Thoughts from Vocal Process
Giving Feedback You have the Form of your lesson planned, you’re Focusing on your student in exercises and in songs, you’re analysing what energetic state they are in today, but your lesson will still not be great unless you perfect the art of Feedback. Feedback is… Feedback is the life energy of the lesson… Continue reading
Interpreting stroboscopy – what you see isn’t always the truth. How do you translate what you see as a singing teacher or vocal coach? A World Voice Day special Singing and speaking are the manifestations of sound – as a listener, we don’t have to see what’s happening to understand the sounds. After all, it’s possible… […]
When Gillyanne and I were writing our book This Is A Voice, this question appeared in an email from our (non-musician) editor. And it got me thinking. What is pitch and how do we think of it? In the acoustic/scientific sense pitch is defined as something creating noise that has a regular number… Continue reading
What’s the difference between understanding and belief in singing teaching? Is it cut-and-dried or subtle? Are they interchangeable? Been reading an interesting book on power v force this week. The way I see it in singing teaching, power equates with understanding and force equates with belief. So power = “I share my truth so we […]
Teaching girls to sing through voice change If you’re teaching adolescent girls to sing, you already know that there can be some vocal challenges. The singing voice of a teenage girl will change quite substantially between the ages of 10 and 16. The changes can be subtle, but they are usually sequential. Here’s what you […]
Adolescent voice change in teenage girls Teenage girls between about 10 and 16 go through adolescent voice change. They can get frustrated when their voice doesn’t sound exactly the same as their favourite pop stars. The five stages of change that boys go through during adolescent voice change are very well documented – I’ve included details in […]
Adolescent voice – myth busters! Let’s bust some myths about adolescent voice, and male voice change in particular: “Boys’ voices break.” Nothing breaks during puberty. A boy’s larynx and vocal folds go through five distinct and sequential changes, and the pitch and tone of his voice will deepen and darken in a series of gradual […]
There’s a huge amount of chit-chat on social media groups for singing teachers about ‘professional development’. CPD (Continuing Professional Development) is apparently the buzz-word. On the AOTOS FB chat I’ve seen members ask about others’ experiences of courses, financial considerations and even the odd admonishment for those who don’t do it. In 2017 I had […]
I’m surprised how many vocal coaching experts and singing teachers talk so much in lessons. Usually that makes me think the coach is waiting to hear themselves say something important or useful. Or as I call it, blaguing. There are some really gifted blaguers out there, but they’re gifted in blaguing rather than in… Continue reading
I’ve always been a fan of patter songs – the type with speedy text or long lists of items. Think “Modern Major General” (G&S), or one of the most difficult written for a woman – “Not Getting Married Today” (Sondheim). I’ve sung them and I’ve coached them for years. The thing… Continue reading