Unlocking Meaning in Art Song: A Singer’s Guide to Practical Analysis Using Schubert Songs

Unlocking Meaning in Art Song teaches singers how to analyze songs in order to discover deeper meanings and create more compelling interpretations and performances.

The first part of the book introduces important practical skills for analyzing the text as well as key musical elements including melody, rhythm, structure, linear motion, and harmony. The remainder of the book presents an in-depth guided analysis of twenty Schubert songs. The questions and prompts in these chapters allow students, singers, and other readers to discover for themselves the amazing ways in which music and expressive meaning are structured. Songs range from simpler analytical difficulty (such as An die Musik) to medium difficulty (such as Gretchen am Spinnrade), and finally to more complex (such as Erlkönig).

The techniques presented in this book can be applied to all types of songs, allowing singers to build critical skills and artful consciousness. This is an ideal resource for song literature courses, voice teachers, students, collaborative pianists, and theory faculty.

Beverly Stein is a professor of music history and analysis at California State University, Los Angeles. Stein has presented at the NATS Cal-Western Regional meetings and taught California State University Summer Arts program’s ＂The Romantic Lied in Germany.＂ She has been recognized for her engaging teaching style with an award by the General Education Honors Program.