Dear Music Major,
Begin building your music library now. Invest in one or two scores per semester and by the time you graduate, you will have at least one shelf of music.
Love,
Your Grown-up Self
Why Purchase Music?
Copyright laws are important. But I don’t buy music just because of the law. I buy music because it is the tool of my trade and because it delights me to learn new music with a nicely printed edition that I know won’t ever become obsolete.
As a young piano student and a teenage voice student, I was lucky to have parents that bought my music. They taught me that buying music was the legal choice and also a good investment. Little did they know that music would become my career and buying scores would become more of an obsession than buying shoes!
My own library of music has proven more valuable than I ever imagined, now that I am teaching at a state university with a minimal music library. The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) guidelines require pianists to play from original scores or purchased music downloads with receipt at all events in order to avoid copyright infringement. In new music theatre genres, downloads might be the only way to access certain songs—but for mainstream repertoire, the books are almost the same price as individual downloads, and you will own more music for future performances.
Use your school library for study, but begin the habit of purchasing the music you perform, one book at a time. Ideally, singers should own all the music they perform. Respect the composers, publishers, and distributors by purchasing original copies—and when you own music, you may lighten your backpack with rehearsal photocopies. There is also an impressive collection of free public domain downloads on the International Music Score Library Project website (IMSLP.org).
As a young adult living in New York City, I loved wandering through music stores, buying vocal music on the sale racks and perusing new editions. Sadly, every music shop in NYC has closed except the Juilliard Store. If there is a music store in your area, please patronize it.
Currently, the best online source is Classical Vocal Reprints, (Classicalvocalrep.com), where owner Glendower Jones will advise you by phone or e-mail about anything involving printed vocal music. He sells it all, including single song PDF downloads, and he can often help with music that is out of print. His services and the current digital market make owning your own music affordable and convenient.
Recommended Investment Anthologies
With the holidays around the corner, I have put together a “wish list” for music majors that you can both give and receive. The following list includes anthologies and my two cents describing why they deserve a place on your shelves as soon as Santa, or UPS, can deliver them.
–24 Italian Songs and Arias published by G. Schirmer, Inc.
–26 Italian Songs and Arias edited by John Glenn Paton, published by Alfred Music
Whichever book you buy, it will become your bible for at least a year or two of singing and possibly every day that you teach. The Schirmer edition (the yellow book) has some simpler realizations of the piano parts, whereas Paton’s edits (the purple or blue book) include stylistic ornaments, International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), and word-for-word translations. Your teacher may prefer a particular edition or suggest you buy both. The vocal challenges presented in either of these anthologies will aid your vocal development with music created in the best historical era, when opera was being dreamed up and written down!
–The First Book of Soprano Solos (and Mezzo-Soprano/Alto, Tenor, Baritone/Bass) and Easy Songs for the Beginning Soprano (and Mezzo-Soprano/Alto, Tenor, Baritone/Bass) both compiled by Joan Frey Boytim, published by Hal Leonard
Joan Frey Boytim’s series are published for every voice type with several volumes in each category. These anthologies are an excellent resource and probably the best bang for your buck with each book containing art songs in a variety of styles and languages for your voice type. Hal Leonard has sold over a million of her books (drop mic). The “First Book” series include repertoire of moderate to difficult levels that singers will sing beyond their college years. The “Easy” series are generally more simply structured, English songs. They include humorous and thoughtful art songs that are suitable for teens and college singers alike.
–Folk Songs for Solo Singers edited by Jay Althouse, published by Alfred Music
There are several volumes of this popular collection for high and low voice. These arrangements of American and international folk songs include the beautiful and the charming components of folk music. These song arrangements are appropriate for recitals, church solos, and that moment when Nana asks you to sing her a little something. I find these songs to be solid technique builders for beginners working on phrasing and even scales. Students singing familiar melodies in their vernacular can trust their vocal technique without worrying about pesky language problems.
–Gateway to Italian Art Songs/German Lieder/French Mélodies edited by John Glenn Paton, published by Alfred Music
Students appreciate IPA and word-for-word translations in an anthology and I applaud Mr. Paton for providing more anthologies with these resources. The Gateway series includes a wide variety of styles within a language, not simply one historical period like older collections. Not only do these anthologies include IPA for each song, but there is a helpful diction guide that aids pronunciation and practice CDs are optional with the book and available online.
