How to breathe better in 4 minutes!
How do we know if we are breathing "from our diaphragm"? How can we support our sound and expression through our breath? Quick tips to learn how to breathe your best in this video!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86Y-p-0hju0
How to “sing with your guts”
How do we know if we are singing with our full power? How can we continually breathe and support “from our diaphragm”? I answer this and more in this short tutorial!
How Emotional Trauma Takes a Toll on Your Voice
A quick, introductory video on why our voice is so tied to our emotions, how emotional trauma can affect the voice, and how to combat the stressors by tuning back in to your body.
2021: Year of the Strong Voice
Happy New Year! In reflecting back on this extremely chaotic year, I can’t help but be thankful for my students, old and new, who continued to sing with me on Zoom. I had to learn A LOT about teaching voice online, but I am ultimately glad I was forced to do so. This opens up so many opportunities for my studio as I was able to teach students in CA and even teach a masterclass in Paris! Though I missed in person teaching, this was a great way to be able to reach more people in different time zones and I am so thankful for that!
With all of my gigs being cancelled due to COVID and my beloved karaoke bar being closed, I had absolutely no public singing opportunities from March of 2020 until now (and for the foreseeable future). Depressing, to say the least. I took this time as an opportunity to “go back to school”, taking lessons, doing vocal psychotherapy, and re-teaching myself how to sing more efficiently. The main concept I tackled was the elusive “mix belt”. I read books, watched videos, studied singers I love, and practiced A LOT. This all led to me being chosen as a quarterfinalist for the American Traditions Vocal Competition which will be held online this February! I’ll have the opportunity to perform 9 songs, all different styles (from opera to Prince!), and you can vote for me online! More details to follow, I promise!
As I reflect back on this year, I see a theme returning in both my own vocal work and that of my students’. I see the Instagrams of my 16-year-old kids who attended BLM protests. I see them encouraging mask wearing and social distancing, despite the fact that it means they are missing major milestones in their high school careers. I see their political activism, their care for the LGBTQ community and their embracing of differences and I am floored. I learn from them each day. One thing is common: they have STRONG voices when they sing and when they speak. They know what they believe and who they are and they will not stand for less. I think back on my own high school experience when I was afraid. I was afraid to be different, afraid to be an outcast, afraid to not be popular, and afraid to speak out. This generation of teenagers is different and it is truly awesome to bear witness and encourage amplification of these voices.
Therefore, I am declaring 2021 the year of the STRONG VOICE. It’s time to drink more water, use a humidifier at night, steam, warm up, practice, and if you can’t use a microphone because of COVID…you become your own microphone! The teens will save us all, let’s all learn from them! If you see injustice-say something! If you feel a certain way-speak it! I always tell my kids “Sing from your guts.” Let’s listen to our guts more in 2021 and give them a voice. If you need a little help in amplifying it or using it safely so you don’t lose your voice….you know where to find me.
Happy New Year!
Love,
Emily xo
How to Start Belting FAST!
Every month, I will be uploading “how to” tutorials through Instagram to help you sing better NOW! Make sure to “like” my Instagram page so you never miss one! xo, E.
My Vocal Journey: Trying to Be Who Others Heard Me To Be
I had always loved musical theater, rock, pop and country music since I was a kid. I infamously knew all the words to “Lovely Ladies” from Les Miserables when I was 4 and would sing the inappropriate lyrics without abandon, much to my father’s chagrin. However, once I entered college on a vocal scholarship, I was immediately labeled as a “lyric soprano”. I was discouraged from ever belting and told I should concentrate on learning traditional, Golden Age, leading lady repertoire. This…did not fit my personality. I am a goofball. I am awkward. I am not graceful. I felt at odds with this diagnosis from the start, greatly missing my comedic abilities and feeling saddened by having to play the more serious roles.
After transferring to a different university, I was cast in an opera production and told that, because I could sing classical repertoire, THAT was the direction I should go. This felt even more at odds with my personality and, worse, my own musical preference. I only listened to opera when I had to learn a role. However, pop and rock music continued to move me. Sadly, I was unable to fully sing that type of repertoire and so, because I could, I continued down the classical track.
Once at Manhattan School, I knew I had made a mistake. My voice felt continually “tight” singing lyric soprano arias that felt impossible to achieve. Nothing came naturally and nothing came passionately. Everything felt like work. The joy I once felt singing lessened day by day.
One day, I wandered into a karaoke bar on 14th Street (shout out to Planet Rose!) and sang some musical theater songs for fun. Immediately, I felt “myself” again. Those songs turned into Karen Carpenter, Carole King, and Carly Simon songs…beautiful, rich altos I had always admired. Soon, I was drawing a crowd. I had never sang these songs for an audience before and the reception was intoxicating (as were the $4 happy hour drinks, ayooo!). Before I knew it, I began going once a week to experiment with different types of music, singers, styles and decades. I quite literally taught myself how to belt at a karaoke bar. Later, of course, I went to teachers who specialized in safe belting to make sure I could sustain this type of singing forever! But, I had found my joy in singing again. My “true voice” identifies with lower, rich, warm sounds and I am actually a mezzo soprano. My heart resonates with R&B, the blues, soul, Motown, rock n’ roll, pop, and country music (shout out to all the Black artists who brought us all of the above music!). I am so grateful to have discovered my true voice (essentially my true self) after trying to fit into a mold that always felt uncomfortable.
What kind of music hits you right in your guts? What moves you? Which singers give you chills? What song do YOU sing without abandon? Those are your clues into your true voice. Those are the musical keys to your soul.