. Conducting a Choir. New York: Oxford, 1973. 163 pp. The great composer’s daughter in a very personal and opinionated—but worthwhile and useful!—assessment of the physical business of a conductor’s art. Her section on rounds and canons is especially helpful.
Jennings, Kenneth. Sing Legato. San Diego: Kjos, 1982. 16 pp. A collection of original studies in vocal production and musicianship from a St. Olaf College conductor. Accompanist edition published separately. Useful, but perhaps overly pedantic at times.
Johnson, Deral J. Choral Techniques: Beyond the Basics. San Diego: Kjos, 1997. 51 pp. Practical, accurate, and to-the-point suggestions for choral conductors of school groups and community and church choirs.
Jordan, James and Matthew Mehaffey. Choral Ensemble Intonation: Method, Procedures, and Exercises. Chicago: GIA, 2001. 128 pp. A comprehensive and incredibly clear how-to book. Well worth the price ($25) for such a slim volume.
Jorgensen, Nancy Smirl and Catherine Pfeiler. Things They Never Taught You in Choral Methods. Minneapolis: Hal Leonard, 1995. 109 pp. Competitions, recruiting, programming, fund-raising, bragging…all the things that you learn the hard way, here summed up in one useful, commonsense book.
Pfautsch, Lloyd. Mental Warm-ups for the Choral Conductor. Lawson-Gould, 1969. 46 pp. Like learning life lessons by sitting at a grampa’s knee. Not stories, not vignettes, just sound practical advice, although a bit of it is dated and certainly not p.c.
Reiser, Joseph. Poly-phonics: Vocal Etudes for the Development of Ensemble Singing. Chicago: GIA, 1995. 63 pp. One- to six-part etudes, utilizing both classic and popular styles. Assists in development of balance, blend, and rhythmic articulation. Some of these are pretty challenging!
Robinson, Russell and Jay Althouse. The Complete Choral Warm-up Book: A Sourcebook for Choral Conductors. Van Nuys, Calif.: Alfred, 1995. 128 pp. Presents 211 vocal etudes, choral exercises, and teaching melodies. One of the finest books of its kind. An absolute must.
Terri, Salli, ed. Rounds for Everyone from Everywhere. Lawson-Gould, 1961. An international collection. Highly recommended.
Tjernlund, Gordon and Joyce Eilers. Choral Warm-ups, Vol. 1. Jenson 402-17014. Pedagologically sound vocal exercises that are beyond the usual so-do patterns. If you’re stuck and in a rut with your preparation to sing activities, this will help.
Webb, Guy, ed. Up Front!: Becoming the Complete Choral Conductor. Boston: ECS, 1993. 293 pp. Shares experience and knowledge of twelve professional choral musicians, each writing on one tope. An incredibly useful book.
Whitlock, Ruth. Choral Insights: A Basic Guide to Enhance the Choral Experience. San Diego: Kjos, 1982. 15 pp. Designed for the student as a study guide. There’s not a question in the booklet that couldn’t be adapted for rehearsal use, though. Excellent as a resource in teaching the basics of music to a general choir.
Wilson, Harry Robert. Rounds and Canons. Chicago: Hall and McCreary, 1943. 64 pp. Single best resource for this musical activity.
In addition, a wealth of textbooks and help-books are available regarding choral conducting and choral methods. This survey is necessarily limited to a personal selection of limited breadth and scope.