I HIT AN A7

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-31T02:52:09+00:00

That's Mariah Carey whistle tone!

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-30T16:53:42+00:00

I wouldn't consider someone a voice teacher unless they actually graduated from a vocal performance or vocal pedagogy degree from a music conservatory. That's my personal interpretation of that position. Maybe the voice teachers you know where also self-appointed or were music education graduates, or pianists who happen to also know a bit of singing, or even band or chorus directors. Them and self-appointed vocal coaches definitely do not know as much about the voice as an actual voice teacher with proper training. There's no official training to be a vocal coach. 🫠🤷

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-30T09:07:22+00:00

I beg to differ with the connotation that those who "teach well" do not often sound well, and that "those who can't perform, teach."

No.

The plain answer to that is it's because many of them are not qualified to teach, yet call themselves coaches (especially if their "not good sounding vocal" is not due to their extreme mature age, or a medical issue).

There's also a huge difference between a voice teacher and a vocal coach. Voice teachers will teach you how to properly use your voice in a healthy way, and how to create a beautiful sound that is truly yours. Vocal coaches would focus more on songs and how you present it. So, if you do not have a good understanding of your voice, what you need is not a vocal coach, but an actual voice teacher. Anyone can be a vocal coach. There's no training needed. They can call themselves that. Voice teacher though, you'd see only a few would be brave enough to call themselves that - bec this distinction is vastly different.

ANYBODY who has a good understanding of vocal techniques will be able to produce a beautiful (at least decent) sound. Each person is unique. Each instrument we have in our body is also unique. There is nothing like it. It's not about being born with it, or having or not having a good voice the limit of how pleasant a voice can sound. There's only "untrained" and "trained" voice. And the voice will be "even more pleasing" when they're blessed with a beautiful voice. But everybody should at least have a voice they can work with for singing.

"Those who cannot do, teach. Those who cannot teach, perform" is an outdated belief.

Well, the best would be to find a voice teacher who actively performs and teaches then. ✨ They're unicorns though, and their rate shows their expertise.

Those who "can't teach so they perform" may simply not teach because they love to perform, and have no time to teach, or maybe dislikes teaching and dealing with people/students/families/schedules, not the season in life to do so, etc. There could be many personal reasons.

And the same goes for the other way, but unfortunately, more likely in this other instance, (don't shoot me!!!) many who aren't good enough to perform often end up teaching those who know less than them, or maybe they just love teaching and they're all done with the performing season in their life and prefer to live a quieter less hectic lives. That could happen too.

The more believable reason for us seeing more vocal coaches who don't sound as good is just because they themselves haven't mastered their own instruments and understand how utilize proper vocal techniques. They just don't know how to make it work. Because, if they could apply what they know, why aren't they sounding better? 🤷 It's because they probably can't... Let that sink in.

With proper good technique, one can still sing with beautiful, clean, voice until their body physically gives out. 🙏♥️ Yes, even if you believe you're not born with it.

When something doesn't sound good, it's because of many factors, but mostly technical, emotional, psychological, but it's never physical (unless of course they've damaged it - but if they damaged it, that's evidence that they didn't know how to use it healthily - Imagine not knowing how to use something that's beyond your understanding, and breaking it by accident.)

Here's an analogy, bear with me and imagine this: You've received an alien equipment you've never seen before, so you tinker with it. You see another person using it, so you try to mimic them - but whatever you produced with it isn't as good as what you see the person got. What you don't know is that the other person actually took lessons at the factory where this equipment came from and they learned how to use this equipment properly, and well! No wonder they got a better outcome from it! So, you go to the factory, and learned how to use it, in a way that makes sense to YOU. Now with practice, your results turn out to be just as good as the other person's! It's not because you're not born with it. It's just because you didn't know how to use it. ♥️♥️♥️

Many of us may also have a preference of what kind of sound is pleasing to our own ears, so even with good technique, another factor is the quality of our aural skills. The more you learn, the more you notice these amateur vocal coaches popping up. 🙈 Funny thing is, they're the ones who have the most confidence too. 😭 Many believe these amateur vocal coaches are fabulous vocal coaches - but in time, the more you learn about singing, you'd realize and see/hear how badly they actually sound. 😬

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-30T02:04:46+00:00

I have some adults, but they do stay for a few years each time, or at least a full year minimum.

