Mix it up Monday: “Common Resonance Images and their Pitfalls”
There have been so many great books published in the last ten years, it is hard to keep up with them all. “What Every Singer Needs to Know About the … Continue reading
Mix it up Monday: Allow placement to reveal itself, don’t force it
Students frequently ask me where they need to place their voice. My answer is usually some version of “I don’t know.” I am not being flippant; I honestly do not … Continue reading
Mix it up Monday: The Tongue Depressor
The memories are very clear. It was my freshman year of college and I was looking in a mirror while holding a popsicle stick on my tongue in order to … Continue reading
Mix it up Monday: The false sensation of backspace
Many voice teachers use the idea of backspace when teaching. I was taught that concept by many of my past instructors, sometimes it worked and other times it didn’t. What … Continue reading
Mix it up Monday: The hair dryer vs. the car
We have all had student that try to use their entire body to create enough power to fill the room with sound when they sing. When belters do this, we … Continue reading
Mix it up Monday: The Chopstick Exercise
Tongue tension is one of the most frustrating challenges singers must overcome. If you look through the archives of this blog, you will find several exercises for releasing tongue tension. … Continue reading
Mix it up Monday: Remapping the open throat
Kenneth Bozeman‘s book Practical Vocal Acoustics gave teachers a great introduction on how to make vocal acoustics research applicable in the voice studio. His second book, Kinesthetic Voice Pedagogy, takes the work … Continue reading
Mix it up Monday: Sipping spaghetti
In most untrained voices, the larynx naturally rises and falls with pitch. You can experience the natural movement of the larynx by placing your fingers lightly around your “Adam’s Apple” … Continue reading
Mix it up Monday: Lay down and sing
When I was a student at the Cleveland Institute of Music, we began every acting class lying on the ground and assessing our body. We would then progress through a … Continue reading
Mix it up Monday: Relaxing the digastric and mylohyoid muscles
The digastric and mylohyoid muscles are part of the swallowing mechanism and will often contract when singing. If these muscles contract, they can cause a wide range of problems. Most … Continue reading
