The Philosophy Of Singing

In Philosophy of Song and Singing: An Introduction, Jeanette Bicknell explores key aesthetic, ethical, and other philosophical questions that have not yet been thoroughly researched by philosophers, musicologists, or scientists. Issues addressed include: The relationship between the meaning of a song’s words and its music The performer’s role and the ensuing gender complications, social ontology, and personal identity The performer’s ethical obligations to audiences, composers, lyricists, and those for whom the material holds particular significance The metaphysical status of isolated solo performances compared to the continuous singing of opera or the interrupted singing of stage and screen musicals Each chapter focuses on one major musical example and includes several shorter discussions of other selections. All have been chosen for their illustrative power and their accessibility for any interested reader and are readily available.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1893 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER V REGISTERS The different registers of the voice should be regarded by the singer as only so many modifications in the quality of tone, which modifications are inherent in the voice itself. These modifications in quality are not to be brought about by conscious adjustments of the parts employed in making those modifications, as any interference with the parts will produce that obstacle to smoothness and equality in the scale which we commonly call a " break." If the entire throat, which of course includes the tongue, is allowed to remain perfectly free and untrammelled; if no part is held in a fixed position, and if the lungs remain free to expand to the ingoing and outgoing of the breath, as they will if the diaphragm be neither held in a fixed position nor consciously worked, the registers will assert themselves naturally, and merge imperceptibly into one another with perfect ease. The number of registers varies in different voices. The soprano and contralto voices of full compass have five registers, the tenor has three, and the bass and barytone have two. From a physiological standpoint these registers represent different adjustments of the vocal cords or ligaments, and also different positions of the larynx itself, which different positions cause a variation in the dimensions of the throat. The larynx stands lowest for the lower chest register, and in this position the throat is long and wide; and as the larynx gradually ascends for each succeeding register, the throat becomes shorter and narrower, until it reaches the highest point, when the space in the throat is very small. From the standpoint of the singer, however, the registers simply represent different qualities of sound and different points of reverberation in the...

Excerpt from The Philosophy of Singing This 13, therefore, but a little book. But small as it is, it represents a quarter of a century of con stant groping and reaching out for the true prin ciples which govern the art of singing in its high est aspect, which is the most eloquent and direct expression not only of the individualized soul, but also of the great universal soul itself. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This is a unique, groundbreaking collection of autobiographical essays by leading women in philosophy. It provides a glimpse at the experiences of the generation that witnessed, and helped create, the remarkable advances now evident for women in the field.

The author of the classic philosophical treatment of love reflects on the trajectory, over decades, of his thoughts on love and other topics. In 1984, Irving Singer published the first volume of what would become a classic and much acclaimed trilogy on love. Trained as an analytical philosopher, Singer first approached his subject with the tools of current philosophical methodology. Dissatisfied by the initial results (finding the chapters he had written “just dreary and unproductive of anything”), he turned to the history of ideas in philosophy and the arts for inspiration. He discovered an immensity of speculation and artistic practice that reached wholly beyond the parameters he had been trained to consider truly philosophical. In his three-volume work The Nature of Love, Singer tried to make sense of this historical progression within a framework that reflected his precise distinction-making and analytical background. In this new book, he maps the trajectory of his thinking on love. It is a “partial” summing-up of a lifework: partial because it expresses the author's still unfolding views, because it is a recapitulation of many published pages, because love—like any subject of that magnitude—resists a neatly comprehensive, all-inclusive formulation. Adopting an informal, even conversational, tone, Singer discusses, among other topics, the history of romantic love, the Platonic ideal, courtly and nineteenth-century Romantic love; the nature of passion; the concept of merging (and his critique of it); ideas about love in Freud, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Dewey, Santayana, Sartre, and other writers; and love in relation to democracy, existentialism, creativity, and the possible future of scientific investigation. Singer's writing on love embodies what he has learned as a contemporary philosopher, studying other authors in the field and “trying to get a little further.” This book continues his trailblazing explorations.