Other Books in My Library

As I mentioned in a previous post, sometimes the right song for the student is not in a collection that contains other songs they will sing.  This is a list of some of the books in my Lending Library or books that I use as references for other keys.  I own multiples keys (and multiple copies) of some of these books.  The books listed here are not my complete collection, but those books that contain material that I might use with students high school age and younger.

General Anthologies

Classics for Solo Singers, Patrick Liebergen, Alfred

• I love some of Liebergen's arrangements and editions, but there is not enough in this book that I want to work with to have a student purchase it.  My copies are lending library copies.  
• High and low keys, with accompaniment CDs.  

Anthology of Spanish Song, HL

• Many students today are taking Spanish in school and expands on the options they are given in other collections.   Many of the songs in these sets are appropriate for high school singers:   Edward Kileny's Mexican Folk Song Settings, Enrique Granados' Colección de tonadillas, and Manuel de Falla's Siete canciones populares españolas.
• High and low keys.  If students are singing any of these songs from the Boytim collection, I have another option for key.  

Favorite German Art Songs, HL

• High and Low keys, includes translations and IPA

Favorite French Art Songs Vol. 2, HL

• High and low keys, IPA, translations, and diction lessons

The Art Song Anthology, HL

• High and low keys, IPA, translations, and diction lessons
• I have had a few advanced students buy this.  

Songs by 22 Americans, G. Schirmer

• This was one of my first books for voice lessons.  
• A few of these songs are in Boytim books, so this is a nice reference for other keys.  
• A couple students have decided to purchase it after borrowing mine, but I rarely send people to buy this, simply because many of the songs won't work for high school students.  
• High and low keys

15 American Art Songs

• This is a collection that works better for high school students.  
• It's so good, both of my copies disappeared this year, which is why I'm refining the check out process.  
• High and low Keys with accompaniment CDs.  

Songs Through the Centuries

• Some of my lending library copies were purchased at half.com for $1 plus shipping.  
• Lots of good songs in this book, but I prefer to have students purchase other books.  
• High and low keys

56 Songs You Like to Sing

• Another older collection with several good songs, but not enough to justify purchase for most students.  

50 Art Songs from the Modern Repertoire

• Another older collection with several good songs, but not enough to justify purchase for most students. 

Art Songs for School and Studio First Year

• Another older collection with several good songs, but not enough to justify purchase for most students.  
• Medium high and Medium low keys

Art Songs for School and Studio Second Year

• Another older collection with several good songs, but not enough to justify purchase for most students.  
• Medium high and Medium low keys

Expressive Singing

• These books come in high, medium, and low keys
• I actually love this collection and if it didn't cost so much, I would have students purchase it.  
• I believe it is now out of print, but you can find them at half.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.  
• I like the third edition the best.  Our school library has the low and medium keys and I have purchased the high key.  The low and medium keys are on my wish list at half.com and I will get them when someone offers them for a relatively low price.  

Everybody's Favorites, Favorite Songs

• These small songbooks are part of the Music Minus One series and come with accompaniments recorded by John Wustman.  
• High and low keys for each book.  

Singable Songs for Studio and Recital

• I picked up my first copies of this at used book stores.  It is an older book, but includes a few great songs that you don't see other places.  
• Comes in high and low keys

Singer's Library of Song, Liebergen

• This is actually a very good collection.  It's just pricier, so I don't usually have students buy it.
• Another reason I don't send students to buy it often is that although the songs in the art songs/arias section are great literature, I don't see them all working for the same student.  
• The folk song and spiritual arrangements work well for high school students.  
• This comes in high, medium, and low keys, with or without CDs.  

Song Anthology One, Leyerle

• This is another book that my first teacher had me buy.  
• This was also one of the first collections I've seen to include word by word translations and IPA.  

55 Art Songs

• The repertoire in this is great, but foreign language art songs are in English.  
• I generally use this as a book to loan students for English language art songs.  

Great Art Songs of Three Centuries

• Another older collection with several good songs, but not enough to justify purchase for most students. 
• Comes in high and low keys

Single Composer Collections

The Arnold Book of Old Songs, Roger Quilter, B&H

• These are some of my favorite folk song arrangements.  It is now available in 3 keys and with an accompaniment CD (for the high and low books).  I've had a few students purchase the book, but most students do only 1 or 2 songs, so I lend them my copy.  

