Vocal FAQs

I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF NATURAL TALENT. IN FACT, MOST OF THE PEOPLE AROUND ME SAY THAT I SING PRETTY POORLY. COULD VOCAL LESSONS HELP ME?

Everyone, with a little bit of determination and hard work and with the aid of a good instructor can improve by taking vocal lessons. Whether your goal is to perform in front of audiences or to sing for the pure enjoyment of it, it is important that you are comfortable and safe, and that you are having fun while being challenged.

I have students who come to me from various backgrounds and with various levels of skill and potential. Some have difficulties with the very basic skills necessary for good singing, such as hearing pitch and matching the pitch of their voices to instruments or other singers. Others have great natural technique or have taken lessons before and wish to gain more advanced level skills, like control, stamina and range, or to improve their overall tone in certain parts of their range. Whatever their goals as far as singing is concerned, we work together to help reach them.

Just remember that all singers develop at different rates, so you need to give yourself adequate time to see the desired improvements. Set reasonable goals for yourself and reward yourself for the little accomplishments that you make from week to week. While natural talent does help a great deal, what is most critical to your success is how dedicated you are as a student of voice. You may never develop the calibre of talent that could make you a world-class singer, but you will improve with time and practice. Then again, you may prove to be a "diamond in the rough" who ends up surprising everyone, especially yourself, with your potential.

HOW MANY LESSONS WILL I NEED TO TAKE?

With lessons, you should begin to see notable improvements in your singing voice relatively quickly, assuming that your teacher is competent. The knowledge gained from your instructor alone should immediately affect how you approach singing. However, the length of time that you choose to study with your instructor depends on a number of factors.

First of all, everyone starts from different places vocally. Some singers have more natural talent and better technique than others. Also, changing vocal habits is a process, and some singers have more unhealthy habits to reverse than others.

Second, every singer's voice develops at a different rate depending on how quickly he or she learns to apply the concepts being taught and how much self-discipline he or she exhibits. Your dedication to learning will affect how quickly you develop. Some students practise daily between lessons and come to lessons well prepared with lots of questions, and they tend to progress at a very steady pace. Others take a more relaxed approach to learning, and thus develop a little more slowly.

Third, your goals will help you determine how long you wish to study with your instructor. If you begin taking lessons wishing only to sound a little better in your church choir, for instance, you may choose to stop studying after a few months, once you feel more confident and have learned the basics of good singing technique. If you wish to become the absolute best singer that you can possibly be, though, you will likely be prepared to study for many years. There is always something more to learn and more skills to acquire, and good vocal lessons are a great investment to make in your career.

Also, progress will happen more rapidly with weekly or even bi-weekly lessons, but sometimes a student's financial position must dictate how frequently and for how long he or she can take lessons. Improvements can still be made with lessons taking place less often than once a week, but it will likely take longer to see significant changes.

This list of considerations is not, by any means, exhaustive, and you need to make your own decision on an individual basis and with advice and honest feedback from your instructor. Examine your reasons for desiring to take lessons in the first place and evaluate your progress periodically in light of your goals.

At no time should a teacher attempt to predict how many lessons a student will need or attempt to pressure or persuade that student to continue taking lessons indefinitely, especially if they haven't been able to produce results within a reasonable period of time. The student is a paying customer, and a mature teacher can accept when his or her services are either no longer needed or no longer desired.

WILL I DEVELOP A DEPENDENCE UPON MY VOCAL TEACHER TO KNOW WHEN I AM SINGING WELL?

Some students are hesitant to begin taking lessons because they fear becoming co-dependent with their teachers, or developing a reliance upon their teachers to know when they are singing correctly. They worry that teachers will be more concerned about taking their money for as long as possible than producing desirable results through quality instruction. While there may indeed be some singing teachers out there who are only motivated to make a living, most vocal teachers genuinely care about the success of their students. After all, the reputation of the teacher is important to building a successful teaching business, and if a teacher's students are not improving as a result of the instruction that they are receiving, they are not going to stay, and will likely caution others to not waste their money by taking lessons with that particular teacher.