–Anthology of Spanish Song arranged by Richard Walters and Maria Di Palma, published by Hal Leonard
–Canciones de España: Songs of Nineteenth-Century Spain edited by Suzanne Rhodes Draayer, published by Scarecrow Press
Both of these Spanish collections are published in high and low keys and include historical notes about composers and translations. The Walters/Di Palma anthology includes complete song cycles, which is useful when planning recitals. Suzanne Draayer has been researching Spanish song for decades, and her anthologies include IPA transcriptions, vocal range, and word-for-word translations. In the past, the Spanish art song genre has been overlooked. Now this music is more accessible to purchase, it is wonderful for technical advancement, and it is enjoyable for students, recitalists and, especially, audiences.
–Standard Vocal Literature: An Introduction to Repertoire arranged by Richard Walters, published by Hal Leonard
This series is available in volumes for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, and bass. In this collection, you will find not only a variety of art songs, but also operetta and opera arias. If there is one book to buy this semester, this might be “the one” because of the great range of standard repertoire.
–Arias for Soprano (et al) edited by Robert L. Larsen, published by G. Schirmer
The primary aria collections are the Schirmer books, and you should just buy one because I said so. But, if you want reasons, these aria books include the major audition arias from the most performed operas, and each book includes specific arias for the Fach, including coloratura arias for soprano, mezzo, tenor, baritone, and bass. There is also a second volume available for soprano. Pianists will appreciate these aria editions because they are easier to read than pages from most opera scores and they have the expected orchestral reductions. These anthologies have companion diction guides with IPA and word-for-word translations and CDs—i.e., the ultimate homework helper.
–The Oratorio Anthology (The Vocal Library) arranged by Richard Walters, published by Hal Leonard
There are anthologies for soprano, alto /mezzo-soprano, tenor, and baritone/bass. These collections contain the most often performed arias from oratorios, masses, and cantatas. Students will be well informed with the historical summaries and translations. Most voice majors supplement their income with church jobs, and this book might become your most used anthology. Oratorio/early music specialist might be your career path, but whether or not you sing these oratorio arias for money or technical study, they are masterworks that classical singers can enjoy for a lifetime.
–The Singer’s Musical Theatre Anthology edited by Richard Walters, published by Hal Leonard
These anthologies are treasure troves for classical, crossover, and musical theatre singers. There are six volumes each for soprano, mezzo-soprano/belter, tenor, and baritone/bass. There are also three volumes of duets. Volume 1 for each voice type includes more classical theatre, and Volume 6 includes primarily contemporary Broadway. The other volumes include a range of styles. These anthologies almost always publish songs in the original keys, and any musical theatre song from a Broadway or Off-Broadway show qualifies for NATS musical theatre divisions.
Opera Scores and Beyond
Upperclassmen and graduate students will be singing more opera with continued study. My admonition on buying your music rings especially true for opera. Even if you are handed an opera workshop copy, buy your own score and mark/highlight it extensively. Bärenreiter editions are notably accurate and their page layout sets them apart from the others.
Buy dictionaries with IPA to look up exceptions to all the rules you are learning in your diction class. Nico Castel gifted our community with translations and IPA for all of the major operas in his series of opera libretti. Not only will these books make your life easier when you are learning a new role, but they are heavy and make for excellent breath support work when I load six or seven books in the arms of an unsuspecting student trying to sing a long phrase.
Let It Grow
When you are out of school and farther away from music library resources, it will be useful to have copies of Messiah, Ave Maria, The Lord’s Prayer, and your favorite spiritual on your piano for last-minute church, wedding, or funeral solos. Teachers across the country are following NATS procedure and requiring students to buy music. The anthologies suggested here are filled with music that has been cherished by generations. There are many more collections to buy as you continue your studies, but this list is a solid beginning for classical singers.
Last but certainly not least, by buying scores, we help keep IKEA in business because every library needs stylish shelving! Whether this was your first semester or last, buy the music you are singing and enjoy watching your personal library grow.
Special thanks to Glendower Jones, www.classicalvocalrep.com, for his contributions to the article.