The Songs of John Jacob Niles, G. Schirmer

• Another collection of great songs, but not enough for a high school student to purchase.  I use these mostly as other key options for the J.J. Niles songs included in the Boytim books.  

Old American Songs, Aaron Copland, B& H

• Available in High, Medium, and Low Keys without or without accompaniment CDs.  

13 songs for high voice and piano, and 11 Songs for Middle voice and Piano, Lee Hoiby, G. Schirmer

• I have these books specifically for "Where the Music Comes From".  The other songs are good, but I haven't used them with high school students.  

4 songs, 8 songs, Richard Hundley, B&H

• I have these books specifically for "Come Ready and See Me" A third key is available in the sixth edition of Basics of Singing.  Like the Hoiby, most songs in these books are ones that I would not use with high school students.  

Folksongs and Chanties, Celius Dougherty, G. Schirmer

• Celius Dougherty's songs are also prominent in Joan Boytim's books, and I use these as alternate key options.  Although I really like the book, I don't see myself sending students to buy it anytime soon.  

Collected Songs, 65 Songs, Samuel Barber

• There are only a few songs of Barber's that I would give to high school students, so having them borrow my music makes much more sense.  

36 Arie di stile antico, Dounady, Ricordi

• Again, just a few songs here are appropriate for high school students.  

Complete Folksong Arrangements, Britten, B&H

• Several good options for high school singers here, but if students have a limit on how much they can spend, I won't have them spend $30 just for the work of one composer.  

Songs of Travel, Ralph Vaughan Williams

• Many of these are also included in the Boytim books and other collections.  I have both keys so I can find the best key for that particular student.  I can also loan these out if I want a student to a song that is not in the collection they own.  The men generally love these songs and they are especially good for young baritones. 

Class Voice texts (Again,  I NEVER buy class voice texts at full price.)  

Becoming a Singing Performer, James Kinney

Fundamentals of Singing, Charles E. Lindsley

• I really like the folk songs arrangements in this book.  

Steps to Singing for Voice Class, Royal Stanton

Musical Theatre, Disney, and Popular styles

The Disney Princess Collection - Complete
The Disney Collection
Contemporary Theatre Songs Belter/Mezzo-soprano
Kids' Broadway Songbook

• This is the book that I used to have kids buy, but now I have them get Broadway Songs for Kids which includes almost all of these, plus many other songs.  

The Sound of Music and other vocal selections books.

• I have a huge library of vocal selection books, but I don't usually lend these out. I use them more often when a student already has one or is really into a certain show and wants to buy it.  Les Miserables is big right now, so I have several students singing from that.  Wicked is another student favorite, but with both these shows, I am very picky about which songs I let students work on.  Even then, I will sometimes let them work a song because the love it, but tell them that they can't perform it for a few years.  

The Bride's Guide to Wedding Music
Tunes for Teen's from Musicals--Young Women's Edition
The Broadway Ingenue

• This is a great book for higher sopranos.  Obviously, it includes some of the best songs from the ingenue repertoire, but it often also has them in higher keys than are found in other collections or even in the original scores.  

The Actor's Songbook Women's Edition

Christmas  (Watch for a special blog post about some of these books in the fall.)

15 Easy Christmas Carol Arrangements

Carols for Two 

Christmas for Two

Ready to Sing...Christmas

The Mark Hayes Vocal Solo Collection:  10 Christmas Songs for Solo Voice

Favorite Christmas Classics for Solo Singers

The Christmas Soloist

Christmas for Solo Singers

Christmas Solos for All Ages
I also own several large books of popular Christmas songs and carols.  I will list those in the blog about Christmas music.  

Duets  (Contact me if you would like to do a guest blog about duet repertoire for high school students.)

Spirituals for Two

Folk Songs for Two

Treasures for Two

• I use these first three books for the less experienced singers or singers who need "user friendly" songs.  Remember that I use "user friendly" to mean that kids that don't like classical music can still be talked into these.  

Duet Album

Easy Classical Duets

48 Duets

• These 3 books are for the more advanced singers.  

