A Voice Apart

My answer would be: “No, you should not.” With that said, if you want to learn something valuable from your coach/mentor, or your voice specialist for that matter, YOU are the one who has to be submissive to such learning and NEVER DOMINANT! For example.. during my session, one of my students/clients had been constantly trying to take over, so to speak. In general, I have always reminded them that one of us has to be submissive… and it ain’t going to be me! What do I mean by that? What I mean is that when I try to convey my message, and for many years (along with it), the tested, tried and proved curriculum, the student/client tries to impose his/her own way of running MY session; and therefore, no doubt,  interferes with the process of his/her own learning progress. I have been consulting, teaching and repairing voices for over four decades, but some of my clients, instead of listening and embracing my expertise and extensive experience, trying to prove their own poi

- 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

Would you consider yourself someone who uses their voice a great deal? Are you a professional singer, a professional voice artist or someone that uses their voice at work more than usual? If yes, then you know that your voice is a very important tool/resource that needs to be protected; and if used incorrectly or abused, your voice can be susceptible to all kinds of traumas. Some symptoms of certain vocal problems, disorders or traumas can include a hoarse voice , excessive throat clearing, thick buildup of mucus in the throat, coughing, trouble in swallowing, trouble breathing, etc. All these symptoms will definitely affect your voice. It may very well even effect the quality of your life!  Some other voice/vocal abnormalities may include changes in pitch and also the volume of your voice. It may also cause vocal fatigue, breaks (or cracks) in your voice while speaking or singing… And nevertheless, you also may experience difficulty being heard in noisy environments when you are

Do you experience any voice problems speaking or singing the word of The Lord? In a previous blog (titled “Calling All Pastors, Priests, Ministers, Bishops, Worship Leaders, Gospel Singers, Etc”), we have touched the topic of voice issues of those who religiously (no pun intended) worship God and Jesus, using their speaking and singing voices and, unfortunately, sometimes using their voices not always adequately and often excessively. But what about the church choirs and other religious (or non-religious) choirs for that matter? People who are singing in those choirs are usually very devoted to their causes, and thus performing their scores very diligently and with everything (so to speak) they’ve got…to the max! They are usually very animated, very energetic, and nevertheless, also using their voices to the max as well. The choir director/master always encourages the choir members to sing passionately and loudly, but not always paying attention to the technical as