This blog post is all about resonance, and how singers manipulate it to their advantage. I recently discovered these fabulous videos on YouTube showing people singing inside an MRI scanner, meaning that we can see what is happening inside their mouth and throat when they are singing. The singers have done wonderfully, considering they had […]
Understanding resonance with MRI scans Read More »
This is the first of a series of blog posts that I am calling Singing as Storytelling. When I was starting out as a singer, my first singing teacher told me: “If you’re lucky, the people who listen to you will say, ‘What a great voice!’, and ‘What a great musician!’. And if you’re really
‘Over the Rainbow’ (Singing as Storytelling 1) Read More »
This post is an invitation to take another look at my earlier post called Reading List (8 July 2014). I’ve added a number of books on voice science and pedagogy that have come out of the USA. If you want a quick overview, read this page, but if you want the lists, with brief descriptions
Books on singing technique and voice science Read More »
The ‘3 + 1’ Map of Singing- Pt 1 describes how Breathing management, Vibrating source (vocal folds), the Resonating system, and Inner Life (thinking and feeling) all play a role in singing. It is not uncommon for uninitiated singers to think (mistakenly) that singing is somehow a linear process. In a linear model of singing,
The ‘3+1’ Map of Singing – Pt 2 (interactive model) Read More »
After a performance, we may go through a whole range of feelings. We need to allow those to subside before we do any serious evaluation of our performance. We should assume that we will experience one or all of … Elation Depression Apathy Disorientation Aggression or irritability (towards ourselves or others) … over the next
Taking a step back after a performance Read More »
Everyday breathing in Everyday breathing out Singers breathing in Singers breathing out Breathing for singing is an extremely important topic, and there are many subtleties to learn about it. So we are going to work on it step by step. However, once we have worked through the various ideas, I hope that it will have
Breathing for singers is different from normal breathing (Breathing 1) Read More »
In our normal everyday life we breathe unconsciously and automatically – we don’t have to think about it. As singers we use the same breathing anatomy and apparatus, but we have to use it in a special way. Successful breath management contributes to at least 21 different elements of singing:
Why does breathing technique matter? Read More »
Copyright law is internationally upheld as a fundamental right for composers, lyricists, librettists and writers (referred to collectively in this article as ‘creators’, and publishers for good reasons. However, these creators and copyright holders typically lose out financially to the practice of people copying or distributing (e.g. emailing) unpaid-for copies of the music instead of
Music and copyright (or “Stealing from musicians is ok, right?”) Read More »
There are excellent teachers, good teachers, teachers who don’t really do any harm but don’t actually know enough to do a student much good, and teachers who actually mislead because they don’t know what they are doing. How can we find a good teacher? A good teacher should demonstrate certain knowledge, skills and personal traits, and be able
Choosing a singing teacher Read More »
My singing students are well acquainted with my teaching model for singing lessons, and this summary is a reminder for them of the core concepts. It serves as a draft outline of a book I would like to write about what I have learned and teach about singing. I don’t know whether the book will ever
A to J model of singing Read More »