Furthermore, responsible vocal instructors want their students to develop self-awareness that will lead to lasting results and long-term vocal health. Good teachers will equip their students with accurate knowledge and practical skills. They will teach them how to listen for indications of good or poor tone (proprioceptive responses to sympathetic vibration in the body), self-monitor breathing and posture to know when the tone is being adequately supported or to recognize signs of tension or strain, and diagnose technical errors and then find practical solutions for them. They will want their students to be able to successfully apply what they learn during their lessons to their vocal repertoire, as well as to their singing after they have ceased taking lessons with them. In order to do this, teachers can't keep the complex workings of the voice and the nuances of technique a secret from their students. They must be willing to share all of their knowledge and "tricks" so that their students can truly improve and learn, and be good, healthy singers for a lifetime.

It is also the student's responsibility to build this self-awareness and independence by learning everything that he or she can from his or her instructor. Students initially hire teachers because they recognize a need that they have for instruction offered by an expert who knows and understands more than they do about a particular skill. This humble acknowledgement of one's own limitations and need for guidance is not a precursor to developing an unhealthy dependence upon someone else.

Also, responsible teachers will be able to acknowledge when they are failing to produce desirable results in their students and be willing to either refer them to another teacher who might do a better job or offer an honest evaluation of their potential that may ultimately lead to an ending of the business relationship. Teachers who are not simply motivated by making money through retaining students for as long as possible will be straightforward with their students whom they feel have limited potential, or whenever they feel as though there is a poor student-teacher match.

Students are paying customers, and they should expect maturity, honesty and professionalism from the teachers whom they hire to train their voices.

I HAVE ALREADY BEEN SINGING PROFESSIONALLY FOR YEARS. WHY SHOULD I START TAKING LESSONS NOW?

While many professional singers have natural talent, it is also common for them to have poor technique. Singers with poor technique often run into difficulties keeping up with the vocal demands of their schedules, and sometimes have to cancel concerts or even tours as a result of vocal fatigue, strain or injury.

Regardless of what point you are at in your career, proper technique can always be learned and applied. In addition to learning healthy singing habits and good vocal care, vocal lessons can help a professional singer gain endurance and stamina so that he or she may continue to perform night after night without running into vocal problems. An experienced instructor can also help the singer to naturally and safely repair any damage to the vocal apparatus without the need for surgery.

Please take some time to read my article Why Study With a Voice Instructor? on this site for more reasons why lessons can be beneficial to every singer, whether a beginner or a seasoned professional.

I AM TRYING TO FIND A SINGING TEACHER, BUT I'M SO OVERWHELMED BY THE NUMBER OF OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO ME. THERE ARE SO MANY WHO CLAIM TO HAVE PROVEN METHODS, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHO TO BELIEVE AND WHAT TO LOOK FOR.

I have written a few articles on this site that address this very question, and I provide more detailed information in those articles than I will in this section. Read Selecting a Voice Instructor and Vocal Coaching or Vocal Technique Instruction? for some information on what kind of lessons you should be taking and what you should be looking for in a singing teacher. Once equipped with a little bit of knowledge, you'll feel more comfortable making your decision, and you'll likely make the right one for you.

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S VOICES SOUND SO DIFFERENT. DO I NEED TO FIND AN INSTRUCTOR OF THE SAME GENDER AS ME?

Men and women do sound different and sing in a different range of pitches. However, the ways in which an instructor approaches teaching each sex differs only somewhat. Men and women utilize the same breath management techniques, the rules of acoustics and phonetics apply equally to both sexes, (although due to differences in the pitches that they sing, acoustic circumstances differ somewhat between the genders), and vocal health is encouraged and maintained through many of the same habits and technical skills.

Of course, each gender, as well as each Fach (voice type), has some unique training needs, as certain technical problems are more common in one or the other. A vocal instructor must, then, have a good understanding of the unique challenges that both genders, as well as all voice categories, face while training, and have in their arsenals appropriate training exercises that will address the specific needs of each individual student. To train either gender, a voice teacher needs to be equipped with knowledge about registration events and other technical skills as they relate to both genders and every vocal Fach.

