Welcome About Questions for You Services FAQ E-Mail   Frequently Asked Questions Do I have to sing Classical music before I can Sing Broadway or Pop? Is It Possible to Sing Both Classical and Popular music? I’ve Never Been Able to Sing in Chest Voice. Is it possible to learn how, or are you just born being able to do it? Can I Learn to Belt in a Healthy way? How long will it take before I see real progress? Can You Honestly Tell me if I Have a Voice Worth Developing? How much should I practice? What is Your Fee? Do I have to sing Classical music before I can Sing Broadway or Pop? Absolutely not. As I stated above, healthy, freely produced singing is the same, no matter what style you choose to sing. Singers of all styles start with ballad-like songs that aren’t too intense or too wide-ranging. Even if you prefer pop or Broadway, it can be useful to occasionally sing classical songs, because they can give you a different perspective on singing. But it isn’t essential and I don’t push students to sing classical music if they aren’t interested. Back to Top Is It Possible to Sing Both Classical and Popular music? Most certainly. I can think of a number of former pop and Broadway students who were also church soloists, singing weddings and funerals. To repeat, it doesn’t matter what style you wish to sing. The basic technique is the same, if you expect to sing healthily and consistently. You do not have to make a choice and stick to one style. Back to Top I’ve Never Been Able to Sing in Chest Voice. Is it possible to learn how, or are you just born being able to do it? Some women have a difficult time finding and developing their chest voice, especially those who have sung mostly classical music. Others may be able to sing in chest, but they will never be able to produce a big sound; it all depends on what you were born with. Age also has a lot to do with how powerful a chest voice you will have. Everyone matures at a different rate; some teenage girls have highly developed chest voices at relatively young age, while others have to wait much longer. The most important thing is not to force yourself to sing in chest voice before you can easily do it. That being said, there are simple exercises that can help you find your chest voice and then you can gently sing in that voice, even though you may not be ready to really “let ‘er rip.” Vocie lessons are all about self discovery, and no one—NO ONE—can tell you in advance what your ultimate potential will be. I have taught young women with light speaking and singing voices who I felt certain wouldn’t develop a useable chest voice, then wound up having to eat my words! Back to Top Can I Learn to Belt in a Healthy way? Definitely. Just remember that there is no way of knowing in advance what your ultimate belt potential will be. And keep in mind that very few women sing in a pure belt quality at the top of their chest voice range. Most resort to what is called “belt-mix” production, which is a lighter chest voice. Back to Top How long will it take before I see real progress? No doubt, you will see progress within less than a month. Exactly how much and what sort of progress, no one can say. You open the gate and follow the path, but who knows where the path will lead?! Only time will tell. Some people think that studying singing is like taking their car to the garage. There is no way of determining in advance how long it will take you to reach a specific goal. To make such predictions would be as useless and irresponsible as a psychotherapist telling a new patient that it will take X amount of time to resolve his/her problems! You take lessons for as long as you feel you’re getting something from them. For many people, lessons are the work—the joy!—of a lifetime. The process, in and of itself, should be enjoyable. As long as you’re having fun, lessons are worthwhile. Back to Top Can You Honestly Tell me if I Have a Voice Worth Developing? As I stated above, anybody’s voice is worth developing. Very few of us are blessed with phenomenal voices, but you can certainly learn to sing well, so that others will enjoy listening to you. But there’s a lot more that goes into singing besides producing a nice sound. It’s about developing the skills that enable you to touch your audience; to have them share your special experience, the story, with you and through you (read “Getting from the Notes to the Music” above). Back to Top How much should I practice? There is no “right amount” of practice; it is up to you to decide how much you will do. Though I will say that the more time you invest, the greater your return. It all depends on what you want to get out of lessons. I encourage my students to practice, but I don’t push them to do so. Motivation only works when it comes from within. We all lead busy lives, and whatever time you wish to devote to practicing is your business. If you decide to study with me, I’ll never shake my finger at you and tell you to practice, or else! You take lessons for your own reasons, not mine. It is possible to practice too much. As a singer, you don’t have the luxury of practicing six hours a day, like your instrumentalist friends. Your vocal folds are thin, vibrating membranes which need more rest than, let’s say, a pianist’s fingers. In an ideal world—especially if you’re thinking in terms of a singing career—you would want to practice, on average, at least five days a week for a total of an hour to an hour and a half per day (but not all at once). And you would try not to miss two days in a row. It stands to reason that the more responsibilities you have with work, family, or studies, the less time you’ll have for practice. I speak with countless prospective students who lead full lives and many say, “Yes, I’m busy, but this is something I really want to do and somehow I’ll make the time.” Well, some of them do make the time, but many more discover after a few lessons that, even though they want to make time, when push comes to shove, they can’t. At that point, some continue. Perhaps they make slower progress than they’d like, but they enjoy the lessons and they are happy with the progress they do make. Others decide that if they can’t do it “the right way,” then it’s just not worth doing at all. If they can’t have the whole pie, they won’t settle for a slice. So be it; we all make our choices. But I confess to feeling a little sad for those people. They are missing out on a passtime that could provide a lifetime’s worth of enjoyment. I like to tell the story of the man who studied with me for the longest of all my students (twenty-five years). In terms of sheer vocal size and potential he had the greatest chance of developing a career. But he was a scientist and he wasn’t about to leave his university to persue possiible fame and glory on the operatic stage. Neither did he have time to practice. So he would come in for his lesson once—sometimes twice—a week, and every now and then I’d suggest that he practice a particular song. He’d say, “Sure thing!” with a twinkle in his eye, because we both knew he’d never get around to it. Sure, his progress was inconsistent, but he did improve, even without much practice. However, whether he improved or not wasn’t the point. He was having fun, and that was all that mattered. Back to Top What is Your Fee? My fee is $50.00. Lessons are one hour in length. I do not teach lessons on a bi-weekly basis; week-to-week consistency is extremely important, especially during the early months. Nor do I teach half-hour lessons. I used to teach half-hours years ago, but both the students and I decided that we couldn’t accomplish much in thirty minutes. We would just be getting into a song and the lesson would be over! Back to Top |Welcome| |About| |Questions for You| |Services| |FAQ|