(Reading time: 4 minutes) You may have heard that you should be breathing from your belly or singing from your diaphragm but has anyone ever told you exactly how to make either of these concepts happen automatically when you sing? Probably not. When I was younger I was repeatedly told to “focus the energy” in my belly, “bring the air from down below,” “sing more from your diaphragm, not from your throat,” or one of many other “helpful hints” that didn’t help–because they’re not instructions, they’re just commands.

(Reading time: 3 minutes) Voice clients in my studio often cringe when I start talking about eye contact, and for good reason. Looking people in the eye is an intimate act, whether you’re telling a joke at a party, having a one-on-one conversation or singing to an audience. The first way to improve eye contact is to be aware that your voice goes where your eyes go.

(Reading time: 3 minutes) This tip addresses one of the main issues almost all singers have: they don’t keep the listener’s interest up by changing what they’re doing. Nothing says boring like a song that sounds the same from beginning to end. The definition of dynamic is, “characterized by constant change, activity, or progress.” So, if the elements of singing: volume, intensity, tone, staccato/legato, etc. are on a flat line throughout your performance, your song will “flatline”.

(Reading time: 3.5 minutes ) If you’re like most singers, you don’t usually give a second thought to what the song is about. You’re concentrating on remembering the lyrics, trying to sing in tune, and hoping you don’t fall apart on a high or low note—who has time for anything else? ‍The problem with not knowing what your song is about is that it shows when you sing...

(Reading time: 3 minutes) Would most singers be willing to temporarily make a “bad sound”to speed up the process of gaining control over any of their vocal issues? Probably not, and here’s why you should…

(Reading time: 3 minutes) Like an automobile, your vocal mechanism is made up of parts that work together–in this case, to make sound. The challenge is that most of the parts are inside your body where you can't see them. This makes it much harder to learn how to use these parts, to troubleshoot when your voice isn't working well, and to be able to adjust your vocal mechanism to get the singing results you want. So, what does this all mean for you?

(Reading time: 3 minutes) At various points in my life, I’ve been convinced that no one liked my singing. You may be in the same boat. One of my voice clients recently shared with me that no one likes his singing. When I asked him why he believed this to be true, he replied “when I play people recordings I’ve made, no one tells me that they like my voice.”

(Reading time: 3.5 minutes) One of the biggest vocal myths is that if you experience stage fright it’s because you’re not a good enough singer. Or not good enough yet. I hate to break it to you (and I sincerely mean that) but stage fright has very little to do with your singing skill. In this blog we’ll examine stage fright and what you need to know about it.

(Reading time: 3 minutes) When I was a young singer I heard more than once that I should pick songs that “fit” my voice. That usually means “stay in your lane,” whatever the genre is that someone's chosen for you. What’s true is that you can sing any and all genres you want. Period! Wait, what? Can that really be right?

(Reading time: 3 minutes) What do singers and speakers (as well as teachers, cheerleaders, actors, football coaches and many other voice users) have in common? They’re often overworking their voice because they can’t hear themselves adequately. This can lead to laryngitis, also called a hoarse voice. Let’s explore what causes this phenomenon and how to avoid it...

(Reading time 3.5 minutes) If you’ve ever tried to improve your range and sing high notes more easily, you know there’s a lot of approaches and advice out there. Some of the info is helpful, some not so much. There are two keys to making high notes more manageable that you may not know about...

(Reading time: 3 minutes) Do you know how to answer the question that gets asked the most at jam sessions, song circles and band rehearsals– “what’s your key for the song?” Read on to know exactly what key to put each song you sing in (and it won’t be the same for every one!)...

(Reading time: 2.5 minutes) What do a crowd of Parisians watching the Notre Dame on fire and the Singing Cops of Buffalo, New York and have in common? The experience of singing as a way to connect with people around them. Why is this important? You may be surprised…

(Reading time: 2 minutes) “Singing is not a commodity to buy, but a birthright that has been stolen from us.” A powerful quote from singer/songwriter Flip Breskin...

(Reading time: 2 minutes) You decide you want to perform or record one of your favorite songs. You love the way the singer sings it; the lyrics speak to you; the groove is infectious; it really makes you feel something...

(Reading time: 3 minutes) What’s the number one problem singers have? If you guessed breathing, projection, singing in tune, tone, trouble with high notes, endurance, sounding unique, lack of dynamics or emotion, you’d be wrong! Read on to find out what this problem is, how it’s getting in the way of your singing, and what to do about it...

(Reading time: 1.5 minutes) I’m sure the executives of the Fox TV show The Masked Singer had no idea that the show was teaching the audience an important principle: when people are watching a live performance, they hear more with their eyes than with their ears...

(Reading time: 2 minutes) You’re either born with a good voice or not. If not—forget it! Myth #1 is absolutely the biggest lie you’ll ever hear about your voice. If you can talk and hear your own voice, you were born with everything you need to have a powerful, passionate, confident voice...

(Reading time: 2 minutes) Voice coaching is only for professional singers, actors or public speakers. Myth #2 is lie that plays into something promoted all the time–“if you’re not already doing something (or doing it well), it’s not yours to do.” Why would you take lessons if you didn’t already use your voice well? Because you want to use your voice with confidence and you don’t have that experience now. It’s as simple as that...

(Reading time: under 2 minutes) Training your voice is really hard and takes a long time. Myth #3 could be applied to not only developing your voice but to learning just about anything. “If I want to learn to...