» Great Singers and Songs

Brava! Adele!! On Adele’s website, she says, “Oh goodness!! I’m absoloutly flabbergasted! In between laughing my head off, welling up, needing to sit down and trying to maintain an open fire (which is pretty much impossible huh!?) I keep having flashbacks to Sunday night. The most incredible night of my life. Thank you to you all, I am so overwhelmed, it’s the strangest feeling. I ...

The music world is saddened by the untimely death of Whitney Houston, named ‘The Voice’ for her powerful and gorgeous singing. Over the last several years though, the voice was in great decline probably due to drug and alcohol abuse. Whitney’s voice was not only her identity but also her fame and fortune. Those of you reading this are singers in one way or another and you know yo...

They call it eating crow. That’s what I’m doing right now. The trailers I had seen for SMASH!, created by Steven Spielberg, had music that sounded over-produced and cliche. Broadway is fantasy, but the singing and acting are REAL. I objected right here on this blog to that pop sound with all the auto-tune and other pop music electronics. My bad. The show itself was amazing! I’m a...

Stephen Sondheim’s Follies is running on Broadway with a cast of fabulous performers. The ‘star’ of the show is supposed to be Bernadette Peters. That’s the way the producers planned it anyway. This show is a lesson in maintaining your vocal technique. The story is about a 30-year reunion of Follies performers when the old theater is about to be torn down and turned into a...

As a vocal trainer, singing teacher, I’m often asked who IS a good singer. k.d. langThere are so many pop stars who have a tough time singing without studio magic that it’s reassuring to know that there are singers out there who are real, honest to God singers. Here’s one of my favorites. k.d. lang. ms. lang has a technique that never lets her down. Her vocal freedom, her artist...

I stumbled on this video of Esperanza Spalding, who is a jazz vocalist and bass player. You can hear that her main focus is communicating the music. She’s not worried about her voice and the notes, but she is focused on how her improvised melody serves the song, the music. Esperanza Spalding The following was taken from Ms. Spalding’s website: “The one pursuit that made sense to...

On A Clear Day is now playing on Broadway in New York City, starring Harry Connick Jr. This revival that’s not a revival is sadly rewritten in one of the most convoluted re-dos ever. I kept shaking my head trying to make sense of the choices made by Michael Mayer who re-wrote and directs the show. If you’d like a full review of the show, Back Stage provides a scathing one http://bit.ly...

Talking with a student yesterday during her lesson about using breath release to keep the voice healthy, I had to mention Audra McDonald as a great example. Here’s what I mean: when you sing a word that begins with a vowel, such as “I”, which you do quite often, the tendency is to start the “I” in the throat. When you do so, you get a harsh attack on the “IR...

When a star is born, the star is sometimes the last person to know that they have star potential. This is the truth with my student Helga. Helga and I, Sally Morgan, have worked together for about 1.5 years, through vocal damage, through the writing of some of her songs, through the recording of her CD in Nashville, then preparing her for the CD release party. I adore Helga as a human being and l...

A couple days ago, I interviewed the brilliant, warm and extremely talented Steven Lutvak. Our conversation is a wealth of information and inspiration for all musicians, singers, songwriters and performers so I must share it with you. I met Steven about 10 yrs ago when my vocal method, Sing Like You Speak™, was just a seed of an idea that was forming in the back of my mind. He epitomizes Sing Li...