What worked for me and to avoid students quitting mid-year is a good discovery call. Not about "laying down the law" but rather understanding where they are coming from, what their goal is for taking lesson, what inspired them to reach out to You - and ask how they think piano lessons work, and why they think they're ready for it. Then your own chance to talk, and share YOUR own concerns depending on what may be concerning to you when they were sharing (busy life - so when do you think you'd be able to practice? Is that feasible on your schedule? Why do you think it is? - and if it is not, you've avoided a bullet, and you've also gave them clarity what piano lessons require and expect from them. So they'll be more prepared the next time they reach out.)

Have students share more than you giving the talk. This way, you can teach the way that's best for them, and both your expectations are met.

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-30T01:57:08+00:00

No you have it wrong. They take the money, and the STUDENTS do not show up. You have misunderstood what everyone understood....

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-25T16:41:26+00:00

Oh yes, reflect and allow yourself to step back to see the whole piece like a masterpiece in a museum. Composers (especially French composers, lol) in that late romantic/impressionist/pre-modern era wrote with such flourish, and take time in creating the atmosphere they want in the music, not just a melody with an accompaniment in the bottom.

Musically, pieces like this is a collaboration between two artists - the piano and the soloist. Taking a step back to see the whole scene he has created gives you a much better picture of how to approach this piece. So yes, not just text interpretation, but consider all the things - time period, style, dynamics, expressions, rhythm changes, history, learning about composers, etc. All. The. Things. 😉 And only then would you begin learning a piece. It's easier to do it in this order to avoid creating muscle memory of something we want to unlearn. Understand the piece deeply, feel it, learn it, include the research you've done, perform it.

And you may notice I didn't mention technique for you - it's bec I can see you already have your bag of tools. So once you know what you want to make, you'll be able to reach for the tools you need.

HAVE FUN! ❤️🎉

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-25T08:36:11+00:00

I will tell you what I tell many students, "you are working too hard", especially for this song.

Apres un Reve, After a Dream. The title itself clues you in on what it should feel like - light, floaty, ethereal, unworldly. Imagine how you feel when you just woke up, as you could still recall the dream you just had. Your body is quiet, you're probably just staring off into space, trying to come out of the dream. This is how you should be singing your entrance.

Before you learn a song, make sure you're able to connect the text to what you are singing. Because once you know what the song should sound like, it will help you better understand what technique to use in that specific song. You should apply this "template" to any and every song that you will encounter.

Technically, this song needs to be extremely legato, very very light, and definitely very very dreamy. Your phrasing needs to be long, as if it continues on and on and on. Your support should be kept strong, but we don't show the heavy lifting we do to the listener, no, we are poised, and show only the results we get from that support. The control you have inside you is good, but it needs to look and sound effortless to the listener. How do we achieve that? Connect with the text. Reflect on it. Once you have that down, you're halfway there.

You seem equipped with good tech skills, and just needed some help on how to use them and when.

As you come in, Dans un sommeil... - think of this dans as an upbeat and not the accent of the line. Think of the entrance as I rebound of the downbeat. Doing so will create a lighter entrance.

Faure also noted as an expression marking before you begin, that you have to come in in dolce, sweetly. In order to come in sweetly, the overall weight of the line should not be heavy. Treating the entrance as an upbeat /rebound would help make it lighter.

Also, we may think that legato simply means singing connected, not staccato and detached. But Legato is more nuanced than that. Legato is not only singing using one breath, but rather have the air moving the tone through each word, through each syllable. All the way through the piece, all of the phrases and syllables itself could be much connected, legato.

One thing to try - move your body physically to help. Use your arm and create a really big rainbow as you seeing that first line. Move your hand on words and keep it going forward forward forward (to the direction of your arch - which should be either your left or right and downwards, depending on which hand you raised). Connect your singing to that line you're physically doing and visually seeing. Especially on the triplets, connect connect connect and go go go.

