A problem that is common with many singers is that of excessive muscular activity during singing. There are muscles which are involved with things like chewing, swallowing and yawning which are commonly recruited by singers who try to manipulate their singing voice in order to achieve the sound they desire. We call these “outer” or […]

I have heard erroneous comments that IVA doesn’t teach breath support. This is an understandable misconception since the concept of support is not as frequently addressed directly as are the concepts of bridging and singing with a neutral larynx. The idea is not that we want to sing with our breath unsupported, but rather that […]

I often get asked questions like, “What can I drink to help me sing better?” “Does tea with honey help the voice?” “Does drinking olive oil and water make you sing better?” “Should I avoid dairy products before singing?” etc. Since the topic of what to eat and drink before singing is on the minds […]

I know people don’t like to hear it when I say it, but the truth is that inherent talent and facility have a lot to do with a singer’s success or failure within a particular style. Voice lessons can teach technical skill, but they can’t create vocal talent. Yet every voice can find a style […]

Very often I hear beginning singers tell me that they heard some voice teacher tell them that singing is 90% breathing, and that if you can master your breathing you can master your voice. Yet, if it were all about breathing, then we would be able to recruit the best singers from the swim team […]

Vibrato is necessary in order to sustain a tone at a comfortable speech-level with a balance of cord tension and air flow. We must remember that there are two types of compression which occur in the vocal folds during phonation. One pressure comes from the closure (adduction) of the vocal folds themselves as they are […]

Sorry it’s taken so long to post, but I had some time off for Spring Break and my birthday, and just haven’t gotten to it! The ability to sing a legato line is something that seems to be slowly falling by the wayside for many singers today. A legato line is a smooth vocal line […]

As discussed in a previous post, there are points in the vocal range when the muscular mechanism which operates the vocal cords changes while the resonance sensations in the body shift. This is where most people experience a break, or a sudden shift in vocal quality. The biggest and most prominent break point for most […]

Singing with more power is a goal of many new students in my studio. Commonly, students will come for lessons because they are trying to sing in “full voice” up in the higher ranges of their singing voice. The mistake that is usually made is that they try to drag their chest voices up past […]

The development of Speech-Level-Singing technique involves the use of specialized exercises which, under the direction of a well trained instructor, assist the student in finding and maintaining a balance of airflow and vocal cord adduction while maintaining a relaxed speech-level posture in the larynx. Most students discover that once they have found this posture in […]