Comments for Washington Vocal Consortium

Comment on Types of Body Work for “Vocal-Ease” by Cate

Cate — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:30:09 +0000

Anybody who willing to enjoy working on their voice can improve! The key is to find a teacher who is willing to work with you. I do think that most voice teachers are not prepared to work with people with chronic physical issues, as this type of work borders on physical and sound therapy, which are related, but different fields.

That being said, there are voice teachers out there who are willing to take on those with special physical challanges. It is a rare voice teacher who has the patience, training and joy to work with those who need alternative forms of learning.

It is NOT useless–if a teacher has told you that, they are definately the wrong teacher for you!

You may be interested in an organization called Very Special Arts. (www.vsa.org)

Comment on Types of Body Work for “Vocal-Ease” by Emily Greene

Emily Greene — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:25:41 +0000

Do you have any particular advise for beginning singers, who may suffer from physical ailments like diabetes, liver disease, blindness, etc?

I have heard from some people who teach voice that its pretty much useless to teach people, who desire to learn how to properly sing. Is that true?

Thank you for your advise regarding tips to dealing with stress!

Sincerely
Emily Greene

Comment on The Aging Voice by Ira Guy

Ira Guy — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:01:38 +0000

Acid reflux is in reality a process which most people will experience fairly often. The difference between every day acid reflux, and that of GERD patients is the acidity of the reflux as well as the length for which it stays in the gullet.

Comment on Types of Body Work for “Vocal-Ease” by David

David — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:55:24 +0000

Thanks a lot for the list of Types of Bodywork and Exercise. They are very helpful for the singers.

Comment on Types of Body Work for “Vocal-Ease” by Gail Honeyman

Gail Honeyman — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:25:35 +0000

What an excellent blog, I’ve added your feed to my RSS reader.

Comment on Part I: Live vs Auto-Tune…Comparing Apples to Oranges to Get Fruit Salad by Cate Frazier Neely

Cate Frazier Neely — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:43:18 +0000

Hi Peter,

I, personally, totally agree with you. Does the Industry drive the Sound or does the public, as consumers, demand that the effects appear on the Voice because that is what we they buy? It is a big question.

Thanks for checking in and speaking up!!

Cate F-N

Comment on Part I: Live vs Auto-Tune…Comparing Apples to Oranges to Get Fruit Salad by Peter

Peter — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:25:13 +0000

Though the auto-tune can make voice perfectly, but I do not think it is good to do that.

What we want to hear is the real voice, not perfect voice, true voice must be respected…

Comment on Saturday, November 7, 2009 - Cathedral Choral Society of Washington by Kathy Price

Kathy Price — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:20:47 +0000

Hi Ken,

Vocal stamina does take time to develop, and is harder to do when we’re no longer in our 20s or 30s (I have no idea, of course, of your age bracket). I agree with Cate that body alignment — a balanced and easy “position” is an essential ingredient! The best quick answer I can give is that a well-produced sound with developed resonance is always going to be more efficient in terms of breath use than just specifically working on stamina. As singing becomes less effortful, you’ll find you have more energy to keep singing! Sounds like you’re on the right track with both your interest in vocal technique and your participation in Choral Society!

Comment on Saturday, November 7, 2009 - Cathedral Choral Society of Washington by cate

cate — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:57:37 +0000

Hi Ken,

Thanks for your question on “vocal stamina.” We will work with many different kinds of exercises on Saturday, working with body alignment and coordination that will improve your stamina with mindful practice and use. The late, great Todd Duncan–the first Porgy in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess– (listen to our short podcast on him as a teacher!) said that singers rarely run out of breath–they run out of “position,” meaning that something other than the amount of breath is preventing breath flow. And that “something” is different from singer to singer to singer. So we will be working with small groups and individuals within CCS to find those “somethings.”

See you soon!

Comment on Saturday, November 7, 2009 - Cathedral Choral Society of Washington by Ken Cohen

Ken Cohen — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:31:16 +0000

I’m interested in ‘vocal stamina’! Are there particular exercises that will help me learn how to conserve breath, especially in higher registers? (or, perhaps, I never take enough breath in the first place?) Looking forward to your workshop!