Disney, Musical Theatre, and Popular styles for elementary, middle school and high school students

There really are a huge number of resources for this category.  In this post, I am just presenting books specifically targeted to this young singer age group.  And of course, like the other posts, with the exception of Ready to Sing...Broadway, this post will only include books that I would send students to buy.  There are several other collections out there that I simply do not own.  Please feel free to comment and add information if you have other musical theatre books that you like to use with this age group.

Disney Songs for Singers is a nice mix of songs from the older Disney shows (like Snow White and Cinderella) and what I consider to be more contemporary shows (like Toy Story and Beauty and the Beast--in other words, things that came out when I was an adult).  It also comes in High and Low keys so I can find the best match for each student. This accompaniments are often different from the ones you see if vocal selections books or other musical theatre collections, and they require a little more independence on the singer's part since the melody is not always doubled in the accompaniment.

Ready to Sing...Broadway, like other books in the Ready to Sing series, comes with song sheets for the students.  If a student wants to perform their song anywhere besides my studio class and recitals, I will ask them to buy the book so they own the accompaniment too.  My favorite song in this collection is "Hushabye Mountain" from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Kids' Musical Theatre Collection vol. 1 and 2 have been popular collections for my younger students.  They include familiar Disney tunes, plus several lesser known musical theatre selections for younger students.  They also include a few Sesame Street favorites like "Sing" and "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon".  Books come with accompaniment CDs and since the melody is almost always in the accompaniment in the songs in this book, students are able to quickly and easily learn songs on their own.

Broadway Songs for Kids includes some of the same songs as the collections already discussed, but also has some great songs like "Born to Entertain" and "The Lonely Goatherd".  This book is available with or without CDs.

The Young Women's Edition and the Young Men's Edition of The Teen's Musical Theatre Collection are probably the books I recommend most for my youngest high school singers.  They contain some high songs and song low songs, and some songs that are right in the middle.  There is also a wide range of styles shown including a few Disney songs, and even some Gilbert and Sullivan in the men's book.  

I was introduced to Musical Theatre Anthology for Teens by a student who had it from previous study. Like The Teen's Musical Theatre Collection, this has a wide variety of songs, but probably includes more songs that students are not familiar with already.  This book also comes in Young Men's and Young Women's editions with or without CDs. 

I do not yet own the Young Men's edition of Broadway for Teens, but I've had several students that really like the Young Women's Edition.  It leans a little more toward the belty side of musical theatre though, so I'm careful which students I have get this.  One of my favorite songs in this book is "Sally's Song" which I haven't seen in other collections.  

I don't use the First Book of Broadway Solos as much as I used to simply because there are so many good options now.  Overall, I really like the songs in these books.  Often they are in different keys than in the original scores or even the vocal selections for that show. Boytim chose the keys to more closely fit the classical definitions of these voice categories.  For some students, these are better keys.  Although there are a few songs in these that could be belted, most are legit and Boytim's intent was to use these with classical voice students.   

I have not purchased the First Book of Broadway Solos Part II series because I own most of the songs in other collections and I can't buy everything (although I sure try).  However, I would not have an issue with working from these if a student brought one in.  I might also send a student to get one if he or she likes most of the songs in the book.  

I've loved all the volumes of The Singer's Musical Theatre Anthology, so I was excited to see The Singer's Musical Theatre Anthology Teen Edition, which is basically a "best of" book designed for teens.  Most if not all of these songs are in other SMTA volumes, but these are the ones that really work well with teens.  I've actually been using this book more lately, probably because it is the newest for me.  I will still send students to buy another SMTA volume on occasion, but this is a great place to begin for most students. Almost all of the songs are in original settings and keys, but some have been adapted for easier use by young singers.  Like the other SMTA books, these also include a little background on the show.  

Great American Songwriters for Solo Singers, Love Songs for Solo Singers, and Standards for Solo Singers are three books from Jay Althouse that I've been using with students that love the big band/jazz sound but don't really know enough yet to improv a lot on their own. Although these books come in medium high and medium low keys, I've just used the medium low books because I think these songs sound better lower.  

We have two more posts before we wrap up this series.  One will include the books I have in my lending library but don't often have students purchase.  The other post will cover cheaper ways to get music, including octavo and sheet music options.  

Italian Song and Arias

Italian is often the first choice for foreign language songs for young singers.  Several of the collections I covered in the Intermediate level include Italian songs, but because they are so perfect for young singers, teachers often assign a student to purchase a book that is all Italian.

