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Singing Tips

  1. Know what you want. Be sure lessons are bringing you closer to your goal.

  2. Try and practice 6 days a week. Picking an assigned time can help.

  3. Two shorter practice sessions are better than one long one. Practicing with poor concentration is not recommended.

  4. Students unable to read music are encouraged to learn. It is easier than you think and the rewards are many.

  5. Singing is a physical act, not an intellectual exercise. Move your body, open your mouth, and get on with it.

  6. Sing with joy, exercises and all

  7. Enjoy that unique act of opening your mouth and giving song, regardless of level of expertise. Do not wait for some plateau of excellence to grant you pleasure; still higher plateaus always beckon.

  8. Sing with knowledge. I give you specific tools to use. Apply them.

  9. Bring a small notebook to class to record what these tools are, and homework assignments to help you learn to master them more quickly.

  10. Please bring to each lesson at least one song you would like to sing.

  11. I record your lesson on a CD.  Working with these CDs will enhance progress.  You are also welcome to bring your own recording device.

  12. Work with a small mirror at home for vowels.

  13. Sing with patience. Vocal habits are not formed in a day, and neither are they altered in one. Pushing yourself forward with tension, anxiety or frustration only serves to set you back.

  14. During exercises, remember to train the descending passages as rigorously as the ascending ones.

  15. Stop singing suddenly occasionally and see if your throat is tight. (It won't be when you sing correctly.) Exhaling the sound will help keep it loose.

  16. These are YOUR sessions. Please be sure that we are progressing toward what it is you wish to accomplish with your singing.