During your voice session, I will try to give you a better understanding and mastery of your instrument by introducing you to vocal anatomy, vocal acoustics, vocal science and vocal imagery, in addition to the vocal technique used in scales and exercises. When a singer feels knowledgeable about their own voice and how it functions, then they experience greater confidence in their voice and its abilities. There is no longer the nagging doubt of, “Well, I hope my voice cooperates with me today!” (fingers crossed). Instead the singer can approach their voice with understanding and the confidence.
I specialize in vocal health and as a licensed massage therapist, I help many of my singers with laryngeal massage. Frequently singers will begin their voice session with twenty minutes of laryngeal massage and then spend the rest of the time in the voice studio singing. It is always a joy to see these singers exclaim their surprise and excitement over the newly found freedom and power in their voice after a laryngeal massage session. It truly is a vocal game changer! In addition to laryngeal massage, I share with singers the daily habits they can incorporate into their routine to take their voice to the next level, as well as the steps they need to take when they come down with an illness.
All of this – technique, scientific knowledge, massage and vocal health – come together when we begin to work repertoire. With a healthy, balanced, strong instrument we can dig into the nuts and bolts of the song: melody, rhythm, intonation, vowel modification, dynamics, breath control, phrasing, etc. Once we have a handle on those basics, we start to excavate the song in terms of style, expression and authentically delivering the story/text. This is when magic starts to happen! If the singer is preparing for an audition, then we discuss 16 and 32 bar cuts, intros and endings, working with a live pianist or if submitting a video prescreen audition then we can film during their session or just cover the basics of successful filming so they can film on their own.