Customer Reviews

The Ear and the Voice

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As a close collaborator of Dr. Alfred Tomatis for more than 30 years, I am in a good position to know how difficult it is to present his work in English in a way which is both easy to read and truthful to his thinking.

The writing of Tomatis needs more than a translator; it needs a total rewriting by people who are familiar with his work. This is what Roberta Prada and her collaborators have been able to accomplish and they have done it with great talent. Bravo!

The Ear and The Voice offers precious insights and practical tips to singers, teachers in singing and other voice professionals. But it is not just another book on vocal technique. It sheds an entirely new light on many important subjects such as listening, language, learning and communication. If you've never heard of or read Tomatis' work, be ready for a drastically new experience!

Paul Madaule, Director of The Listening Centre, Toronto, Canada and author of When Listening Comes Alive.

This is the best of the books of Pr A. Tomatis. Translation by Roberta Prada is very well done, precise, with some improvements to the original text.

I recommend to everybody, especially singers and musicians to read and reread it !

Dr Bernard Auriol
(...)

Singers and those who use their voices tend to take their listening faculty for granted until they experience vocal difficulties, and even then, it is not first on their list. Often they first go to a voice doctor, often with dubious results. But as Tomatis informs us in this excellent translation by Roberta Prada, Pierre Sollier and Francis Keeping, there is much know about the small organ located on either side of our head behind our earlobes. Knowing how the ears work and how to use them to best advangtage is what this book is all about.

Dr. Alfred Tomatis was a pioneer in the study and rehabilitation of the listening faculty, which, to be properly understood, is something more than the passive reception of sounds. Singers, especially those classically trained, understand this intuitively. They use their voices in ways that far exceed that of normal everyday speech. This is a skill that implies a connection between the ear and the body that is only now becooming better understood. Tomatis sheds great light on the matter. He truly is the Christopher Culumbus or the Ear, taking the reader into uncharted territory, yet in the end, showing singer and listener alike what is posisble when they prick up their ears. A fascinating journey.

Daniel Shigo
[...]

I was interested in this book because of some academic issues that came up for my kids. Although people in the arts are the first consumers, I think many parents will find it relevant and entertaining to read.

Dr. Tomatis's anecdotes about singers, their teachers, and their audiences bring to life not just any insider's view of the world of opera. We hear it from the doctor whose profession it was to keep those magnificent voices at the height of their powers. He introduces us to the simple essence behind the miracle singing - what we can hear, and therefore, what we can reproduce as song. Whether you love to sing, or listen, or both, you'll find ways to enhance your experience in this little gem of a book.