The Inside Voice

Voice teachers have plenty of clashing views on topics like the larynx and the soft palate, but the truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to singing. Learn some of the different vibes you can create by learning a little about vocal physiology. Do you want a low-larynx warmth like Amy Winehouse’s, or a strident angsty high-larynx sound, like Alanis Morrissette? There are so many possibilities!

Don’t forget to register for the Musicians’ Showcase, for ages 15 and up! The theme is A Night at the Movies, and we encourage you to perform a song from film or television. Can’t wait to see you there!

Featured Content: How to Sing Pop Music, Part 3: Fun Effects
Caption: Ever wonder how pop singers with perfectly clear voices get that world-weary sounding rasp in their voices? Learn that and more in this week’s Featured Content.

Happy Presidents' Day!

Michael is a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter who’s been teaching with us for close to a decade. He recently moved back to his hometown in Colorado but keeps a base of online students so attached to him they switched from in-person to online lessons in order to stay with him. If you’ve ever met Michael, you know what a wonderful, encouraging person he is. Highly creative himself, he fosters an atmosphere of self-expression and exploration. Michael plays guitar, bass piano, drums, violin and of course sings and writes music. He likes to see students connect with their favorite songs and express themselves by refining and expanding their abilities as a musician. If you want great online music lessons, Michael’s your guy.

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Inside Voice!

If you’ve taken voice lessons, you’ve probably extensively explored the idea of vocal registers. In this week’s featured content, we explore how vocal registers are used in pop singing. It’s not a simple answer, like that it’s all chest voice or all in mix. Pop singers use chest voice, middle voice, and head voice (or if we’re talking in physiological terms, a variety of body-covers), but they use them in specific ways to sound stylistically appropriate. For example, chest voice switching abruptly into a breathy head voice or falsetto tends to be more common than it would be in, say, legit musical theatre, and intentional voice cracks are nothing to shy away from.

“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.”
~Billy Joel

Check out this week’s featured content, the first video in our How to Sing Pop Music series. This week, we focus on articulation, including onsets, offsets, and how much to enunciate. Even though pop singing has a lot in common with other genres, like musical theater belt, it has its own nuances that make it sound stylistically appropriate. Just sign up for your free TIV account for access.

This month, in honor of what’s (mostly) featured in the Grammy’s, it’s all about pop music. We’re revisiting our How to Sing Pop Music collection, with tips on articulation, vocal registers and how they’re used specifically in pop singing, fun effects, and how to use your larynx and soft palate for different pop vocal styles.

“You just need to be relaxed” is a common mantra you hear from voice teachers. But how true is it? If you’re too relaxed, there’s a good shot you won’t hit the notes in the more challenging moments of your song. In this week’s featured content, we discuss the idea of effort in singing: What does it mean, how much should we use, and where should we focus that effort?

Ever been told that when you sing you should just sound like you, and not try to sound like anyone else? That’s all well and good, except that there are so many different sounds your “natural” voice is capable of, from a belt that rocks the house, to a sweet, clear Disney princess tone, to a breathy, vulnerable singer-songwriter sound. Head over to our TIV site to learn to use your unique, incredibly complex instrument.

What is the correct way to sing? It may surprise you to learn that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to either vocal technique or style. Everything, from the way you breathe, to what to do with your larynx and soft palate, to what register to use where is dependent on style and what you want to accomplish aesthetically. Hoping to belt like Idina Menzel? Let your larynx move up in a vertical direction. Hoping to master the indie-pop sound? Exhaling a little more quickly, learning to do aspirate onsets and offsets, and not fully bringing your vocal folds together might be some techniques to learn. Check out this week’s featured content on our TIV site for more.

Many singers mistakenly believe that the best way to inhale before singing is to jam your abdomen out. Typically, this action just causes tension and does almost nothing for making singing more efficient or comfortable. Remember, your diaphragm is a mostly unconsciously controlled muscle that will rise and fall while you breathe no matter what your belly is doing.

Teacher Feature: Meet Michaela!
Michaela is a singer, songwriter, and producer originally from Meriden, Connecticut. She received her BA in Theater Arts from Boston College, during which time she began writing her own music and learning to produce on Ableton Live. In the fall of 2021, she relocated to LA and released her single “Side By Side.” As a teacher, she’s dedicated to fostering a supportive learning environment and teaching healthy, effective, and stylistically accurate techniques that will help each student sing the music they love. We’re thrilled to have Michaela on our team!

Head over to our TIV site for part 2 of our Breathing for Singing video, which will give you some exercises to help get you started. If you want to go deeper into breathing, sign up for our basic membership to access our Breathing, Beyond the Basics video, where you’ll learn the nuances of breath for different styles of singing.

Calling all teen and adult students ages 15+! We’d love to have you participate in our Musicians’ Showcase on Sunday, March 5th, on our cozy Costa Mesa studio stage. Sing or play (or both!) up to 2 songs. The atmosphere is fun and supportive, so even if the idea of performing makes you sweat, this is the perfect environment to try it out.
This showcase is going to be a special "Night at the Movies" event. To get in the spirit, the studio will be decorated for a red carpet Hollywood premiere.
Talk to your teacher about signing up!

Getting ready for your OCSA or APA audition? The application deadlines are coming up. First off, what are OCSA and APA? OCSA stands for Orange County School of the Arts, a junior high and high school charter in Santa Ana that offers elite education in musical theater, pop music, classical, and more. APA stands for Academy of the Performing Arts, a Huntington Beach-based high school arts program that also offers a high-caliber arts education. Let TIV help you get ready for your auditions, whether you’re going for Musical Theater, Integrated Arts, Popular Music, or anything else music or acting related.

Be sure to set up your free account at our Inside Voice site for access to this week’s featured content on the basics of breathing for singers. Breathing is one of those topics most people know voice teachers talk about without really knowing what it’s all about because of all the myths floating around on the topic. We’ll break it all down for you and discuss what breathing for singing both is and isn’t.

Learning to match pitch can be daunting, but you can do it! When you first begin, find a note in a comfortable speech range instead of something much higher or lower than you normally speak. Once you get comfortable in this part of your voice, you can branch out to more challenging areas.

Let's get down to the basics! Check out our first breathing video that dispels common myths, like that you should jam your belly out.

Don't worry if your head voice sounds small at first. Singers often think they aren't built to sing in head voice because it sounds weak compared to their chest voice. But with work and time, your head voice can be just as powerful as your chest voice, if not stronger!

Are you having trouble finding your head voice? Try this tip and check out this week's feature content for more!

Happy National Shakespeare Day! Do you know who said this quote? Comment your favorite Shakespeare quote down below!

Contrary to what the name suggests, chest voice doesn't take place in your chest, but in the thickness and vibratory pattern of your vocal folds. Any vibration you feel in your chest just comes from what we call sympathetic resonance.

In a little more than a month from today we will be holding our May Recital at the Chance Theater. If you are interesting in participating, reach out to your teacher today!

Have you ever wanted to sing in your "normal" speaking voice? Your chest voice is typically your low to middle range, that you speak in daily. Check out this week's featured content on How to sing in chest voice!

Saturday the 16th was National Selena Day! Check out former Molly's Music student in the Netflix series Young Selena. As always, she kills it!

Happy First Night of Passover from the Inside Voice Team!