How do you know if your classical singing technique is working?

Since the beginning of the autumn term, I've been giving a good deal of thought to the way we learn to recognise what is actually happening when we sing. It's something that comes up regularly in my teaching, particularly when singers are working with familiar repertoire and beginning to question some of the things they've always taken for granted.

How do we know when our classical singing technique is working well? What are we listening for, what should we be feeling, and how reliable are the judgements we make about our own voices?

These are interesting questions, and not necessarily as straightforward as they might first appear. After all, the business of learning to sing involves much more than simply producing a pleasing sound. There is an extraordinary amount of physical coordination taking place, much of it beyond our immediate awareness, and we have to learn how to make sense of the information our bodies are gi...

If you are thinking about singing posture, breath support, vocal technique, alignment, tension or how to sing with less effort, it is worth starting one step earlier than you might expect. Before asking how well you are breathing, where you are supporting, or what your voice is doing, ask a more fundamental question: how is your whole body organised for singing?

At the beginning of a new academic year, this seems a particularly good place to start.

Most of us return to our singing after the summer feeling a little rusty. Perhaps we haven't practised quite as regularly. Repertoire that felt secure in July needs finding again, and the voice may not respond immediately in quite the way we remember. It is very tempting at this point to start fixing things, when perhaps there is a more interesting place to begin.

The singer is the instrument

We can become very occupied with individual parts of vocal technique: the breath, the jaw, the tongue, the larynx, support, resonance. All of them ...

Singers, are you well, and keeping in fine voice? All in good working order, sounding smooth and wonderful, with no cracking, yodelling or insecurities?

And, how about your range - confident about that? Let's discuss.

Passaggio problems

Passaggio (Italian pronunciation: [pasˈsaddʒo]) is a term used in classical singing to describe the transition area between the vocal registers.

Arguably the most vexing of singer’s issues, the passaggio justifiably earns its hard-to-handle reputation. Let me familiarise you with its workings and how it can be responsible for the limiting beliefs you hold about your vocal range.

What’s it all about?

Well ... what singers must do to avoid those tell-tale wobbly-sounding gear-changing areas in the voice, is to concentrate 100% on body alignment, keeping the throat open, and correctly balancing the airflow from the lungs to the point of contact with the vocal folds, which are brought together with a HIGH degree of sensitivity and control … all...