[Matt Pocock]

I’m not sure what song would be good to give her but you could try something with descending patterns like old Taylor Swift’s Shake it Off. Or do something that generally hangs out higher like Decode by Paramore? Maybe also ask her questions about what kind of music she likes – it could reveal a lot about the particular vocal sound she’s going for, or you could use it to unlock some of that tension by getting her to sing something that she says makes her feel relaxed and happy?

Another thing you can try is talking about getting a better idea of what is “good” and “bad”. She may feel that singing in a certain way (naturally) will make her sound “bad”. You can talk to her about setting more specific goals and start unlocking any beliefs about her voice that are holding her back. Remember, singing is super psychological! Never underestimate the power of a discussion and some self-acceptance/equanimity on the part of the student. <3

[Matt Pocock]

Hey Eliza,

Let me just say that it sounds like you’re doing some great work with her! Her head voice is sounding nice and sweet and there’s some really good stuff going on.

But what I can hear is a lot of tension in a few places. First of all, the nasal sound we’re hearing is caused by tension in the pharynx, soft palate and tongue root. That shortens the amount of available space in the back of the throat and causes that harsh, piercing sound. Tension in the tensor palatini and palatoglossus muscle can also prevent the soft palate from rising, causing a nasal sound.

All this could come from two places. The first, as Kat says, is over-singing – trying to ‘micromanage’ the sound into something nice can cause tension in all sorts of areas. I have a great cure for this – get her to sing as though she’s pissed off, using a ‘blah-blah-blah’ or ‘yeah-yeah-yeah’ as a reminder. If you aim it in the right way, she will feel a releasing feeling in the tongue and jaw. I also use the ‘me-nah-me-nah’ to get this release, as in here: http://mattpocock.com/2015/10/30/finding-helens-chest-voice-episode-2/.

From there, you can build the singer on top of that, getting her to make things nice while still feeling the physical release she gets when she’s pissed off. I call that relaxation ‘base camp’, then all the nice sounds are little ways up the mountain.

The second thing could be muscle tension dysphonia. That’s when there is laryngeal tension in her natural speaking voice which prevents her making a good tone. This is worth a google, since it might tell you if it’s worth sending her to a Speech & Language Therapist. But as a halfway house, I use this exercise to release laryngeal tension: http://mattpocock.com/2015/10/29/inside-matts-studio-the-ultimate-vocal-warm-down/

Hope that helps! But it sounds like you’re on the right track with her already, just making her aware of when she’s tensing is the next big step!

[Matt Pocock]

Great news!:)

[Matt Pocock]

Maybe use some political speech extracts to give them something to work on? The Gettysburg address for blokes and Emma Watson’s UN speech for ladies are both great.

[Matt Pocock]

Agreed, both wonderful ideas for keeping on students. On a more fundamental level – never being afraid to send another email to a student who you had a great lesson with, but never came back for a follow-up. So often they’ll have just forgotten, or will assume you’re busy, or will be reticent taking the first move. So send that email!