A. Yes, you train and then you very soon realize that you are not tone-deaf at all – just untrained.  Very few people are really tone-deaf, although the expression is often used. The fun question to ask someone who says he is tone deaf is:  How do you know? You will find that the person is very well aware that he/she doesn't sound great? In fact, he probably hears very well. There is probably nothing wrong with your hearing. To be able to sing on key you have to be able to create vibration (sound) without restrictions.  The beauty is that you can develop this much faster than most people think. However, if you practice via singing scales I can guarantee that it will take much longer than necessary.  Also see the article on “How To Sing On Key”

A. Well, when you say “try”, we don’t know you are doing or what the muscles are doing. The reason you can’t do it because the muscles that make it happen aren’t developed.  The bummer is that most people spend years and years singing scales, frustrated over this so-called “break”, but never discover the awareness of the muscles that make it happen - thus never develop theses muscles.  Sorry for the pitch, but in the Sing With Freedom program you develop greater awareness in the first 40 minutes, which we build on the create significant results in a couple of weeks.

A “Passagio” is one of those classic terms that I find unnecessary to use in my teaching (unless as fun trivia). It’s a term from the operatic school and refers to the “passage” – the bridge – between different registers, especially between chest voice and head voice. (The human voice actually has several areas of “register changes”.) What many seem to have forgotten is that the classic operatic “passagio” training strategies are about maintaining an operatic quality of sound while you pass through the “passagio”. Those strategies may not at all be helpful for contemporary singers.

A This is perhaps the most common concern of contemporary singers and an understandable one. It’s also a concern that will hold you back from tapping your true potential. The reason you want a coach on your team is to help you do what you want to do, but do it better. You want to be able to do it night after night. You want to be able to do it on a bad day. You want to feel free to express the way YOU want to express. If the coach helps you do that in a session or two you will feel it. If the coach is into promoting the “right” and “correct” way to sing, you are correctly concerned that he/she is teaching from the book and wanting to change your sound, rather than bringing out the best in you.

A: “Open your mouth” is a common instruction. “Darken the vowel”, “push from your stomach” , etc are other common "tricks". All these “tricks” do work in the same limiting way as if you were to do a biceps curl using your back and shoulders. You can actually lift more when doing so. But how much does it develop your biceps? When we discover how to sing high notes without this kind of external help, we also become freer as artists. Now we can express truthfully and freely.

A: It's not dumb at all. It is a very common question - unfortunately. See, your diaphragm has been working since they day you were born. It is working when you sleep, and with every breath. It is so amazing that so many people have been led to believe that they have to learn how to use the diaphragm in order to sing. And many think they are doing something wrong with their diaphragm because they don't sound as good as they would like to. If you can breathe, your diaphragm is working fine (I'm not saying their isn't room for improvement of all bodily functions). I hope you have read "The New Era of Singing Training"

A. Eleven is a pretty good age to get going. I used to teach kids a lot and have coached younger kids than that. It's all about building confidence to express and to get the child to experience what it feels like to release free sound in my opinion. When kids get into that age they start becoming awkward and self-conscious. That is not the time to teach "proper" techniques of how to breathe and stand and so forth. That just leads to more awkwardness and restrictions (and subconscious fears of doing wrong), in my opinion. When they discover the great feeling of releasing free vibrating sound, their confidence builds too. By doing so they also strenghen the voice in a healthy way, and good healthy breathing becomes second nature. A free voice is also a healthy voice. Of course, as you may know, this is what I encourage with adult students too. Perhaps it is my background teaching kids that has made my method popular with adults. Now, I hate to sound as if I'm trying to sell you something, but if you get the Sing With Freedom DVDs watch them yourself. Don't have her watch them neccesarily (unless you think she'll respond well to them). Armed with the knowledge you gain from the DVDs, you can then easier evaluate the various philosophies among local singing teachers. I don't think you need to be afraid that she'll develop bad habits if she enjoys singing. The more she does it, the more she will discover what she can do with her voice. But just like learning a baseball swing, it is much easier to excel if someone shows you how to do it, as I alluded to in "The New Era of Singing Training". Cheerleading and screaming on the other hand, now those are bad habits that have ruined many voices. I also recommend playing an instrument.

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