The Personal Touch of Private Voice Lessons

The Personal Touch of Individual Voice Lessons

Weekly time spent singing with a voice teacher and identifying what is going on with your voice right now is invaluable.  Outside ears and eyes help identify where you are that day or week and professional guidance and diligent work can take you to the next level.  Although we establish good vocal technique using proper breathing, support, and vowel placement, sometimes it takes time to get there.  Through dedicated practice and patience you can develop a beautiful singing voice.  It is not an overnight (or couple of week) process.

Persistence is the key as your body is your instrument.  Muscle memory develops over time and helps you sing with consistency throughout your range with a stronger, more balanced tone.  Just like training to run a 5K, your body remembers what it should do and needs to do to create a stronger sound.  It pulls on its resources, muscle memory!

If you are pursuing singing, there can be no rush!! There is no reason to wait to begin the journey but no rushing the development! Vocal muscles develop with the natural athleticism they have. If you try too hard or go too fast, it is dangerous. -Susan Eichhorn Young

Our bodies and voices change on a weekly basis (sometimes daily) because our lives are continually changing.  Your technique may be working wonderfully and a few days later there may be some troubles in a particular spot.  You may not notice it on a consistent basis but sporadically.  Has your muscle memory kicked in enough to know what to do when you are not feeling 100%?  Are you an adolescent going through puberty therefore in constant change?  Weekly voice lessons can help you identify what is going on quickly and provide you with solutions.

What we hear while we’re singing just isn’t true, so we are always dependent on someone we trust to take the role of our ‘outside ears’.  Renee Fleming

How do you trouble shoot on your own?

There are a few questions you can always ask yourself:

Have you been eating differently?  Did you stop drinking enough water?  Stayed up late a lot?  Has your posture changed?  Not worked out recently?  Are you stressed?  Did you go to a concert and sing too loudly for too long?  Do you have a cold and need techniques to sing above it?  Find a voice teacher you trust to help you.

For more information regarding voice lessons visit http://www.susanandersbrizick.com/ or sign up for my free newsletter.

Follow Up to Singing and Exercise: Cardio and Yoga

So, how did you do?  I have added at least 2 sessions of cardiovascular exercise and 2 sessions of yoga and/or pilates to my weekly routine for the last month.  I have more energy in general and am more focused on my daily tasks.  I have more motivation to try new things and get more accomplised.

I am also more focused when I practice.  As a singing teacher, I know it means a lot more to practice well in less time than to spend 1 hour just singing.  I am able to spend time perfecting a phrase and with more ease than before.  Being more in tune with body, I can diagnose the problem quicker and solve the problem faster (i.e. my posture is not in alignment, so by fixing that, I improve my sound).  I can sustain phrases longer in my repertoire and feel more grounded when I sing.  My nerves are even a little better when I perform for others.

How has increased exercise and yoga impacted your life and your singing?

Singing and Exercise: The yoga connection

Exercise such as yoga aligns your spine, improves posture, calms your mind, and strengthens your whole body which is all beneficial to singing.  Pilates focuses on strengthening your body from the inside out with much emphasis on ‘the core’ or abdominal muscles which are the powerhouse of a singer.  Both pilates and yoga are practices that help you to be more in tune with your body and pay attention to the needs and comfort of your body and mind.  Because your body is your instrument, it is essential to be in tune with it and take care of it. 

As a singer, your body is your instrument, so take care of it by exercising and eating well.  Both aerobic exercise and yoga help posture for singing.  You will  have more control over your breath, be able to sing longer phrases, have more endurance, and feel better about yourself.   You will also be more in tune with your body and, just like an athlete, the more awareness you have over you body, the greater your success.

So, get out there in the warm air and exercise, eat the fresh foods of summer, and balance your mind and body and make your singing the best it can be! 

What do you think about the connection between exercise, diet and singing?

Join me in an experiment! 

Add both Cardio exercise 2 times and yoga 2 times to your weekly routine for the next 2 weeks.  Practice sometime during the day following the activity and notice how you sing.

Does it change your singing?  Improve your breathing?  Increase your focus?  Make singing easier?  Make you more in tune with your body so that you fix and problems quicker?

Links:

http://www.classicalsinger.com/

http://www.thenext100pounds/,

http://www.thebusinessofsinging.com/,

http://www.theathleticperformer.blogspot.com/

Singing and Exercise- How can working out help your singing?

Singing and Fitness (Healthful Habits)

As a singer, your body is your instrument, so take care of it by exercising and eating well.  Exercise has many benefits for your singing.  Keeping in shape helps posture for singing and improves breathing.  You will have more control over your breath, be able to sing longer phrases, have more endurance, and feel better about yourself by working out just a few days a week.   You will also be more in tune with your body and, just like an athlete, the more awareness you have over you body, the greater your success.

Moderate aerobic exercise on the days that you sing warms up the body and voice and gives you energy and stamina.  Cardio activity such as walking or jogging and yoga or pilates help you breathe better and keeps you grounded.  Exercise is one thing you can control if you are in a show or have a busy performing schedule.  It is also something you can use to balance yourself if you feel overwhelmed.

Walking is a great form of exercise because it gets the body warmed up (and the voice to a certain extent).  It gets the lungs working how they need to in order to sing well by cardio activity and getting the heart rate up.  When walking or jogging, breathe as you do for singing.  Keep your breath low and expanded in the lower back and low abdominals, your sternum and ribcage flat and a low larynx with an open throat.  Be aware of any straining in your jaw or neck. 

Join me in a challenge, add cardiovascular exercise at least 2 times per week and then sing for the next two weeks.  What effect does it have on your singing?