For high school students, the books most often used are those containing songs from Parisotti's Arie Antiche.  John Glenn Paton has given us a few books published by Alfred with more authentic settings of these same songs.  However, I usually go with whichever collection will best serve the needs of that particular student.  Parisotti's settings are often overly Romanticized, but that often is helpful, giving energy to the singer and movement to the line.  The Floridia settings are even less authentic, but really appeal to students that love the drama of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  I talk with my students about authenticity and what these songs might have sounded like when they were first performed, but ultimately I don't care if they do authentic performances at this stage of their development.  What I care about is healthy vocal production while singing songs that they love.

I'll start off today with Parisotti's Arie Antiche, published in 3 volumes by Ricordi.  Volumes one and two are also available in G. Schrimer and Kalmus editions under the title Anthology of Italian Songs.  Ricordi also has a 5 volume set out now called Arie Antiche.  I haven't looked at them much, but I believe that they are the same songs as the 3 volumes, but spread out over 5 books.  This particular edition also comes with diction lessons and CD accompaniments.  If you are getting tired of "Caro mio ben", "Se tu m'ami" and all the other lovely tunes in the 24, 26, and 28 books, these are great resources for other songs by the same composers and at about the same difficulty level. Even if you don't have students purchase these, I recommend you have them in your library for reference.

For many of us in the over 40 crowd, our first introduction to Italian Songs was G. Schirmer's 24 Italian Songs and Arias.  I still have the cassette accompaniment tapes that came with my book.  Now the book is available either with or without CD.  As far as I know, purchasing the book alone is still the cheapest option for buying Italian songs.

If cost is an issue, I have students buy the 24 Italian Songs and Arias, but if they can afford it and these are the songs we want, I'll usually sent them to buy the 28 Italian Songs and Arias.  Here's why:  IPA and word by word translations, background, and a CD with dictions lessons and accompaniments.  Plus 4 more songs.  This newer edition also comes in 5 different keys.  I own all 5, and the students can use the CDs in the computers and change key, so we really can find the best key for them even if they need the High key for one song and the medium key for another.  They also just released the complete version which includes all 28 songs in all 5 keys in one book.  As a teacher, if you don't own this yet, the complete version is the way to go.

Newer teachers might not even be familiar with "the yellow book" having just sung from "the purple book" or "the blue book" in their own lessons.  I loved teaching from this book because of the IPA and translations for each song.  Now that the 28 Italian has that plus diction lessons, I've kind of swung back to G. Schirmer.  However, sometimes the songs in this book just fit a particular student a little better because of the key they are in, or the different style created by the sparser accompaniments, or because of the ornaments (or lack thereof).  If a student think lots of notes sounds hard and impressive and they want that, then I assign this book.  The volume also has my favorite setting of "Star vicino" which is a great song for a first Italian song.  This book also comes with or without accompaniment CDs.  I'm hoping that soon Alfred with join the trend of including diction lessons.

Italian Arias of the Baroque and Classical Era, a lesser known book by Paton, follows the same structure, including background on the composers and songs as well as IPA and word by word transcriptions.  Although I own the High, Medium, and Low books, I've mostly sent students to purchase the Medium Key.  I really like these settings of "Amor, preparami", "Deh, piu a me non v'ascondete", "Dimmi amor", "Ogni amatore", "Stizzoso, mio stizzoso", and "Vezzosette e care pupillette".  Maybe it's because I learned them here first, but I actually prefer these to the Parisotti settings.  These books are also available with accompaniment CDs.

Classic Italian Songs for School and Studio in Three Volumes with "modern concert transcriptions" by Pietro Floridia is another under-used resource.  I especially love Vol. 2 in the Medium Low Key for my students that want a challenge with language but aren't quite ready for extreme ranges or difficulty yet.  "Star vicino", "Presto, presto io m'innamoro", "Deh, rendetimi"  and "Non vogl'io se non vederti" are the songs I use the most from this volume.  These are becoming more difficult to find and I don't even see all the volumes in both keys on the Theodore Presser website.  According to jwpepper.com, volume 2 medium low is out of print.  Searching Amazon, or asking someone in your local music store who knows a lot about vocal music are probably the best ways to get these.  By the way, just because a store sells vocal music, that does not mean they know about vocal music.  I've given up sending students to one store because they tell students that certain books don't exist when they do.  I've also started sending students a picture of the book so they can take that with them to the store.