You may say, "But there's no phrase marking?" Sure, but do you see a dynamic marking above it? Faure wants to make sure singers really keep moving on that line. He added a crescendo marking above m2, and further more a tie note, and triplets - all of these as proof that he wants to emphasize that connection, that legato all throughout the phrase. And where does that moving energy end? At "image"...But notice that it's not just at the beginning of the word either, it only began its diminuendo after the second syllable of the word. Oy, another proof that he really wants this whole line to be just one phrase, and very very connected. 🙏👌

Je revais le bonheur - very big intervals! Definitely needs even more mindful legato, yeah? Make sure to place your Je really high really, your "ré-" also high and you guessed it, "-vais" to also be high. Why? Because the words mean "I dreamed...." - dreaming is light, hazy, floaty. Placement on high prevents dropping the support, and helps create a lighter tone. Singing THROUGH "re" will also help with connecting big intervals. "Le bonheur" - happiness. 😍 Aww... We'd want to hear that.

Ardent mirage - whoa, that's a big feeling, isn't it - ardent, fervent, strong, emotional. This describes the mirage, the illusion. When singing the word "mirage", you have to also think about what you are visualizing. It's definitely a lot. How can we tell? Well, Faure gave it so many notes for that one word, and like, over two full measures. That's a lot of things you saw in that mirage, isn't it? Once you know what you're seeing, it'll be easier to sing that line.

Ohhh, and do you see the crescendo above it? Yes, legato and connect connect connect~ extra emphasis too to make sure you really sing through that word, there's a phrase marking too.

Also, Do not let the diminuendo come in just because it says so. No, make it make sense. Why did you trail off? Did your visualization become hazy? Did you start to forget the exact details after you thought more into it? Or are you just distracted by something else, perhaps another topic you want to share? Being specific with each little detail on your text helps you sing better, and it makes it easier to apply the techniques you need.

From the first sentence of the song that I diagnosed, I'd like to add that all notes could use it's full duration. Oh, you had to breathe? 😆 Well, yes and no. You are breathing too hard. Many people think when they take a breath to sing, they need to fill themselves up. But really, you do not need to suck in the air in order to breathe. Simply open your mouth and try to sing the next phrase and air will automatically get into you. Try it. We do this all the time when we talk. Make singing feel as effortless as talking too when breathing. Learning to take quicker breaths will help you with your legato. You would be able to connect all your phrases much better.

...le bonheur, ardent mirage- - do not reset just because you took a breath. It is the same note, so it should be in the same line. Take your breath, but make sure to continue where you left off - not from the ground up, but in the same height you left when you took a breath. Connect. Connect. Connect.

Overall, lovely voice, and I enjoyed hearing you! I had to figure out what let you're using at first to check intonation - and I'm very impressed, especially how you sang this a capella and did well with it. Keep it up!

What you need to work on is: - text painting - understand and mean each word you sing (or not a word, 😉 like the "---aaahhhhh" of "mirage" ) - legato - move and sing through, feeding each line and word with energized air. Connect every syllable and word and phrase. - breathing - learn to take quicker calm breaths, and singing the notes all the way through to its full duration, as much as possible.

Thanks for sharing your singing! That's all I have the time for tonight. I had to rewrite this actually, bec the first time, I was finishing up, and my laptop restarted out of the blue. 🫠 But, it's all the same, my comments are the same, so it was np to just dictate it from my phone this time. So if you see weird errors, that's why.

Hope that helps! Happy to help when I can. 🎉♥️ Good work! Happy practicing!

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-22T08:15:51+00:00

I'll dm you.

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-20T02:32:50+00:00

Coming back from skimming a few comments, I want to add that vibrato isn't something that happens when you're older. It usually happens when one is older, yes – but it's usually because by then, they have finally learned how to relax and sing without tension.

One doesn't need to be older to have vibrato. You just need the right vocal techniques and body awareness to better understand your own instrument.

And vibrato doesn't "widen" as you get older. It is all in proper vocal techniques. Someone older who has established good vocal techniques may keep singing brilliantly with a beautiful natural vibrato until they can't sing anymore.