Belonging to a different voice category than his or her students doesn't preclude a teacher from effectively demonstrating good, healthy technique. For instance, male teachers can use falsetto tones - tones that are imitative of the female voice - in order to demonstrate correct vowel modification in the upper register for female students, and female teachers can instruct their male students in correct vocal protection and vowel modification by simply demonstrating good, balanced tone across the scale. (They should not artificially deepen the sounds of their voices in an attempt to imitate the tones of male singers, as this will create a poor, distorted tone quality in the voice.)

I, personally, was trained by a male instructor, and I learned excellent technique. His gender never hindered my ability to develop good breath management, balanced tone and smooth registration, nor did it make it more difficult for me to master singing in my head voice. He understood how to train the female voice, and was successful in teaching students of both genders and all voice types.

It is, therefore, not necessary for a male to be trained by a male, nor a female by a female. The only important factor is finding a good, knowledgeable, experienced instructor who will teach proper singing technique.

MY CHILD IS REALLY INTERESTED IN SINGING, BUT I WONDER IF SHE IS TOO YOUNG TO BEGIN TAKING LESSONS. I WANT HER TO LEARN TO SING PROPERLY, BUT THERE AREN'T MANY SINGING TEACHERS WHO TEACH CHILDREN HER AGE. WHAT IS AN APPROPRIATE AGE TO BEGIN TAKING VOCAL LESSONS?

It is true that there aren't very many vocal instructors who will teach young children. There are some very good reasons for this. First, until a child has reached an age where she or he has physically matured enough to handle the more intense aspects of vocal study (about fourteen for a girl and after the voice has changed for a boy), most teachers are unwilling to take them on as students. While children's bodies are still growing, they may face many difficulties with coordination of the musculature involved in singing, and necessary for effective breath management and efficient tone. Not only can studying technique too seriously have a negative effect on the developing vocal instrument, but, secondly, most children below high school age have difficulties grasping the concepts of vocal technique. If they aren't cognitively ready to study technique, they may become frustrated, discouraged or disinterested in singing during lessons.

There are always some exceptions to the rule, of course, and there are some instructors who are willing to teach younger students if they are ready, making such decisions on an individual basis and after consulting with the parents or guardians of those children. For example, I currently teach an eleven-year-old female singer who is extremely bright, motivated and insightful. She can wrap her mind around what I am telling her about technique, practically apply the information and advice to both her vocal exercises and her repertoire and analyze her own breathing and tone. While we're waiting for her voice to fully mature before she can study opera seriously with an opera teacher, she can keep learning classical technique with me and get more practice. Not all of my young students, however, are as easy and as rewarding to teach. (Since I teach many of my students at a local music store, I am not able to be as selective, and, as per store policy, I cannot place age restrictions on my students.)

Vocal instructors who do teach younger children regularly will often argue that children sing naturally, and it doesn't make any sense for us to ask them not to use their voices for a few more years. Just as with other areas of their physical development, coordination is only developed through use and practice.

I always suggest to parents to make an honest assessment of their children's readiness for singing lessons, and to examine their reasons for wanting to sign their children up for them at this age. In many cases, parents simply don't understand that it isn't necessary for children to take lessons - it won't necessarily give them a competitive edge as they get older. Oftentimes, deferring lessons until a child has passed puberty produces more favourable results, meaning that faster progress will be made. If the child is determined to start taking lessons early, the parents should find an instructor who is experienced with teaching young children, who will teach solid (correct) technical skills, who will understand the unique needs of the underdeveloped vocal anatomy of a pre-pubescent child, and who will make lessons fun, pressure-free, slow paced and age appropriate.

If parents are unable to find a vocal instructor in their area who is willing to teach younger children, I encourage them to get their children involved in age appropriate singing alternatives, such as school chorus, church choirs or musical theatre. They can have fun and continue using the singing voice without any pressure or strain until they are old enough to study vocal technique more seriously and benefit from lessons more fully. Furthermore, singing regularly in front of others before the onset of puberty will help children to develop more self-confidence so that when adolescence does hit, they will likely not develop stage fright.

