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”
Tag Archives: Articulation
Another Way to look at BRAAP™
If you have studied with me or read anything I’ve written over the past 10+ years, you probably know that I have created an acronym for my approach to basic vocal technique. This acronym is B – Breath R – Resonance A – Alignment A – Articulation P – Phonation Or – BRAAP™, which myContinue reading “Another Way to look at BRAAP™”
Say Yes to Music
A few months ago, I watched a series of videos by Elly Ameling on art song, and jotted down my notes on them. Here they are (and I’ve added a few notes today, in italics): LEARN YOUR MUSIC “BY HEART” – so much more than just memorizing it. By heart. By heart – not onlyContinue reading “Say Yes to Music”
Singing in the Mask – Literally
One thing I do not teach is the concept of placement. It’s something I was taught, and it was something that worked for me, because I respond well to imagery. I’d rather draw awareness to individual sensations of resonance instead. The idea of “singing in the mask” comes from the idea that the classical singerContinue reading “Singing in the Mask – Literally”
Did you have a grapefruit this week?
My husband is somewhat hard of hearing. It comes from spending his 20s in rock bands and his 30s doing woodworking projects, both without benefit of hearing protection. So when I said to him last week, “Online lessons are going so much better than I expected. Yesterday I had three people who had breakthroughs!” HeContinue reading “Did you have a grapefruit this week?”
Articulating your text: Could Siri understand you?
One thing I was thinking about yesterday – if I were to use voice dictation for a monologue or the text of a song I was working on, how well would Siri understand me? Would she spit back my text relatively close to how I intended it, or would it be gibberish? It might beContinue reading “Articulating your text: Could Siri understand you?”
New Practice Checklist
This week, I put out a practice checklist, which was distributed to all my students as part of a welcome/welcome back packet. I had had a new student’s mom ask me about a structure of practicing, and I went back to a previous blogpost about practicing I’d written for some guidance. And I decided that,Continue reading “New Practice Checklist”
“From Shrill to Potato-y”: How I Got Back on the Chiaroscuro Trail
Nearly 8 years ago, I gave my first classical recital in a long time. I was in Milwaukee and teaching at Carroll University in Waukesha, and I had the opportunity to do a recital. So I prepared a full program, hired a fabulous pianist, and started taking lessons with Connie Haas again, after not havingContinue reading ““From Shrill to Potato-y”: How I Got Back on the Chiaroscuro Trail”