You're the Voice: Frank Sinatra: Piano/Vocal/Guitar Book & CD

This collection pairs iconic Sinatra interpretations with recorded accompaniments, allowing singers to study one of the most technically accomplished vocalists in American music while building their own artistry. The piano/vocal/guitar format gives students multiple pathways into the material, whether they're working with a pianist, guitarist, or learning from the recorded tracks alone.

These are songs shaped by decades of refinement, marked by unhurried phrasing and conversational intimacy even at the largest dynamic levels. Each melody sits atop rich jazz harmonies, inviting singers to explore nuance, space, and the weight of silence as much as the notes themselves.

Vocalists studying American song standards, jazz singers building their core repertoire, and students learning to interpret sophisticated harmonic landscapes with maturity and stylistic authenticity. This collection serves both classroom study and serious recital preparation.

• Study how Sinatra shapes phrases across bar lines rather than within them; use the recorded accompaniment to hear where his phrasing sits relative to the harmonic structure.
• Pay attention to his approach to vowel consistency across wider intervallic jumps; his legit tone in the upper register came from precise vowel placement, not forced projection.
• Work with the piano or guitar parts to understand how jazz chord extensions color the melody; knowing what harmonies sit beneath each note informs your interpretation.

Feature selections in a vocal recital focused on American standards or jazz repertoire, use the recorded accompaniments in sectional rehearsals to help students absorb interpretive choices before working with a live accompanist, or assign individual selections as listening and singing assignments to deepen familiarity with the Sinatra vocal tradition.

• Sustaining vocal tone across wide intervallic leaps
• Phrasing across bar lines and resting on longer note values
• Interpreting jazz chord extensions and their color within melody
• Managing dynamic range from intimate to expansive without tension
• Understanding lyric interpretation as inseparable from musical line