Many of you have asked about the program I use to change songs in the key that is suited to your voice, or when I slow it down for you in order for you to learn/practice it.  Well here is a link for the free download:  http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Audio/Other-AUDIO-Tools/BestPractice.shtml 

Parents - do your best to have kids take appropriate medicine about 2 hours prior to show time.  Try to stay away from medicines that will make them drowsy.  I always have emergency supplies for during the shows (Ocean Spray - saline for the nose, salt for making salt water gargle, and either cough drops or cough spray with pain reliver).  I can numb up throats just slightly without getting too much sugar in there to clog them up.  I will only give the cough drop/cough spray with parental consent at show time.

I also want to say that I will NEVER give the kids actual cold/cough/flu medicines - I don't even keep it with me.  That responsibility will always be yours.  We are a team to help the kids feel confident and well enough to sing for a couple hours.  Getting them real medications, fluids, and rest inbetween shows is up to you :)

This is just a quick note to say that I am hugely happily married to Stan Murray.  We have 2 fantastic boys: Geoffrey (14) and Jeremy (8).  We have 1 cat (Boo).

We have the love and support of our extended families, and all is well in our "circle of trust" to borrow a phrase! 

*One special note - I do have a daughter, Lindsay Heckel, age 22, that I had when I was young and gave to some older friends of mine to adopt as their own.  We have reunited in the last couple years and enjoy time together when we are both not in school.  Lindsay attends Shepherd University in West Virginia and is currently pursuing a nursing degree.

The Farinelli maneuver is one of the most famous breathing exercises.  It consists of 4 steps: Inhale, Delay/Hold, Exhale, Wait.  All the steps/sections are counted in equal amounts.  It is usually recommended that the student start with 4 counts in each step/section.  The exercise as a whole is to be done silently and evenly.  I have provided some guided exercises set to music below for practice.  Feel free to experiment with your own favorite songs!

Farinelli #1

Farinelli #2

Farinelli #3

This may seem too basic to some, but if this foundation is not balanced and sound - the muscles for breath management and support can not be functioning at the most beneficial and healthy level.

A teacher can sometimes have an idea about a students posture and alignment by watching them enter or exit the room.  Do they lead with their head?  Does their body lead with the hips/lower torso?  It there hunching in the back?  Sometimes the muscles of body alignment need to be strengthened through more daily awareness and practice of standing and walking in order to feel more comfortable to the singer. 

Head, neck, and torso alignment can pertain in any number of positions; standing, sitting, walking, fencing, dancing, etc.  Many singers find singing lying down beneficial because of the natural body alignment.  Technique is then transferred without too much adjustment to the standing posture.

The technique I personally find the most helpful is the Garcia position:

The Garcia Position was advocated by Manuel Garcia as a practical device for assuring optimal posture during singing in 1825.  It consists for the singer crossing hands, palms outward, at the lower back area, just below the bottom of the rib cage.  The shoulders are comfortablly back and down.  This allows for an elevated sternum without it being too high (like a military stance). 

Here is what some well known pedagogues have to say about posture:

Richard Miller in his book, Solutions for Singers says, "Inexperienced singers, trying to keep erect posture, tend to cement themselves to the floor of the stage.  They stand with feet firmly planted and move only from the waist as they attempt to communicate the text; the torso typically sways slowly back and forth in response to rhythm or to phrase length, but the feet never move.  This rigid fixation of legs and of feet bears no relationship to the body language of spoken communication...On the opera and music theater stage, the performer finds independence from rhythmic servitude.  Accommodating the varied pace of the drama, one learns to walk out of rhythm, to make predetermined movements that appear free of the musical structure.  The technique of altering body language through weight-shifting is an integral part of producing a believable stage persona."

Meribeth Bunch Dayme in her book, The Performer's Voice says, "When we change our postural habits, we create a period of physical confusion.  We have programmed our bodies in certain ways, and when these patterns are altered we feel strange.  For example, if you tend to slump, your back will be rounded, causing the back muscles to stretch and your chest and abdomen to collapse.  When you return to a balanced posture, the back muscles will be working efficiently and the front muscles will be more stretched.  All of this new muscular activity may make you think you feel stiff or tight.  Stay with it, and allow your body to adopt a new balance.  Just make sure you are not trying to hold on to or fix the new alignment, but are at ease. Always remember that you are dynamic, not static!"

Elizabeth Blades-Zeller in her book, A Spectrum of Voices gathers the knowledge of 20 well known and established vocal pedagogues on several essential topics.  I won't be quoting every one of the pedagogues here, but will mention a few that I have personally found helpful or more intriguing"

     William McIver - image of walking a tightrope - too much relaxation and you fall off, too much tension and you fall off.  There is something inbetween, a singer must find tonicity.

     Cynthia Hoffman - I use balancing a book on the top of the head to increase awareness and balance of the entire body.  Exercizes like "twisting" and "panting" can loosen the body.

     Joan Wall - Sometimes I have students sing while standing on balance board.  (The balance board, developed by a physical therapist, was demonstrated by Barbara Doscher at a NATS Master Class.)

   **Several pedagogues mention using: Yoga, Tai Chi, Aikido, and the Alexander Technique to find the balance and centering alignment of the body and routine the muscle response.