I CAN'T AFFORD LESSONS RIGHT NOW, BUT I REALLY WANT TO SING BETTER AND FEEL THAT I WOULD BENEFIT FROM HAVING A SINGING TEACHER. WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?

Let's face it: Vocal lessons usually cost money. If it comes down to choosing between buying groceries and paying for lessons each week, you need to choose the food. However, there are several resourceful ways in which you can cope with a tight budget while pursuing your singing goals.

As always, I strongly recommend entrusting your vocal development to a good, "live" vocal instructor. You could get free tips from other singers off the internet or from discussion forums, but if you don't have a lot of knowledge about the voice, you could be given bad information and ideas by strangers who may not know what they are talking about. Also, you could purchase educational CD's, but there would then be no teacher to give you direct feedback of your technique. Your desperation to improve could end up making your singing technique worse if you don't go about it the right way.

Many instructors offer free lessons. Some will teach a limited number of lessons for free because they want to get you in the door, and then begin asking for payment if you choose to continue studying with them beyond the free lessons. In some cases, the teacher may be new or new to the area and is looking to gain experience by attracting new students with free lessons. Take advantage of these offers for lessons at no cost to you. If the teacher is competent, then you have nothing to lose, and there is no obligation for you to continue taking lessons from him or her after the initial free lessons have been used up. (The teacher may even offer to add on a few extra free lessons if you inform him or her that you would like to keep taking lessons, but can't afford them.) In just a few lessons, you can learn a lot about the basics of good singing.

Some instructors will teach a dedicated student at no cost simply because they enjoy teaching and want to help. Many of these instructors are highly experienced and knowledgeable, but do your research to ensure that you do find someone who is.

Some vocal teachers are willing to use an old fashioned bartering system if a student is determined to learn to sing, but is facing financial roadblocks. For example, the father of one of my students who had been studying with me for over a year at the time had recently lost his job, and he could no longer afford to pay for his daughter's lessons. Rather than setting my student's progress back and depriving her of the opportunity to do something that she enjoys, I offered to trade vocal lessons for her artistic services. She is a talented visual artist as well as a beautiful singer and enthusiastic student, and she helped me redecorate my home studio by doing some original paintings with a musical theme. In addition to receiving free lessons, she received the added benefit of having more works of art to add to her portfolio for college. During her lessons, her mother agreed to watch my then newborn baby, if he was awake, while my toddler napped so that I didn't have to pay for childcare and therefore lose money by teaching the student for free. I also saved on some of the cost of redecorating by not having to pay professionals to do the work or by buying expensive artwork to accent the walls. This same student, whose financial situation has now remained the same for the past year-and-a-half, has also offered free babysitting, and has at points paid a partial fee for her weekly lessons. Bartering creates a "win-win" situation.

Some singing instructors participate in workshops or courses in order to gain certification as teachers for a specific approach to singing. If these certification programs take place in your area, there may be opportunities for you to offer yourself as a "guinea pig" if these workshops need students for the new teachers to practice on or for the professors to use for demonstrations during the sessions. Although the new teachers themselves may not be highly experienced, those who are teaching the courses and supervising the practice lessons with the new teachers will be highly qualified and will be able to ensure that the skills are being taught to you correctly.

Highschool students or community choir members who show some potential and determination may find that their chorus teachers or choir directors are willing to take them on as students for free, giving them lessons after school or following rehearsals. The teachers or choir directors may be inspired by the young singer's enthusiasm and welcome the opportunity to be a part of further developing that student's singing voice. (After all, teaching is their passion.) The choir as a whole will also benefit from having another trained voice in the group. Not all chorus teachers and choir directors are properly trained in vocal technique, however, so the student needs to pay attention to what is being taught to ensure that he or she isn't being incorrectly trained.

Don't be too embarrassed or shy about explaining your situation to a prospective teacher. It can't hurt to be honest, because you may find a very compassionate instructor who is willing to help you out simply because he or she loves teaching. You can always agree to begin paying for lessons once your financial situation improves.

