Keep Singing

How Can I Keep from Singing? is the compelling story of how the son of a respectable Puritan family became a consummate performer and American rebel. Updated with new research and interviews, unpublished photographs, and thoughtful comments from Pete Seeger himself, this is an inside history of the man Carl Sandburg called “America’s Tuning Fork.” In the only biography on Seeger, David Dunaway parts the curtains on his life. Who is this rail-thin, eighty-eight-year-old with the five-string banjo, whose performances have touched millions of people for more than seven decades? Bob Dylan called him a saint. Joan Baez said, “We all owe our careers to him.” But Seeger’s considerable musical achievements were overshadowed by political controversy when he became perhaps the most blacklisted performer in American history. He was investigated for sedition, harassed by the FBI and the CIA, picketed, and literally stoned by conservative groups. Still, he sang. Today, Seeger remains an icon of conscience and culture, and his classic antiwar songs, sung by Bruce Springsteen and millions of others, live again in the movement against foreign wars. His life holds lessons for surviving repressive times and for turning to music to change the world. “This biography is a beauty. It captures not only the life of the bard but the world of which he sings.” –Studs Terkel “A fine and meticulous biography . . . Dunaway has taken [Seeger’s] materials and woven them into a detailed, interesting, and well-written narrative of a most fascinating life.” –American Music “An extraordinary tale of an extraordinary man [that] will intrigue not only his legions of followers but everyone interested in one man’s battles and victories.” –Chicago Sun-Times

"Full of shrewd observations on creativity, friendship, and love, [this is] a book, in other words, about life."--American Way

This is an essential text on an important area of the music curriculum consistently judged weak or inadequate by school inspectors in Britain. It covers social, physiological, musical, and pedagogical aspects of young adolescent singing, with focus on Key Stage 3 (ages 11-14) and the progression from primary school. Grounded in extensive research and authoritatively written, it uses case studies to illustrate best practice, and introduces the principles of cambiata, a dedicated approach to the adolescent voice. Other chapters contain practical and proven advice on repertoire, technique, and the motivation of reluctant singers, boosting the confidence of teachers for whom choral work is not the main specialism.

The Routledge Companion to Interdisciplinary Studies in Singing, Volume II: Education examines the many methods and motivations for vocal pedagogy, promoting singing not just as an art form arising from the musical instrument found within every individual but also as a means of communication with social, psychological, and didactic functions. Presenting research from myriad fields of study beyond music—including psychology, education, sociology, computer science, linguistics, physiology, and neuroscience—the contributors address singing in three parts: Learning to Sing Naturally Formal Teaching of Singing Using Singing to Teach In 2009, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada funded a seven-year major collaborative research initiative known as Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing (AIRS). Together, global researchers from a broad range of disciplines addressed three challenging questions: How does singing develop in every human being? How should singing be taught and used to teach? How does singing impact wellbeing? Across three volumes, The Routledge Companion to Interdisciplinary Studies in Singing consolidates the findings of each of these three questions, defining the current state of theory and research in the field. Volume II: Education focuses on the second question and offers an invaluable resource for anyone who identifies as a singer, wishes to become a singer, works with singers, or is interested in the application of singing for the purposes of education.

The Art of Mindful Singing is an enlightening insight into how we can all experience well-being through the meditative beauty and power of music. Jeremy Dion explores how singing can create a deeper connection with ourselves and the world around us through its sacred notes of melody, bliss, and joy. Through personal anecdote and expert insight, he reveals how mindful singing provides a pathway to experiencing flow, a pure psychological state of bliss. Alongside practical meditations, we realize how releasing our voices is a universal, healing chord to promoting harmony and meaning in modern life.

In Transforming Choral Singing: An Activist's Guide for Choir Directors, author Charles W. Beale draws from his many years of choral directing experience to put forth a new vision for choral singing: to move audiences and change the world. He lays down a non-canonical and inclusive framework, grounded in critical musicology and pedagogy, for mission-driven and activist-oriented engagement with the choral arts and provides practical takeaways for choral practitioners and conductors through a lively mix of practical workshops, tips, and suggestions.

Unique, Powerful Way All Believers Can Experience Breakthrough In the Bible, Moses sang. Miriam sang. So did Deborah, David, Mary, Paul, the angels, and so many more. The Israelites went to war singing; they sang over victories, over happy moments and hard moments. They knew something we've lost sight of: When we learn to sing God's words back to Him, we align the deepest spaces of our hearts with the deepest places of His--and we experience breakthrough. So why do we relegate singing the Word to just worship teams? Julie Meyer, a Dove-nominated artist and worship leader, has been teaching all believers how to do just this. She shows that you don't need to know how to read music or even sing in tune. All you need is Scripture and a willingness to engage God in song. As you do, you will see heartache turn into hope, despair into destiny, fear into fearlessness. You stand on the Word, pray it, and even memorize it. Now it's time to sing it.