Introduction I believe singing should be easy on the body and spirit. The work that a singer does to improve her tone, range, and flexibility is demanding, but it is natural and healthy. Singing that sounds good, feels good; it is free, powerful, playful, and resonant. My goal as a voice teacher is to guide the student in the study of voice technique and application, while creating lessons that are fun, natural, and interesting.
Vocal Study Voice lessons are conducted in a warm, caring environment in which the individual is encouraged to explore and develop her true singing voice, regardless of age or previous experience. Lessons will begin with a warm-up that is tailored to the student, and we will move on to the application of technique by singing material that the student connects with.
Concepts that will be explored include: breath; posture; tone; pitch; placement; core stability; vocal control; and vocal health. The anatomy of the vocal apparatus and the best ways to maintain vocal health will be frequent topics of discussion, and the integration of breathing and relaxation techniques will be an important avenue for accessing vocal health and a supported tone.
Students will also do work on selecting material that showcases their particular voice. While every individual will be asked to experiment with different genres, one of the great benefits of well-guided voice lessons is that the student will emerge with a strong idea of what kinds of songs work for him. In addition to well-chosen material, voice lessons will involve the exploration of phrasing, delivery and interpretation of lyrics.
Finally, basic musical concepts such as beat, rhythm, melody, song structure, and piano accompaniment will also be explored and voice students will be encouraged to gain a basic understanding of the way music is written and played so they can communicate with an accompanist during auditions and performances.
What is Expected of Voice Students *FOCUS: Students are expected to be focused during lessons. While it is natural for the mind to wander from time to time, I expect voice students to keep coming back to their exercises, phrasing, and vocalization throughout the lesson.
*PREPARE: Voice students are expected to be prepared for lessons. This means having a physical print-out of the lyric sheet and sometimes for the sheet music of the song we are working on. Pulling up the lyrics for your song on your phone during the lesson is inadequate, as you will not be able to read them clearly and in time. Lyrics must be printed out ahead of time.
*PRACTICE: Throughout the week, voice students are expected to revisit their exercises and work on their material on their own, using the practices and concepts we have learned during previous lessons. In this way, gradual integration of vocal concepts will be successful.
*PATIENCE: Students are expected to be patient with themselves as they gain strength, stability, range, and courage. The voice is an extremely dynamic instrument that lives in your body. When you sing, you are required to use all parts of yourself, mind, body, and spirit. Having all parts of yourself - your lungs, core, feet, and back, your teeth, tongue, lips, mouth, and nose, your intelligence, your memory, your physical and mental strength - work together to achieve brilliant, meaningful sound takes time! Without a doubt, every great singer you know of - from Renata Tebaldi, to Whitney Houston, to Joni Mitchell, to Freddie Mercury, to Lea Salonga, to Adele, has gone through this process. Some had decades of formal training, and some learned mostly on their own, but no great singer has skipped this process.
*CURIOSITY: Students are ALWAYS expected to ask questions about the vocal process, the material, or anything else music-related. Asking questions is one of the best ways to learn, and a student who withholds a question when she has a doubt about something we are reviewing is one whose progress will suffer.
*Special Note on Performing Arts School Auditions* Auditions for performing arts schools test students in several musical areas. These areas include tonal memory, rhythm memory, sight singing, clarity of tone and pitch, and the ability to take direction. And this is in addition to the student’s audition song!
The intensity and depth of these auditions means that if a student is to prepare well for them, they must spend a good amount of time in focused, continuous training developing the voice, training the ear, building a good sense of rhythm and becoming generally familiar with the vocabulary of music.
I have found in my experience that trying to cram what should be months of audition prep into a few weeks of lessons results in a stressful and rushed experience for both teacher and student. This is especially true with students who have had no previous musical training and begin studying only in order to prepare for the audition. There is too much to cover, and not enough time. The way this gap has been bridged in the past is by having the student "double-up" or even "triple-up" on lessons in the final weeks leading up to an audition - in other words, having the student come in for one or two extra lessons per week in addition to the regularly scheduled lesson. But this is a problematic route to follow; new concepts need time to sink in, and the cost and schedule commitment can become burdensome.
My strong recommendation is not to wait to begin the process of audition preparation. Begin regular voice and music study in the summer or even the spring before the November and December audition season; this ensures that the student will have had good, solid training in the fundamental areas of music, and will have perfected the audition pieces, before he or she walks into the audition room. If your child is thinking about beginning audition preparation for the performing arts high schools or colleges, please contact me sooner than later to set up a course of voice and music study.