Jeanie’s Blog

The muscles of the body are connected by fascia. This is a thin film of fibrous material that allows muscles that are attached or crossed over each other to slide. Sometimes the muscles develop attachments due to injury or atrophy and “stick” to the fascia, stopping the natural movement from taking place. Sometimes, the muscles ...

Manipulation, that is, the deliberate moving of the muscles deep within the throat is a bad idea. It is, however, how most people eventually learn to sing. Many people do not ever sing with free production, being taught from day one, to “do something”. There is much talk about free singing…..singing on the breath (as ...

One of the primary differences between classical singing and the varied styles of Contemporary Commercial Music is what happens when we sing. In classical singing, research has shown that the larynx usually sits low in the throat (near the bottom). In loud classical vocal production the vocal folds are pressed together firmly while they vibrate in ...

A good classical singer has to have at least two octaves of usable range. A CCM singer, not so much, although it could be helpful. A classical vocalist is expected to be very familiar with at least four languages and preferably speak them: Italian, French, German and English. Other languages are also valued. CCM singers ...

I get so tired of hearing “classical” and “CCM” styles are all the same. All vocal production is the same, no matter what you are doing. NOT TRUE. NOT TRUE!!!!!! The only people who say those things are those who sing everything in the same way. Some people sing like robots, it’s all they can manage. I ...

If we were really interested in teaching people to sing, we would entirely reorganize the way they are taught, from the ground up. Most people take one weekly voice lesson lasting an hour. Of course, it’s possible to take more, but now, since they are generally expensive, many people come less than that, maybe twice a ...

I have heard many times, “That person is so musical!” This is always a complement. I have also heard, “That woman is such a good musician.” You would think these two things would always go together. They do not. I know quite a few people who are excellent musicians. They can read or play very difficult, complex music ...

How can something be both bad and good at the same time? Very easy. The something has lots of the things that are valued and quite a few of the things that shouldn’t be there at the same time. You could say that that was true of many singers over the years. Sometimes the proportion varied. If ...

Watching teachers of singing in master classes, one of the most interesting things is how many times you hear the word “it”. You hear “you are………” as a feedback a lot, too. Of course, the student always nods after each correction. Good students do, right? “You are hooking it too much. Use the solar plexis more”. ...

If you teach beginners of any age, but most particularly youngsters, start with head register development. Make sure they have a head register, that it is strong and CLEAR and that the vowel sounds are true and undistorted. Make sure the posture is straight, the jaw is loose enough to move and open, the face ...

Do you think that a Wagnarian sorpano is an expert at teaching or singing in a belt vocal quality? Do you think that being a vocal coach at the Met automatically gives you great skill at describing and teaching belting? Do you think that a tenor who is an expert at voice science but has ...

Teaching in any kind of school system requires standardization. Standardization requires that things be put in a box, labeled, measured, codified, and remain fixed. Art is about uniqueness. An artist is someone who sees the world uniquely and expresses his or her point of view about it in some new fashion. Art should illuminate life, ...

There is a point of view that says you should use songs to teach vocal technique. I do not agree with this. Vocal exercises are the correct means of developing vocal technique. It is the exercises that allow you to develop all the capacities of vocal skills that are necessary to creating vocal mastery. The list ...

There is a point of view that says you should use songs to teach vocal technique. I do not agree with this. Vocal exercises are the correct means of developing vocal technique. It is the exercises that allow you to develop all the capacities of vocal skills that are necessary to creating vocal mastery. The list ...

There is a point of view that says you should use songs to teach vocal technique. I do not agree with this. Vocal exercises are the correct means of developing vocal technique. It is the exercises that allow you to develop all the capacities of vocal skills that are necessary to creating vocal mastery. The list ...