Songwriting Challenge
February Songwriting Challenge Download the pdf below to keep track of your songwriting each day!
Holiday Warmups
What’s the holidays without some singing? Warming up your voice along with good singing posture is so important for your vocal health. Try these exercises, repeating them ascending or descending.
Vibrato “in style”
What is Vibrato? Vibrato is pitch fluctuation (with some volume fluctuation as well) that is very common in Western vocal music. Essentially there is rapid laryngeal movement, approximately 5-7 “jiggles” up and down in a second. (That’s fast)!! In classical technique, the larynx can also be felt rocking side to side as well as jiggling […]
Setting the musical temperature
Singers are telling some kind of story with their words and melody. You might be singing about heartache, loss, betrayal, new beginnings, devastation, rebuilding, or redemption just to name a few. In order to connect with your audience, they have to feel something, more than just a good voice and technique. This is where an artist has […]
Affirmations for Musicians & Singers
As a professional singer songwriter, I deal with self doubt and negative thoughts daily. Growing up studying music and voice, I remember dealing with thoughts frequently, “well you’re never going to be as good as she is” or “who do you think you are that you can actually do this or perform that song?”. […]
3 Essentials to Master Your Voice
In order to master your voice to sing with confidence, consistency and control, every singer should learn these three foundational elements. These may seem boring, but they are vital . Before you try anything else, make sure these three actions are perfectly and consistently done. 1. Posture-Your vocal mechanism begins at your feet and […]
S.O.V.T for Singers
Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract What is a Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract? A Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract (SOVT) means there is some sort of narrowing somewhere along the vocal tract, which is anywhere from the vocal cords to the lips. What is the difference between an open vocal tract, a semi-occluded vocal tract, and a fully closed vocal tract? […]
Music Lessons as Difficult as Sports
With added benefits For years, I haven’t understood the unbalanced devotion some people have to a sport for their children which can completely unravel the family schedule with daily practices, weekly games, out of town travel and splitting up the family when more than one child is committed to a team. I personally love tennis, […]
Defining the “Belt” for Singers
What is Belting and what exactly should it sound like? Belting comes from the slang word “belt” which means to wallop or deliver a hard blow as in boxing. Before we had the availability of microphones, singers had to be belters in order for the audience to hear them. In our modern day with electronic […]
Vocal Cord TLC
Are you a singer, actor, teacher? Does your job require a lot of talking? You will want to read on if you use your voice a lot. The vocal folds need to be coated with a thin layer of mucus in order to vibrate effectively. Drinking water is the best way to achieve this. When […]
