Kate's Voice

It’s January 6 and I have decided to participate in the WordPress challenge, Postaweek2011.  Tomorrow is Friday.  Time to get started. But how about you?  How will you get started on your commitments this year? What is your intention?  How will you upgrade your voice in 2011?

In looking back over the last year, I noticed that two of the four most popular posts on my blog were great topics to start off the new year. The topics they address are The Power of Intention, and Voice Training.

Why this is a good time for both

Intention:

Your communication is always filtered through your intention, whether you know it or not.  Your intention can be felt and heard in your voice.  I believe in setting a guiding intention for your work, even for your life, and then setting an intention for each important conversation, talk, or performance.  I deeply admire the work of Dennis Rivers in this area, and encourage you to download a free copy of his Cooperative Communication Skills Workbook for an in-depth look at understanding and setting intention.

Voice Training:

While I believe any time is a good time to start training your voice, many people start developing a new skill in January. If you have always wanted to take voice lessons or join Toastmasters, do it now.  Choosing the right teacher can be a challenge, especially if you don’t know what you are looking for.  My suggestion is that you listen to people singing or speaking, and when you find someone whose voice you enjoy, ask them with whom they have studied.  One successful student, however, doesnt’ make a teacher a master, so get recommendations.  If you hear a name mentioned several times, check them out.  In the meantime, there are some things you can do on your own to get started.  To find out what, check out my post last week, Where to Find Your Voice in 2011.

Happy New Year.  Let me know what you’d like to hear about this year!!

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I had been singing and  teaching voice for quite awhile when I had an important realization; I have learned a lot about living by learning a lot about breathing.  Frankly, breathing is essential for living.  It is natural and reflexive.  It should be easy, but when the physical demands of singing are added to this natural process, problems may arise.  Now, isn’t that just like Life itself?   One day things are going along smoothly, and the next day, some demands are made upon us that suddenly engage us in the complexities of balancing, controlling and analyzing what once seemed so simple and natural.  I decided that if I wrote down some rules for better breathing, I might have some tools I could use in life, too. Here’s what I came up with:

1. Remember to breathe.
2. Take good care of your body.  It is your instrument.
3. Gradually increase your capacity to breathe by challenging your “limits.”
4. It takes work to make your breathing feel natural.
5. Breathe ahead.
6. Breathe into each phrase and keep the breath flowing with energy.
7. The beginning is often the hardest part.  The secret of a good beginning is to breathe into it.
8. The cut-off, or final word, takes breath, too.  Keep the air flowing even after the sound stops.
9. Always give yourself time to breathe even when there’s not much time to breathe.
10. Talent, practice and skill are very important.   But if breathing is a problem, it’s a lot harder to demonstrate talent and skill.

Related articles:

Breathing: The Seductive Key to Unlocking Your Vocal Variety on Six Minutes

Are Presentation Skills Like Riding a Bicycle? on Kathy Rieffenstein’s Blog

Yoga Breath Blog