Beyond The Book: Maximizing your Vocal Training Experience
In the last several months, I have had a number of singers from reputable colleges in Miami and a well-known university here, as well as a respected university in Chicago come to my studio.
To my surprise, I’ve discovered that despite their enrollment in the university programs, these students have no training or basic understanding of the Passagios or Bridges (areas of vocal transition).
Some of the individuals actually have good voices but unfortunately are unable to connect their registers, and thus feel a dissociation with their voices.
I have observed that several of these singers struggle in their reach of high notes within their chest register simply because they lack the guidance and training on how to get into their Mix Voice, and are therefore very breathy in their upper register. There are also cases where some students demonstrate that they have a nice Head Voice but still have not discovered their Chest Voice.
Unfortunately, due to their obvious focus on the university requirements necessary to obtain their degree, they continue on this path for graduation without the appropriate training or necessary tools to grow as singers in their Vocal Technique.
Unresolved, they experience vocal fatigue and hoarseness among a number of other issues with their singing and come to my studio looking for some “magical” solutions that will correct their issues in a mere 2 or 3 lessons as they attempt to gain a better understanding of the Speech Level Singing technique.
I can see the sign of relief on their faces when they begin to find and experience for the first time, this connection from the Chest Voice to the higher notes, no longer feeling that they have to pull hard to get to any of the notes or registers. At this point, they begin to realize that for a significant amount of time-and in some cases, their whole life or the entire length of their vocal career-they have only been singing with 30 % of their vocal potential, because they were never connected. What an epiphany for a singer!
However, what should be a turning point in the singer’s journey generally results in reversion and after our short training period, they return to the University or College to finish their degree, and unfortunately, their old habits.
Sadly, they feel they have no other choice. I definitely recommend that they:
-Continue practicing the lessons they recorded while in the studio with me, in addition to the lessons they have at College or University.
-Continue performing their own research of this experience or other techniques that will help them to build a strong voice through their entire range and not in just one part of their registers.
Ask, Understand , Deliver
Ultimately, I really encourage all of my singers to be active students in their training, working to understand each of the vocal exercises they are doing, to ask the purpose of each vocalization, and to really understand where their individual bridges are (Male or Female). Every singer needs to recognize these bridges within their range so that when they perform and sing higher, the result is an even, balanced sound and not a break in the voice. A commitment to this undertaking is imperative for any vocalist to make his or her education translate to their vocation.
When It Comes to Music
When it comes to music, I feel blessed because of having been given the gift of singing.
Music has saved my life in many ways and I can say I’m safe when singing and with my songs.
When I compose a song or sing one, I wash away those empty places replacing them with full places to take a stroll.
It’s just both of us: me and my voice, My voice and me. Is there anything else I could ask for in this sublime moment? My voice is my strength, my power, my identity.
Music is my own refuge, the place where anything is possible and imaginable, I can create my own world, color it violet or green, guard my deepest secrets. I can grasp God’s inspiration and understand one of the many reasons why I’m walking down this path.
Singing and sensing my voice has shown me a different perspective of life: The transcendence of our music empowers us to find ourselves in others through our voices and songs….The eternity of our sounds and voices in the universe.
When coaching others, I love to help singers encounter and enjoy the moment, this experience in which singing can transform their lives and connect them with their most inner feelings and emotions, with their beauty and with their best energy.
I really hope they also find this oasis and that they can perceive all the ways in which music can make life amazing.
Be a great singer, not just a good one.
Be connected with your soul, committed with your art, put the passion on every line of the song,
Be in the present, in the real time while interpreting the song,
Practice, Practice and Practice…….
Understand the lyrics of each phrase and it message.
Find the best vocal technique ( Speech Level Singing)
Flow with wings when you sing, be confident and trust yourself..!
Give your best energy when you sing to your audience…
Make a memorable performance, not just a good one,
Believe in your project.!!!! Stay focus with your dreams.
So then we will be talking not just about a good singer, but about a true ARTIST.
I accompany the singer in his artistic journey, providing the tools to develop talent and expression to the maximum.
These are my artists !!!! and I love you all!
Debora
Just a pause on the way
Sometimes you need to pause on your way, to take a breath, in order to see where you are and where you are going. To sense where you would like to be and thus map out an action plan to be able to move forward and get there.
This is why it’s good to draw breath, to feel the breeze ruffling your hair, or a ray of sunlight shining on your face, to continue rousing your dreams and listening to the sounds of the universe, to understand your inner silence and check if you are on the right path. It’s good to be ready to meet new challenges.
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The Jigsaw Puzzle
You can have as many lives as you care to reinvent.
As Steve Jobs says, there is no way to link up your story into the future, you can only join up the dots when you look into the past to see the path travelled and lived.
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I’m not Surprised ( 2009 Copyright)
When I see the singers I have work with for a while perform and receive a positive feedback from the public, I feel happy, yet I’m not surprised. A coach must know beforehand, the artistic potential of his students. This will allow the vocal coach to guide the singer to maximize his potential. The coach can visualize what the student needs and create a plan of action. This plan of action has a clear goal of how the artist can rise with training, and the coach has to be ready to work towards that goal with his/her student.
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We Are All Barbra Streisand
In our minds, everything is possible. We can paint like Pablo Picasso. We can write like Ray Bradbury, and we can sing like Barbara Streisand. That’s where everything can happen; where no limits exist. I see singers who are convinced they sing well and who think they are ready to go on scene. They come looking for the “quick recipe” that will guarantee a better vocal technique, a better musical performance. They want to run and contact producers and record a record. They think they are ready.
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