» Slice of Singing: Vocal Blog

There’s a scene from a terrible movie about the sexual revolution in the 60′s where a woman whom this man has just met is giving him direction to what will bring her pleasure in matters of degree angles up, down, right and left. This is what I always think of when a student asks me about placement. In other words, taking a beautiful sensual experience and making all about one spot that...

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face is a sensual, soulful song that I first heard years ago sung by Roberta Flack. I’m working on the song right now myself to do in a show so I went onto facebook to listen to different renditions. There I sound, besides Robert Flack, Leona Lewis’ version of the song. There is a big difference between the two women’s singing style – how the...

I have a student who will be meeting with Def Jam Records for the second time this week. Very exciting to be chosen by someone in the music biz who thinks you might have what it takes to be a singing star. Let’s look at the journey this student of mine has take to get where she is – the choices she had to make and her determination. I’ll call her Amy for now. (when she gets sign...

Equal parts Passion for the art and craft of making music, Relentless Drive to have your voice, your songs heard and Pit bull-like determination to latch on to a goal and never let it go Independent thought and original ideas about the music and how to present yourself and the music Courage. Everyone’s a bit afraid especially when your career starts to grow and you get better known. Talent – ...

The conversation goes like this: ‘Hi, are you the voice teacher? ‘Yes. Are you a singer? ‘I want to be famous, but I can’t sing the high notes. ‘How old are you. ’11. I’ll be 12 tomorrow. ‘Happy birthday! So you want to take lessons? ‘Well how do I sing the high notes? ‘Lessons will help you to learn how to sing all the notes within your ...

When we are young, when we are very young, our voices are strong, loud even, powerful and communicate clearly. What happens as we grow older? 1. We’re told to be quite, that our talking is annoying and that our singing grates on people’s nerves. 2. We begin to hold our voices and not speak in a normal tone. 3. We stop singing with abandon and start singing cautiously. 4. When we hit t...

On June 11 and 12, 2011 the New York Singing Teachers Association presents a course in Comparative Pedagogy through their Professional Development Program. I, Sally Morgan, am honored to have been asked to be one of 6 presenters. Over the course of two days, six master teachers present teaching demonstrations after case histories of students have been discussed. Concrete links are made between va...

Bill Cosby used to do a comedy routine about popular music. When he was a kid, his parents were always yelling at him to, ‘ Turn that crap down!’ Then when he became the parent of 5 children, he found himself always yelling, ‘Turn that crap down!’ It has occurred to me that I am now in the stage of life where a lot of popular music sounds like crap to me. I was just listen...

She’s hot, she’s wild, she’s a chameleon and she actually sings her own music! Maybe Lady Gaga really is from another planet. I have to admit I’m a fan. I’m fascinated by the soundscapes she creates with her song and dance. Any star in today’s sky-high pop music scene who has the guts to sing, actually sing live during a performance has my attention. If you fol...

To Breathe or Not To Breathe. Is that a question or a battle between old school voice training and cutting edge contemporary vocal technique? It may be both. Sing Like You Speak™ (cutting edge contemporary vocal technique) offers an exercise to make diaphragmatic breathing a habit. It’s called the candle exercise. A new student asked me if the candle was supposed to flicker but never go o...