Voice Lessons

I have over 15 years of vocal training and have studied with some of the finest teachers in the country. I have studied classical vocal technique with veterans of the Metropolitan Opera, musical theatre vocal technique with veterans of Broadway, and contemporary vocal technique with some of the world’s top pop/rock/R&B instructors. I mentored as a voice technician and teacher under some of world’s finest instructors including David Jones, Liz Caplan, and Aaron Hagan. I also hold a BFA from the Musical Theatre Department at the University of Michigan. My approach blends the rich foundation provided by classical technique with a strong understanding of the techniques and stylizations related to contemporary pop/rock/R&B music and Broadway. I hope that the following concepts help you to get a sense of what is important to me as a teacher and to get an idea of my teaching style. The items listed below relate to my approach and not to specific vocal technique. We will explore technique further in our lessons together. Or, I am happy to answer your questions on technique if you'd like to contact me. Also, I feel quite fortunate to have a staff of teachers who embody these concepts in their teaching and in our ongoing collaboration as a studio and company.

Everyone Is Different

Some teachers have a certain "technique" or "method" that they teach. They apply this system to all of their students and try to get them to fit their mold. While the consistency of the approach has worked for many and deserves respect, I believe in working a bit differently. My exercises are very often tailor-made for each individual singer. The human voice works similarly for everyone, but no two voices are the same. Nor are two learners. So, I have found that it is more efficient, creative, and fun for everyone to teach in a way that is free from a rigid vocal methodology, but that does not abandon universal truths about vocal technique. Every student will learn the concepts that I teach, but with an approach that we will develop together to help you achieve your goals the fastest.

Technical Versus Abstract

Some students prefer a very technical approach to singing. They like to know how the voice works, what is involved anatomically, and how sound is produced with regard to the science of the voice. For those students, I am able to provide a detailed working knowledge of healthy vocal production and work with them in a very specific manner.

Other students prefer a more abstract, creative, and hands-on approach to singing. It's not as helpful for them to know exactly what is going on, as long as they know how to do it and can replicate it. For these people, I am able to work in a more sensation-based style using images, physical exercises, and at times vocal games.

The majority of students want something in between these two extremes. Part of tailor-making my approach with singers is finding the balance in terms of their learning style so that we can really communicate thoughts and ideas with each other. I have found that this way of working helps students to progress very quickly while also developing confidence, trust in themselves, and an understanding of how to practice and make improvements on their own. When we speak the same vocal language and relate as far learning style, there is nothing we can't accomplish in time.

Dancers and Actors Who Don't 'Yet' Sing

Many students of mine are dancers and actors who either don't consider themselves "singers first", need to refine their vocal technique, or who have not sung before. If you are one of these people and have been told you are "not a singer" by someone, I encourage you to try your studies once again. There are both physical and mental processes involved in becoming a great dancer or a great actor. I have studied both acting and dance, so can relate to the mindsets of these disciplines and how they may or may not relate to singing.

There are certain aspects that make singing difficult for great actors and great dancers. But, after identifying and working on these barriers, there are far more aspects of these disciplines that can make actors and dancers some of the best singers. Please don't let people tell you that you can't be a "triple threat". Many of my actor and dancer vocalists have had huge success in becoming competitive at vocal auditions.

Belting, Mixing, Chest Voice, and Head Voice

While this section isn't intended to go into detail about the specific techniques that I teach, I’d like you to know that issues of belting, mixing, chest voice, and head voice (registration) are a specialty and passion or myself and all of our staff members. I imagine you may have trouble with at least one of these areas or certainly bridging the gap between them. This is definitely something that I will focus on with you if this is a problem you are having with your voice. I will show you how to use these different registers and resonances overall, as well as how they apply to different styles of music. Also, I will teach you how to go seamlessly between them so that you sound and feel like you are always singing with "your voice" and not multiple or separate voices in different areas of your range.

Singing By Feel, Not By Sound

A great ear is very important for any musician and this includes singers. I do want my singers to have great musical ears. This is particularly helpful for singing many different styles of music. However, listening to oneself too much can be extremely problematic for a singer. If there is too much self-scrutiny and self-conscious listening, the freedom of the sound is often interfered with. The best singers surrender their voices when they sing. They are not considering how they sound, for to do so would prevent them from releasing their voices and making their best and freest sounds. Instead, they are able to identify how the sound should feel and then allow their voices to be produced in this fashion.

This is why it is often so difficult for people to teach themselves how to sing. What you hear can often be misleading in comparison to what you feel. A good rule of thumb is: "if it feels free and easy, it probably sounds good. If it feels tight and difficult, it probably doesn't sound as good (even if it does to your ear)."