The key is to be resourceful, (but not desperate enough to make poor or detrimental choices). If you are determined enough to take voice lessons, you can find creative ways to make it happen, even with an empty wallet.

WILL STUDYING WITH A VOCAL INSTRUCTOR RUIN MY NATURAL SINGING STYLE? I'VE HEARD SOME SINGERS WHO SOUND OVERLY "TRAINED", AND THEIR VOICES SOUND BORING AND COPYCAT TO ME. I WANT TO DEVELOP A BETTER SINGING VOICE, BUT I'M AFRAID THAT LESSONS WILL ONLY MAKE ME SOUND JUST LIKE THOSE OTHER SINGERS.

Some singers are afraid that taking lessons will make them sound stereotypically classical, too polished or not emotional enough. They are afraid of losing their "edge" and uniqueness. Some are afraid that if they learn too much about the voice and technique, they'll lose their instincts and forget how to sing from the heart.

While some singers do become overly preoccupied with applying correct technique to their singing and get so caught up in the sound and mechanism of their voices that they forget that their real job is to express how they feel, lessons aren't to blame. Singers who "lose their edge" and uniqueness after taking lessons likely didn't have much true edge and uniqueness to begin with. Some aspiring singers are self-conscious on stage, and they find a false sense of security in singing with "perfect" technique, hoping that great technique will translate into a great performance. However, a singer who can't connect with a song or an audience on an emotional level after taking lessons probably also had great difficulties doing so before he or she began to study vocal technique.

Assuming that you are capable of singing from the heart and of truly feeling the emotion behind words and music in the first place, solid technique will enhance your performances by making expressing emotion through song easier. Technique's job is to enable a singer to be more expressive, not less, by equipping the singer with greater control over his or her instrument so that he or she is able to use the voice in a variety of ways as he or she pleases. The more mastery you have of your voice, the more you can do with it. Just as a musician who refuses to learn music theory will always be somewhat limited as a musician, it is ignorant to assume that you won't be limiting what you can achieve by refusing to learn the technical side of singing.

Although there are both classical and a variety of contemporary approaches to teaching, technique instruction is not typically influenced by any one genre, and proper vocal technique is applicable to all musical styles and genres. A rock singer needs to breathe just as correctly as an opera singer does. Good tone is just as important to the career of a country singer as it is to a musical theatre actor. All aspiring singers, regardless of preferred style, can benefit from better registration, greater range, vocal agility, stamina and control. Effective vocal instruction will equip a student with more skills and versatility, and thus the ability to sing in a variety of genres or styles, if desired, and to safely use a multitude of vocal effects.

A good instructor will not promote the imitation of other singers because every singer's voice is unique. Instead, his or her students will be taught first of all to sing properly with good technique, then to apply that technique to his or her singing outside of the lesson room. The individual singer's style will be encouraged to remain unaltered. Voice lessons won't change who you are as an artist; they won't alter your natural style unless you are no longer being true to you. They will only change how you go about (approach) singing. Those singers who sound very classical or polished choose to sound that way because that is the sound and style of singing that they personally appreciate and aspire to develop.

Even in the case where a singer selects a vocal coach - for a more detailed explanation of the differences between a vocal coach and a technique instructor, see my article on this site entitled Vocal Coaching or Vocal Technique Instruction? - based on that particular coach's style of expertise, the student should never feel as though the coach is attempting to mold him or her into someone else. A vocal coach should offer several suggestions for how to vocally interpret a particular song then allow the student to come up with an interpretation that is unique and natural to that singer, providing critical feedback of the student's work but never encouraging a student to mimic another singer.

I WANT TO SING CONTEMPORARY GENRES, LIKE ROCK. WILL STUDYING CLASSICAL TECHNIQUE ENABLE ME TO SING IN THE STYLE THAT I PREFER, OR WILL IT MAKE ME SOUND LIKE AN OPERA SINGER?

