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Are you interested in learning more about your voice?

Welcome to Dreamquest's FREE online singing tips and FAQs with Melissiah, international singing teacher, and founder of the Absolute Singing Mastery method of instruction and BodySense for Singers.

If you have any further questions about singing after reading these pages feel free to send me an email. Please remember that due to the extensive emails received monthly not all questions may be answered.

To make your dream a reality you need to let go of limiting beliefs. By this I refer to the word 'CAN'T' as in 'I cant take singing lessons because I don't have the money'. My advice is to watch the words that come out of your mouth. Words are like spells that hold power over us. You say you are ready to sacrifice time and effort to make your dream a reality - this is a good start. How about saying "I CAN sacrifice time and effort to get a job to pay for singing lessons."

The motto of Dreamquest is 'finis coronat opus' which translates as 'the end crowns the work'. Here's a story to illustrate the point. I've been a horse lover all my life and when I was your age, I was determined to own a horse. (I realised all the letters to Santa weren't going to work!) Firstly I went around my neighbourhood to find a nice paddock where I could keep a horse. I not only found a paddock, but the owner's were prepared to give me free rent when I told them I was still at school. Then I got my first job in a restaurant. The pay was terrible but the day I handed my hard earned cash over to buy my first pony was the greatest feeling in all the world. Did I stop work then - not on your life! Horses are expensive creatures and I also wanted to continue with my riding education. My endeavours eventually earned me many awards as both a rider and horse trainer. And to think it all began with scrubbing plates at a restaurant.

But back to singing - Celine Dion made many sacrifices to get where she is today. What are you prepared to sacrifice to follow in her footsteps?

Let's get something clear - the singer or frontman is the most important member of any band. So by asking yourself the following questions you may be able to solve your problems. Firstly did you audition to join the band or did they audition to join you? Who has written the songs, lyrics and melodies? What are your objectives as as singer and musician, as opposed to the objectives of the other band members?

A frontman needs to be a leader, but not an egotist and definitely not a dictator. Creating a successful band usually involves some compromise whilst being open to new ideas. While your band members may be offering you some useful advice or suggestions, I get the feeling that you are on the wrong wavelength with these people and would be far happier working with people who share your progressive tastes and ideas. The chances are that you probably have very different tastes from your band members when it comes to music.

Finding a group of musicians that you click with musically may take some time, but ultimately should be a rewarding experience. Just make sure your clear about your musical directions and goals from the beginning and you'll start attracting the right sort of folks.

Hi Blair, learning to sing involves the training of many muscles in the body as well as the vocal 'cords' or vocal folds. As our body is our singing instrument, realistically, learning to sing involves coordination of some 400 muscles! By focusing on your vocal folds, you are probably ignoring other essential elements of singing such as airflow, resonance, diction and dynamic control. In addition to this, opera singing also involves a great deal of acting through interpretation of a character or 'role'.

Study the lives of famous opera singers. Most of them attribute their success to unwavering personal dedication combined with the expert training they received from a master vocal coach.

Scientifically speaking there is actually no such thing as ‘mixed voice’, ‘chest voice’ or ‘head voice’ registers, although a great many singing teachers use these terms. The apparent register shifts you are referring to are actually caused by accessing different resonators in the body. The ‘belted’ sound you mention is produced by a higher larynx position in the throat, greater chest resonance and less pharyngeal resonance.

The object of vocal training, amongst other things is to be able to produce an even tone across all notes of your vocal range. To obtain a strong tone throughout your range you need to;

1. Adduct your vocal folds (to prevent a breathy sound)
2. Access pharyngeal resonance with regard to the higher notes or the notes you currently refer to as ‘head voice’.
3. Learn how to smooth the transitions between different areas of vocal resonance.

Most beginners display a much weaker and breathier sound as the voice ascends. This is due to lack of strength in both the larynx and the body. As we sing higher the vocal folds stretch and thin due to the action of the cricothyroid muscles. Differences in the air pressure also need to be addressed. The higher the note, the higher the frequency of vocal fold vibration which therefore requires a greater VOLUME and PRESSURE of expelled air.

My Absolute Singing Mastery CD shows you how to achieve these 3 essential components of a strong and even voice. As regards your concern about destroying your voice, it’s important to understand that voice disorders occur in singers regardless of how much ‘belting’ they do or don’t do.

Performance anxiety, also known as stage fright can be caused by a variety of things. The fact that it is usually absent from early childhood - remember how easy 'show and tell' at prep school was - prompts many questions regarding our upbringing.

There is compelling evidence that links performance nerves to society's obsession with competition. We only have to look at the school system to see that constant emphasis on getting good grades causes a great deal of frustration and anxiety for most children. With traditional schooling we are generally not encouraged to make a team effort, or do our personal best - rather we must become suspicious, jealous and judgemental of others if we are to concentrate on being 'top of the class', 'winning the prize' or being the 'best in the world'. This pervasive attitude has now infiltrated the arts - witness the many singing competitions on TV. We might get one 'winner' from Australian Idol but we will also get thousands of 'losers'.

