What is vocal placement? Many of the older traditions of singing described how a singer must concentrate their sound. These singers often discussed the experience of this focused point of sound which could be perceived viscerally and locally in their bodies. As a singer advanced, they would eventually become capable of willing this sound into various […]

Better Singing With Vocalises — Étude is a French word, meaning “study.” Most études are short musical compositions which present the musician with specific technical challenges, the mastery of which develop the particular skills for which the étude was composed. It is common for great instrumentalists to include playing études in their daily practice. In vocal music, an étude […]

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 […]

How To Sing Across Your Break Smoothly There are many different reasons people have difficulty moving from the lower register (chest voice) into the upper register (head voice) smoothly; but primarily it is a matter of the muscular systems of each register being antagonistic, or at odds with one another. Try this experiment: starting in a […]

What do we mean by practice? Practice means a repetitive action done on a regular basis.The more an action is repeated, the more embedded the action becomes in the subconscious mind and the autonomic nervous system. So when you practice you make something your own. In vocal technique this means that it becomes automatic, so […]