While demonstrations are certainly a part of my voice lessons, I emphasize the "feel" of singing far more than the sound when I work with my students. This is so they can develop a vocal technique that is truly free and truly their own- not a carbon copy of how someone else sounds (including myself). Also, in singing by feeling, singers learn to recreate good sounds in any performance environment or pressure situation. Good vocal technique comes from being able to “feel” which physical elements are helpful and which cause limitations. This physical integration leads to the vocal freedom that is the key to unlocking each individual vocal talent.

Learning to Let Go- Winning the Mental Game

One of the core elements of my teaching style involves the process of learning to let go and surrender. This is important in a variety of ways for performers. For example, everyone has a certain amount of physical tension in his or her body. Working to identify aspects of this and eliminate them in a relaxed and fun way is crucial to having an unfettered vocal instrument. But, it is not just physical tension that stands in our way. All of us have a certain amount of mental and emotional tension attached to our singing as well.

Maybe someone told us we couldn't sing when we younger. Maybe a casting director or director criticized a certain element of our singing. Maybe we are frightened of high notes. Maybe a voice teacher in our past was emotionally abusive. These voices in our heads manifest in some destructive ways and can really hold the voice captive. Luckily, there are ways of letting go of these mental and emotional barriers. I believe the largest, most difficult, and most important battle that we face as singers is developing the confidence, trust, and ability to release these things. Ever notice how good you sound in the shower or in the car? Compare that to some of the auditions you are not proud of.

Why is so difficult to duplicate the sounds that you make when you are relaxed and alone at home? It doesn't have to be this way. Having someone to help you work on and eventually win the mental game is vital. Fantastic vocal technique and a positive environment to work on your singing is a great solution to these inner barriers.

A Positive Environment

I would include learning in a positive environment as one of the most important elements to becoming a great singer. In my studio, I'm never interested in judging you or maliciously criticizing you. I am interested encouraging you and discovering areas that need improvement together.

Singing is one of the most vulnerable and exposed activities in which you could ever participate. Many people are more afraid to sing in public than just about anything else that could be asked of them. This just shouldn't be the case when everyone has the potential to make beautiful sounds. Singing can be one of the most liberating, beautiful, and spiritually fulfilling things you can do. Eliminating the doubts, fears, and negative energies that have become attached to your singing (for whatever reason) is a must.

The vulnerability and confidence that it takes to sing cannot be found in a negative environment. Tension, stress, and fear are only reinforced and increased in a negative environment. These things only serve to make the singing voice tight and manipulated. Our industry as whole already offers countless opportunities for rejection, self-doubt, and worry. Having a positive place to work on your art is one of the best ways to combat this. Creating this environment for my singers is among my highest priorities. Again, I feel fortunate also to have to have found a staff of teachers also equally committed to this ideal.

What Styles Do I Teach?

The answer to this is simple: all styles. I have a unique situation as a teacher of vocal technique because of my background. I began my studies as a student of classical singing and opera. I trained with a Metropolitan Opera singer. I then studied and received by BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan. There I further studied classical technique, but also learned to adapt this technique to musical theatre. The transition from opera to legit musical theatre was fairly straightforward and natural.

Quickly, though, I realized that today's musical theatre industry requires that singers be able to not only sing legit musical theatre, but also contemporary musical theatre, rock, pop, jazz, country, and more. It was a long process, but I eventually had to systematically learn to become a pop/rock singer and a singer of all styles of music. Having previously sung in rock bands, it seemed initially to me that classical technique and pop/rock technique were not compatible. I was wrong.

Later, I mentored as a voice technician and instructor with some of these finest instructors in the world for classical, Broadway, and pop/rock/R&B. I never would have thought that singing multiple styles could not only be so possible, but also so beneficial. Giving the vocal cords a great deal of stylistic variety can be immensely beneficial in learning technique.

In having to learn to sing all styles technically and systematically, I now feel very confident in breaking down these concepts and styles for my singers. I can give you clear and tangible ways to sing in any style. Whether you consider yourself a legit singer or a pop singer, there are always ways to learn to sing in the styles that you had thought "just weren't you". I always encourage my classical singers to sing a little pop/rock/R&B and my contemporary singers to try out an Italian song or aria. Our staff is equally well-versed in and committed to understanding and teaching all styles.

Acting While Singing

My training and experience in acting and theatre has only reinforced my belief that singing and acting are inseparable. This is certainly true for song performance, but I believe that it starts as early as vocal technique exercises. Many of the exercises that I have developed help singers learn vocal technique that comes from an emotional, spiritual, dramatic, or artistic place instead of a solely technical place.

