Vocal Lessons

Everyone Is Different

Some teachers have a certain "technique" or "method" that they teach. They apply this system to all of their students and try to get them to fit their mold. While the consistency of the approach has worked for many and deserves respect, I work a bit differently. My exercises are very often tailor-made for each individual singer. The human voice essentially works the same for everyone, but no two voices are the same. Nor are two learners. So, I have found that it is more efficient, creative, and fun for everyone to teach in a way that is free from a rigid vocal methodology, but that does not abandon universal truths about vocal technique. Every student will learn the concepts that I teach, but with an approach that we will develop together to help you achieve your goals the fastest.

Technical Versus Abstract

Some students prefer a very technical approach to singing. They like to know how the voice works, what is involved anatomically, and how sound is produced with regard to the science of the voice. For those students, I am able to provide a working knowledge of how the voice is produced.

Other students prefer a more abstract, creative, and hands-on approach to singing. It's not helpful for them to know exactly what is going on, as long as they know how to do it and can replicate it. For these people, I am able to work in a more sensation-based style using images, physical exercises, and at times vocal games.

The majority of students want something in between these two extremes. Part of tailor-making my approach with singers is finding the balance in terms of their learning style so that we can really communicate thoughts and ideas with each other. I have found that this way of working helps students to progress really quickly while also developing confidence, trust in themselves, and an understanding of how to practice and make improvements on their own. When we can speak the same language, there is nothing we can't accomplish in time.

Dancers and Actors Who Don't 'Yet' Sing

A few of my vocal technique students are dancers and actors who either don't consider themselves "singers first" or who have not sung before. If you are one of these people and have been told you are "not a singer" by someone, I encourage you to try your studies once again. There are both physical and mental processes involved in becoming a great dancer or a great actor.

There are certain aspects that make singing difficult for great actors and great dancers. But, after correcting these things, there are far more aspects of these disciplines that can make actors and dancers some of the best singers. Please don't let people tell you that you can't be a "triple threat". I have had huge success in getting actors and dancers who didn't think they could sing to start really holding their own and competing at vocal auditions.

Belting, Mixing, Chest Voice, and Head Voice

While this section isn't intended to go into detail about the specific techniques that I teach, I can assure you that issues of belting, mixing, chest voice, and head voice are one of my specialties. I imagine you may have trouble with at least one of these areas or certainly bridging the gap between them. This is definitely something that I will focus on with you if this is a problem you are having with your voice. I will show you how to use these different resonances in different styles of music. Also, I will teach you how to go seamlessly between them so that you sound and feel like you are singing with "your voice".

Singing By Feel, Not By Sound

A great ear is very important for any musician and this includes singers. I do want my singers to be good listeners and have great ears. This is particularly helpful for singing many different styles of music. However, listening to oneself too much can be deadly for a singer. If there is too much self-scrutiny and conscious listening, the freedom of the sound can be interrupted. The best singers surrender their voices when they sing. They are not considering how they sound, for to do so would prevent them from releasing their voices and therefore from making the best sounds.

This is why it is often so difficult for people to teach themselves how to sing. What you hear can often be misleading in comparison to what you feel. A good rule of thumb is: "if it feels free and easy, it probably sounds good. If it feels tight and difficult, it probably doesn't sound as good."

I emphasize the "feel" of singing far more than the sound when I work with my students. This is so they can develop a sound that is truly free and truly their own- not a carbon copy of how someone else sounds. Also, in singing by feeling, singers learn to recreate their good sounds in any performance environment or pressure situation.

Learning to Let Go- Winning the Mental Game

Perhaps the core of my teaching style involves the process of learning to let go and surrender. This is important in a variety of ways for performers. Everyone has a certain amount of physical tension in his or her body. Working to identify these things and eliminate them in a relaxed and fun way is crucial to having an unfettered vocal instrument. But, it is not just physical tension that stands in our way. All of us have a certain amount of mental and emotional tension attached to our singing.

Maybe someone told us we couldn't sing when we younger. Maybe a casting director or director criticized a certain element of our singing. Maybe we are frightened of high notes. There are ways of letting go of the mental and emotional barriers. I believe the largest, most difficult, and most important battle that we face as singers is developing the confidence, trust, and ability to release these things. Ever notice how good you sound in the shower or in the car? Compare that to some of the auditions you are not proud of.

Why is so difficult to duplicate the sounds that you make when you are relaxed and alone at home? It doesn't have to be. Having someone to help you work on and eventually win the mental game is vital.

A Positive Environment

Learning in a positive environment and safe is also something that I would include toward the top of the list of things that I think are critical to becoming a great singer. I'm never interested in judging you or maliciously criticizing you. I am interested encouraging you and discovering together areas that need improvement.

Singing is one of the most vulnerable and exposed activities in which you could ever participate. Many people are more afraid to sing in public than just about anything else that could be asked of them. This just shouldn't be the case when everyone has the potential to make beautiful sounds. Singing can be one of the most liberating, beautiful, and spiritually fulfilling things you can do. Eliminating the doubts, fears, and negative energies that have become attached to your singing (for whatever reason) is a must.

The vulnerability and confidence that it takes to sing cannot be found in a negative environment. Tension, stress, and fear are only reinforced and increased in a negative environment. Our industry as whole already offers countless opportunities for rejection, self-doubt, and worry. Having a positive place to work on your art is one of the best ways to combat this. Creating this environment for my singers is among my highest priorities.

Acting While Singing

My training and experience as a professional actor has only reinforced my belief that singing and acting are inseparable. This is certainly true for song performance, but I believe that it starts as early as technique exercises. Many of the exercises that I have developed help singers to learn vocal technique that also comes from an emotional, spiritual, or artistic place.