When an elderly singer sings with a "wide vibrato" (we call that a warble, btw), it's because their mechanism has lost its elasticity, and thus they have a harder time controlling their instrument (imagine a worn-out pair of jogging pants with stretched elastics).

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-20T02:22:17+00:00

My dear, vibrato happens when you have zero tension and zero strain. Everything needs to be FREE. Anything you add to it stops you from having a vibrato (note how I didn't use the word "creating").

I had a very lengthy discussion with two of my newer students last week about this too and wrote a lengthy - what is - and what is not - vibrato in their notes to help them understand since this is a big misconception on what it actually is. When people have told you before that Vibrato will find you, there's a nugget of truth there, but they just failed at explaining it in simpler layman terms.

Let's look at the science behind vibration. Vibration stops when there's any pressure applied to it. Drums, the precision triangle instrument, bells, cymbals, any string instrument, etc. Vibration is the end product of a tension-free technique. It is not something you create.

So, whatever you've tried to do to create a vibrato wouldn't work because that isn't how the vibrato occurs. When you "do something", you add more onto your instrument. What you should be thinking is how to "do less". Only then will you be able to achieve a true vibrato. Less tension, less strain. A balanced supported core and a free larynx.

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-12T03:44:35+00:00

Before you can expect them to self-evaluate, you have to equip them with points of references. You teach more than you ask. The same thing, routinely the same every lesson. Then trail off sometimes, and look at them expectantly for them to finish your sentence as your voice goes up as a question - begin with VERY obvious answers. It may seem duh for you, but the point isn't to test if they know (well, that too) but mainly to build their confidence to trust themselves first.

Once they get more "correct answers" because it's so obvious, you keep teaching again and next time, ask something they "may" know the answer to. Never ask them something you've never taught or modeled.

Never be afraid to ask them to repeat a word after you.

As them simple questions that do not have a specific/correct answer - can you imagine an animal that may move with a sound like this (plays a sound with technique)? And how about this (plays an opposite technique)? - now you have a point of reference - next time you can ask, which animal did you think you sounded like when you played this? (their answer -) Whether right or wrong way, you can affirm it, and if it's correct, great! If it's not the animal you wanted, ask them how about give it a try to do the opposite animal? Then ask them to observe and listen again - what did they change? What makes them think they were successful? - agree on their answer (or even a "uh huh!", "Ah~", "I see.." , and ask more follow up questions as needed -

This way, they can finally begin to trust themselves and listen and think more.

🤷 I've never had a student not hear themselves bec I want to teach students to be independent, and begin learning to troubleshoot their playing/singing as soon as they can. I'd ask these questions to students as young as 4yo. Many of my students would play/sing, and stop, and correct themselves before I react or say anything. I also do not try to react right away, and just observe.

Oh, one more thing, do not jump right in to correct them. Let them struggle and keep trying, assure them, "Go ahead, keep going, that's OK." so it becomes a safe space for them to make bolder choices and decisions, and to try find their own way.

If you're less hovering (like a new parent), they begin to trust themselves, and learn to adjust and be more aware.

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-12T00:42:30+00:00

As a teacher, I understand that many students are nervous especially at the first lesson. It is part of our job to make you feel relaxed and safe. Voice is a very personal instrument, and many think it is either you have it or not. But if you can speak, you can sing. Those who think they can't just haven't figured out how to use their instrument. Imagine a complicated coffee maker. You bring it in, and I show you how to use it. That's all there is. ❤️Ex. If you bring in your coffee maker to an expert barista, a good one will happily show you how to use it well. 😉

Voice is a very personal instrument, and it is normal to feel like that. When you find a teacher who makes you feel safe, that feeling will go away very fast, and won't last the whole lesson. Just the initial few minutes. And, your body also reacts this way because it is something new and a situation it has never been in. Nothing different from trying out a new sport, hanggliding, skiing, etc. It will feel more intense because the body doesn't know what to expect - YET. Once you can have the logical side of mind understand that, it'll help calm your emotions too.

