Mid year concert, Sunday 15th July in the afternoon – pop it in the diary, more details to come!

You have a sore throat, but you really don’t want to miss that lesson, audition, show. Your glands are a bit swollen, bit of a cough, you are exhausted. What to do? Today I sent home two students who were sick. They so wanted to come to lessons (nice enthusiasm, lovelies!) but their voices were sore, tight, hoarse. Should I still teach them? Ah, the teacher’s dilemma. But really, this is no dilemma at all. If you are sick, REST. Your vocal folds are likely to be swollen, irritated, and in need of rest. If you sing on them, they will take longer to heal and you can be creating a  bad habit. One regular gigging singer / guitarist I work with once sang three gigs on a weekend, against my advice, when he was ill. It took us three months to repair the damage.

Try not to cough or clear your throat too much when you are sick if you are a singer. Use medications which thin your mucous and phlegm. Singers need their protective coating of mucous on the vocal folds, but too much can be trouble! I feel for me it is important to not cough or clear my throat. I try not to do this. Sometimes it is unavoidable, but I always feel awful if I am sick enough to be coughing and so sorry for my precious vocal folds. They are my work, my play, my trusty muscles, and I need them healthy!

Hydrate! Lots of water (singers “pee pale” – I just love that saying, it usually embarrasses but it is true!). Look after your body. If you know a food creates mucous (some people have issues with dairy), steer clear of it before you sing. Steam steam steam.

If you audition with a sick voice you are auditioning on a false sound. The industry is tight here, and I know that this is is a hard question. Think on this, do you want to leave a mediocre impression with the panel because you are unwell? There may be another show / band / gig coming for which you will be ruled out when you have performed on sick or damaged folds.

Many of my students are doing Music Theory, working their way through the grade books. Days when your voice is not up to working are days where we can work on theory, repertoire, analysis etc. However, what do you do when you are infectious? We have it drilled into us to “soldier on”. However, if I catch your virus, I have to cancel lessons so I don’t infect all my other singers. There goes my income and your fellow students miss out on their lesson which may be preparing them for an exam / audition / performance. Tough love here.

Thoughts??

Many singers have a weak spot. For some it is small, and for others it is a chasm so big they feel it can never be bridged. That lovely spot between lower and upper registers, between head and chest registers. The “mix”. This is my favourite place. Why? Because I remember having that chasm that felt as big as the Grand Canyon. And I know what to do to make it work. Each student IS different, but one thing so many have in common is a weakness, either in head or in chest. What to do? Build them both. Make them overlap. And make the overlap BIG. It sounds simple, right? But it isn’t simple and it isn’t easy. But it is worth it.

I love hearing the results. How long does this take? It depends. On how advanced the student is. On what each student brings in terms of other vocal co-ordinations. What the student’s vocal muscles are like biologically. Some people are just not high belters, but some are. Some singers are not high sopranos, but some are. Not everyone fits in the same box.But every singer can strengthen and develop what they DO have and become a “bridged” rather than “chasm” singer. It depends on their work ethic.

How regularly will you practice?

Feeling like some notes are just too tricky to sing? Some places in your voice are just not working? Scared of legit, of belt, or any other co-ordinations? Try some lessons, and see, feel and hear the difference.

OK. I admit it. Whilst I know it was cooler to watch Countdown, and I did (mostly because my older sister did, and we only had one TV back in the dark ages) I always loved Young Talent Time. I always wanted to be on the show, whilst secretly scared I would never be good enough! So I am so happy that it is back on TV. I watched the first episode this morning and I loved it. Mostly because Tina Arena was there and sang “Chains” … wow! She gets better and better (and isn’t that good news for us “older” singers!) She is a judge on the new show, and the inspiration and encouragement that she gave to the new team was gorgeous to watch. I loved the fabulous singing in “Price Tag”, seeing the amazing dancing of the other judge, Chucky, and the pure joy on the kids faces when they talked about their talent, passion and commitment, and the love and support of their families.

My favourite quote was from the young lady who exclaimed that she couldn’t live without her singing lessons, of course. I like the show. It may be idealised and not hard nosed or gritty, but it is entertaining, and the kids are talented, and part of a team. I like the encouraging atmosphere and excitement around developing young talented performers. YTT has a pretty astounding track record, and I hope that kids, who have been brought up on Australian Idol and the competitiveness of talent shows,enjoy just sitting back, watching kids who are good at what they do get better and better as they grow through those teenage years and develop into even stronger performers.

