“I’m currently in Hadestown on Broadway and can’t tell you how much I needed to read your piece on vocal health. It was so empathetic and kind and wise and wow… normally you get either or. I read it and immediately felt less pressure to be ‘perfect’. So thank you. THANK YOU for putting together your professional experience to write such a compelling and compassionate post. I can’t express in words how truly thankful I am for finding it. I’m going to print it out and put it on my dressing room mirror!” –Eva Noblezada, GRAMMY Award-Winner (Best Musical Theater Album) and two-time TONY Nominee (Miss Saigon, Hadestown) |
Featured Posts
How to Overcome Performance Anxiety
Performance anxiety is an elephant-in-the-room sized issue for everyone who spends time on any kind of a stage. Managing it is the subject of a thousand books, workshops, and programs that teach how to deal with its effects... how to ride the wave rather than have it...
My Experience on American Idol
In my career, I’ve had some truly extraordinary performance experiences. Being on American Idol was no exception. During season six, I was called in to sing backup vocals for Hollywood Week, which brings the top 30 finalists to Los Angeles for seven days of intense...
Dealing With and Healing a Vocal Injury
Healing a vocal injury takes time and patience. As well as the personal and practical tools to come back stronger than ever.
Practical Tips on Performing: Preferences and Pressure in Learning
How do we learn best? And how does pressure, from ourselves and others, affect the way we process information?
Practical Tips on Performing: Pitch
Pitch is a tricky issue for singers. but it doesn’t have to be.
Practical Tips on Performing: Phrasing
Recently, I was asked some great questions by a voice teacher and vocalist in China. After our session, I thought about the relevance of her young student’s issues for singers the world over and asked if she wouldn’t mind my sharing my ideas and exercise suggestions...
Capturing the Magic in your Rough Recordings
Your songs come from the heart, and that’s where they should also be initially expressed, learned, and recorded. Stay connected and committed to your emotional conviction at all times, and the soul of your songs will always come through.
The Joys of Being Wrong and Surpassed
For about a year now, I’ve been working with a songwriter, producer, and rapper– we’ll call him K– who came to me wanting to be able to sing on his own tracks. So much so, that on our first day together, he told me about his commitment to release an album of vocal...
Brandi Carlile’s Lesson in Authenticity
I’ve always been a binge listener. I’m incapable of listening to music casually; any time a song comes on, my attention gets diverted and I lose myself in the world of it. The same goes for when I come across a new artist I like… I remember spending weeks immersed in...
Vocal Issues #3: Optimizing Diet for Vocal and Personal Health and Performance
Last week, I was in the studio singing background vocals on an Americana record. It was just like old times, except… it was much easier. A lot has changed since my recording and touring days. Marriage, motherhood, and a professional shift from performing to helping...
The Essence of Motivation
I met Bob Levey last month at a book fair we participated in together. A long-time columnist for the Washington Post, Bob recently turned his attention to writing books and is currently finishing up his second. I casually asked him how long the...
Free Your Voice and Express Your True Self
I was recently interviewed by Tayo Rockson, author of “Use Your Difference to Make a Difference” (Wiley, 2019), about what makes a great therapist, and how to deal with the challenges that necessarily arise, with our clients and within ourselves. Tayo...
Interested In a Coaching Session?
Let’s empower you to trust your voice and explore singing the way it is meant to be.