I feel that it adds an unnecessary step to learn vocal technique in a rote or rigid fashion and then "add in the acting later." Some of the best sounds are made when a singer is connecting to something inside their heart and soul as opposed to "just making sounds." This certainly doesn't mean that technical specifics are not important to emphasize, but singing is just plain easier and more enjoyable when a singer is communicating something. In our work together, I often place emphasis on acting technique alongside vocal technique from early on in the process. This is true for both the technical exercises as well as for your songs.

"Games"

Some of my vocal exercises borrow from the acting training tradition of playing "games". So many acting teachers use these because there are many ways that "games" or exercises that are not overtly technical can help actually achieve the desired result "accidentally". In other words, sometimes we need ways of fooling our brains and voices into doing what we could not get them to do by trying deliberately.

Actors that have benefited from this approach find that they discover some of their best work through these exercises. By simply focusing on a silly, distracting, or physical task, very often an honest, original, and even brilliant choice can be released from deep within the sub-conscious. I have found the same concept works with singing. When engaged in a seeming unrelated activity, very often the voice and breath can relax enough physically to produce surprising and beautiful results.

Breathing

All styles of singing are initiated from successful breathing and breath support. I am committed to helping singers find a deep and reliable connection to their breathing when they sing. This is the foundation for singing with consistency, with ease, and with confidence in all performance situations. I will help you to not only increase the amount of breath you have, but your ability to know how to use it with maximum efficiency. I don't believe in "tanking up" when singers breathe. This can often cause “over-breathing”, a lack of balance, and vocal tension. I am interested in helping singers find ways of getting appropriate amounts of air without taking "singer breaths." This is crucial for singing actors who need to perform in a naturalistic and conversational way while still making gorgeous sounds. This is a very attainable goal and I offer both technical exercises as well as conceptual ideas to help you to do it.

Breathing for singing should strike a great balance between deliberate intent and relaxation. In other words, a great singer has a systematic approach to breathing properly, but this process should ultimately lead them to the most effortless breathing, singing, and delivery possible. Breathing is one of the main elements that remain fairly consistent from style-to-style. Whether you are singing classical music or contemporary music, low breathing from deep in the body as well as consistent and relaxed breath support and breath management are essential.

Space and Resonance

The space that a singer uses to sing is a key component to what kind of sounds they eventually make. By space, I am referring to many different spaces: soft palette, pharyngeal cavity, mouth, nasal cavity, etc. It is a similar concept with musical instruments. Depending on the size and shape of any given instrument, a variety of sounds can be made. The sound of 2 different acoustic guitars, for example, is largely going to be determined by their resonance space. In the same way, singers use the resonance spaces of their bodies to make and manipulate sound. I will show you how to use these spaces to not only to create effortless vocal production, but also how to change the use of this depending on the situation. By manipulating the way you use the resonators in your body, you can sing all styles of music with freedom and skill.

Projection

I have found that many singers do not use their entire voice when they sing. Much of this comes from physical tension as well as hesitance resulting from doubts in the mind. Using physical exercises, breathing technique, concepts from Alexander Technique and Yoga, and opening up resonators, my singers are often amazed to discover just how much of their voice has been dormant all along. Volume does not need to be the primary goal of good singing, but a healthy vocalist should certainly be able to be heard well and to feel as if their voice is very “present” when they perform. This is true even of singers who are primarily microphone singers.

Also, many singers have been told how to breathe deeply since they began singing. Very often I find that experienced singers know how to take a pretty good inhale breath, but then do not know how to release it and manage it effectively. Again, some of this can be physical and some of it can be mental. But, in many cases free production and projection is lacking because of this common phenomenon of being too cautious or physically tense with the exhale breath. I will address these issues with you as we examine what obstacles might be preventing you from projecting or from using your whole voice naturally.

Singing Is Like Talking

Not thinking of singing as "singing" is helpful to singers in producing the highest quality sounds. Often I find that in trying to make perfect, pristine, or "singer-like" sounds, singers do not release their voice the way they are capable of. Also, they often do not use their resonators to their fullest capability. In reality, the release that singing requires is closer to talking, an energetic stage voice, a healthy shout, or an active whisper. I work with singers on exercises that help them link their singing with more familiar and natural ways that humans produce sound. Not only does this concept help with great singing technique, but it also aids the singing actor.

