When you have been doing anything for a long time, you develop a list of sayings, some borrowed and some original. Here are a few: Never, ever feel like you are giving 100%; always keep something in reserve. The voice is shaped like a lily; pointy on the bottom, ringy and ungy in the middle, …
Author Archives: barrettvoicestudio
Thyrohyoid: a Stressful Mouthful
My voice teacher of 20 years – my beloved Barbara Kierig – had a saying: “we sing as we are.” She would always add, “but that’s not me, that’s Tovini (her voice teacher in Vienna), what do I know? I’m just a bag!” I had always taken that to be a statement of self, related …
Choices
I am a full-time private music teacher; this is all I do, and it is a joyful job – one about which I am passionate. Changing the world through music, one singer at a time. Ahh…from the sublime to the practical… Barrett Music Studio is also a business. I need to maintain a student load …
Feelings…or lack thereof
The human body is an amazing thing. We have these things in our bodies called proprioreceptors, found primarily in the muscles, tendons, and joints, that responds to stimuli produced within the body. They receive or perceive certain states of activity of the different body structures. Think of them like GPS signals within the body. Throughout …
Rules
There are two hard and fast rules in my studio. Rule #1: If it hurts, it’s wrong. Rule #2: If I say something you don’t understand, say so! It’s my job to speak your language, not your job to speak mine. More tomorrow! Copyright © 2019 by Andrew Barrett, DMA
Courage
Our identity is bound up in so many aspects of our persona: that face that looks back at us in the mirror; the way we wear our hair; how our voice sounds; and so much more. Growing facial hair – or not, wearing makeup, coloring our hair, cutting our hair, growing it out, these are …
Mimicry, part 2
In the previous post I recounted the story of how my first voice teacher built her technique and career by imitating a recording. Indeed, imitation is one of the tools in the voice teacher’s toolbox, relying on our innate ability to initiate rather complicated coordinations. As previously mentioned, mimicry is a double-edged sword, particularly when …
Mimicry
We live in an extraordinary time for music for many reasons, not the least of which is the existence of the vast body of recordings that have been made. We are constantly being inundated with music at every turn, and why not? Music makes everything better for the simple reason that it elicits an emotional …
Vocal Athletes
I’m just going to say it: singing is as much an athletic pursuit as any sport. It needed to be said. Very often there is a disconnect, particularly for students who possess musical aptitude, that because they can already sing – match pitch, read music, and memorize lyrics – their practice responsibilities are met simply …
Lost Men
The worrisome outcome for male voices during and after the voice change is that they will walk away from singing. When a young man’s voice drops, he is faced with an “upside down.” Heretofore, being the owner of a high voice he would have found himself singing the melodic line or counterpoint in treble clef. …
Barrett Music Studio 