The Renaissance – a time of grandeur, of experimentation and of scientific progress. For me, the Renaissance (ruh-NAY-sonce) conjures up grand Italian and Spanish courts with explorers and architects lining up to impress the monarchs. (Well, unless you pronounce it REN-ess-ahns, in which case, it’s bad wench costumes and spit roast pig Read more…
Perhaps singing isn’t for you? Or you feel your child is too young to start formal singing lessons? Maybe you just want to explore all your musical options? The first and most important reason for learning an instrument should be that you want to learn it, but even then, it’s Read more…
When learning to read musical notation, the representation of pitch is pretty logical. When the blobs go up, the pitch gets higher, when the blobs go down the pitch gets lower. So far, so good. However, what’s less clear is rhythm. Most musical theory works start with the crotchet, or Read more…
The weather has been very dramatic here this week, but not so the blogosphere – I think everyone must be on holiday! If you’re not, do enjoy a good cuppa or an icecream while having a read of these gems. For more news-y articles and updates through the week, you Read more…
Following on from the post last week about how breathing works, here’s a quick guide to how the voice works. There are four parts to the voice the air pressure system, the vibratory system, the resonating system, and the modifying system. Each of these works to create the sounds we Read more…
Our new blog series for the remainder of the summer is a history of music for singers. This isn’t meant to be a “history of singing”, not least because it’s a fairly under researched area. Instead, I want to touch on some of the changes and developments in music that Read more…
One of my favourite exercises for beginners, and for warming up with a choir is square breathing. It’s all about developing control of your breath, and extending lung capacity. From the beginning of any vocal training, it’s really important to work on your breathing. To breathe properly, you need to Read more…
Welcome back to Repertoire Corner. This week, we’re contrasting two very different songs taken from the ABRSM Grade 2 list – both with more adult ideas in them than might first meet the eye. Anon. English – The Coventry Carol [ABRSM 2(B), TG 2(B)] At first listen, this Read more…
When I started taking singing lessons, I never expected that I would come to know so much about the human body. I’m still not convinced that anatomy is my favourite subject, but it’s vital for singers and singing teachers to understand what’s going on in the body. The very first Read more…
The BBC Proms has got underway this week, with a wonderful sea-themed opening night last Friday. The Doctor Who prom was only available on Radio 3, but a generation of children were introduced to the joy of radio because of that (and I assume a TV broadcast will be shown Read more…