I know there are other Italian books out there, but these are the ones that I have found most useful for my studio.  Does anyone use any of the books listed below?  Are they appropriate for use with the average high school singer or would I end up using just a few if any of the songs with my students?  Would you like to write a post about them?

Gateway to Italian Songs and Arias
Italian Musical Treasures of the 17th and 18th Centuries
Italian Art Songs of the Romantic Era
Italian Art Songs of the 20th Century
Arie, Ariette e Romanze Vol. 2

Next up:  my student's favorite category--musical theatre and popular styles.

Intermediate and Advanced: Other Collections

In this post, I will cover a few of many collections that are available for intermediate to advance high school singers.  If you don't see your favorite books, please comment and tell us about them.  When I've completed the regular posts of this series, I will also do a blog listing many of the other books in my Lending Library that I use with students.  

Standard Vocal Literature is a series that a really love.  Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, and Bass volumes provide music specifically chosen for that voice type.  There is some overlap from book to book, with the same songs, just in different keys, but this happens less than in The Young Singer.   Standard Vocal Literature is not for every student, and there are several songs in each volume that high school students should not sing, but overall it is a great book for intermediate to advanced high school singers that really love classical music.  Dictions lessons and accompaniments on the CDs that come with the book are very helpful for students in the learning process.  Each book contains art songs in English (heavy on the Renaissance to Baroque side), French, German, Spanish, and Italian.  It also includes a few arias from operetta, opera, and oratorio.  Generally, I only use the arias with my most advanced high school singers, and even then, not all the arias are appropriate for high school singers.  I have not yet had students purchase the Baritone and Bass volumes, but there are several songs from these books that I have students sing from other collections.  "Vado ben spesso cangiando loco" is one of the songs in these books that you don't see often, but it is a good song for young singers.

The Young Singer is a borderline collection for me.  (Scroll to the bottom of the page of the link for the full song list.  The contents listing at the top is not correct for each edition). There are several songs in the collection that I love, but finding the student who loves them and whose voice is right for them is harder.  The books now come only as a book/CD package, but this year I had a student find an older copy of the book at half.com for a much lower price.  A few songs overlap from book to book, but the books for different voice types are not just different keys of the exact same songs.


The soprano book contains high key versions of "Nymphs and Shepherds" and "Who'll Buy My Lavender" which I've only seen in other books in lower keys.  "I've Been Roaming" and "When Love is Kind" are others that I use frequently with students.  "When Love is Kind" is available in many other books however, so if that is the song I want a student to do, I often check to see which book contains the most songs they like.  I don't use the tenor and baritone volumes of these as much as the women's volumes.  Most of the songs that I like in these books are available in other collections where the student will have more options that they like.  I mostly use them as other key options for songs like "Rolling Down to Rio", "Silent Noon", "Where'er You Walk", "Passing By", and "Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal".

Classical Contest Solos is another book that I do have students buy, but because there are only a few songs in the collection, I try to make sure that they are songs that the student likes and that fit the voice well.  The CD contains both demonstrations of the songs and accompaniments, so it is a helpful learning tool.  I see these books more as a resource for teachers who are not sure what kinds of songs to assign students for contest.  I tend to use the tenor and baritone/bass books the most in this series because the songs seems to fit many voices well, whereas, in the soprano and mezzo books, I don't see as many of the songs covering middle ground.  The songs tend toward either big voices or light, flexible voices.   "Adela" a simple, yet beautiful Spanish song is in both the Tenor and the Baritone/Bass books.



The following books are ones that I have in my lending library and use frequently, but don't often send students to buy for one reason or another.

• Pathways of Song 
• This series contains 4 volumes available in High and Low keys.  Now published by Alfred, new accompaniment CDs are also available.  
• The Best of Pathways of Song is also available in High and Low keys, with or without CD's.  
• Overall, I like much of the repertoire in this series.  I just don't like enough of it in one volume or students don't like enough songs in one volume (or the Best of Pathways book) to have them buy it.  
• The New Imperial Edition
• Unique collections for each voice type:  Soprano, Mezzo-soprano, Contralto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass.  Accompaniment CDs available.  
• There is wonderful repertoire in these books and a few songs that I love to give to high school students, but as a whole, I find the book contains repertoire that is too advanced for most high school students.  
• The Mezzo-Soprano volume is a truly for middle sopranos and much of the repertoire included here is seen in other soprano collections.  
• Resonance series Vocal Repertoire books 4-8 
• Generally the repertoire in books 4-6 of the 3rd edition is appropriate for high school students.  I've had a few students purchase them over the years.  However, finding enough songs that the student likes to justify the cost is more difficult in this book.  I've not yet purchased these volumes in the 4th edition, but will be adding them at some point in the future.  

