Eating an apple is of great benefit to singers during rehearsals and performances.  The skin on an apple is rich in nutrients and flavonoids, which give the apple its vibrant color.  An apple stimulates saliva, hydrates the vocal folds, and helps boost both the immune system and memory.  It also curbs appetite, lowers cholesterol, and reduces inflammation.  With the busy lifestyle of a singer, remember the apple and all of its health benefits, and thank the legend Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman) for planting all those trees.  Happy Singing!!

The term Messa di voce means “Place the Voice.” This is an advanced singing technique which may be practiced and performed on one pitch using dynamic control of crescendos and decrescendos. The dynamics begin from soft (p), gradually moving to loud (f), and returning to soft (p). Keep the voice even, stable, and unified throughout the range when practicing or performing this technique. In other words, avoid any kind of shifting with the chest and head registers, especially in the middle voice. Sing with a mixture of tone quality which incorporates both sounds of the chest and head voice. When singing softly at the beginning and end of this technique, keep the sound full and energized so breath travels efficiently through the range of dynamics, resulting in a clear, focused and supported tone. Happy Singing!!

There are four stages of breath while singing: Inhalation, Suspension, Exhalation, and Recovery. The air must enter quietly and efficiently during inhalation into the space of an (a) vowel. Once air fills the lungs, suspension takes place. For example, the air must be maintained and compressed with an open throat before exhalation. Compression of air will provide a foundation for strong breath support and brilliant tone quality. As exhalation begins, the sensation of compressed air must continue throughout this stage. After loss of air, the muscles recover and the cycle of breath starts over. Happy Singing!!

I have been reading the book “Body, Mind and Music” written by Laurie Riley, founder of Harp for Healing LLC, which is a certified program for therapuetic musicians. She has wonderful ideas which may be easily applied to a singer’s life and career. Today, I want to highlight the concept of passion. Being a professional singer and musician requires an overwhelming sense of passion, and is cultivated through mastery of musical skills which include learning, practice and application. To achieve mastery is about being the best musician you can possibly be in terms of learning your music, musical growth, and excellent performance skills. When you love what you do, the work involved in achieving mastery is rewarding, and your musical passion becomes contagious. Happy Singing!!

An excellent breathing exercise is to exhale all of the air from the lungs with energy and force, as if blowing out many cake candles. Once air has been expelled, inhalation should immediately travel to the lungs. Allow for full expansion in the middle to lower torso, engaging the abdomen, ribs, and back. This expansive sensation should be suspended for three to four seconds before exhalation takes place. Once exhalation begins on s, Z, or uh, maintain the energy and expansion of the breath. Practice using muscular resistance in the lower body when the abdominal muscles want to return to their resting position. However, always keep the throat open in the process. Happy Singing!!

Excellent ways to gently warm up the voice are lip trills and humming. Lip trills provide relaxation in the facial muscles and energize the breath. It is important to keep the lips slightly pressed together. If there is too much space, breath will escape. When the coordination is correct at the lips, add sound and continue trilling to exercise the entire vocal range. Humming sets the tone with balanced resonance. The lips should be relaxed and gently pressed together, the teeth should be slightly apart, and the soft palate lifted. Both exercises are best used with light vocal weight and concentration on focusing the voice.