Break a leg!

A quick message to wish all those who are participating in the Sale Eisteddfod this Saturday. They have all worked very hard, preparing their repertoire and are sounding fantastic.

The main thing I would remind you all is to BREATHE!

Also this weekend is the last performances of The Little Mermaid by the Latrobe Theatre Company.

This is a lovely performance and would highly recommend attending if you are able.

To book tickets click here.

The Latrobe Chorale is also performing this weekend:

Saturday 21st May 2pm Presbyterian Church, Morwell.

Sunday 22nd May 2pm, St Michaels Church, Traralgon.

I will be conducting the program: Rutter’s Gloria and Faure’s Requiem.

Here is a taste:

The Passaggio

All singers are challenged with working through the ‘passaggio’ – the transition through vocal registers. The main registers are sometimes described as chest voice, middle or mixed voice and head voice as this is the physical feeling singers have as they move from a lower register to a higher register.

You cannot remove the passaggi, but you can train yourself to even out the passaggio so that you maintain ‘one voice’ through your whole vocal range.

That is something your voice teacher should be working on with you.

Here are some examples of voices where they are singing confidently through their vocal range and really nailing their high voice:

Male:

Female:

Here is a brief video for any men who are wanting to move through the passaggio – developing a mix voice:

Purposeful Practice

There is no such thing as a ‘gifted’ musician. A person may have a desire to be a great musician, but the greatness only comes from hours and hours and hours of practice.World class performances comes by striving for a target just out of reach – but with a vivid awareness of how the gap might be breached.

Purposeful practice is about striving for what is just and out of reach and not quite making it. It is about grappling with tasks beyond current limitations and falling short again and again.

Excellence is about stepping outside the comfort zone, training with a spirit of endeavour and accepting the trials and tribulations that will definitely come along. Progress is built upon the foundations of necessary failure. Failure is a part of any learning. If you are not failing, you are not learning and growing as a musician and a person.

Success and failure is found in motivation. Thousands of hours in purposeful practice will help to achieve excellence.

But it is only those who care about the destination, who are motivated that will get there.

The following video is about Lang Lang, a pianist from China. His story is incredible.

He obviously has the desire to be a musician, but you can also see the dedication and sacrifice he and his family have made for him to succeed.

A new Term around the corner

I am enjoying the last few days of holidays and am now excited to be beginning a new term. singing

Voice lessons at the Singing Strong Studio resume on Monday 11th April.

There will be 10 weeks of voice lessons for Term 2.

The first Singing Strong Cafe concert for the year will be held on Thursday 21st April from 6.30pm at Dal Mondo Cafe, Post Office Place, Traralgon.

This is a great evening of musical entertainment and provides student an opportunity to perform in a relaxed and supportive environment.

Please put the date in your diary. You are most welcome to invite family and friends. There is plenty of room for guests.

You might like to organize to have a meal there or coffee/dessert.

Please send me an email if you wish to participate indicating the song/songs you will be singing. If you have a specific time you would like to attend whether due to other commitments or needing to leave early please let me know so that I can place you in the program at a suitable time.

Time to Practice

Practice makes perfect

The Singing Strong studio is running a practice blitz from from Monday 22nd February until Sunday 6th March.

Record your practice sessions and the student with the most time recorded will be showered with prizes! There will also be a 2nd and 3rd place award as well.

Remember you must record your practice sessions on the singing strong website to qualify. Thank you to those who have already started to do this.

How to get into a good practice routine:

Put it in the diary!

Life is so incredibly busy with so many commitments. Taking on singing lessons means finding time to practice. I suggest you take a moment to decide when will the best time be for you to practice, put those times in your diary and stick to it.

We are fortunate in some ways to always have our voice with us so we can practice almost anywhere, but setting aside specific times in a designated place where you can be free from distractions and really focus is so important.

Where should I practice?

Have a space where you are comfortable, have all the tools you need and are free of distractions.