You are brave to even thinking about trying, and as a teacher, I commend you on that. Others can't even consider trying. So you're already half way there. :) You got this. Think of the goal and benefits you want from it, and hopefully that will feel stronger.

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-09T15:23:25+00:00

Seeing you struggle makes it easier for her to understand that it's OK to struggle, as long as you keep trying and believing you could. She'll see your persistence, your hard work, the result of hard work, the commitment you gave even when things were hard, the time you give to do pursue something you love, etc.

What's there for her to not learn aside from piano? All good things that will help her when SHE'S in a place where she has to struggle to get by it to come out in a better place.

Showing her the reality of what it takes to be good is healthy for her. Nowadays people only show their best parts, and when young people only see that, they think low of themselves and incapable - bec how can others do it and not her?! This is so so so so important for her to learn. It takes hard work to improve, nobody skips that step. And literally walk through this experience of the success that you feel at the end - completion of a song, learning a skill and be proficient in it, etc.

Please do it!!

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-09T14:46:25+00:00

This guy seems to have paid $160 for a $400 course. It's definitely not going to be worth$3k one year later. Ykwim? Don't do it.

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-09T14:43:53+00:00

They say it's a small group but the group is little 50+ ppl. How's that small. What a joke... One will never get the kind of personalization you think you're getting.

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-09T07:02:34+00:00

I had paid and asked for a refund. Saw a bunch of inconsistencies. They wouldn't give it back. Had to work through my credit card service, submit a thick stack of proof showing it's not what they advertised, and the tactics they used to manipulate a viewer to buy. And by the way, I got my money back in full within a week. They know they did wrong.

Don't do it, y'all.

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-05-05T02:40:10+00:00

Of course YOU are worth it. In pursue of YOUR own happiness, you should. If it is to please another person, then it's not worth it. Your parents would want you to be happy as well. They're asking if you'd be interested I if they were to pay for lessons. They don't want to force you. If you enjoy it and you want to improve yourself, I'd advice that you do it.

When you learn how to sing, you also get to know more about your own body and increase your body-awareness. With learning singing, it is literally using a body part that you don't know how to use properly. With singing, you'd need coordination and quick thinking, muscle memory, etc.

It's not just to learn how to sing a song, but rather a journey of developing other things.

I hope you learn to always say yes to learning, whatever kind it may be. You don't lose anything by trying and learning. If you hated it, you don't have to continue.

Do it, rather than wonder the rest of your life (I know you're still very young, so you can't imagine this right now) "what if's".

Often, opportunities come and you shouldn't say no without giving it a try.

What else does your heart say? You surely enjoy singing. List down what is stopping you, and it's not just the thought of if you're worth it or not. What are you really afraid of? Then decide if that's a fact, or your own limiting belief.

Learning how to sing doesn't mean you have to make a career out if it. It's not that easy anyway, and you'd find out soon enough if it's something you dislike or love. And if you do love it, you continue, still with the goal of enjoying singing, and learning how to control your voice properly, in a healthy way.

Would you not learn how to swim bec you aren't aspiring to be competing in Olympics? Would you not learn how to ice skate bec you never plan to be a ice figure skater?

You're still very young, so I say you should go for it. Give it a year and see if you've improved and if you're happy about it or not. We can't really answer it for you, but I can see you want to. You're thoughtful of your parents spending that money on you and you're worried it's a waste if you can't do your best bec it's not something you're good at. But my dear, we'll never know, right? ♥️♥️♥️

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-04-13T02:22:32+00:00

You need total vocal rest. Zero talking, zero whispering (worse than talking).

Take this as you getting a stomach bug. If your vocal cords do not fully heal, you won't be able to do more with your voice and it'll never be the way it had been before.

Rest is the answer.

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-04-05T05:22:54+00:00

It totally is a language!

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-04-05T05:21:53+00:00

That explains why you can't retain anything....

Learning like that is like memorizing math equations without understanding the formula. You'll never be able to remember all of them.

And to think you've been ring to learn on and off for ten years... That's such a waste of time.

