Tin Ear? Don’t Fear!
How to Become a Great Singer when Auditory Learning is Not Your Style
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Confessions of a Harmony Addict
(How to Become the Best Backup Singer Ever) My name is Kristin, and I am addicted to harmony. As a singer, I intend for this statement to be interpreted musically. But as I find daily, as I go in Music, so I go in Life. So, let’s start, as is my wont, with a […]
How to Avoid Getting Feedback on Stage
Do NOT hold the mic like the guy above, if you want to avoid feedback. by Justin Leighton Long Feedback can be a nightmare for singers. That piercing scream and everyone covering their ears can be embarrassing to say the least. The subject is actually pretty complicated, but let’s keep it simple. Feedback is caused […]
Just Get in the Pool
On any given morning, I may be in my yoga class at the Y, awkwardly arranging myself into some nice, juicy, seated asana in celebration of having arduously completed my standing poses. With a sense of relief, I close my eyes to settle in. Without fail, my wonderfully aware teacher immediately hollers out, “Eyes open! […]
Staying Healthy During Flu Season
This is a bad year for the flu – and I’m sure that’s not news to you. As a vocalist, you need to be extra careful with preventive care – you can’t cancel a gig just because you’re sick. I’ve had to perform long gigs while sick more times than I wish. It’s not […]
Singing Emergency? The A Cappella Prescription
Singing Emergency? The A Cappella Prescription Three weeks ago, I was sitting in a hotel room in Florida, languidly lounging with a cup of coffee and some well-earned Facebook time before needing to rouse myself to get ready for my friend’s wedding at 11 am. At 9:17, I received a text from the bride. “Soundman […]
Vocal Humility
Question: What do Florence Foster Jenkins, Virtue Epistemology, and a Major League Baseball game have in common? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And yet…? These three completely unrelated items came together this week in a meaningful way in the dark and murky corners of my hypomanic mind, as I was considering a question that nags at some […]
Singing for Breathing
Well, that’s got to be a typo. Kristin is clearly on the hooch. She obviously intended to write an article on Breathing for Singing, but she got the title of her own blog wrong. Did I? Oh, did I? One day, I had a first lesson with a new student. I was having him vocalize […]
What the Fach?
One evening recently, I received a text from one of my students. It went along the lines of, “There’s something that’s been really upsetting me lately. Could we spend some time at my lesson discussing it?” Being a Philadelphian by birth and temperament, my mind instantly conjured up the worst possible scenarios that could involve […]
Kristin’s Quick and Dirty Tips: Don’t Sing Flarp!
One day this past summer, I was sitting in a recording studio, there to consult on vocal technique for my student Jacob as he laid down tracks for his new EP. I was honored to be included in these sessions by his producer Cory, who brings some serious musical chops and pedigree to the table, […]
