Vocal Coaching

What is vocal coaching? Here is the way I see it...

Vocal coaching is a way of working with the voice where actual singing is not a goal in itself. The main focus is on how the voice functions as a "tool", a communicator, for people who need to use their voice a lot during the day in their professional work. This could for example be people who give lectures, teachers etc.

If the voice easily gets rusty, tired and a person feels that it's difficult to talk loud and clear in front of a croud, a great deal of help can be found in good and healthy technique. Poor vocal technique can be a "heavy weight to carry on the shoulders" since the way we talk says so much about who we are.

Often it doesn't take such a long time to get the voice "back on track" In the way I work with the voice I use, partially, my background as being educated in a conservatory (studying with operasinger Connie de Jongh) and at LA Music Academy (studying with Kevyn Lettau) but in particular, the knowledge I have from my further studies at Complete Vocal Institute with Cathrine Sadolin (Complete Vocal Technique).

I'm very impressed with Complete Vocal Technique and I've seen it work with great results in speech as well as singing. Basically all people/singers to whom I've introduced this technique have achieved good results. Some had thought that they didn't have a very good voice, that it was "scractching", sounding hoarse or simply just wasn't functioning well enough. In most cases it has been a matter of finding the "center of the modes" (there are 4 different modes in which we use our voice). When we use the voice in the center of a mode it feels easy and it doesn't cost nearly as much energy as when it's not in the center. This is very healthy for the voice and not damaging.

In short, I call "Basecamp" when we use the voice in a healthy way in this center of the modes. From this basecamp we can always rely on our technique, particularly in stressed periods, when we're tired or when there are extra demands on the voice. I think it's very important that we know our voice good enough to be able to return to "Basecamp" in these particular situations. It makes us feel confident with our technique, what our voice is capable of and even affects our self-confidence. Lack of technique shouldn't become a part of a continuous, bad circle of habbits.

As a very important part of the way we speak for example when giving lectures or presentations is the way we project authority. In a good and positive way. Within this authority lies also the way we phrase what we say, musically, with the language we use.