Serendipity sounds beautiful …

For singers, the meaning can be beautiful, too.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary website defines “serendipity” as “luck that takes the form of finding valuable or pleasant things that are not looked for.” So serendipity is a happy accident. It comes from being in the right place at the right time.

I’m launching The Serendipity Project as a new idea/area of study for the 2022-23 academic year and on 7th - 10th October we're kicking things off with an inaugural residential weekend workshop for singers at Church Farmhouse, Winsham, in Somerset, UK. This is a well-beloved venue, where many such workshop weekends have been held.

Thank you so much for an excellent weekend in such a perfect setting.  My love of singing has been an important part of my life for 50 years or so, interfered often by work! I found your encouragement, advice and praise very stimulating and has given me more confidence in solo work and inspired me to widen my repertoire. Of course,...

Back to rehearsals soon? Voice feeling a bit rusty?

Here's a little extra guidance beyond the tips I shared in the video above:

Tip #5: Your vocal folds (or cords) are the only pair you'll ever have. You can't go and choose new ones when the old ones start to wear out.

Imagine those little vocal folds, pristine and perfect at birth. Functioning with ease and as usual in babies and young children, with the best and most perfect vocal connection, there can be. What causes things to go wrong when all was perfect at the onset?

True vocal folds are no bigger than your little fingernail. They deserve careful use if they are to serve us well all our lives. Sometimes things go wrong, usually as a result of a poorly mixed cocktail of factors.

For example, if we think of gaining greater volume when we sing, there’s a psychological trigger that suggests to us that we must push more air to make it happen. But a greater volume achieved by pushing more air simply puts more stress on tho...

The audio file attached to this post may also be useful to you if you're starting to piece together the need for a better understanding of how the voice actually works - and how things can go wrong. There's more to explore HERE in my 30-Day Vocal Jumpstart for Singers.

In any language, the tongue is a mighty muscle - and I’m sure if a cat (big or small) could talk, he or she would be truly proficient in its use.

Is singing a natural talent OR a learnt skill?

We all have a speaking voice and use our vocal folds/cords every single day, so you’re actually already familiar with how powering your voice feels. Learning to use your singing voice is just an extension of that same vocal process, using the same equipment. But with a certain set of learned basic skills. Ease your way in with one of my takeaways, a free PDF companion guide to this article: Need Help with Singing Basics.

Q: Can you teach yourself to sing or is it natural?

An education professor once said: “ Singing is more of a learnt skill than a talent.”

Singing does not lend itself well to self-teaching. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you don’t need guidance when you’re learning. Another pair of ears to listen to you sing and watch how you’re achieving the sounds you make is not only important but vital. Many factors govern why you have the voice that you were born with (unique to you!) and a singing teacher’s job is to let...

I've been doing some research into well-being as part of expanding the work we share to support our singing within my mentoring group, Virtually Vocalise. 

(Well-being is always a factor we include in our Voice-works Study Weekends too. NB - Spring event update - bookings are being made, don't leave it too late before securing your place if you've set your heart on attending. www.littlesoprano.co.uk/workshopevents)

• relieves stress
• stimulates the immune response
• increases pain threshold
• can impro...

 

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."

T.S Elliot

Fabulous words aren't they? And so on point; their message so intimately familiar, easy to recognise as a singer. But if you're keen to improve your vocal skills, the actual trigger to do so could be one of many things.

And person-to-person the deciding criteria may be quite diverse. But, wherever you are on your vocal journey, if you seek improvement or have a quest in mind you'll need to make room for some serious - but rewarding - learning experiences.

As singers, we're still picking up the pieces of what's possible in this post-pandemic scenario and for many vocalists, it isn't always clear. Voice-work Study Weekends embrace this difficulty in their aim to deliver workshop content both virtually and actually to participating singers. It's a question of choice ... Meaning, those of us who can travel to make it in-person ...

 I've been teaching singing and vocal technique for many years, yet it still surprises me (in a good way) just how much repetition there needs to be, addressing the same old pain points for so many different people no matter where they are on their learning journey.

The easiest and most rewarding teaching experience is undoubtedly with those open souls who are driven by the JOY of the whole thing and who never expect the learning curve to finish. It's an exciting and often unexpected ride!

The hardest students to reach are without fail those who imagine they have their goal in sight and once it is achieved, it's a given that they've mastered the skill. That's a tough nut to crack.

Their journey to the OK Plateau will only be a short one.

To learn well, we must surrender to the vulnerability of it all and forgive vocal imperfections BUT also be inquisitive, and questioning about the WHY.

Singers are, of course, buoyed along by the love of music, the quest to express and the innate ...

Last month, we introduced a NEW virtual workshop event into The Learning Curve for singers. Two sessions hosted jointly by myself and Ryan Walker, audio/tech coach here at The Voice School. Intentions of the workshop were to provide hands-on, informative guidance in terms of what constitutes a good basic recording set-up, grasping best practices when doing so at home on a realistic budget. 

The idea developed from the need and desire for continued music-making and connection during these restrictive and isolating COVID-19 times. Singers need to continue using their voice, to keep the instrument in fine fettle - and in seeking to do that, technology repeatedly came to our rescue to make blending voices for ensemble singing a possibility.

As such, fun vocal work/projects we’ve been pursuing within The Voice School Hub since April 2020 using and sharing recorded vocal MP3 and WAV files have given rise to many FAQs along the way and a natural curiosity in understanding more to achieve be...

The New Year is just getting underway.

As I write so my ears are drawn to the rush of traffic outside - even amongst the restrictions that the pandemic imposes, life goes on. And so it must.

Singers who study within The Voice School will be aware that the wheels that drive all lessons, classes, events, and mentoring groups are about to start rolling. I'm advising that each should take the broader view and imagine not just the beginning of their year's journey, but to envisage where they might wish to arrive at the end of it.

Everyone agrees that 2020 was the strangest of years. Life - interrupted. Yet, within The Voice School, once we had regrouped and restructured - put a virtual plan in place for community and connection with plenty of singing to boot - it was one of the busiest of my 35+ years teaching career. 

A steep learning curve as to how to overcome problems,  implementing, and using technology to the advantage of all the singers. What an endeavour ... But, 2020 culminated...

I first shared this infographic in May 2017 - inspired by a quote from The Voice Gym that I had seen on Twitter. Its message has to be one of the most golden statements when it comes to learning how to sing well.

But, what does it mean?

Misconceptions

When we think about breathing, everyone is usually very stressed about it as they get into their singing. It becomes a primary concern ie, will I have enough to get me through that phrase?

Will it last…?

There’s the fear that since breath is always escaping, it needs to be controlled by

• a) getting masses of it IN, and then
• b) to hold on to it, to control it for as long as possible, to nail that 4-bar phrase/that high note/the last note…

If we imagine gaining greater volume when we sing, there’s a psychological trigger that suggests to us that we must push more air to make it happen. But a greater volume achieved by pushing more air simply puts more stress on those little vocal folds (only 3-6 cells thick each) and leads to a...