Stage fright can also originate from a person experiencing a traumatic or violent experience in early life, which leads to chronic low self esteem. These people can feel a great deal of insecurity about themselves and their singing ability and may view others with suspicion. (I notice that you did not include your name on your email and you talk about 'killing' the nerves.)

Whatever the reason for your stage fright, it can be successfully treated. After many years of research Dreamquest has developed a product proven to increase levels of confidence and relaxation - 'Absolute Singing Confidence'. This CD comes with a no-risk 30 day money back guarantee. Please visit this link to download sneak preview MP3's, view product testimonials and order your CD online. Absolute Singing Confidence

You ask some interesting questions. This singing advice page was not set up with the intent to pass judgement on other teachers. Some singing methods certainly produce much better coordinated use of the body than others. However it's an unfortunate fact that many emails I receive every month are from singers who complain of sore throats during performance and unbelievably, even during their singing lessons.

There can be no doubt that the singing instrument starts at the soles of the feet and ends at the top of the head. Singing therefore involves the WHOLE body and good healthy singing involves precise and efficient coordination of the complete neuro-muscular system.You mention concentrating on the closure of the larynx during singing. Our vocal folds do need to 'close together' to sing, but this is only one small part of the big picture. For the vocal folds to vibrate to produce sound it is crucial that the suspensory mechanism, balance and direction of the BREATHING ORGAN is addressed. The vast majority of people do not breath efficiently resulting in a negative influence not only upon the voice but also upon the entire body and mind.

It is important to note that the muscles of the larynx are INDEPENDENT of the respiratory muscles. This has very important ramifications for singers. You may be using the muscles in your larynx properly, but if your airflow is either insufficient or excessive a sore throat may result. Thus a coordinated effort is required between the larynx and the breath to achieve good, healthy vocalization.

To address your thoughts of different teaching techniques suiting different voices, I believe that a thorough understanding of the scientific concepts of voice production is essential for the teacher. Good singing however is an art and what is more useful for the student in many instances is the teacher's use of imagery or metaphors to convey technique to the students. Unbelievably, this practice continues to be criticized by ignorant teachers. Metaphors permeate our lives - they are found in dreams, fairy tales, parables from the Bible, Shakespearean drama, pop songs and in everyday speech. Metaphors are also an integral part of Tai Chi and martial arts training. Mountains of research (beginning with the great hypnotherapist Erickson) have demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt, that the use of metaphors is a powerful key to unlocking the potential of the unconscious mind thus accelerating the learning process.

I hope I've shed some light on your questions. I'd now like you to ask yourself why you are paying someone to give you a sore throat.

The very high range you are talking about is called the whistle register. One of the first popular singers to employ the use of whistle register was Yma Sumac. (If you really want to be blown away have a listen to her 'Voice of the Xtabay' CD.) An Aztec princess,Yma Sumac claimed the birds of the Amazon rainforest taught her how to sing!

I've found that the whistle register can be produced firstly by imitating a cat or kitten's meow. However there are some considerations to be taken if you wish to start using this register. The first is that continued use of the whistle register can lead to voice problems due to the extreme tensions it places on the laryngeal muscles. Some singers who learn to access the whistle register also find that it can abruptly appear in the upper vocal range without warning.

Just because you are loud doesn't necessarily mean you are a dramatic soprano. There are also loud lyric sopranos. The dramatic soprano voice is rare and is characterised by a 'metallic' or more strident tone. Usually there is more vibrato than with the lyric or spinto voices. Dramatic voices generally develop later in life - it is exceptionally rare to find a teenager with a dramatic voice. If you are a coloratura, your voice will generally be a lot lighter in tone. You will probably find that your voice is fairly flexible, but you will have to work at the 'rapid stuff' if you wish to master the coloratura repertoire. The dramatic coloratura voice (eg Joan Sutherland) combines both qualities of strident tone with flexibility.

Remember that your voice is still very much in the developmental stage due to your age. Also there are voices that are difficult to categorize - Maria Callas could alter her sound at will and could sing pretty much everything!

Headaches from singing can sometimes result from a slight raise in blood pressure. More specifically however, headaches usually result from excessive tension in the muscles of the back of the neck. The head/neck relationship is critical to singing as it is to many other activities. It's an unfortunate fact that posture training - as taught by the vast majority of teachers - is based on ignorance and actually causes greater tension in our singing instrument.

Many people believe they have perfect posture or muscle coordination, but sensory appreciation - the sixth sense or proprioception - is usually underdeveloped due to preoccupation with the five external senses. Our BodySense for Singers CD shows you how to develop essential proprioception skills for optimizing your singing instrument.

The Palatine tonsils at the back of the throat are located a fair distance from the larynx or voicebox. In my experience I've never found tonsil removal to affect singing ability in either myself or my students.

Theoretically, removing the tonsils actually makes more space in the back of the throat which could result in more resonance of the singing voice. I don't know of any studies that have compared the singing voice before and after tonsillectomy. However I do recall reading a news article where Josh Groban reported he sung better after tonsil removal.

If you are at all worried about your voice in any way please seek advice from an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor.

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