Despite what many contemporary singing teachers will try to tell you, studying voice through a classical technique (as opposed to a classical style) will not make you sound like an opera singer. (I don't, and I studied Bel Canto technique for nearly nine years.) Even though a classical technique instructor will teach you about the effectiveness of using "pure vowel" sounds, (whereas contemporary teachers may not be at all concerned with how you pronounce your vowels), you still won't sound like an opera singer unless you choose to. And you won't be expected to clasp your hands in front of you and wear horns on your head, either - unless, of course, you choose to.

Classical styles of teaching not only have the benefit of having centuries of success backing them up, but they have transitioned with the times, as well, having been modified periodically over the years as more knowledge about vocal science and the body comes to light, and as more styles and genres of singing have become popularized. Furthermore, classical technique training does not seek to alter a singer's natural sound, which is a goal of opera training for which specialized techniques are used to help a singer develop a highly classical, characteristically operatic vocal quality. (Contemporary vocal teachers often fail to distinguish between opera training and classical technique training.)

If anything, classical technique training - (again, I'm not talking about going to an opera teacher who will expect you to sing arias in Italian and will indeed mould you into someone who looks and sounds like a traditional opera singer) - will give you the necessary skills to be able to apply them flawlessly to your own singing, in whatever style or genre that is. You will learn about the mechanism of diaphragmatic breathing and how to "support your breath" with your accessory muscles, and you will develop good overall tone and effective resonance, as well as increase your stamina, control, vocal agility, volume and range. Classical technique encourages proper and safe vocal development. Having complete control over your voice, breath and tone will enable you, as a singer, to have more flexibility and versatility, not less.

Some contemporary teachers believe that classical technique instructors place too much emphasis on developing a strong high end and ignore the development of a singer's low end. However, classical technique, when taught well, endeavours to increase range and improve tone on both the upper and lower ends, and to develop blending of the natural (chest) voice and the head voice in the middle of the range. (It is generally easier to add notes to the top of our range, though.)

There is a universal set of basic singing skills that every singer should develop, whether through contemporary or classical training. Many contemporary approaches to singing focus on developing the same basic singing skills as classical technique training does, only through slightly difference vocal exercises and philosophies. (Many have originated from classical techniques, unbeknownst to their teachers.) Some of these contemporary techniques are developed with good knowledge of vocal science in mind, and are successful in training singers to sing properly and safely, while others are not.

Don't be dissuaded from studying voice with a classical technique instructor simply because you have been given false information about the types of voices that classical technique training produces. (Again, classical technique instructors are not the same as opera teachers.) All singers should have the same basic goals - to sing well and correctly - and classical techniques are very successful at helping students, especially those who sing contemporary genres, achieve their goals.

I WANT TO INCREASE MY RANGE, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO SO WITHOUT HURTING MYSELF. EVERY TIME THAT I ATTEMPT TO SING REALLY HIGH OR LOW NOTES, I FEEL MY VOICE STRAINING AND MY THROAT GETS SORE.

The key to safely and comfortably increasing your singing range is developing proper technique. (I can't emphasize this enough.) With proper technique - from pure, non-airy vowel sounds to correct use of the resonating areas of your body - you will be able to sing those high and low notes with ease, comfort and confidence. This is where the feedback and direction of a vocal teacher are vital. Voice lessons with an experienced, knowledgeable instructor are the safest environment in which to expand your vocal range over time. Trained singers typically have significantly broader vocal ranges than untrained singers do, so it makes sense to seek out a professional who will guide you in the right ways and give you practical techniques for increasing your range safely.

I have had many students, from beginner through advanced, successfully and comfortably add several semitones onto the top and bottom of their ranges each week simply by applying the technique that I am teaching them. It's not a magic trick. It is simply proper singing technique.

