Do you ever suffer with jaw pain? Is it hard to open your mouth all the way, or does your jaw pop or crack when you do? Have you ever had a spasm in the jaw while trying to eat or drink, or sing? If so, READ ON! You may have TMJ dysfunction, and it…
Can you believe it’s Labor Day weekend already?! Even here in Southern California, I already see subtle shifts in the seasons— the days are growing shorter, the quality of the sunlight is changing, and the hot summer is finally cooling off a bit. I even hear football fans cheering in the high school stadium near…
What picture comes to mind when you think of a vocal recital, piano recital, or even a dance recital? I’ll bet you see a charming little girl in an oh-so-adorable dress (with a bow in her hair, of course), singing a very sweet rendition of Mary Had A Little Lamb, or something similar. Or, you…
So— you’ve been hired to sing at a wedding, and the bride’s grandmother wants to hear her favorite love song from her native country. Or, you’ve joined a new choir, and you find out that they do all sort of songs in many languages besides English. Perhaps you just decided to be a voice major…
Would I recommend joining a choir to anyone, at any time, at any age? You bet! Singing in a group, whether it’s as small as a dynamic barbershop quartet or as large as the mighty Mormon Tabernacle Choir is one of the great joys in life, a unique and rewarding experience like none other! You…
Do you ever make plans to do something a certain way, and then turn around and do something completely different? I’m finding out that this is happening with this blog— although I have many ideas scheduled out on a master calendar for the next weeks and months, I often abandon my planned post for the…
Do microphones scare you? Have you ever had to sing in front of a mic? Do you know the tricks of the trade to help you sound your best when using a microphone? Whether you answered yes or no to any of the previous questions, the following post should clear up any fear or lack…
Woo-hoo! It’s finally that time— you’ve picked out the song, or songs, you want to sing for your upcoming performance or recording, and you’ve made the appointment to have a coaching with your favorite voice teacher, song coach or accompanist (I’ll use all three of those terms during this post, as all of these may…
I hear you already: “It’s only music?! Is she kidding? How can she say that? What does she mean? As a musician, I’m offended!” Okay, okay. Before you indignantly click away to some other web page, here is my very personal explanation… In deciding what to write about this week, I am highly-influenced by my…
How do you know if a song is right for you? One of the most common mistakes I see singers of all levels make is choosing songs that are WAY too hard for them to sing, given their present level of technical ability at the time. You might be hearing your favorite artist or aria…