Next we will cover Italian books for the high school singer.  

Intermediate and Advanced Students: Books compiled by Joan Frey Boytim

Before I jump into the meat of this post, I want to clarify my definition of this category. Although I will cover books whose titles and/or descriptions include "young" or "first book", I rarely start a young student in these books.  If I do, it is because they are already interested in classical repertoire and there are enough easy songs that they like in the book to give us time to work on basic technique before jumping into the hard stuff.  Even with my beginning adults, I like to get to know them and their voices before choosing a book from this list.  Also, when I use the terms intermediate and advanced, I mean for high school students.  Although some of the rep in these books is difficult, I can't see myself sending a grad student in vocal performance to buy one of these unless it was the only source for a particular song we wanted to work on.

As we move into this category, we also see more books for specific voice types.  I will be covering a set of books at a time, adding a few notes for each book.  We'll begin with the G. Schirmer/Hal Leonard publications by Joan Frey Boytim.  Boytim's first books came out when I was a very young teacher, so in a way, I've kind of grown up as a teacher with these books.  And my library has grown too, including most, but not all of the volumes edited by Boytim.  Much of the repertoire is wonderful, but there are a few songs that could have stayed buried in the depths of the files in the "out of print" storage area.  But, I do realize that different people like different music, so some of the songs I'll point out here that I love, may be the ones that you don't like.


If I had to choose one and only one book for a student, it would probably be the book from The First Book Complete series that matches their voice type. There are some of the individual volumes I like more than others.  In the complete edition, I get the volume that has the most songs that I like and I also get those few wonderful gems from the volumes that haven't worked as well for me in the past.  The complete volume includes numerous folksongs and spiritual arrangements, a few Christmas songs, plus art song, operetta, and oratorio repertoire in English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian.  There is also at least one song in Russian.  The price listed by Hal Leonard is $34.99 per book, but I've found them on Amazon.com for around $26.  Plus, they usually qualify for free shipping.  If students can afford this, I can't see any reason not to invest in this book.  I've already sent a had a few students purchase it, and I think I will be assigning it to many more in the fall.

Each volume of The First Book Complete includes much of the standard vocal repertoire, but also a few things that are lesser known, but wonderful teaching pieces.  In Part I of the soprano volume, we find "I Love All Graceful Things" which works on legato line in a high tessitura (which in my studio means sitting above a C for a measure or more.)  My actresses love "A Little China Figure" and "The Green Dog".

In Part II, we find a lovely setting of "Ave Maria" by Franz Abt and Schubert's "La Pastorella" which I had never heard before this book.

Domenico Bruni's "Se Meritar Potessi" in Part III has worked well for many of my women that wanted an Italian song that not everyone else was singing (meaning not the 24, 26, 28).  The setting of "Star vicino" is also a little different from what we sing the 26 Italian.  I also love "Love Among the Daffodils".  Part III includes more songs that I wasn't already familiar with than either of the other volumes.

The Boytim book that I've used the most in the past is The First Book of Mezzo-Soprano Solos Part I.  The songs included in this book are wonderful, plus there is the added advantage of the fact that I have most of the songs in other keys in other books, so if we decide we like a higher key later, I can just play from my other book.  "Loveliest of Trees", "Silent Noon", "The Sky Above the Roof", "Wind of the Western Sea", and "American Lullaby" are among the most frequently used songs in this book.   "The Cherry Tree", "Evensong", and "The Statue at Czarskoe-Selo" are lesser known songs that my students  have enjoyed.

The First Book of Mezzo-Soprano/Alto Solos Part II is the book that I have been assigning to those students who want to call themselves altos, but really are sopranos.  The songs are generally in a comfortable range, but there are more opportunities to challenge them with Es and Fs.  "Carmena" even gives them an optional G in addition to being a fun, up-tempo piece.  "Wind of the Wheat", "Separazione", and "The Sleep that Flits on Baby's Eyes" are great songs for the student that wants something that is different from what their peers are singing.

