Singing in a group, ensemble or choir can be challenging. How do you make the group sound great without losing your own identity of a singer? How can you use it to improve your own skills? You’ll be surprised at the answers in this episode of The Voice Club’s Sing Out Proud Podcast Ready to [...]
Singing Better Bottom Notes
October 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
High power notes might get all the attention but the unsung hero of a great vocal range is the bottom end. After all, no one knows just how high you can go if they don’t know where you started! Hitting Bottom Where is the bottom of your range? Well, it can vary slightly depending on [...]
3 Steps to Having a Hot Voice in the Cold
October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Fall is here! That means those outdoor gigs and singing opportunities are going to challenge more than just your performing skills. The reality is that your voice simply does not sing as well when it’s left out in the cold. Don’t think so? Just consider that happens to the rest of you the first day [...]
How to Control Vibrato
October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Click to Listen to Audio [display_podcast] How vibrato works Your vocal cords are moved by groups of muscles that surround them Vibrato happens when the muscles pulse; think of a baby bouncing on a mother’s knee Any sound that does that is a vibrato. But who wants to sound like that? The Secret [...]
Do It Yourself (DIY) Singing Lessons
September 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Click to Listen to Audio [display_podcast] Can You Learn to Sing Better on Your Own? YES: Practice and experience WILL develop the voice you have DO IT: If you have some good direction and you don’t have a need for immediate improvement NO: If you’re singing with bad vocal technique or in any way that [...]
Why Does it Hurt When I Sing?
August 3, 2011 By 2 Comments
Click to Listen to Audio [display_podcast] The Kinds of Singing Pain That Signals Trouble Ahead We are about halfway through the summer and I just completed a long road trip. Did you notice that everyone in the world seems to be doing construction during the holiday? Everything is closed down from three lanes to [...]
Can ANYONE Learn to Sing?
July 10, 2011 By 3 Comments
This is a question I hear all the time. And, honestly, people who know I’m a vocal instructor expect me to say yes but even if I weren’t I could say it with complete confidence. Why? Because the evidence and the anatomy supports my outrageous claim that anyone can learn to sing. Is Singing Learned? [...]
How to Blow Your Audition Before It Starts
April 21, 2011 By 1 Comment
Day 2 of the Seattle X-Factor auditions is now behind me. The thousands of aspiring singers voices are still ringing in my ears; some great, a lot of good and a good measure of….not. The golden tickets are still being cautiously handed out as I type. And another thing that’s happening right now is that [...]
Top 10 Worst National Anthems
February 12, 2011 By 4 Comments
God love her, Christine Aguilera took singing the national anthem to a whole new scary place recently. The response was so huge that the even Time Magazine felt compelled to dig out the worst National Anthem attempts of all time. We had already scheduled a National Anthem singing competition for our students for this 4th of July before the super bowl so my email was on fire.
You don’t need a vocal coach to tell you what’s wrong with these sad attempts, but give ‘em a listen and let’s look at how they could have all been avoided.
Why Your Teacher is Wrong
January 17, 2011 By 1 Comment
I could be the worlds stupidest musician. Heck, my very own childhood piano teacher would regularly slap my hands with a ruler and finally dropped me as a student because I had a tendency to change the arrangement as I went along, which she said made me an incompetent student. And honestly, it didn’t get [...]
