Singing Lesson Progression

"Improving your singing voice takes a willingness to experiment and the discipline to practice what you learn. It's not rocket science - it just takes time to build new vocal habits and the ability to make your singing a priority" (Surmani. 2011)

I have been continuing my singing tuition with Valerie Reid. My aims for these sessions are to learn how to control my breathing, learn to breathe from the diaphragm, learn to maintain and sustain my breathe and to develop my range. Previously I have identified as a mezzo soprano, but knowing my actual range will enable me to develop this and I will be able to pick songs that showcase my vocal ability.

Before I can develop my range I need to know my existing ability. We worked on some scales in the lesson and Val is confident that I will be able to reach and sustain higher notes through practice and learning new technique. Currently I can sing from a Bottom F to an E flat but with the potential of reaching higher notes.

"You will quite likely find one or two spots where your voice breaks or "cracks". This is normal and simply reveals those parts of your voice range that are not often used." (Alburger 2014)

As you can hear, because my voice is out of practice it cracks on a few of the higher notes. With practice I hope to comfortably access these notes. When approaching a high note I tend to panic and go from my chest voice into falsetto without finding any middle ground. In my lessons with Val I am pushing to find these middle notes and add them to my range so that I can comfortably sing them.

"This is also good breathing exercise to help you with breath control. If your recordings reveal that you take breaths in mid-sentence or that the volume of your voice fluctuates this will help. Practicing regularly will increase you lung capacity and speaking power as well as vocal range." (Alburger 2014)