What Is Class Like?

The principles of singing technique are based on science and centuries of technical practices. I can help you discover the sensations of correct singing and train you to reproduce those sensations with consistency and dependability. To this end, a part of each lesson is spent in vocalizing. We vocalize not just to warm up the voice, for it is in vocalizing that the student develops his own experience of efficient and well-produced sound. In my studio, this knowledge is then transferred immediately to literature. We work on the music of your choice and focus as well on pieces I will assign you (and this is most often me stretching the student to the next level of expertise).

Music is approached in its technical aspects first, and then when the singing begins to feel intergraded we work together on the telling of the story of the song. Because all performing is in essence story telling, the student must develop and utilize the skill of the actor in communicating to his/her audience. And this applies equally to my rock singers. After all, the task of keeping your audience engaged and entertained is no less than that of the theatrical singer.

SINGING TECHNIQUE

What is singing technique?

There is a science of how the well produce sound is made in singing that stretches back to Renaissance Italy. In this period of history, it was expected that a person of breeding and class be not only scholarly, but all so well practiced in the finer arts. Singing was studied right along with classical literature, the sciences, languages, math, etc. Unencumbered vowel shapes and free tongue articulation, emphasis on breathing low in the body (what is commonly called diaphragmatic breathing), the use of resonance in the body (in particular the facial mask), most in the enigmatic but essential feature, support: all of these were developed and refined by the master teachers 300 years ago. And they are the same basic principles we practice today in the development and maintenance of vocal production. And the important thing to recognize here is that the technique is a thing of practicality. Too many mediocre singers and sadly, singing teachers, speak the language of correct technique without having made the connection to the sensations that correspond within the singers own body. Sensation in the body!

It is difficult to translate the correct singing sensations into a clear language that will make sense to a student, but a teacher should be able to articulate these sensations to a student effectively. In fact, the most important piece of information I can share with you is that because singing is about sensation in the body, each and every time the good singing teacher says to the student, “No. Please do that again for me. Ah, that’s better!” The student must know that something has just been made it easier on their voice. This is a sensation! The sensation must always be one of the more ease: especially in the immediate area of the vocal chords. Sometimes this sensation improves only a little bit, often it is a tremendous amount: but it always feels easier to the student. And if this doesn’t happen each and every time the teacher has given you that, “That’s better” feedback, then you are wasting your time and money. I know. I began my singing training with and incompetent college professor who didn’t help my voice to improve one bit for the whole year that I was assigned to him.

But within a year and a half of being with my next teacher, my singing voice had gotten to be so good that I was singing leads in not only the musicals but also in the operas! And this was and a big opera school at the time. And absolutely true story!

I here to demystify the craft of building and protecting your singing voice and help you to find the voice you probably only dreamed about up to now.

VOCAL COACHING

My training and background have fitted me with the skills of both the Vocal Coach and Voice Teacher. I was a piano minor in college and I have my Bachelors and Masters in Vocal Technique and Performance. And my knowledge of auditioning and performing is first and foremost, that of one who made his living as a professional performer and musical director (not to mention a teacher in the New York City professional scene) for many years.

In my studio, I take great effort to help my students pick out material and work with them to perfect their singing and interpretational skills for performance and for auditions. A part of this is addressing the way a professional presents him/herself at an audition or interview: i.e. where to focus the eyes while auditioning, how to talk to a piano player, what do I do if the pianist can’t play my piece, what to wear, etc. Anyone auditioning should have about 5 to 7 songs from the different genres (from standard musical theater to rock) that are of a comfortable range and are his/her expression of what the student wants to say as an actor. For example, if a student has excellent comic timing, the ballad we pick might steer away from the standard “I love you dear” and goes for the skewered fun piece that, showing off the voice, puts the emphasis on the acting strength. And whether or not we like to admit it, there are definite categories of character types in the theater: i.e. the leading man/leading lady, ingénue/ juvenal, the best friend/second banana, the character actor, etc. My job is to be the objective eyes and ears for the students, and I am honest in my views about how I feel they should be presenting themselves in auditioning for the theater.

Finally, I work on all my student’s material both vocally as well as acting-wise so they are confident that they are presenting themselves to the best of their abilities. The skills of telling a good story are every bit as important to any entertainer as the beauty of her/his vocal instrument. In my own career, I was proud to have present myself as an actor who just happened to have a fantastic singing voice!