I have been enjoying my holidays but the time nears to teach again. I am taking appointments from Monday 10th January and my normal teaching schedule begins from January 23rd.

I have spent time thinking over what an amazing instrument the voice is, and how all the parts need to work together to make a good voice (whoever decides what is and isn’t a good voice – it is a fairly subjective judgement!) To have the breath flow efficient, not too much, not too little, the body open and optimally supporting your voice, the voice registration sorted and well mixed, the muscle co-ordination of everything which determines the sound you make, then the shaping of the sound through the pharyngeal space, the tongue, the lips, and the articulators – making sense of the sound. Then on top of that, we have text, and the need to communicate with authenticity and integrity. To have our minds not busy and racing, but in the moment of the song. This is complex, yet we all do this! Some are more successful at one area than others, and those who can sing very well can do all of the muscle co-ordination without conscious thought because it is trained into the muscles over years of practice, and then their focus can be the song, the expression, the communication of emotion.

I listened to a podcast recently about training the voice, and the teacher discussed how the impulse to make sound comes from very deep within ourselves. The impulse is not necessarily a conscious muscle movement, but based on expressing the emotion behind a word, the need to communicate. I do think that sometimes as singers we can get way too focused on being perfect at breathing, or alignment, or getting that C in the right registration, instead of allowing our voice to freely express what is inside. It is a dilemma as a teacher. Where to start? However, over time I seem to come back to a little bit of good technique learnt over an extended period gives the singer stability in the voice which they can trust, and therefore sing with more emotional truth, not worrying that their voice will be inconsistent.

All of these things work together, and whatever stage as a singer you are at, that is where you perform. I know that sounds obvious, but I think many singers perform wanting to be in a different vocal “place” to where they are and lose the moment. If the C isn’t where you want it to be, you can change the key, or allow your C to be where it is for now. Train the voice to get it to where it needs to be for next year, and enjoy the journey.

We singers are complex, but beautiful!

Tonight is New Year’s Eve, and I am contemplating what I might like to do with 2012. Continue my gym attendance. Talk with more singing teachers – iron sharpens iron! Cook new recipes. Sing more.

Teaching all day means that I warm up, and then teach, occasionally singing to demonstrate but mostly listening and teaching.  I find I lack the time to focus on my voice for extended periods, yet spend my days encouraging my students to work on their voices. So in 2012 I am encouraging myself to sing. One thing I changed this year was to say yes when singing opportunities arose, and I sang at four performances between September and December, after a break from performing of over a year and a half. I love performing, and this is my vocal resolution for 2012. More singing. There is nothing like having a performance coming up to motivate you to “find the time”.

Take your singing somewhere new this year. What is your vocal goal for 2012? To join your lower and upper registers? Create a mixed sound? Learn how to belt (safely)? Create your own unique sound?  Learn stronger performance skills or work through performance anxiety? Maybe it is just to get your body around breathing and alignment support once and for all? Whatever your desire is for your voice, it is my passion to assist you to make it happen.

Vacancies exist for 2012, so contact me and enquire about a timeslot. Happy New Year!

The End of Year Concert was great – photos coming soon! Congratulations to all performers. it is such a privilege to teach you all.

I have been going over “How to Practice” for students preparing to have a break from singing lessons. It is always a bit sad when we come back to lessons in January and have to take a few steps back before forging on forward in terms of skills and techniques. I recommend daily warming up, using lip rolls, tongue rolls and humming, and a gentle descending pattern scale to start. Then some scales to keep muscles in shape throughout your range, including some arpeggios, octave scales, stepwise scales. Then work on whatever specific technical work you have been given, such as onsets, twang or belt, mix register blending (although this is done throughout the earlier scales as well!), articulation etc. Always pay specific attention to alignment and breath management – we are interested in balancing the voice. This is very general. Each student works on different issues, and I truly believe in getting the body’s muscles co-ordinated and “set up” before working on songs. Scales are not just about warming up. They are about establishing good muscle habits, ensuring the laryngeal function is healthy and able to handle whatever songs you sing.

