Blog

In today’s How To Warm Up video, we’ve looped back around to a Resonance exercise! In the last loop we talked about mask resonance, which helps you get into a forward-placed, ping-y sound. Today, we’re going to talk about what I like to call ‘loft resonance.’ It helps you get into a taller, more robust placement. Think about it this way… mask resonance is the belt-y Elphaba sound, and loft resonance is more the classical Glinda sound. (Hats off to Idina and Kristin by the way 🎩  … and fun fact, ...

I’ve been thinking about sharing the content in today’s How To Warm Up video for quite awhile, and I’m very excited the time has come! See, today I am teaching you how massage the muscles on the front of your throat.

Your larynx (pictured to your right – image courtesy of Blue Tree Publishing, www.bluetreepublishing.com) is your voice box: the thing made of cartilage that sits in your throat and houses the vocal folds (aka the vocal cords). It’s suspended in your throat by some small but strong...

We’re back with another “How To Warm Up” video, and today we’re covering breath support!

In the last video on Body we covered one of my favorite new things – abdominal massage. Massaging your guts is super beneficial for helping your belly release so you can allow in an easy, expansive inhalation.
– HOWEVER –
When we’re producing sound, the exhalation isn’t just released… rather it needs to be supported and energized. That means there’s actually engagement and work happening in the low abdominal ...

Happy World Voice Day!

I wanted to do something special in honor of this relatively new annual celebration, so today I’m sharing a very special video. It’s allergy season, and I’ve frequently been recommending neti pots. But when I tell people to use them, I often get incredulous cross-eyes and hear “that’s the thing where I pour water through my nose right?!? I don’t think I could do that!”👀

I’ll admit neti pots are definitely a little strange to get used to. But because I really believe in t...

Okay guys today is GOOD, because this exercise that is my latest obsession.

We’re on to the Body stage in the “How To Warm Up” sequence, and today I’m sharing a technique for abdominal self-massage. It was actually my Ayurvedic wellness coach who taught me how to massage my belly in order to aid digestion. But in the last few months I’ve been applying it to my own vocal practice and sharing it with my students, and the results have been astounding.

Here’s why I think it works: In order to allo...

It’s vocal health time! I recently interviewed my incredibly knowledgeable colleague Line Hilton. Line is a voice coach, performing arts medicine specialist, and founder of the online magazine iSing. In this special bonus video for my online course How Your Voice Works, Line and I talk about what performers need from their medical care, and how doctors and other clinicians can support artists.

Check out our interview here:

And if you have any questions, comment to let us know!

xo,

We’ve made it through a full loop of the How To Warm Up Series, and you’ve now got one video each pertaining to Impulse, Body, Breath, Sound, Resonance, Articulation, and Language! So at this juncture I’d like to take a moment to have a midterm check in….

Before you go running away at the sound of the word midterm, don’t worry it’s not a test! 😜

What it is is a check up to make sure you’re incorporating all the exercises with awareness of what you’re doing them for. So have a watch of the vide...

In this week’s How To Warm Up video, we’re moving into Language! I’ll take you through a beloved tongue twister you may know: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers! This text has tons of plosive sounds in it, so you’ll have a chance to build on your work with clear and sharp explosive consonants which we worked on in last week’s Articulation video. Ready? Let’s do this!

Check out the Peter Piper exercise here:

Once you get good, try it in lots of different ways!

xo,

In this week’s How To Warm Up video, we’ve made it to Articulation! This time around we’re focusing on plosive sounds… the ‘explosive’ consonants that are super important to pronounce accurately for clear enunciation. This exercise is silly and fun, and if you practice I bet you’ll get good at doing it fast enough to impress all your friends😊

Check out the Topeka Bodega exercise here:

If you get really good at this, please record yourself and send it to me so I can be proud with you.

xo,

Vocal registers… kinda make no sense. I mean they do! But everyone talks about them differently. And the deeper you dive, the more confusing things can get. In my online class, lots of students have had questions about the vocal register rabbit hole… so I decided to call on my awesome friends Chris and Steve of The Naked Vocalist podcast to help me dive in. Check it out!

Want more where this came from? Learn more about my online class “How Your Voice Works,” here.

xo,