A Voice Apart

- Revised and modernized version from July 23rd, 2011 I've been teaching, consulting and recording vocalists for close to four decades. I've also been conducting group vocal interactive workshops and seminars for the longest time. It is extremely interesting to watch and experience the changes with each generation. What was happening before is history. What is happening today is reality. And today's reality is very confusing, and at times, disheartening. On one hand, people are much more advanced now than they've ever been. In what sense you may ask? Definitely technologically. Also quite definitely, intellectually, as the technology gives them access to much wider venues than they could have ever dreamt of.  Yet, physically speaking, it's another story. The Vocal Science ™  method, which I have been advocating for quite a few years, requires an integration and synergy between mental, physical, emotional and vocal components. Unless all of those compon

For some people, the loss of their voice is equivalent to a plane crash, nevertheless!  Obviously they would feel lost and confused, as (for most of the times) they are not even aware of what exactly happened to them and their voice for that matter… and why? They are desperately looking for answers. The singers usually could intuitively and predominantly feel that some voice problems may be coming their way; but the regular people who had lost their speaking voices literally experience the “crash of their lives”, as their communication with their inner and (needless to say) outer world, had become significantly compromised.  Obviously, in the case of the voice loss, the ultimate goal would be the restoration of the speaking voice and, when needed, the singing voice as well. However, it is easier said then done.  If the chosen approach for the restoration of the voice is surgical and if the vocal surgery is successful, the first part of the voice recovery is not that

Some singers who come to me for non-surgical voice repair are not necessarily the professional singers. Which means, that a lot of them have a daytime job or even their own businesses.  Some of the professions require speaking on the phone all day, running meetings, doing presentations, and what not.  After an 8-hour workday, the part-time singers would rush to their band rehearsal or even to an outright performance.  Perhaps being vocally very talented but not, per se, knowing about the proper application of their voice, they put the enormous pressure on their vocal anatomy. So let’s examine that: They use their speaking voice excessively during the working day and then even more intensely during the night through the late hours.  While they’re speaking at work, they primarily are doing it from the sitting position with a slouched back, thus drowning their voice onto the bottom of their throats and below.  They establish the low voice speaking habit.  Then they go

What do we mean by the above? Let us explain: The voice repair process, by itself, is very complex. And if not approached holistically, it most likely will not produce any meaningful results with respect of the voice-issue(s).  The fact is that if the vocal problem had been induced only by lack of the proper voice/vocal technique, then the treatment and restoration of the voice will be (pretty much) straight forward.  If the voice issues had also been caused by emotional distress and/or by  neurological disorder(s), then the treatment (at first) will be more on the holistic/physiological and emotional side; and only then it will be focused on the actual voice restoration. Some of our clients (especially at the beginning of their Journey) require a lot of emotional support. Without which, sometimes, a voice treatment, as well as “installation” of the proper voice/vocal “mechanism", is virtually impossible.  Quite a large percentage of those people ended up with v