Singing in or out of tune can make or break your development as a singer. Here, we’ll learn how interval training helps. What are intervals in music? When you sing a song, you are technically singing a group of pitches, i.e. notes. Those pitches are formed using intervals. An interval is the distance between two musical pitches. They are the building blocks of musicianship and create richness in the music you sing. Types of intervals and how to recognise them Music is written on staves; the five horizontal lines and four spaces you see on sheet music. Each line or space represents a pitch (not ..read more

Belt and mixed voice singing are popular styles, featuring in many contemporary genres. And while they are challenging to learn, you’re rewarded with a greater versatility in repertoire. Let’s look at developing these skills, using songs two of my singers are working on to demonstrate some techniques. Belt singing usually refers to a specifically female sound. For guys, it’s their falsetto or head voice they need to balance. In belt, women work toward achieving a more forward, chatty sound in their middle voice. Before attempting belt singing, you need to develop your chest, middle and head vo ..read more

In life, we’re always learning. As we age, though, we might let go of some goals, thinking we’re too old. But adages like ‘It’s never too late’ and ‘You’re only as old as you feel’ ring true with learning a new skill later in life – like singing. Sometimes we get in our own way, thinking: ‘I don’t have time or brain space to learn something new’; ‘I tried before but didn’t like the teacher’ or ‘where would I use it?’ Photo by Bogomil Mihaylov from Unsplash Creativity for its own sake adds value – and health benefits – to our lives. Singing especially enhances wellness as we enter middle age ..read more

Reflecting on 2022 makes me realise how far the studio – and you, its singers – have come. Here are some of our achievements. January – April: Student numbers more than double We began 2022 with 14 singing students. By January 31, we had 24 – returning students and those beginning singing training. Five of those 24 were working toward AMEB or HSC exams. In April, 5 new students joined the studio and I attended the international Remix conference at UTS, exploring the links between culture, technology and enterprise. Concert 2022 May – June: Studio concert returns after two years, plus new CBD ..read more

Your jaw plays an important role when you sing. A tense or overactive jaw can limit your articulation and vocal resonance, which detracts from your sound. Jaw issues need patience and persistence to rectify. Let’s look at how your jaw works in singing and ways to free up tension there. A little jaw anatomyYour jaw bone, or mandible, hangs from in front of your tragus, that cartilage protrusion above your earlobe. When you slowly open your mouth, the bones work like a ball and socket hinge, causing your jaw to roll smoothly forward and down. To feel this, put your finger in front of your tragus ..read more

Whether you’re a beginner singer or you have more singing experience, you’d know that healthy, sustainable vocal production requires head to toe engagement and supportive posture. Your body’s pelvic area plays an important role here, but it’s not often given attention in singing training. In our series of articles on breathing for singing, we’ve looked at inhalation, exhalation and now, we’ll look at how to use your pelvic floor for breath control in singing. I recently discussed this with student Rena Elise ElKhoury and you can watch our talk below:     Why is the pelvic floor impo ..read more

In last month’s blog, we looked at how to improve your vocal expression when singing in performance. We briefly touched on some forms of physical expression, too, and in this article, we’ll look more closely at using gesture and movement in singing. Our bodies not only house our vocal instrument, they are our vehicle for communicating a song’s meaning and emotion. This is how we truly connect with an audience. Non-verbal communication has been shown to carry more importance than the words we speak or sing. US-based psychologist, Dr Albert Mehrabian, is credited with finding that 55% of communi ..read more

Learning to sing is a complex, whole body and mind experience, with multiple processes occurring at the one time. Cognitive, physiological, emotional, auditory (hearing) and mental processes all need to be coordinated for the act of successful singing – which can take time and commitment to achieve. As we’ve explored in a previous article, anyone can productively learn to sing with respectful, empathetic and constructive guidance from an experienced singing teacher.  While studies show that learning singing and music have many benefits for our brains, the act of not only thinking, but spe ..read more

Part of learning to sing is learning the art of song interpretation: how to inhabit the words and emotions of a song to communicate them to an audience. For singer-songwriters, telling your story through your own songs is a powerful way to express yourself and connect with an audience. But it comes with its own set of challenges.  When I coach singer-songwriters, we often work on finessing these areas of singing and performance: Getting the right register Some singers write songs beyond their register range. In these cases, I’ll encourage them to adjust the pitch of certain song sections ..read more

“Only the talented can sing”. Comments like this can be all it takes to discourage a budding vocalist. But the truth is, as with any artistic pursuit – from painting and writing to dance or acting – it takes more than talent to achieve success. It takes the right singing training and commitment to practising what you learn. The benefits of singing go beyond simply belting out your favourite songs. Singing helps you build communication skills and improve your spoken voice. It boosts your mental health, and brings communities together, from singers and musicians to the wider community. Telling s ..read more