So you're interested in the function of your soft palate and how it relates to singing...








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Church Choir Singing and a Conversation about Laryngal Tilt

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     In addition to being full-time in the choral conducting graduate program, I have worked as the Director of Music at a local Greenfield church for the last seven years. At the beginning of this semester one of my choir members shared with me some feelings she was having about her voice. She brought up a concern about her vibrato and how she felt like she had no control over it. At the time, I had no useful knowledge that felt would help her. I commented that she hadn't sung consistently for a few years due to the lack of choir because of the pandemic but with consistent practice she would feel more control over her vibrato. I assured her that if I found out any more information, I would try to make it applicable to her situation. I hadn't thought about that conversation until we discussed larygnal tilt in our vocal pedagogy.  Learning that we have direct control over our vibrato because it is activated by the on/off tilt of the larynx was a huge lightbulb moment...
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So You Want to Learn About Belt...

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  Image by: Fredrick Brown | Credit: Getty Images In the last twenty years, there has been much conversation around the concept of belting in singing. As a mainly classically trained musician, my knowledge and abilities on belting is limited but this week in vocal pedagogy we discovered and discussed healthy function of belt and how to create it in our own voices. When you listen to a musical theatre, folk, rock, or jazz, do you ever hear a very pingy sustained note that jumps out at you? If yes, then you might be hearing a vocalist producing belt. Belting is loosely defined as singing in your head voice but with the power from your chest voice. Healthy belting is also produced with a kind of trumpet-like intensity that makes the sounds seem to be very powerful without causing vocal fatigue or stress. It takes a good amount of breath support generated by a strong use of the abdominal muscles while singing.   Belting has been around since before singing because it was orig...
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So You Want to Learn about Breathing...

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 We as humans inherently inhale and exhale all day long without a thought about it, the natural occurrence of breathing in and out is what keeps us alive. As singers, we need to find ways to use breathing techniques and the science behind the action of breathing to build our toolbox of knowledge.      Let's try some breathing exercises to feel some hands on learning.  Step 1: Inhale through your nose Step 2: Pause and hold your breath for a few seconds Step 3: Exhale through rounded lips.  Try that breathing technique for a few rounds.  What do you feel? Are you holding tension in your bodying while you are inhaling or holding your breath? Taking the time to focus on your own breathing will set you up for success as your prepare to sing and do other tasks within your day.  Let's try one more breathing technique.  Step 1: Inhale through your nose Step 2: Hiss on your exhale while counting from ten on your fingers.  Try that technique a fe...
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