Once good technique is established, range is then gradually and methodically increased, one note (i.e., semitone) at a time, typically through short, simple exercises that use a very small range and intervals of only one half or full step at a time. It is usually best to allow each new note to be perfected - it should feel comfortable, be well supported and sound pleasant - before attempting to add another note. Although it may be possible for a student of voice to sing a few notes higher or lower yet, he or she should always focus on the notes immediately above or below until they are consistently well produced, and he or she should never sing notes if the voice feels strained in any way. Having an extended range is of little use if the uppermost and lowermost notes of that range sound or feel terrible. Once the tone begins to fall apart or the voice begins to break, singing those notes is pointless - they won't be improved by repeatedly singing them incorrectly - and it is important to go back down (or up) in the scale and stop at the first note that begins to sound less controlled or feels uncomfortable. A student and teacher team should then examine the reasons for this loss of good, steady tone and attempt to make adjustments and improvements in the student's technical execution of that note before moving on. Otherwise, the remainder of the scale will do nothing but deteriorate in quality, and the singer make risk vocal injury. Patience is necessary, as many singers want to develop their ranges quickly and may have unrealistic expectations or timetables.

Although extending one's vocal range is always a noble goal, the student of voice must also understand and accept that his or her body - in which lies the vocal instrument - has certain physical boundaries or limitations unique to that individual. For example, a bass singer should never expect himself to be able to hit the highest notes of the tenor range because his physical instrument is simply not designed to do so. Similarly, a soprano will likely never be able to extend her range to bottommost notes of an alto. There is likely to be some overlapping in range between voice types, but a higher instrument will always be more limited at the lower part of the range than a lower instrument will be. These limitations may be a source of frustration to many singers, especially when their voice types and ranges don't fit with or get them cast for desired roles or gigs, but, unfortunately, it is an unavoidable fact of nature. All that a singer can do is make the most of the type of voice that he or she has been given.

I have devoted a section to increasing vocal range in Tips For Practicing Singing: A Practical Guide To Vocal Development, which contains specific exercises and pointers.

BY THE END OF MY REHEARSALS, I FEEL HOARSE AND NEARLY LOSE MY VOICE. HOW CAN I FIX THIS PROBLEM?

If you are feeling hoarse and experiencing a change in your voice after singing, it is likely that you are not singing properly. Prolonged or frequent improper use of the voice can lead to serious damage, and it is important that you change your bad habits now. Seek the medical advice of a doctor and the instruction of a good vocal technique instructor, preferably one who has experience working on the rehabilitation side of vocal training.

Additionally, read my article on this site on Vocal Care to learn about ways in which you can proactively protect your voice.

MOST OF THE SINGERS THAT I HEAR "FAKE" THEIR VIBRATOS BY FORCING THEIR DIAPHRAGMS AND JAWS TO QUIVER, AND IT SOUNDS CONTRIVED. HOW CAN I LEARN TO ACHIEVE A TRUE, NATURAL VIBRATO THAT WON'T DO HARM TO MY VOICE?

The first thing that you need to understand is what a true vibrato is. Essentially, the voice is alternating subtly and very quickly between two pitches that are close together. The variation in pitch does not usually exceed a semitone either way from the note itself. (You can hear string instrumentalists create vibratos, for example, by wobbling their fingers on the finger or fret board of their instruments or by actually moving their fingers up and down the string for a wider vibrato.) The effect is intended to add warmth to a note.

A vibrato should never be faked, and is only done so by singers who wish to add contemporary "flavour" to their singing but lack proper technique. With these singers, you'll often hear wide, slow vocal "wobbles" that sound more like pitch errors than nice embellishments, and you will sometimes see tension in their jaws as they force them to rapidly move up and down with the notes. When good tone production, breath, placement of sound and resonance are in place, vibrato becomes a natural result. It is something that the body does on its own, not something that we force our bodies to do.

Some singing instructors teach vibrato as a necessity, rather than a natural biproduct of effective technique, which gives their students incorrect information and places pressure on them to force their voices to imitate a vibrato, often through unhealthy means. Some methods of creating (or fabricating) vibratos are capable of causing strain and harm to the voice; something that no good vocal instructor should ever permit.

While achieving a vibrato through natural, unforced, unhurried means may take more time and skill than "faking" it, it is well worth the wait. To learn more, please read Vibrato: What It Is and How to Develop It.