Sprechgesang (German:[ˈʃpʁɛçɡəzaŋ]^ⓘ, "spoken singing") andSprechstimme (German:[ˈʃpʁɛçʃtɪmə], "spoken voice"), more commonly known as speak-singing in English, areexpressionist musical vocal techniques betweensinging andspeaking. Though sometimes used interchangeably,Sprechgesang is directly related to theoperaticrecitative manner of singing (in which pitches are sung, but the articulation is rapid and loose like speech), whereasSprechstimme is closer to speech itself (because it does not emphasise any particular pitches).^[1]

Sprechgesang is more closely aligned with the long-used musical techniques ofrecitative orparlando than isSprechstimme. Where the term is employed in this way, it is usually in the context of the lateRomanticGerman operas or "music dramas" that were composed byRichard Wagner and others in the 19th century. Thus,Sprechgesang is often merely a German alternative to 'recitative'.^[2]

The earliest compositional use of the technique was in the first version ofEngelbert Humperdinck's 1897 melodramaKönigskinder (in the 1910 version it was replaced by conventional singing), where it may have been intended to imitate a style already in use by singers oflieder and popular song,^[3] but it is more closely associated with the composers of theSecond Viennese School.Arnold Schoenberg asks for the technique in a number of pieces: the part of the Speaker inGurre-Lieder (1911) is written in his notation forSprechstimme, but it wasPierrot lunaire (1912) where he used it throughout and left a note attempting to explain the technique.Alban Berg adopted the technique and asked for it in parts of his operasWozzeck andLulu.

In the foreword toPierrot lunaire (1912), Schoenberg explains how hisSprechstimme should be achieved. He explains that the indicated rhythms should be adhered to, but that whereas in ordinary singing a constant pitch is maintained through a note, here the singer "immediately abandons it by falling or rising. The goal is certainly not at all a realistic, natural speech. On the contrary, the difference between ordinary speech and speech that collaborates in a musical form must be made plain. But it should not call singing to mind, either."^[4]

For the first performances ofPierrot lunaire, Schoenberg was able to work directly with the vocalist and obtain exactly the result he desired, but later performances were problematic. Schoenberg had written many subsequent letters attempting to clarify, but he was unable to leave a definitive explanation and there has been much disagreement as to what was actually intended.Pierre Boulez wrote, "the question arises whether it is actually possible to speak according to a notation devised for singing. This was the real problem at the root of all the controversies. Schoenberg's own remarks on the subject are not in fact clear."^[5]

Schoenberg later used a notation without a traditionalclef in theOde to Napoleon Bonaparte (1942),A Survivor from Warsaw (1947) and his unfinished operaMoses und Aron, which eliminated any reference to a specific pitch, but retained the relative slides and articulations.

In Schoenberg'smusical notation,Sprechstimme is usually indicated by small crosses through the stems of the notes, or with thenotehead itself being a small cross.

Schoenberg's later notation (first used in hisOde to Napoleon Bonaparte, 1942) replaced the 5-linestaff with a single line having no clef. The notestems no longer bear the 'x', as it is now clear that no specific pitch is intended, and instead relative pitches are specified by placing the notes above or below the single line (sometimes onledger lines).

Berg notates several degrees ofSprechstimme, e. g. inWozzeck, using single-line staff for rhythmic speaking, five-line staves with 'x' through the note stem, and a single stroke through the stem for close-to-singingSprechstimme.

In modern usage, it is most common to indicateSprechstimme by using an 'x' in place of a conventional notehead.^[6]

Sprechgesang-style talk-singing has appeared in contemporarypop,rock,punk, andalternative music since the 1960s.^[7] TheSprechgesang vocal style is also prominent in theBritish post-punk scene of the 2020s, with several groups featuring a vocalist that uses the talk-sing method.^[7]

The following pop and rock artists have been described as featuringSprechgesang or talk-sing vocals in their music

• Rapping
• Spoken word
• Talking blues

• Avior Byron,"The Test Pressings of Schoenberg ConductingPierrot lunaire: Sprechstimme Reconsidered",Music Theory Online (MTO), 12/1 (February 2006)
• Avior Byron and Matthias Pasdzierny"Sprechstimme Reconsidered Once Again: '... though Mrs. Stiedry is never in pitch'",Music Theory Online (MTO), 13/2 (June 2007)