"Dolce scherza" in Part III is a wonderful choice for a first Italian song.  The melody is simple and there aren't a lot of words to learn.  "If There Were Dreams to Sell"and "Spiagge amate" are other favorites from this book.

High school tenors can be the hardest students to find music for, and for that reason I'm very excited about the complete book for these voices.  In each individual book, there are a few songs that work for tenors who haven't found the top yet, but as a complete volume, I have many more to choose from.  

Part I of the tenor books includes "The Daisies" and "I Attempt from Love's Sickness to Fly" which sit in a good range for many young tenors.  Those who have found more fullness and comfort in their high notes, and a little sensitivity, enjoy songs like "Go, Lovely Rose" and one of my favorites, "By Mendip Side."

"O del mio amato ben", "Linden Lea",  and "Where'er You Walk" are students' favorites in Part II.  I love "My Lovely Celia" and "Sonntag", but with Ds on the bottom and high Gs on top, the range is too extreme for many of my young men.  

The First Book of Tenor Solos Part III is my favorite volume of the 3 tenor books.  "Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal", "Der Leiermann" and "Auf Flügeln des Gesanges" are three of my favorite songs for working on creating a beautiful legato line.  "When I Think Upon the Maidens" is a wonderful song for helping men to become more expressive and energized.  

The First Book of Baritone Solos Part I has many songs that I like to teach.  Quilter's "O Mistress Mine" is a great song for Solo and Ensemble Contest or All-State auditions.  "Hör'ich das Liedchen Klingen", and "Jaglied" make excellent choices for a first song in German.  Dougherty's "Shenandoah"  with all the changing meters is another of my favorites.  

The First Book of Baritone Solos Part II includes the ever-popular "Give a Man a Horse He Can Ride" and "Rolling Down to Rio".  "Bright is the Ring of Words" and "The Roadside Fire" from Songs of Travel are also in this book.  

Once again, it was the Part III book that introduced me to many songs that I had not seen before.  I have a true bass that is loving "When Big Profundo Sang Low C" because he actually gets to sing the low notes that he loves and that are quite comfortable for him.  I've never had a student do this song and actually take the low Cs before.  "Invictus", "Five Eyes", and "River-Boats" are other student favorites.  

Lovers, Lasses & Spring (for sopranos), Roses, Laughter & Lullabies (for mezzo-sopranos), and Young Ladies, Shipmates & Journeys (baritone and tenor books are the same songs, just in different keys) are a set of books compiled by Boytim as supplemental material for students already using the First Book Series.  All of the songs in these collections are in English.  

In her preface to Lovers, Lasses & Spring, Boytim says that this book is "a selection of beginning coloratura songs, to be used to teach vocal agility."  I do see the need for every voice type to become as flexible as possible, but there are some voices that are just naturally more suited for this kind of music.  While some songs may work for all sopranos, most of the songs in this book do lean towards higher and lighter voices, and those are the singers that I have purchase this book.  "When Love is Kind" and "The Kerry Dance" are songs that I can assign to most sopranos.  I like "Cherry Ripe for students that are comfortable sitting in a higher tessitura.  Although the low note is an Eb, this mostly sits in the Bb to Eb range with jumps up to F and G.  "It Was a Lover and His Lass" sits in a similar place.  Neither would have worked for me as a young singer, but I've had several students that found them quite comfortable.  

Roses, Laughter & Lullabies has more my kind of repertoire, although the keys are wrong for me.  There are melismatic pieces in this book so mezzos can work flexibility too, but most do not seem as difficult for the non-coloraturas among us as what you see in the soprano book.  I'm happy that  "I Have Twelve Oxen" by John Ireland is in this book, since previously I have only been able to teach it from more expensive collections or in other keys.  Schubert's Cradle Song is included here, but only with English words.  

Of the 21 songs in Young Ladies, Shipmates & Journeys, I only like 8 of the songs, so I haven't had students buy this.  Since I'm always looking for new repertoire, especially for men, I was a little disappointed in this.  In the fall, it will become part of the Lending Library and maybe it will see more use there.  

