It's not all about the breath...

Breathing is important. There's no question about that.

But not every vocal issue is resolved by "getting the breath under it," "singing on the breath," or "just support more."

Some things are resonance based, registration based, a question of constriction. 

No, you can't be resonant if your breath support is inconsistent, whether you are breathy or pressed. 

And registration can depend on that also.

But maybe your breath support is just fine but your tongue is pulled back. Or you're nasal.  Or your articulation is not as efficient as it could be.  Or maybe you're carrying up too much weight and not allowing your voice to transition as needed. 

So it could be alignment. Or articulation. Or registration.

And you're trying so hard to "support support support" that all the other factors are going out the window. 

When I was a very young teacher, that's all I knew. "Support! That will fix everything."

Maybe it is support - but maybe you can't fix it until you fix your alignment, your articulation, your registration issues. Or maybe the key to fixing it is fixing one of those things. 

• You fix your physical alignment and your breath can flow more easily
• You fix your retracted tongue and your vocal folds can respond more effectively to your breath energy
• You find a lighter mechanism and your breath doesn't have to work as hard.

What I'm saying is that there are many roads to the same destination. The destination is efficient and functional singing. How do we get there? We can't all take the same road. Maybe you need to take the scenic route. Maybe the shortest path between two points, if that works for you. 

Jeanie LoVetri says sometimes we have to wait for the bus. Maybe it's a direct route, maybe non-stop. 

Jeff Costello's Blog: Concentration and Focus

Jeff Costello's Blog: Concentration and Focus: OK, would you like to really know what I teach? I teach concentration.  And, Focus. That's really about it.  It doesn't take a ton of Go...

It's a grand n̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ day for singing!!!

Tomorrow, February 17, will be my penultimate studio recital. It is the pre-WSMA recital, although in this case, we are also featuring performers preparing for musical auditions, the Auditions Plus/Classical Singer audition, and the Greendale Community Theatre production of Les Miserables.

There are 19 people performing tomorrow - we are opening with Rodgers' "It's a grand night for singing" (but it's only 2:30, hence the title) and closing with Gershwin's "My cousin in Milwaukee." Both will be sung by my two youngest students. In between, we will hear from five boys (the most I've had for a number of years, which is how I can tell the economy is getting better - boys are taking lessons again!) and 12 other girls. The repertoire will range from musical theater to operetta to opera, and we'll even do a little bit of ensemble work as a preview of the final recital, which will be held on May 12.

The recital will be held at 2:30pm at St. John's on the Lake. Admission is free.

Speaking of the final recital, I'll need to know by 2/28 who is participating. I plan to coordinate the program during my break (3/1-3/10) and distribute music the week of 3/11.

Toi toi toi everyone. (I never say "break a leg," especially this time of year - there's ice out there!)

My Lenten Resolution/Your Lenten Challenge

I grew up Catholic, but with a non-Catholic mother. And although she had to swear that she would raise her children Catholic when she married my very Catholic father, she found ways to get around that. The whole idea of Lenten sacrifice was something that she really couldn't wrap her head around. She never sacrificed anything if it didn't suit her or if she couldn't use it to make herself look good (I know that sounds harsh, but I'm being honest). No meat on Fridays? She didn't like fish and her attitude was, "God doesn't want us to go hungry." Same thing for fasting - perhaps it was having lived through depression and war, but the idea of going without food by choice was anathema to her. 

So giving up things was not something I was raised with. I don't recall my dad participating in that either (then again, Mom did all the cooking and dad didn't like fish or vegetables any more than she did, so if he didn't want to starve, he had to eat what she put in front of him).

In the years since my childhood, I've made a concerted effort to give things up. If not for religious reasons, at least to try to break habits for a limited time which would hopefully become long-term. Or to lose weight. Or to be more productive. I've given up french fries, I've given up Bejeweled, I've given up fast food - and it's always a short-term fix.

So this year, I'm going to try to establish some new habits instead.

1. I'm going to practice every day. Mindfully and with purpose. My plan is to put together my audition repertoire for my return to Baltimore - to include operetta, opera, oratorio, musical theater and cabaret. I've already started that. It's hard to practice when you have 40 students between two schools (home and Stritch), but I have to do it. Even if I don't have time to practice a bunch of songs at one sitting, at least I can vocalize and do something.
   
2. I'm going to write. This doesn't mean 40 days of blogs. I don't know what I'm going to write, but I'm going to write something. I have an article to write for the Journal of Singing on the process of leaving a successful voice studio behind and re-establishing my studio in a new city. (Actually, two articles - one in a year from now to document my progress.) I want to get into the practice of regular writing. Before I wanted to be a singer, I wanted to be a writer. 

What I'm not going to do is give up Bejeweled or french fries or fast food or vow to exercise every day. I'm going to keep up with my wheat elimination program, following the principles of the book Wheat Belly, because it seems to make me feel better. And I'm going to continue to try to eat at home and not spend money eating out - but I'm doing that anyway. I'll try to keep up those things because they're working for me. 

What singing goals can you set for yourself for the next 40 days? Here are some suggestions:

1. Practice mindfully. Every day. (You can have Sundays off.)
2. Learn the International Phonetic Alphabet to help you with your foreign language singing.
3. Look into a summer training program. First Stage? Some music camp?
4. Sing in a different language.
5. Improve your piano skills so you can learn music faster.
6. Listen to some singers in a different genre than you usually listen to.
7. Audition for a show!

Maybe God doesn't want me to starve, but He does want me to sing. Of that I'm sure.