Donald Neuen

Review: In the third DVD in the 'Choral Techniques and Methods Series,' Donald Neuen starts a discussion of language and sound. He then continues with a series of concepts and exercises that will help your choir master the essential components of singing. You learn how to help your singers become partners in the pursuit of the highest standards of artistic excellence, the standards for which the greatest performing artists strive.

Songlist: Introduction, The color of language, Create a spectrum of sound with language, Vowel formation, A system any choir can master, Examples of vowel formations, The difference between dark and bright vowels, The warmth of "oo", Teaching dark and bright vowels, Vowel exercises, Adding warmth of "oo" to "ee", Dark vowel exercises one and two, Vowels and vocal sound

Review: In this first volume of Donald Neuen's extraordinary series of video-based classes on conducting, this veteran choral conductor and teacher approaches conducting as a high art, to be mastered as any musical instrument. The baton itself is addressed as an instrument, with detailed commentary on different ways of holding it and using it most effectively to communicate with your ensemble. He also discusses when not to use a baton, and how to use your body language to maximum effect. If you take your conducting seriously and want to "sit at the feet of the master," this is what you've been looking for. Furthermore, the high quality of the audio and video production of these products is equal to their superb content!

Songlist: Introduction, The Baton, Beat Pattern, Patterns Demonstrations

Review: Volume 2 of Artistic Musical Conducting continues the discussion of conducting beat patterns and styles, from the basics to more complex issues such as fermatas, preparatory beats, and cueing. Any musician who is ready to step onto the podium will be well served by Donald Neuen's clear, logical, natural examples and demonstrations. This and his other DVDs will prepare you to stand in front of any ensemble, whether instrumental or choral, and feel confident that your conducting is clear, effective, and in the best possible service to the music!

Songlist: Dynamics, Beat Styles, Using The Left Hand, Additional Techniques

Review: In the first DVD in the 'Choral Techniques and Methods Series,' Donald Neuen discusses sound and tone quality as well as vitality. In order to teach and lead a choir successfully you must know what to teach, how to teach it, and how to inspire people to learn what you have to offer. Here, Donald Neuen gives you the necessary foundation upon which your future teaching will rest.

Songlist: Sound, How do we develop our concept of fine singing?, How do we define our fine singing sound, Energy, The importance of energy in the choral setting, An exercise to teach energy, Developing energy in slow soft passages, How do we define and teach beauty?, Placement, The imagery of proper vocal placement, An exercise to teach placement

Review: Sopranos, Altos, Tenors and Bsses all have different needs and problems that must be carefully addressed. Volume two in the 'Choral Techniques and Methods Series' addresses these issues. This DVD helps you to understand the break in the female voice, nurture young tenors, correct vibrato problems and much more.

Songlist: Sopranos, A frosting on a rich cake of altos, tenors and basses, Rules for singing above the staff, Dealing with vibrato problems, Altos, Addressing the break in the female voice, An exercise for bringing the top voice down, Additional alto concepts, Tenors, The most fragile musical instrument, Developing head-tone from falsetto, Basses, Encouraging a lyrical bass sound

Review: The focus is on bringing the rhythm of your music to life. Volume five of the 'Choral Techniques and Methods Series' will teach you and your choir how to find and mark instances of forward motion in your scores. You will learn how rhythmic interest and the textual emphasis taught in video four go hand in hand. Adiitionally you will learn how rhythmic interest and forward motion are common threads in all great performances. Your singers will find all of the shows in this series to be clarifying and insightful. By learning the valuable information peresented in them, the members of your chorus will share a common vocabulary.

Songlist: Forward motion, Bringing the rhythm of music to life, Phrasing, Establishing logical note-groupings, Off-beat emphasis, Using rhythm to move the music forward, Markings, Marking forward motion in our scores, Specific rhythms, The function of rhythms in context, Rhythmic interest, A common thread in all great performances

Review: While instrumentalists and singers must be solid technicians with an understanding of the methods required for their respective instruments, and both should have an understanding of theory, form, musicology and so forth, it is the singer who needs to be a dramatic actor because of the use of words. In the fourth DVD in the 'Choral Techniques and Methods Series,' you will learn how to teach your choir to deliver text with clear diction, meaning and color.

Songlist: Introduction, Words, What separates the singer from the other musicians, Diction, Understandability, meaning and color, Inflection, Natural syllable and word inflection, Consonants, Voiced and voiceless consonants, Percussive consonants, Dealing with "m" and "n", Of English diction, The power of words