The fourth episode of our new This Is A Voice Podcast arrived on 22nd July. In the previous episode (episode 3, How Do We Learn A Song) Gillyanne and I had shared the best ways of learning and memorising a song. In THIS episode we talk about practising. What it is, what it's for and how [...]
The third episode of our new This Is A Voice Podcast arrived on 15th July. Gillyanne and I are discussing how to learn a song, and we discuss having a "feel" for where a certain pitch is in your voice, even if you don't have perfect pitch. We also chat about four different ways to learn [...]
The second episode of our new This Is A Voice Podcast arrived on 8th July. Gillyanne and I slug it out on the difference between the singing teacher and the vocal coach. Why our focus is different, what the differences and similarities are in the way we deal with lessons and students, and what happens when [...]
The first TIAV Podcast (This Is A Voice) launched on 1st July where Gillyanne and I chatted about teaching singing, coaching performances and what we do. We also answer AMAs on piano playing in singing lessons, teaching the opposite gender, and do we get our singers to sing the whole song or just snippets in a [...]
Our new This Is A Voice podcast launched on 1st July! We chose the title "This Is A Voice" not just because of our #1 bestselling book but because there is so much that a voice can do. So "this" can be anything vocal, from classical singing to belting to beatboxing to performing to speechmaking, and [...]
This article gives 10 steps to finding your own authenticity in singing songs, arias and roles. While this was written with classical singers in mind, the steps can be used by musical theatre singers too. Tl;Dr? How to be you, singing any piece. What is Authenticity? "Authenticity" is drummed into singers. But whose authenticity are we [...]
While Gillyanne and I are on lockdown in beautiful sunny Presteigne I thought I'd add to my new book's capabilities. So I've built myself this voiceover booth and I've just recorded the whole book "Why Do I Need A Vocal Coach? Stories, tips and hacks from the studio of a voice expert". I've got some editing [...]
Vocal style Knowledge of vocal style can be used to inform any performance element of the exam and project work. It will also contribute to appraisal skills and understanding of form. The vocal styles prevalent in the genre have arisen from two directions. Since the vast majority of performers have trained first as actors, the emphasis [...]
Musical influences Even in the 1920s, the merchandise connected with a musical could bring in a large amount of money for the backers. Before cast albums caught on, sheet music of songs from the shows was available in all the large towns. Tin Pan Alley in Manhattan was a street given over to music publishers, who [...]
The multi-character song An important feature of musical theatre writing (as with operatic writing) is the opportunity for a multi-character song, where several characters to speak at once, portraying different emotions or reactions to situations. Setting multi-character texts to music enables the audience to multi-task, processing different layers of information. Here are two pieces that demonstrate [...]
