Jeanie’s Blog

I should think by now it should be apparent to those who present classical vocal music in various forms composed by present-moment artists that audiences are not flocking to these performances. Yes, there are some exceptions but opera companies are dying all over the place. Why? No one seems to know. You could start by taking ...

If you lose your way with your voice, which can happen as you are out around doing gigs and performances, you can feel “out of sorts” without necessarily having any vocal health issues. You can feel that your voice isn’t exactly what it should be and you can’t quite put your finger on why. Of course, ...

A lot of singers stay away from vocal training lest the training change the inherent quality of their voice. This is a valid fear. If you do not want to sing like an opera singer, but you want to learn how to sing healthily, and all that is available is operatic or classical vocal training, you ...

Many years ago when I was in high school the choral conductor told me I was singing flat. Since I had sung in chorus throughout grade school, and in public at church, and no one had ever said that to me, and since I had a good ear, I was surprised. Turns out he only ...

Our society doesn’t really respect singers. If you want to confirm that, just watch one of the TV shows that discover new vocalists. You will see that the styles are limited, the kind of thing the judges react to are predictably the same and the comments of the “coaches” or “teachers” have little if anything ...

If there is no one to see that a Code of Ethics is enforced, does it exist? No, this is not a Zen koan. It is a real question. Most professional organizations have a Code of Ethics that its members adhere to. In some cases, there are committees or administration that take up cases of breach ...

Human beings produce a range of sounds based on our size. None of us are going to have a throat as long as a giraffe’s or as small as a bird’s. The range of formants human beings create when they make vocal sound is limited. Also, since we sing with a “bent pipe” and that, too, is ...

One thing you can be sure of, singing teachers will always be interested in the exercises. Present moment attitudes regard them with greater understanding than did previous generations but the basic underlying and widely pervasive attitude is that the exercises will magically make you a better singer. So, we have books of exercises or pages of the special exercises ...

Someone said that success is 10% talent and 90% perspiration. I would say that about sums it up. There are some few great geniuses in this world who can “just do” but even the very successful will typically state that it takes a lot of work to look like you are hardly working. When you are young ...

The ground upon which something sits is important. The context, the  principles, the atmosphere, the point of view, matters. You can plant the same seeds in two different kinds of soil. One might grow while the other might not. Two experts could know exactly the same information. They could be familiar with the very same facts ...

The traditional point of view in classical vocal pedagogy was that you could not start training the voice until after puberty and that after about 30 your voice was set and could not be changed. We know now this is false. It is possible to train a child to sing well (as long as you train ...

The truth can sometimes best be expressed through paradox. We are all unique, we are all the same. The hours of the day and night are always the same, but how we experience them is continuously different. I can love you and not like you. I can like you but not love you. Love, a word ...

The idea that the larynx should never move and that, in fact, nothing should move while singing is simply silly. When we are singing everything that can move should move and move freely. The movements should be smooth, coordinated and not unpleasant to do or to watch. Keeping everything absolutely still will cut off expression, make it impossible ...

Communication is a two-way event. You say something, the other person receives your communication. Both people are equally responsible for that interchange. I can be unclear in what or how I say something. You can misunderstand or misinterpret what I am telling you. Sometimes this causes great problems. We think we are being clear. We think ...

What happens when a person is trying to get out of a bad vocal habit and doesn’t yet have a really strong new habit to replace it with? If you are a process-oriented, rather than goal-oriented, teacher, this happens frequently. If the person is motivated to get better and is already out in the world singing, ...