Powerful Singing: Volume Vs. Intensity One thing that seems to cause confusion in singing is the difference between intensity and volume. Often a singer will try to get an intense tone by pulling their chest voice higher and higher through their range. This, over the short term, can cause vocal strain; and over the long term it can cause vocal […]

How Frequently To Take Voice Lessons I sometimes hear a new or potential student tell me that they, as beginners, would like to come in for a lesson every few weeks, and then once they are more advanced they will bump it up to weekly lessons. This is actually the opposite of how things should work, […]

How Long Does Vocal Training Take? The one question that wins out as the most frequently asked question of all is “How long will these lessons take before I can sing well?” My answer is always the same: “I have absolutely no idea.” Success in vocal training really depends on several factors, including: a) the student’s inherent […]

  Discovering The Art of the Vocal Line Singers and visual artists alike often refer to the concept of “line” when discussing their art. It makes perfect sense why this term crosses over from one discipline to the other. Let’s look at a few ways in which the notion of line has similarities in both drawing […]

    Hayden Mangum Sings “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables   My student, Hayden Magnum, is a Junior at Brea Olinda High School. He took First Place at the Brea Idol competition.  Congratulations Hayden!!  

Healthy Belting “Sing your high notes loudly and with force, as if you are calling for a taxi,” “Sing your high notes as if you are a cheerleader yelling at a game.” “Never leave your chest voice as you are singing the highest notes in your song.” “Feel as though all of your high notes are […]

Vocal Performance: Where the Rubber Meets the Road Mostly what I do as a teacher of voice technique, is to help singers train their voices to be able to emit tones that are full, rich and beautiful. We work on building what is commonly called the mix, in order that students can learn to sing over the […]

Nasal Resonance vs. Nasality In Singing When a car pulls up next to you at a traffic light, and the driver has their in-car sound system blaring (full-blast, with the bass turned way up), your own car window might buzz or rattle. What you are experiencing when this happens are sympathetic vibrations. Even though the sound is not […]

Here is my latest blog post for the Institute for Vocal Advancement: I have witnessed voice teachers in the past saying things like “I don’t hear any nodules, so you’re fine,” “I can give you some therapeutic exercises that will heal your vocal damage,” or “My diagnosis is you have a polyp and need some […]

Moving Into The Head Voice Many singers have the idea that in order to sing high notes with power, that they must stay in their chest voice and keep pushing harder and harder in order to avoid breaking into falsetto. Unfortunately this type of singing is a common reason for vocal strain, and ultimately vocal […]