How Can We Keep From Singing: Music and the Passionate Life [Hardcover]

Joan Oliver Goldsmith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2001

Over Twenty Million Americans sing publicly in a choir, chorus, or other ensemble. In an irresistible writing voice, Joan Oliver Goldsmith celebrates this amateur world of song -- and revives the original meaning of the word "amateur" as lover. She brings the reader not only behind the scenes but inside the music itself. Above all, Goldsmith teaches us to listen to ourselves and not to hold back in playing the "invisible instrument" of the creative spirit -- whether in writing poetry, restoring old cars, planting a garden, or singing a good old song.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Goldsmith did everything right to become a professional singer: she was a voice major at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a singing teacher, did some commercials and some auditions in New York. Still, like so many, she never "made it." What happens to artists when they don't achieve the professional successes for which they're groomed? Goldsmith opted for an M.B.A. and becoming a successful businesswoman. At midlife, her passion for music compelled her to audition for the Minnesota Chorale. Accepted, Goldsmith found her "tessitura" a sense of home both vocally and personally. The 20 million Americans in choruses are generally referred to as "volunteers," rather than the dreaded term "amateur." She writes, "Conductor Robert Shaw fought this connotation every time he repeated his maxim, `Music and sex are too important to leave to the professionals.' Indeed, we Americans seem to have forgotten that `amateur' comes from the Latin for `lover,' not `can't make a living at it.' " And so Goldsmith learns music, makes friends, recovers from divorce and works with conductors like Shaw and Bobby McFerrin. With an ear for the music of language as well as for the nuances of pitch and meter, Goldsmith's passion for singing becomes tangible. Her words soar, growl, cry and whisper. And they inspire: rebuilding a life is a choice, she writes, which "comes wrapped in fear, fear and a particular sense of inevitability. Excitement also stirs within you and a touch of joy. You, who know entirely too well what you are risking, are about to begin."

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Citing a National Endowment for the Arts survey, Goldsmith reports that over 20 million Americans perform in choral groups a large potential readership for her unusual book. A classically trained singer who abandoned singing for the business world, she was depressed, broke, and alone when a call to audition for the Minnesota Chorale, a highly respected amateur choral group, brought her back from the edge. Her personal story, however, is only a framework for the substance of the book, which celebrates creativity, camaraderie, and the courage to participate rather than to be only a passive consumer of professionally produced music. There are insights for knowledgeable musicians and clear explanations for neophytes a little history, a little theory, a little pedagogy, some soul-baring, and much humor. Singers will find themselves thinking, "Yes that's it exactly," as the author puts into words what is paradoxically an intensely personal experience shared with others in a public setting the joy and spiritual nourishment that come from singing. Difficult to describe or categorize, this small book will strike a chord with musicians and should find a place in most public libraries. Kate McCaffrey, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (July 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039302024X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393020243
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,887,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In celebration of the 'not famous', July 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: How Can We Keep From Singing: Music and the Passionate Life (Hardcover)

Reading this book is like eating popcorn. Once you get started, it's impossible to stop. On every page you will find surprising insights into nothing less than the meaning and purpose of life. Goldsmith tells us that passion is more important than money and then explains why. She says that not only is it OK to pursue our creative inclinations, but it is actually necessary for our spiritual health. And she is talking directly to us, the 'not famous'. This book is just filled with optimism and wit. Guess what: the world actually needs us! She uses intimate details of her personal life in the way of illustration, and we can see that her life is not that different from ours. There's good and bad, success and failure, lessons learned, friendships, love, creativity and passion. This is an important book in a world where most of us feel alienated.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "How Can We Keep From Singing: Music and the Passionate Life, August 29, 2001

By 

Laura W. Neville (Cotuit, Massachusetts United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Can We Keep From Singing: Music and the Passionate Life (Hardcover)

For anyone who enjoys singing,--in glee clubs, choirs, at parties, or in the shower, this book will delight with its look behind and before the scenes of singing. There are passages of encouragement as well as more professional information on vocal techniques, especially for use in choral work. Intriguing glimpses of prominent conductors and concert settings are meshed with candid and warm observations about fellow musicians and about the author's personal life. I thought it was well-written and fun to read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Huge awakening to a cross-pollinization, March 13, 2006

By 

D. Dietly (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Can We Keep From Singing: Music and the Passionate Life (Hardcover)

I've sung chorally since early in grade school, quit during the graduate years and growing a family, and when "catastrophe" hit (job, marriage, home loss- simultaneously; like the author), I also found a deep grounding in knowing that there was "rehearsal on Monday nights".

I'd not previously drawn parallels between singing and life. I just didn't recognize the metaphors.

But I've learned from this author's ability to do so, and I am grateful for her insights. I feel enriched in that way.

I've spent a bunch of time in spiritual literature. meditation, and in prayer; I've dedicated time to singing (yes- auditioned choruses; semi-paid choir gigs) but the parallels never crytallized.

They do for me in this book. I'm thankful for her awakening me to ways of relating singing to aspects of my daily life, enhancing my memories, and enriching my future in singing. And in looking for the parallels in life.

It is fun- to have my life's most significantly enjoyable times tied to how I was/am actually living; and see the relationships!

Before I go, in my view, the professional/commercial reviews of this book on Amazon and elsewhere were patronizing; assuming that the goal was a "professional" career and an apologetic for its failure.

Couldn't be further from the truth. There was not much, if any, recognition of the idea that this might have been a labor of genuine love and portrayal of amateur singing!

Or that any of the professional reviewers managed to find out the latin root of "amateur".