I feel that it adds an unnecessary step to learn vocal technique in a rote or rigid fashion and then "add in the acting later." Some of the best sounds are made when a singer is connecting to something inside their heart and soul as opposed to "just making sounds." This certainly doesn't mean that technical specifics are not important to emphasize, but singing is just plain easier and more enjoyable when a singer is communicating something. In our work together, I often place emphasis on acting technique alongside vocal technique from the start. This is true for both the technical exercises as well as for your songs.

"Games"

Some of my vocal exercises borrow from the acting training tradition of playing "games". So many acting teachers use these because there are many ways that "games" or exercises that are not overtly technical can help actually achieve the desired result "accidentally". In other words, sometimes we need ways of fooling our brains and voices into doing what we could not get them to do by trying deliberately.

Actors that have benefited from this approach find that they discover some of their best work through these exercises. By simply focusing on a silly, distracting, or physical task, very often an honest, original, and even brilliant choice can be released from deep within the sub-conscious. I have found the same concept works with singing. When engaged in a seeming unrelated activity, very often the voice and breath can relax enough physically to produce surprising and beautiful results.

Breathing

All styles of singing are initiated from successful breathing and breath support. I am committed to helping singers find a deep and reliable connection to their breathing when they sing. This is the foundation for singing with consistency, with ease, and with confidence in nervous situations. I will help you to not only increase the amount of breath you have, but your ability to know how to use it with maximum efficiency. I don't believe in "tanking up" when singers breathe. I am interested in helping singers find sneaky ways of getting appropriate amounts of air without making it appear like they are taking "singer breaths." This is crucial for singing actors who need to perform in a naturalistic and conversational way while still making gorgeous sounds. This is a very attainable goal and I offer both technical exercises as well as conceptual ideas to help you to do it.

Space and Resonance

The space that a singer uses to sing is a key component to what kind of sounds they eventually make. By space, I am referring to many different spaces: chest, soft palette, mouth, nasal cavity, etc. It is a similar concept with musical instruments. Depending on the size and shape of any given instrument, a variety of sounds can be made. The sound of 2 different acoustic guitars, for example, is largely going to be determined by their resonance space. In the same way, singers use the resonance spaces of their bodies to make and manipulate sound. I will show you how to use these spaces to not only to create effortless vocal production, but also how to change the use of this depending on the situation. By manipulating the way you use the resonators in your body, you can sing all styles of music with freedom and skill.

Projection

I have found that most singers do not use their entire voice when they sing. Much of this comes from physical tension as well as hesitance resulting from doubts in the mind. Using physical exercises and opening up the resonators, most of my singers are amazed to discover just how much of their voice has been dormant all along.

Also, many singers have been told how to breathe since they began singing. Very often I find that singers know how to take a pretty good inhale breath, but then do not know how to release it effectively. Again, some of this can be physical and much of it can be mental. But, in any case, a lot of free production and projection is often lacking because of this common phenomenon of being too cautious with the exhale breath. I will address these issues with you as we examine what the obstacles may be to use using your whole voice.

Singing Is Like Talking?

Well yes AND no. Often I find that in trying to make perfect, pristine, or "singer like" sounds, singers do not release their voice the way they are capable of. In reality, the release that singing requires is closer to a shout, a healthy stage voice, talking, or an active whisper. I work with singers on exercises that help them link their singing with the more familiar and natural ways that humans produce sound. Not only does this concept help with great singing technique, but it also aids the singing actor.

By doing too much "singing", a performer can actually block their ability to communicate as an actor. I don't mean that the singer should sacrifice tone quality or musicianship, but by getting one's mindset off of making "perfectly sung sounds" the singer ironically can produce more connected sounds. Interestingly, sometimes by making sounds that at first seem "ugly and weird", a singer can move into uncharted waters with their vocal development- areas that were unexplored for fear of making a mistake or sounding bad.

It's Okay To "Fail"

Actors and singers are usually perfectionists. This is a good thing in a lot of ways because it allows us to hold ourselves to a very high standard of excellence for our craft. But, perfectionism is often an artist's biggest curse as well as their biggest blessing. In my teaching and in my performing, I like to emphasize that "it's okay to fail." If that doesn't sound like a good recipe for success to you, I beg to differ. I have discovered, in fact, that it seems to be just about the only way to become successful.

I would never advise that anyone reduce his or her passionate commitment to doing a great job. But, often our need for perfection puts an unbelievable amount of pressure on our singing, acting, and performing. When this happens, we lose the ability to be joyful, creative, silly, happy in our work, and to have fun. This ultimately defeats our ability to become the artist we set out to be. The irony of an environment that promotes and allows "failure", is that it makes failure ultimately impossible. On the other hand, when failure is "simply not an option" in our minds, unfortunately it ends up manifesting more often than not.

Becoming An Artist

What then, does it mean to be an artist as a singer? Well, I certainly do believe that it is a person who is committed to being very technically proficient at their craft. But, I also feel that it is much more than this. I always keep this idea in mind in my teaching, lest we lose the forest for the trees.

In an industry that can often resort to superficiality, type casting, and imitation, becoming a true artist is not an easy task. But, I believe it is the only way to be a truly fulfilled performer as well as someone who has a career that can stand the test of time.

Therefore, I will help you to find what being an artist means for you. There is something inside every performer that is unique and special to them. Nobody else can do what they do or say things in quite the way that they say them. This is what I ultimately want to help you to find through your singing voice. I'm not just interested in making you a singer of finest quality (although I'm certain this will happen), but helping you to say what only you can say to this city and to the world through your music and voice.

Some people say that you shouldn't sing from your throat or chest, you must sing from as deep as your diaphragm. An artist to me sings from a place deeper than the diaphragm. They sing from as deep as their soul.