Bel Canto in Theory and Practice: Voice and Body Training for Singers

Written by musicologist Dr. Karin Wettig, Bel Canto in Theory and Practice is for singers who want to dive deeper into the secrets of true bel canto (an Italian word meaning “beautiful singing”). Its practical advice and discoveries about vocal functions can be used by a hobby singer, choir member or soloist on his way to a professional career in pop, musical, theatre or opera. All the exercises are simple and well described with photos.

If you are ready to breakthrough with your voice on stage, dive into these lessons and learn from the life story and personal discoveries of the author who says “After 20 years of voice practice, I have learned that awareness is the key and is my best teacher because awareness changes in 10 minutes what 5 years of voice exercises cannot do.”

• Even non-singers who would like to develop more vocal expression power for their everyday life or business purposes will find lots of good tips.
• As you practice the exercises you will dive deeper into your personal natural vocal power and develop your true authentic voice over time.
• The whole body yoga approach and breathing exercises will strengthen your body (especially the rib cage and pelvis), develop a correct posture for standing, sitting and moving on stage and enable you to sing longer phrases easily and effortlessly.
• Your vocal cords and stiff tongue will relax.
• The low and high range of your voice will be bound together without the usual passage break and singing will become more powerful and effortless as the natural beauty of your voice shines through.

Bel Canto in Theory and Practice also offers professional singers, who are curious to discover more about the secret behind the voices of opera singers like Maria Callas and Enrico Caruso, technical details about the structure of the voice box and an analytical approach to the function of the human voice and her relationship with emotion.

The musicological approach of the history of singing and voice development in opera will give the reader a deeper understanding about the ideal of vocal beauty working throughout four centuries of opera creation and its deep connection to the renaissance of ancient Greece and Rome.

After losing her voice following a traumatic divorce, the author searched for a way to get her voice back. When voice therapy didn’t heal her, she looked for a cure through singing. She left her life behind to pursue her dream to be a bel canto singer and her journey to becoming a coloratura soprano began.

Studying bel canto videos, spending nights and weekends in churches alone with CDs of Callas and others, and pursuing classes for opera singing and workshops in Europe, she dove deeply into the physical aspects of opera singing, while her musicological curiosity made her travel to the origins and sources of bel canto in the Renaissance.

Observing minuscule body and throat movements brought her a breakthrough. After two decades miracles started happening: her teeth aligned, her chin and jaw movement became smoother, her stiff tongue melted. In the end, she enjoyed an upright posture, better proportions, 1.5 cm more in height, emotional balance, cured sinusitis and healthy self-esteem. Her efforts were rewarded with a brilliant coloratura soprano voice.

“Behind every weakness hides a talent!” is her motto now.

Asked for a transcript of her voice classes, she wrote her personal method down. That was the moment Bel Canto in Theory and Practice was born. Her students’ voices radically changed during her classes within ten minutes of training.

The result is this book: an intuitive, heartfelt, yet practical approach to achieving excellence in bel canto through effortless singing. Order your copy today.