Deke Sharon's THE HEART OF VOCAL HARMONY Book Out Next Month

Music is an emotional medium. We choose the music we listen to based on how it makes us feel, yet choirs spend their rehearsal time focused on notes, rhythms, and precision, and rarely, if ever, address a song's meaning and feeling. The same can be said about books on the subject. Thousands of books have been written about how to sing technically well, but the subject of emotion is never addressed.

World-renowned arranger and producer Deke Sharon, whose credits include television's The Sing Off and Pitch Slapped, the movies Perfect Pitch and Perfect Pitch 2, and, this fall, Broadway's first a cappella musical, In Transit, puts emotion where it belongs - front and center - in The Heart of Vocal Harmony: Emotional Expression in Group Singing (September 2016, Hal Leonard Books, $19.99).

What sets The Heart of Vocal Harmony apart is its focus on honest unified expression and the process of delivering an emotionally compelling performance. It delves into an underdeveloped vocal topic - the heart of the music and the process involved with expressing it.

And, Sharon emphasizes, time spent focusing on emotion doesn't squander precious rehearsal time. "It's actually an extremely effective tool in improving blend, phrasing, dynamics, and more," he explains. "When singers are connected to a song, they sing it with more focus and presence, more focus on the director, and more connection to the other singers and the audience."

Ideal for vocal harmony groups, ensembles, and choirs at all levels, with or without instruments, The Heart of Vocal Harmony features discussions with some of the biggest luminaries in vocal harmony: composers, arrangers, directors, singers, and groups, including Eric Whitacre, Pentatonix, the Manhattan Transfer, and more. It is a unique and invaluable tool for helping singers connect with the song and deliver powerful and emotional performances each and every time.

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The Heart of Vocal Harmony: Emotional Expression in Group Singing
$19.99
9781495057830
6.0" x 9.0"
272 pages
Hal Leonard Books, an imprint of Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Deke Sharon is a cappella's most prolific arranger and producer. Heralded as "The Father of Contemporary A Cappella," he is responsible for the current sound of modern a cappella, having created the dense vocal-instrumental sound in college, subsequently spreading it around the world. Sharon produces The Sing-Off worldwide, and served as arranger, on-site music director and vocal producer for Universal's Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2 starring Anna Kendrick & Rebel Wilson. He is creating the vocal arrangements for Broadway's first a cappella musical, In Transit, which will open this fall. He is the author, with Dylan Bell, of A Cappella Arranging, published by Hal Leonard Books. He lives in San Francisco.