Tonight I had the pleasure to attend a streaming concert of premieres of art songs, all by different composers. I love hearing and promoting new music, so this was a…
When I am working with a student, especially in the first few sessions, I try to be a silent observer as much as I can. For example, we start an…
Working with limitations and alterations teaches me a lot. Here are some that have helped me shake habits of overdoing, among other classes of vocal faults. Exhale most of the…
Big announcement! My friend and colleague Justin Petersen and I are co-hosting a new podcast about singing, called The Voice Culture. We are going to be talking about training, trends,…
“Singing and speaking use the same instrument.” Singing and speaking use the same body, but I could argue that the voice is not an instrument at all when it is…
As I’ve mentioned, I still study with a voice teacher. I’m still learning new things about singing and teaching singing. It is tricky to be older and experienced, and still…
When considering a self-improvement project or a new hobby, I encourage you to “Marie Kondo” it. Does it bring you joy? If yes, keep on. Do you care whether other…
I think half of the work of the teacher and the student is figuring out how to take a time-out from old habits and be open to something new. I…
My wonderful voice teacher Virginia Grasso told me, “You have to teach yourself how to sing.” and also that a singer must eventually “have one or two, maybe three thoughts”…
You can. Nothing wrong with it. Many popular and successful performing artists stick with a natural sound; they sing like they speak in terms of resonance. But to do extraordinary…
I’d like to define and use a term here: maximally resonant efficient singing (MRES). Concise definition: Singing with the most dynamically varied, overtone-rich sound that still allows for flexibility, stamina,…
On June 4, 2020 I committed Facebook suicide for two main reasons. Reason one: I don’t agree with how Facebook does business. I choose not to allow this particular corporate…