Many aspiring adult classical solo singers spend a lot of time working on their voice and practising alone. Practice happens at home, repertoire is learned in isolation, and vocal technique is something pieced together over time, often without fully understanding how it all fits together.

That is a completely natural way to begin.

But it does raise a question, sooner or later, and it is one I recognise very well from my own singing and from working with singers over many years: how do you know if what you are doing is actually helping?

The answer rarely comes from doing more of the same on your own. It comes from experience, and more specifically, from shared experience.

I see this every time singers come together, whether over a full weekend workshop or in a smaller setting, or even online. Progress shifts, not because anything dramatic has been added, but because the context has changed. As a solo singer, you are no longer relying only on your own internal navigation system.

Y...

Why does your singing voice feel inconsistent from one day to the next, and why does it sometimes seem as though nothing is improving?

This is one of the most common questions singers ask, and it often leads to the assumption that something is missing or that a breakthrough is just out of reach. That with the right exercise, the right explanation, or the right moment of understanding, things will finally begin to work properly.

The honest answer is that singing rarely develops like that. It is not built on sudden beginnings or decisive turning points, but on patterns of use over time. What makes the difference is not a single moment of insight, but how regularly the voice is brought into action and how consistently the fundamentals are revisited. It is less a matter of beginning, and more a matter of stepping through into a different kind of experience, where the work is already underway and simply needs to be continued.

The voice responds to use, not intention

The voice is a physi...

Many adult singers ask some version of this question: How do I keep my singing voice strong as the years go by? Is it simply a matter of age, or is there something more within our control?

The honest answer is that strength in the voice is rarely about age alone. It is far more often about how the voice has been used, how regularly it has been exercised, and whether the fundamentals have been properly understood.

I have been singing and studying seriously for decades, and I am still preparing and presenting repertoire myself. I still think carefully about vocal load. I still look at range, tessitura, stamina, and recovery time before committing to a programme. Not because I am fragile, but because I understand that the voice responds to patterns. It responds to repetition. It responds to intelligent use.

The same is true at forty as it is at seventy.

The voice responds to use, not to wishful thinking

Like any coordinated muscular system, the voice strengthens through regular, th...

January and early February can feel oddly suspended for singers. The year has begun, but the direction is not always clear. Many people return to their music after a concentrated period of activity, or after time away over Christmas, and find themselves unsure of the next sensible step.

After a focused period of singing, it is rarely helpful to rush straight into new repertoire or set immediate goals. More often, there is a quieter phase where ideas settle, choices begin to surface, and a sense of direction gradually forms. This is not lost time. It is where thoughtful planning begins.

One of the most underestimated aspects of singing development is what happens between events. Once the intensity of shared work has passed, the real task is deciding how to carry that experience forward in a way that fits your life, your energy, and your current level of readiness. That requires honesty rather than ambition.

Preparation matters far more than complexity. It does not matter whether your...

For many singers, January and February are not a time of instant momentum.

After Christmas, routines have shifted, energy feels steadier rather than expansive, and singing can feel slightly unfamiliar. This is normal. The voice hasn’t gone anywhere, but it may need time to re-settle after weeks of different rhythms, sleep patterns, and demands. Expecting to feel immediately “back” often creates unnecessary pressure, particularly in mid-winter.

One of the most common difficulties at this point in the year is the temptation to rush. Singers can feel they ought to be back where they were in the autumn, as though continuity were something that could be switched on again at will. In reality, returning to singing works far better when it is approached as a process of re-orientation rather than recovery; listening first, noticing what is present now, and allowing habits to re-form without strain.

This early part of the year often lends itself to preparation. That may mean choosing repertoi...

Most adult classical singers aspire to a sense of genuine progress. Not perfection. Not pressure. Just a sense that their voice is growing, supported, and part of a rhythm they can trust.

But building a consistent practice is rarely about willpower or doing more. If it were, far more singers would feel confident in their progress. What people really need is a way of working that fits the reality of their lives.

After many years of running workshops, weekends, teaching sessions and in-person events, I see the same pattern again and again: a regular singing practice grows from a foundation of rhythm, clarity, and support.

A rhythm that feels workable

A good singing rhythm is not rigid. It does not require singing every day or following a strict routine. It has to match your life and energy. When you find a rhythm you can return to week after week, your practice becomes realistic rather than idealistic. That is when consistency begins.

Learning needs time

Singing develops through at...

There’s something irreplaceable about staying actively involved as a singer, even after years of experience. Whether it’s through workshops, choirs, study weekends or online sessions, singers grow most when they keep using their voices in real situations, with real people and real music. That ongoing engagement is at the heart of everything I do creatively through The Voice School, and it’s also the theme of my recent reflection, A Singer Among Singers, which you can read in full on my Substack, A Classical Singer's Path.

Why ongoing involvement matters

Many adult classical singers reach a stage where they already understand a great deal about vocal technique, but real progress often begins again when they step back into musical environments that challenge and inspire them. Singing is physical, emotional and communal; it isn’t something that can be fully grasped in isolation. Through The Voice School, I’ve created spaces where singers can explore that connection — balancing techni...

I originally devised the series of Voice-works Study Weekends to kickstart the academic year of 2024. We began with Eight English Greats. Since then, we’ve explored The Origins of Opera, Oratorio and Song, and spent time with Eight French Greats.

My intention has always been to build a more detailed map of vocal repertoire possibilities — and to show how helpful a clear theme can be. It gives focus, a framework, and invites curiosity. And now, as I look ahead to a new year, it feels the perfect moment to turn my attention across the Atlantic, to the New World, and to delve into Eight American Greats.

America’s vocal tradition is younger than ours. That is part of the appeal. There’s less inherited weight and more room for a mix of influences. Classical technique sits alongside the theatre. Jazz rubs shoulders with art song. Operatic writing is there too, but it often carries a different kind of storytelling. I find that fascinating. It changes how you sing, how you phrase, how you li...

September always feels like a beginning. A change in the light, schools go back, the slight morning chill, and there is a sense of rhythm returning after the looseness of summer. For singers, this is the ideal moment to start planning and shaping the year ahead.

Let me invite you to join me for Sing Joyfully 2025: Mozart at the Helm. This takes place on 15–16 November in Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire, UK. But beware, applications for singers close on Friday, 19 September, in just two weeks, so the time to decide is now.

The reason the application date comes so close to the start of the Autumn term is simple. With Mozart, you need time,  not just to touch the notes, but to properly get inside them. Amongst other things, we will be working on staged excerpts, and that means singers must have long enough to feel they are in the middle of the music rather than only just getting their act together. Eight weeks of preparation will allow the music to settle, so that by November, you can sing w...

Why Mozart’s music demands your attention

In Mozart’s Vienna, wit meant more than humour. It was a sign of mental agility, the ability to turn an idea with elegance, to surprise with precision, to reveal something human through restraint. Mozart carried that quality everywhere: in the sparkle of his comic operas, in the stillness of his sacred music, and in the subtle craftsmanship of every phrase. He was playful, yes, but never without purpose — and that spirit is at the heart of Sing Joyfully 2025 in Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire, UK.

The joy and challenge of singing Mozart

That playfulness can mask just how exacting his writing is. In Prenderò quel brunettino, the duet for Fiordiligi and Dorabella in Così fan tutte, the singers must match tone, timing, articulation, and breath as if they were one voice, while also staying true to their characters, who are complete opposites. Fiordiligi is upright, idealistic and careful; Dorabella is impulsive, easily swayed, and mischievous. In p...