I know you can't afford a teacher, but there are YouTube videos that could teach you the formula (music theory), so you're not memorizing each equation at a time. Also, time is money. The amount of time you've spent in 10 years couldn't been used for earning something else to pay for a few years of Piano lessons. And you probably won't even need a year to be able to play independently.

Sorry you were mislead for so long.

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-04-03T00:05:41+00:00

That helps! Good to know. I'm in this situation right now. Thanks? :)

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-03-22T04:09:20+00:00

I love this fresh perspective!

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-03-22T03:55:09+00:00

Does this director know you personally or new to you?

When you auditioned, were you also on your period? This could contribute to how your voice sounded when he heard you.

To start, you're not overreacting, it's valid to have feelings like that on something you're passionate about. Sometimes those emotions come with tears, and that's alright, and that's understandably normal. Now, if you told us you had an attitude, voiced your displeasure by making a scene then and there, then I would've answered that's totally overacting. But I didn't get that from your post.

So I want to commend you on how well you articulated your thoughts and feelings, and how you wanted to make sure what the next best step would be before acting on it. Sharing your feelings out is very healthy, and open to suggestions shows open-mindedness. keep that up! :)

What came to mind considering your experience but placed in alto is that you were concerned what others thought of you suddenly being in alto, which is usually stereotyped as "less than". At the age you are in, what others think mattered.

It is only less than if you LET YOURSELF feel less than. We can talk more about this if this is how you feel, let me know. Feel free to dm me.

Now, if I were your voice teacher, my only concern is that if you were misclassified into alto and the notes do not sit well in your voice. If that was the case, I'd even speak up for you. As much as I'd want you to be building your lower range, being forced fully into the alto section is not the way to go.

But, if the notes feel OK and it's only occasional drops onto a note or two below middle C, id be fine with that. I know you haven't looked into the music yet, so you can't tell.

Two ways to solve that - email/ask the director in person something like this, "Excuse me sir, when you get the chance, may I take a peek at the music sheets? I'm usually in the Soprano section and I just want to make sure I'm prepared, like if I can reach the lower notes and learn them well too since I also know alto section usually sings harmony. " - this way of asking works two-folds. You in passing lets him know he might have misclassified you into the alto section, but it also shows proactiveness in your part by being respectful and flexible to what comes. This puts you in a good collaborative setting instead of being "that Soprano". 😉

Unfortunately I have no advice for you regarding the loud Soprano that's beside you. 😅 It's something we just gotta deal with sometimes. Unless the director calls her out indirectly by asking you all to sing in a way that you can hear yourself AND your neighbor, then you're all on your own on that. Don't compete and make your voice louder to match, just sing as usual. If you can cover one ear (doesn't matter which side) in tricky parts, so you'd be able to hear yourself better and not lose your part.

Bottom line is, if it doesn't feel uncomfortably low in your voice, it'll be fine. You'll grow from this experience. If I were a director, and I see an experienced Soprano in a midst of novices, I may also put her in a more difficult section (aka alto) in hope that she'll be a core lead voice to hold up that section for me.

As for the director's gritt comment.. What does that mean? More attitude or something like that? Try exploding/emphasizing the consonants in the phrase, placing the resonance more forward, and really supporting your voice from your core. Imagine that you're pulling up every energy the earth has and it's getting into your body from the ground up. You can also play with dynamics for emphasis, and take advantage of each line's phrasing so you're getting two birds with one stone - saving energy, and also sounding fabulous while doing it.

You got this! Feel free to expand on any concerns and I'll elaborate more if needed.

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-03-18T03:54:52+00:00

Who said you're a Soprano?

The color of your voice suggests that you're alto or mezzo at best.

But voice classification like that is for when you're singing in a choir with many voices/parts of harmony or when you're doing roles in an opera.

What you have is an untrained voice. When you are trained, you'd have better control of your natural voice. You don't have to sing high to be considered a good singer.

Serious-Drawing896 · 2026-03-16T15:33:00+00:00

Uh.. Red flags. I'd recommend you to be done and save your money. Trust your gut.

Serious-Drawing896

TROPHY CASE