The Second Book series (Part I and Part II for each voice type) is often too difficult for high school students.  Certain songs work well, but I rarely ask students to buy these.  If I do ask a student to purchase a book from this series, it is always after they have performed extensively from other collections.  Of the Second Book series, the volumes I use most often are The Second Book of Soprano Solos (for "Oh! Had I Jubal's Lyre", "Un moto di gioja", and "Vergebliches Ständchen") and The Second Book of Baritone/Bass Solos (for "The Vagabond" and "Si, tra i ceppi").

Joan Frey Boytim has also compiled these other books that I did not cover in this series.  I own some of them.
The Private Voice Studio Handbook

• Not a book for students to purchase, but a very helpful resource for teachers.  I use her solfege exercises included at the end of the book as part of my sight-reading program.  

Traditional Sacred Duets

Sacred Solos for All Ages

First Book of Broadway Solos will be covered in the musical theatre post.  

Christmas Solos for All Ages will be covered in the Christmas post in the fall.  

Also, you should know about these resources at Hal Leonard.  It's a great way to find which book a particular song is in or to quickly compare books.  

The next post will cover a few of the other book choices for this difficulty level.

Beginners: Books for Men

In addition to the books covered below, please see this post for more information about two newer books for men, Songs of the Wayfarer and Contemporary Art Songs for Men.

Songs of Love, Inspiration, and Travel, compiled by Sally K. Albrecht has a few easy, low, limited range songs like "The Water is Wide", but also includes several songs with Fs and Gs.  I assign it for students that have those notes, but may not have found freedom on them yet.  Then we start with the lower songs and build up to the higher ones.

"The Water is Wide", "Poor Wayfaring Stranger", and "Sky Boat Song" are  arrangements by Jay Althouse and very similar to his arrangements found in Ready to Sing...Folksongs.   "Follow the Dream" by Vicki Tucker Courtney is an upbeat song with optional high notes of Eb, F, and G.  With the low note options, it is very doable by a young baritone. "Remember My Song" by Sally K. Albrecht and Jay Althouse, also found in Songs of Love, Music, and Nature in the Key of D, is presented here in C.

With all of the other options for young men, I don't often use the Easy Song series anymore, and when I do, I tend to go with the Part II books more.

I use Easy Songs for the Beginning Tenor mostly for the folksong and spiritual arrangements which include "Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes", "Flow Gently, Sweet Afton", "Rock'-a-my-soul", "Scarborough Fair," and "Steal Away".

My favorite songs in Easy Songs for the Beginning Tenor Part II are "Harrigan" and "I Love a Piano", but if I'm looking for George M. Cohan or Irving Berlin, I can find them other places too.  I like "Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms", "Bendemeer's Stream", and "The Lark in the Morn" but the guys don't seem to share my enthusiasm.  "Bill Groggin's Goat", one of my favorites from piano lessons, did appeal to one of the guys.  This arrangement is fun because the piano sounds like the train.

"Go Down Moses", "Joshua fit the Battle of Jericho", and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" are student favorites in Easy Songs for the Beginning Baritone/Bass.  I've also had students respond well to the English versions of Robert Franz Lieder included in this volume.

Of the 4 Easy Song books for men, Easy Songs for the Beginning Baritone/Bass Part II is probably my favorite.  "The Water is Wide" appears here in the same arrangement as is in the 15 Easy Folksongs Arrangements.  Because I have that book, I can use the other key if it fits the student better.  I also have other key options with the Celius Dougherty arrangements of "Colorado Trail" and "Red River Valley"  because I own the Celius Dougherty:  Folksongs and Chanties.  (Remember this book, because it also has other key options for several Dougherty songs that show up in various volumes of the Boytim books.)  I love Robert Franz's "Farewell", although I usually have students learn the German words from the sheet music I picked up several years ago.  This song is also in Pathways of Song.  "Give My Regards to Broadway" and "For Me and My Gal" give students an introduction to an older style of musical theatre and popular music.

In the next post, we move on to music for the student who has had a little more music experience and is ready to jump into foreign languages and true art songs.

The Glenda Files: Glenda's New Book

Glenda's book is now available and I can't decide if I want to wait for the paper copy I am ordering or get the ebook version right now.  I'll write more about it when I get a chance to read the book.  For now, you can find out more about the book here.