Posts Related to: Singing

It’s morning and I’m looking at a physical training session in my schedule today. Why do I do this to myself? Partly for my voice!
My recommendation to all singers and speakers is that you do some physical activity that strengthens the body’s core muscles. Without this strength, you cannot apply enough breath support and breath …

There are lots of things blooming in this area of the world (Nashville). Beautiful, but for a singer sensitive to those particular flowers – scary.
What do you do when you greet the morning sounding like a frog? Well, because many allergy and cold medications dry the throat and vocal cords out, I recommend trying these …

I have many sweet and amazing young clients, and I adore them. But I was moved, deeply, watching the Carol King and James Taylor concert “Live at the Troubador” on PBS recently. I’ve never heard either one of them sing better, or even as well, as they did on that show.
And check out Tina Turner, …

I sold off most of my goat herd yesterday. Ostensibly it’s because things are so busy, but in reality it was retribution! A whole mess of teenaged-goats (last spring’s kids) broke out of the fencing and devoured the landscaping around our house. Imagine sticks where blossom-laidened crape myrtles used to be. There goes that photo-shoot for Better Homes and Gardens.
Then …

I work with a lot of songwriters, and I love helping them deliver their songs through their voices authentically. To do that, you have to know the difference between your songwriter and your performer voices – which are not the same thing.
Here’s the short answer: Songwriter voice is internal. Performance voice is external. What do …

Part II of my NARM 2010 Convention coverage brought the distinct honor and pleasure of a sit down chat with legendary songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. They were in Chicago being honored with the NARM Outstanding Achievement Award For A Lifetime Of Musical Collaboration, which they can add to their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, …

There is a subtle psychological shift you can make to take your next performance out of the ordinary and make it leave a memory in your listener’s heart. I call it “singing from the soul” instead of just from the head. Let me use an old familiar tune to illustrate.
How many times have you sung …

For weeks I’ve been driving to conferences spread as widely as Santa Clara to Birmingham. Returning to Texas, I jumped into events surrounding the Fort Worth Opera Company’s world premiere of a controversial opera “Before Night Falls” by Cuban-American composer Jorge Martín. 
Coincidentally, the very day of the premiere, May 29, a reader of Music After 50 …

Jeanne Kelly is a professional singer, conductor, and pianist who has worked for many years with major opera companies and symphonies in the Washington-Baltimore area, where she lives. In 2001, she was directing the Levine School of Music’s Arlington, Virginia, program when Dr. Gene Cohen approached her with an idea.
Dr. Cohen, who died in 2009, …

A reader wrote in with the following question: I play the guitar and sing and would like to work on vocals as well as guitar. Should I expect a guitar teacher to help me with my vocals?
A guitar teacher should not be expected to work with your voice. A vocal teacher would be the specialist …