vocal pedagogy | Sound and Silence

Intonation in the Passaggio

Ever notice that intonation problems occur much more frequently on certain pitches? There's a reason for that, and although it's tricky...

Breath Support Exercise: Lip Trills

Here's a fantastic breath support exercise that will help you practice proper support and identify weaknesses in that area. It may seem a...

Intro to Appoggio: The Epigastric Bounce

Exhalation is where singers earn their paychecks, so to speak, because this is when the singing actually happens. Among singers, proper...

Noisy Breathing is Ineffective Breathing

The most effective singing breath is perfectly silent on the way in. Unfortunately, most untrained singers have an instinct to gulp or...

Accurate Vocal Onset

The vocal onset, or beginning of sound, has a huge impact on the rest of the musical phrase. An accurate onset can only happen when the...

Sing Like You Speak: Parlando in Chant and Recitative

In many forms of secular music, there are endless debates about which is more important: the text or the music. In Orthodox liturgical...

British Diction in American Orthodox Liturgical Singing

In proper classical singing, space is always vertical. What does this mean? Singers must always strive to keep the space in their throat,...