Archive for April, 2008

Warming Up

I always make my students warm-up before they start singing from their repertoire. If you’re singing something difficult it could harm your voice to start belting something out without warming up to that. Sure, warm-ups take a little time. However, they also serve several purposes. For example, we practice how to sing staccato and legato, both of which you will need to learn how to do for your songs. Warming up with the piano helps associate a strong sense of proper pitch… You may no

Nutrition For Singing

‘I heard that honey is great right before singing.’  ‘Is it true that I should stay away from all dairy when I’m singing?’  These are the kinds of questions I get about a vocal diet.  The answer may surprise you, but they’re both right, AND they could also both be wrong FOR YOU.  For most people, it is a safer assumption to recommend no dairy or sugar as these foods produce phlegm and can cause cracking during a note (especially a high note).  But some individ

Preparation

Most everyone wants more confidence, don’t you?  There is a secret to confidence:  it’s called BEING PREPARED.  I know it sounds so simple, but most anxiety comes from not knowing what you’re doing.  If you know exactly how to sing, how to perform your piece, and have your piece completely memorized, all you have to do is relax.  If you are fully prepared, try focusing on controlling your heart-rate.  Adrenaline forces your heart to pound rapidly.  The jitters that go along wit

Breathing Right

Learning how to breathe for singing is a complicated process.  Normally, we don’t fill our lungs up all the way, but when you’re going for quality or quantity, that extra air makes a tremendous difference in the performance.  Without proper breath-support, the notes can sound shaky or off key.  Dynamics are dull, and the overall quality of the sound is not even close to its potential.  Teaching my students how to breathe right is one of the first things I teach them, and it’s o