I was listening to my dear friend/teacher Nicholas Perna’s podcast Vocal Fri the other day, and there was a discussion on Functional Voice Training Vs. Task Based Voice Training. Which I’m going to interpret, for these purposes, as: Building Skills Versus Cramming That’s not entirely how it was intended in the podcast; for example, theyContinue reading “Building Skills Versus Cramming”
Category Archives: Function
Not too late
On this day 9 years ago, I moved back to the East Coast from Milwaukee. I moved because I wasn’t performing anywhere, and I wanted to sing somewhere before it was too late. Because I felt as though a singer’s shelf life varies from person to person (depending on fach, health, and other circumstances) andContinue reading “Not too late”
Voice lessons and physical therapy
This morning I was reading a blogpost by Seth Godin about The Physical Therapy Metaphor and I was thinking about how much studying voice and physical therapy have in common. I’m not talking about voice therapy in the event someone is dealing with a vocal injury; I’m talking about the process and goal of voiceContinue reading “Voice lessons and physical therapy”
Comfort Zone vs. Danger Zone
People are always saying, “You gotta break out of your comfort zone.” And I believe that is true. Growth comes from trying new things, taking risks, doing what’s outside the box. A very common graphic that is used in psychology and in personal coaching is one showing the four zones involved in growth. Source: UniqueContinue reading “Comfort Zone vs. Danger Zone”
Holding vs. Sustaining
There are two words used in singing (especially choral singing) that I think should be stricken from the face of the earth: HOLD CUTOFF We’ll deal with cutoffs another time, but right now I’m going to focus on the word “hold.” Often, I find that my students have trouble “holding” a note. They run outContinue reading “Holding vs. Sustaining”
Yoga and Voice Practices
As I mentioned in a recent blogpost, Grit and Creating a Practice, I committed to doing 30 consecutive days of yoga at the beginning of this year, using videos by Adriene Mischler of Yoga with Adriene. And, surprisingly, I’ve kept it up! While I’ve written before about how cross-training relates to singing (mainly based onContinue reading “Yoga and Voice Practices”
Phlegm Happens – but why?
During cold and flu season, I’ve had many students interrupt their singing by coughing, clearing and pointing at their throats, saying, “Oh, sorry, phlegm.” And my response is usually, “Hey, phlegm happens. And please try not to clear your throat.” For years, I have wanted to create a sticker for my studio that says: PHLEGMContinue reading “Phlegm Happens – but why?”
Memorization Techniques and Tips
Memorizing music and lyrics always came easily to me. Whether it was classical or musical theater, English or a foreign language, I could learn music and have it ready to perform just like that <snaps fingers.> Not so much anymore. Maybe it’s aging. Maybe it’s lack of practice – before I moved back to MilwaukeeContinue reading “Memorization Techniques and Tips”
I Meant That
My husband and I working with a designer for our house because, while we’re pretty good at picking out pieces – art work, rugs, colors – we’re not so good about actually putting them up on the walls (and I get absolutely paralyzed about window treatments). When we met with him yesterday to discuss someContinue reading “I Meant That”
Pro Tip Tuesday!
So (and i know a lot of people are annoyed by people who start sentences with “So,” but I do, so – so?) I thought about the Pro Tips I could offer today and possibly on subsequent Tuesdays. Here are a few, off the top of my head, gained from my XYZ number of yearsContinue reading “Pro Tip Tuesday!”