美国国家声乐教师协会前主席William Vennard博士的《歌唱：机理与技巧》是一部集当代声乐科研与个人歌唱与声乐教学心得于一体的悉心之作。它在国际上具有广泛影响，尤其在英语国家，被认为是声乐教师应人手一册的声乐文献。在本书中，他详尽地剖析了发声器官的生理与机理，客观地论述了歌唱的技巧与手段。这种理论与实践相结合的方法，体现了本书极高的参考价值。

William Vennard (31 January 1909 Normal, Illinois–10 January 1971 Los Angeles, California) was a famous American vocal pedagogist who devoted his life to researching the human voice and its use in singing.

He was one of the driving forces behind a major shift within the field of vocal pedagogy during the middle of the 20th century. Along with a few other American singing teachers, such as Ralph Appelman at Indiana University, Vennard introduced contemporary scientific research in the areas of human anatomy and physiology into the study of singing. This shift in approach led to the rejection of many of the beliefs and practices held since the bel canto era, most particularly in the areas of vocal registration and vocal resonation.

Vennard was renowned as an excellent teacher whose written works have influenced generations of singers, vocal pedagogues and voice scientists. He taught many successful singers including acclaimed mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, who studied under him at the University of Southern California.