Jeanie’s Blog

I have given this talk twice, both times as a keynote speaker at two conferences. Basically, its essence is that there are certain people, famous ones, that are not only known for their skill of speech or song, but whose voices came to represent a time, a place, or a moment for a society. Whenever we ...

A chakra is simply a center of energy in the body. The word comes from the Hindu system of beliefs and is interpreted in different ways depending on what source you read or consult. If you don’t “go along” with the idea of chakras, you can read the following as if it were a “philosophy of voice”. If ...

You cannot fix vocal problems by working only on breathing, in whatever way you work on breathing. In CCM styles the most common problem singers encounter is constriction of the inner muscles of the throat. I have said this 1,000 times but people don’t want to get that. If the singer has a problem with fatigue, ...

If all you know of the singing voice is “breath support” and “resonance” and you force all styles of music and all human sound into that mode, you are doing yourself and anyone who studies with you a disservice. Breath support is about being able to take a deep breath quietly and easily and depends a great deal ...

Belting is bad. The argument has been around forever. Classical singing, however, is good. Period. Come on, people! It’s the 21st Century. Can you not see that the vast majority of people earning a living singing are belting? Opera companies are closing left and right. Rock concerts sell out in hours. How many people are earning a living ...

If you do something for 20, 30, or 40 years, do you have more information about whatever it is than someone who just started? In our society, you wouldn’t think so. People fresh out of school are often regarded as being equal to, or better than, their elder peers because they have finished a degree program. ...

If you are a “classically trained” singer, and all of your training was “classical”, and you are still singing decently, you have a “default” that doesn’t go away. You will sound “trained” to a knowledgeable ear at breakfast, in the supermarket, at a ball game and while you are visiting with your grandchildren. “Classically trained” ...

For every person who ends up being able to support herself through singing professionally, there are dozens, maybe dozens of dozens, who fail to do so. The reasons they fail are myriad and fall into categories both benign and pitiable. You can be a very talented singer with a great voice and also be very expressive ...

I often see people asking about the best warm-up exercises. There are no best warm-up exercises. Many people do warm-up exercises because they think it’s good to do them. Others do them at random, depending on what they are going to sing. Some people do the same 5 or 10 or 15 exercises no matter what but ...

Watched the PBS show tonight curated by Renee Fleming. All kinds of singers, students, scientists, teachers. Very nice line-up of experts and performers, showing the wide range of singing styles and vocalists we have here in the USA. This show reflects the real world. It is about where we are now. There was no attempt to ...

I know quite a few people who teach singing who do not know what “free singing” means. Would it be so that if you can make a sound, it is automatically freely made? As long as it comes out of your throat, isn’t it OK however you do it? If you express it, isn’t it free? Many ...

Is a doctoral degree the equivalent of life experience? Is it better than life experience? Can you learn in a university what you cannot learn  or have not learned in life? If you are in a profession like singing, which involves doing something very specific, can you learn that in classes and from books? If you ...

What, exactly, is “classical” singing technique? If you put 15 high-level classical singing teachers from universities or conservatories in a room and asked them what elements classical singing must have, the only things they would all agree upon would be that the inhalation had to be “low” and that “resonance” had to be enhanced. They would not ...

There is an epidemic of breathy, soft singing in jazz (and some other styles), often without vibrato. The assumption is that this kind of sound is somehow “sexy” or intimate or appealing. What appeals to us in a voice is its richness or character. We like harmonics. Soft breathy singing has little of that in it. ...

Some people are simply not willing to work on their own singing even though they teach. They are not willing to put in the time and effort to confront their ability to make music from their throats and bodies. They do not want to stick with the process to own what happens as they are ...