The Head Voice and Other Problems: Practical Talks on Singing

A 1914 vocal teacher makes a radical claim: singing is ninety percent mental, and students fail not because their instruments are defective, but because they approach voice production as pure physical mechanics. D. A. Clippinger argues that beautiful tone emerges not from forcing the throat into submission, but from cultivating what he calls a refined musical mentality. His method emphasizes mental visualization of tone quality over brute force technique, positioning resistance and tension as the true enemies of resonance. For singers exhausted by mechanical approaches to their art, this book offers a different path. Clippinger addresses the challenge of developing the head voice and achieving proper voice placing, but through concepts rather than crunch. The book remains relevant because it anticipated modern understanding of performance psychology in music. Whether you're a struggling student or a teacher seeking a better framework for instruction, Clippinger's emphasis on the mind-voice connection feels surprisingly contemporary.