Try to find a space where family members wont be interrupted too much, however make other members of your family aware that they need to let you practice.

How long should I practice?

It depends. If you are serious about making good progress, the more time you put in, the more progress you will make.

Start with at least 10 minutes, 5 times a week when first starting out and then gradually increase this time as necessary. Depending on perfomances and exams, you may need to practice an hour every day.

A good rule of thumb is to practice on the day after your lesson if possible. This reinforces what you have done at your lesson. Leaving it for a couple of days means you can easily forget what you have worked on.

Newsletter 1 2016

Welcome back to another year of singing!

It has been wonderful greeting students for the new year, hearing about their holiday adventures and seeing their joy at returning to lessons.

For the adult students there has been less about holidays ( unfortunately) but there has certainly be the same enthusiasm as they arrive for lessons.

For students who have been studying with me for a while, it has been great to hear their voices again and realize the progress they have been making vocally. It has been so exciting to hear the way their voices have matured and developed. For new students it has been exciting starting with them and helping them uncover the voice they have inside them.

A big welcome to all the new students who have started for 2016. I look forward to working with you on your musical journey!

News from the Studio:

PRACTICE BLITZ!

Students have new repertoire to start working on for 2016.

To get you into a practice routine I am holding a practice blitz for the next two weeks.

The blitz will run from Monday 22nd February until Sunday 6th March . All you need to do is practice consistently and record your practice times on the singing strong website. (remember you have to log into your account to fill in the details. If you need help with this please let me know.) You can log in at the bottom of this post.

There will be prizes and surprises for the person who clocks up the most practice hours!

Take some time now to work out times during the week when you can dedicate 15 -20 minutes to practice. Record this on your calendar and then stick to it!

Student achievements:

Congratulations to all the students who participated in the Summer Pantomime “Aladdin”. It was a fun show and I thoroughly enjoyed myself when I went to see it.

aladdin

Congratulations to Alicia Hooimeyer who played the title role and to Sophia Patikisa who was a gorgeous Jasmine.

aladdin2 Hollie Gibson was terrific as the dog and there were other fantastic performances from the following students as well:

Ella Brent

Zahra Hanratty

Ella Hill

Paige Horn

Maddison Logue

Britney Nelthorpe

Sebastian Poole

aladdinall

There are numerous students involved in the many productions that will be held during 2016. I will keep you informed as they come up.

Cafe Concert

I have tentatively booked our first term Cafe Concert for Wednesday 16th March from 6.30pm. Please put this date in your diary. I understand that some of you will have commitments on this evening, but it would be appreciated if you are able to come and sing, even if you are only able to pop in and out.

I will put out some more information about this event during the week.

So let’s get singing! Have a great week.

Dream!

An Overnight Success?

A major dilemma I face with some students is that they come to me for singing lessons expecting that in a short time, maybe six months or even less. they will be on stage wowing them at a show like “The Voice” or landing that dream role in a major stage musical. This however is an unrealistic expectation.

With most performers you rarely hear about the months and years of hard work behind the scenes. You rarely hear about the major catastrophes followed by major miracles that brought about their success. You rarely hear about the hours and hours of grind.

If you don’t have realistic expectations, you can quickly get into the wrong state of mind. You’ll be thinking that to be a success in music you should be a star on stage in just months. Then you’ll give up way too soon.

This notion of overnight success is an urban legend, and very misleading. If you’re starting something new, expect a long and challenging journey. They say 10,000 hours to become an expert. If your worked on your skills for one hour a day that will take 27 years. That starts to put things into perspective, doesn’t it?

But that’s no excuse to move slowly. Many singers think they can achieve fame and stardom without the practice. Put in the practice EVERY DAY and you will see significant improvement fairly quickly.

Usually what brings about an “overnight success” is that the person is willing to persist until they achieve the success they desire. This is key in achieving the results you want.

If you are curious about how I can help you to achieve the voice you have always dreamed of then just click here for more information.