If you have never heard of Fritz Wunderlich, well, you’re not alone as many have not. He is an unsung superstar of his generation, with his life being tragically cut short when he fell down a flight on stairs whilst on a hunting trip in 1966. His renditions of many tracks are now largely considered to be the defining version of those tracks.
Maturing of Vocal Tone (Better Vocal Tone)
Something that comes up time and time again with voice training is “when will my vocal tone be thicker?” or “deeper?” or “fuller?” or “more powerful?”, “how do I get better vocal tone?” or words to that effect.
Well, there’s no easy answer to that. There’s so many factors that go into development of tone, some of them trainable attributes, others are a by-product of living in a given condition for a while, and others still are style/personality/psychology dependent. Continue reading “Maturing of Vocal Tone (Better Vocal Tone)”
Ease, strain, and time to think (improve your singing performance easily)
One of the biggest benefits of today’s article is that it’s an easy way to improve your singing performance in just a few easy steps, so read on.
Key Choice is EVERYTHING
Recently, I’ve been visiting songs new and old and concocting a list of 10-15 songs that I like and are exciting, both to sing and listen to. One of the big questions with each song is – what’s the best key to sing in?
Picking the right key, for the right song, for your voice will not just help you acquire the best quality for the basic singing of the song, but will naturally lead to style opportunities. But we’ve got to be honest with ourselves about where we sound good, rather than doing it in a particular key “cos that’s where the original artist did it“. Continue reading “Ease, strain, and time to think (improve your singing performance easily)”
Personality Mismatch in Singing (Picking the Right Songs)
This is a topic that has come up a lot for me and for clients over the years, but it feels even more relevant recently. This is not just about picking the right songs, but also extends to vocal development, tessitura/range that best shows off your voice, and where your personaly wants you to sing. Continue reading “Personality Mismatch in Singing (Picking the Right Songs)”
How long does it take to train a voice a.k.a. How the voice “fills in”
One of the most common questions I get asked regarding voice training is “how long does it take?”
Now generally what people THINK they mean is “how long does it take to train a voice/learn to sing“, but often what is really going on, is that a given singer has the beginnings of their sound thanks to some development of facility/function, but the full extent of their sound is not yet there. This is understandably frustrating, but what’s the whole story? Continue reading “How long does it take to train a voice a.k.a. How the voice “fills in””
Happy Father’s Day – Pavarotti & Son
Happy Father’s Day to all reading this! Today, I figured a nice short clip of Pavarotti singing with his Dad in the local church would be a lovely way to shine a bit of high quality vocal music into an already lovely day (as a Dad myself, I’m a bit biased!) Continue reading “Happy Father’s Day – Pavarotti & Son”
How to become a singing teacher & what it takes
We went to a friends’ birthday party on Saturday and got chatting with someone about how to become a singing teacher.
What happened was, I struck up a conversation with someone my wife went to university with, and we were talking about what she did for a living. She then confessed she really doesn’t enjoy it that much, and is looking for a change. When I asked what she was thinking of doing, they said something along the lines of the following: Continue reading “How to become a singing teacher & what it takes”