By doing too much "singing", a performer can actually block their ability to communicate as an actor. I don't mean that the singer should sacrifice tone quality or musicianship, but by getting one's mindset off of making "perfectly sung sounds" the singer ironically can produce a more connected and more musical vocal technique. Interestingly, by making sounds that at first seem "ugly”, “weird”, or “wrong", many times a singer can move into uncharted waters with their vocal development- areas that were unexplored for fear of making a mistake or sounding bad.

Rehabilitation of Damaged Voices

Many times I work with singers who have experienced vocal problems or damage in the past or are still living with it currently. If you are a singer who struggles with vocal damage or problems, please rest assured that there is hope! I have worked with many singers to correct vocal problems and to rehabilitate damaged voices.

Sometimes it is necessary to consult with vocal doctors and in other cases it is not necessary. Quite a bit can be fixed by working to discover if the problem is being caused by stressful or very tense singing or speaking. I can help you to determine the severity of the problem. Then, we can determine if the problem is solely based on technique or whether it is solely physical.

From here, we can create a plan to solve the problem using vocal technique solutions, advice from vocal doctors, or a combination of methods. If assistance is necessary, I have colleagues in the world of vocal science and vocal medicine. By working with these professionals, we can determine what kind of damage there may be if the damage is severe. In any case, please know that there is a great deal of hope in many cases where people’s voices are not performing as they once did. Don’t give up on yourself, but rather seek out the best information you can.

Respect For Other Teachers

The world of vocal technique is filled with a variety of wonderful approaches and ideas. Many singers have benefitted from many different methods and forms of vocal instruction. While this multitude of different ideas can be good, it can also leave students very confused. This is especially true when teachers become territorial, insecure, or critical about other methods, other teachers, and other styles.

There is no perfect singer. And, there is no perfect teacher. Each teacher has his or her own unique part in helping singers on their journey toward vocal success. For this reason, I am actively NOT territorial when it comes to my teaching. I don’t expect you to adhere to “my method” or to sing with “my technique”. Also, I don’t expect you to study exclusively with me. Many of our singers at New York Vocal Coaching study with multiple teachers on our staff. And, some singers even study with us as well as other wonderful teachers in the New York City area.

Also, though I receive many students who were unhappy or misled by their former instructors, I do have an unspoken policy of not speaking negatively about other teachers and other approaches. If students come to me having had a clearly negative experience or obvious misinformation, we will focus on building new vocal habits instead of focusing on the negative elements of the past.

It is very important to have respect for other artists and other teachers. The best artists are free from putting down their colleagues and trying to elevate themselves through criticism. The best teachers are generous with their information, time, energies, and resources. Great artists and great teachers both have an enormous amount of respect for anyone who participates in the glorious experience of making music, even if their approaches differ. I believe in fostering this kind of “greatness” in my studio along to accompany the fantastic skills we will be working to achieve.

It's Okay To "Fail"

Actors and singers are usually perfectionists. This is a good thing in a lot of ways because it allows us to hold ourselves to a very high standard of excellence for our craft. But, perfectionism is often an artist's biggest curse as well as their biggest blessing. In my studio, I like to emphasize that "it's okay to fail." If that doesn't sound like a good recipe for success to you, I beg to differ. I have discovered, in fact, that it seems to be just about the only way to become successful. How?

Well, I would never advise that anyone reduce his or her passionate commitment to doing a great job. But, often our need for perfection puts an unbelievable amount of pressure on our singing, acting, and performing. When this happens, we lose the ability to be joyful, creative, silly, happy in our work, and to have fun. This ultimately defeats our ability to become the artist we set out to be. The irony of an environment that promotes and allows "failure", is that it makes failure ultimately impossible. On the other hand, when failure is "simply not an option" in our minds, unfortunately it ends up manifesting more often than not.

Becoming An Artist

What then, does it mean to be an artist as a singer? Well, I certainly do believe that it is a person who is committed to being very technically proficient at their craft. But, I also feel that it is much more than this.

In an industry that can often resort to superficiality, type casting, and imitation, becoming a true artist is not an easy task. But, I believe it is the only way to be a truly fulfilled performer as well as someone who has a career that can stand the test of time. Therefore, I will help you discover what being an artist means for you. There is something inside every performer that is unique to them and special to us. Nobody else can do what they do or express things in quite the same way. This is what I ultimately want to help you to find through your singing voice. I'm not just interested in making you a singer of finest quality (although I'm certain this will happen), but helping you to say what only you can say to this city and to the world through your music and voice.

Some people say that you shouldn't sing from your throat, you must sing from as deep as your diaphragm. An artist to me sings from a place deeper than the diaphragm. They sing from a place as deep as their soul.