Taking A Different Path

All of us suffer blocks from time to time and very often the way forward is simply to take a different path, turn our ideas upside down and shift our thinking, even, dare, I say it,  try out what you may think is the “the wrong thing”. Many of the great scientists have [...]

More On Humming – It’s Only For The Bees!

I’m back after a protracted absence and I’d like to follow on from my last post about humming.  As I said, it is not recommended practice in the true bel canto training.  E. Herbert-Caesari in his book “Vocal Truth” writes in depth about this and I thought it worth quoting in full.
“In view of [...]

To Hum Or Not To Hum

The answer is NO!
I begin 2008 with a confession – I have used the hum in my own vocalizing and teaching in the past.   Indeed it has been and continues to be used in many 20th and 21st century studios.  The hum however, is not part of the true bel canto approach to technique.  The [...]

Christmas Post

As the year draws to a close and before I snuggle up to the fireside with a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie I thought I’d better write you all a quick post. First of all I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas and I am of course looking [...]

“If I Were A Bell”

In my teaching I tend to avoid the over-use of imagery.  Some teachers rely almost entirely on imagery which can be a bit wafty for my liking.  I personally want to try and understand the nitty-gritty mechanical aspects of my voice and to build up an awareness of what my muscles are actually doing.  However, [...]

A Honey Drop

A short post which follows on from “The Unruly Tongue”.  After I had written that post I suddenly remembered reading in Renee Fleming’s book “The Inner Voice” that she had struggled with tongue tension: “Beverley would have me place a honey drop in the center indentation near the front of the tongue to tame its [...]

The Mysteries Of The Larynx

I have recently decided to have yet another attempt at practising daily meditation. The benefits of meditation are well-documented and I think it is something a singer should do if possible. However, I have never had a great deal of success with it and I have tried using various methods. Either I [...]

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

“Mirror, Mirror on the wall
Who is the greatest singer of them all?”
Well, it could be you if you practise in front of a mirror!  Seriously, the mirror is the greatest tool we have to monitor and improve our singing technique.  I am struck time and time again in the writings of these early bel canto [...]

The Moment Of Truth

The act of singing depends ultimately on the correct emission of sound – the moment when the vocal cords vibrate – because as Garcia says “Once the cords become vibratile all control over them is lost”. As singers we need to focus much of our thinking on that moment of action. Garcia’s coup [...]

Breathing and Breath Control

Enough of these musings – it’s high time I got on to some rather more serious vocal issues and of course one of the most discussed and argued issues is that of breathing and breath control. We have all been told how important it is and yet how confusing it all seems. I personally have [...]