When I was a flute major, the university I attended required that all new flute students work on a syllabus of “basics” for a semester, whether they were first year, transfers, or graduate students. This consisted of playing mostly low and middle Gs, performing a systematic series of experiments. It was a classic example of […]
Tag: talent
What makes singing exciting?
Is it emotion? If so, what about a singer’s performance evokes emotion? Can it be feats of strength? Sensitivity? Fascinating ebb and flow of the lyric? Are exciting singers “loud”? Can soft singing be exciting? Can a voice be beautiful but not exciting? Exciting but ugly?
29 Year Old Soprano, No Roles, What’s Wrong?
Recently on a discussion forum a young soprano wrote that she has come to the realization that she is aging out of the typical career path for a young classical singer. Many of us know this crossroads place. She said that she needs “to work out… where my exact weaknesses lie.” Here is my response: […]
How can a good voice teacher not be a good singer?
There are several possible answers. 1. The teacher may have injured her voice. Many people are motivated to become better teachers when looking for answers as they recover from setbacks. Sometimes the teacher’s voice may come back to full function, and even improve from its former high point; sometimes it may not, but the quest […]
Are singers really bad at rhythm?
Some instrumentalists claim that singers have lousy rhythm. Some say that singers are sloppy musicians and don’t pay attention to details. Why do they say that? Are singers really deficient when it comes to observing accurate rhythm? I have worked with singers as an accompanist and coach for many years, and I have seen again […]
Voice Lessons and Progress
Several times I have heard that it takes about seven years to learn how to sing. Except when it doesn’t. There are a few people who sing well without studying, and there are many who have a ways to go after seven years. Should the natural singer skip lessons? No, not if they want to […]
Shortcuts to Singing Success?
There are a lot of people on the internet with a “method” for singing that they claim will teach you to sing like a professional quickly and easily. I was just looking at a website of one such person who claims to have helped hundreds of performers to become excellent singers with with rock-solid confidence […]
What are the music schools looking for in auditions?
Last year, one of my very bright students asked me this: I was looking at the [a school of music] website and they said they look for talent and not technical proficiency in the audition, but what’s the difference? How can you listen to a voice and say that it’s talented? Below is my response. […]