Then … sing through the songs. Pay attention to problem areas. Stop and go over them, sing in sections, then put the song together. Don’t just blinding sing through a song with pain or tension – but stop and address it – and if you don’t know how to address it, write it down and bring the issue to lessons for help. Choose some songs to sing which are “for the love of singing” songs. Songs which speak to your heart, which you sing well, which make you feel like singing all day. Don’t just work on the “tricky” ones. look at the “easy” songs and enjoy your own cleverness in singing them well, with passion and colour and life.

Following your singing, make sure you do a cool-down – often neglected but very important.

How long does all this take? Each singer is different. I have singers who work for a couple of hours, and some who do 30 minutes.

These are some of my ideas, and I use this routine because it works. It can be a long break between lessons over the Christmas holidays, and enjoy your time off, but as always, remember to sing! It is our joy!

This Saturday, 3rd December, selected students are performing at the studio’s End of Year Concert. Come along and hear learner students demonstrate their achievements in singing for 2011. The concert is at The Loft, on Musk Ave, Kelvin Grove and doors open at 6.15pm for a 6.30pm start (it is on level 5 of Z2, please click on the map for directions). Tickets are $10 per adult / $5 per concession / $ 20 per family. Join us for a fabulous night of singing!

I have limited spaces available for lessons, plus a waiting list for afternoon timeslots. If you are thinking about lessons for 2012, please contact me soon with your preferred day and time. Studio is open Monday, Tuesday 11am – 6.30pm, Wednesday and Thursday 4pm – 6.30pm, and Friday 1pm – 6pm.

Over the last few months I have been training quite a few singers in preparation for auditions for tertiary training courses. This is ongoing work in my studio as hopeful performers or learner voice teachers come for training, preparation and advice. My tertiary education, combined with my experience teaching, performing, ongoing research and reading all play a part in my daily work. I am always very excited to see students further their studies and careers. Education in voice is one of my passions. I love performance and am excited about some new opportunities to perform in 2012 after having the longest break  from being onstage since I first performed at the age of 8. But I am equally excited, actually sometimes it is even more exciting, to watch a student who has trained for a couple of years reach a goal.

Over my break overseas I was fortunate enough to work for WorldSkills International, as a volunteer roving reporter for their biennial competition, WorldSkills London 2011. The competition was very exciting. It is held over four days and Competitors from all over the globe demonstrate Skills as diverse as Floristry, Web Design, Aircraft Maintenance, Mobile Robotics and Restaurant Services. These Competitors have already won gold in their home countries, and compete against the best of the best. I saw amazing artistry, in Floristry, Fashion Design, Hairdressing, Confectionery / Pastry Cook, Stonemasonry, Car Painting. I saw incredible skill in ALL the Competitors. Each Competitor trains with an Expert, often for years, and the Expert is often a past Competitor or tertiary educator. I saw passion, determination, pride, strength of character. I loved it.

I loved being a small part of WorldSkills International (the organising body – already planning WorldSkills Leipzig 2013)  because it is about celebrating excellence. It celebrates skill and creativity. I think that singing is a skill, and an art. But I do not think that because we are in “The Arts” that the same factors to success cannot be found in other career choices. On a visit to a school during the One School, One Country program, a sixth grade student from Gainsborough Primary, where the majority of students come from homes where neither parent has employment, asked a competitor a question that as a voice teacher I hear often.

“Were you always just good at your skill, or do you have to learn and train?”

All of the Canadian team responded almost with one voice “we train”. Some of them commented that they were interested in the skill, that passion was important to keep them motivated, that they had always liked to “play around” in their field. However, it was the ongoing training and attention to detail which has made them WorldSkills Champions.

Inspiring stuff. I kept thinking, these WorldSkills people are MY kind of people. Kinda like hanging out with Olympians, but these guys are the best at their TRADE. And they were proud, they make good money. They have careers, businesses. They inspire others to be the best that they can be. Through persistence, passion, attention to detail, education, the right training and encouragement, singers grow and develop excellence. They move us to tears, as I was moved to tears seeing competitors finish, and being embraced by their families who had travelled around the world to watch their son or daughter compete. They make us see something in a new light, the way I noticed that toffee could actually be made into a work of art at the Pastry Cook/ Confectionary Competition. Singing is a muscle skill, an art, singing communicates and touches. It is my daily life’s work. However, it was wonderful  ”visiting” outside of my field of expertise and celebrating with others their expertise.