by Michael Mayer | Jul 12, 2015 | Uncategorized
I recently asked the VocalWisdom.com community to share with me the two biggest questions they have about their voice, and the response was great. There were questions of all different kinds. There were general questions that most of us have had at some point. There...
by Michael Mayer | Jun 21, 2015 | Jussi, Video
First, I want to say thank you for the many responses to my request for your two biggest questions about the voice. These give me lots of ideas of what you want to learn and understand better. (And if you didn’t respond you are still welcome to do so. See the previous...
by Michael Mayer | Jun 9, 2015 | Uncategorized
Hello, I’m working on a new class and I could use your help. If you could do me a favor, I’d really appreciate it if you could answer a question for me. What are your two top questions about your voice? Now, I know I’ve asked this before, but there are a lot of new...
by Michael Mayer | May 20, 2015 | Balanced Function, breath, Q&A, Support
A client of mine was discussing some of the concepts we work on with a former teacher/professor of hers. He agreed with the things she said and told her they were much the same as he taught. One of the statements he made was that he always taught “sul...
by Michael Mayer | Feb 24, 2015 | High Notes, Q&A, Registers, Tenor, Vibrato
I would just like to say thank you so much for the #1 secret article. It’s helped with so many of the issues with my voice and makes it sound better and feel healthier. Would I be right in thinking that vibrato is only really possible when the breath is...
by Michael Mayer | Feb 18, 2015 | Career Development, Singing Success Tips
A very important aspect of our life as a singer is to celebrate our successes. This is true in any endeavor. Whether sports, arts, business. We need to celebrate our successes, even small ones, to reinforce that we are moving in the right direction. There are several...
by Michael Mayer | Feb 14, 2015 | Articles, Career Development, Mental-Physical Relation, Performance Anxiety, Singing Success Tips
There is a great benefit to using a mirror in your practice. Actually, there are benefits on more than one level. You might be familiar with using a mirror in your practice to observe various aspects of yourself while you sing. The obvious things we can use this for...
by Michael Mayer | Feb 9, 2015 | Passaggio, Q&A, Registers, Tenor
Dear Michael, I discovered your website only a couple of days ago, and it’s already starting to become one of my favorites on vocal technique. Keep up the great work! One thing that has always puzzled me (and to some degree still does), is the subject of vocal...
by Michael Mayer | Feb 5, 2015 | Q&A, Teaching, Voice Teacher
I am studying under a vocal teacher, although I am in constant doubt, because what she teaches sometimes contradicts what you and David Jones teach. (Pure venting: for one thing, she is the “more breath” kind of teacher. For another thing, she often requests me to...
by Michael Mayer | Dec 26, 2014 | Science
I often receive questions about vocal topics, and recently I was asked if I could give a description of my work in more scientific terms. They said that someone they wanted discuss this with is very rooted in voice science, and they felt they could make a better...
by Michael Mayer | Dec 19, 2014 | Uncategorized
What other habits have you integrated into your daily routine unrelated to the actual act of singing, especially regarding physical fitness. (I’ve already seen some general guidelines like drinking enough, being aware of surrounding noise, etc., so I’m...
by Michael Mayer | Dec 15, 2014 | Uncategorized
The teaching concepts of Giovanni Battista Lamperti have been a major influence in my development as a singer and voice instructor. Lamperti is best known from the book “Vocal Wisdom, Maxims of Giovanni Battista Lamperti”. This book was not actually...
by Michael Mayer | Nov 29, 2014 | Career Development, David Jones, Promotions, Singing Success Tips, Testimonial
First, I want to wish everyone a (belated) Happy Thanksgiving. Even those who don’t observe this US holiday, I still send my wishes to you. Because when you wish someone a Happy Thanksgiving what you are really doing is expressing to them your own thanks for what they...
by Michael Mayer | Jul 18, 2014 | Uncategorized
Hello! There are some new things brewing here at VocalWisom.com and I just wanted to give you a little glimpse of what is coming. First, if you have visited the site recently you probably noticed that we are going through a renovation. Everything is still there, it...
by Michael Mayer | Apr 14, 2014 | Glottal/Cord Closure, Phonation, Q&A, Yawn
I would like to inquire about resisting the breath with the vocal cords. I’m having difficulty with the image you give of resisting with the larger muscles first then without. Could you explain it in a more detailed way or in another way, I would like to pursue...
by Michael Mayer | Feb 18, 2014 | Breathing, Lamperti, Q&A, Support
I found your article about compression and breathing into the back very interesting. I’ve had a heck of a time trying to get my head around proper breathing – ‘working’ techniques seem to come and go with varying success, though vocal fatigue...
by Michael Mayer | Feb 3, 2014 | Q&A, Uncategorized
On the one hand, how do you personally warm up your voice, exercise it and warm it down. Especially helpful would be some guidelines on repetition count or time duration per exercise (if general guidelines can be formulated that would be even better), as I’m...
by Michael Mayer | Dec 17, 2013 | Vocal Health
One of the biggest challenges to the singer is the common cold. Generally a cold is not a particularly severe illness, and the average person tends to be able to perform their normal daily activities without much effect. It is basically not much more than a nuisance....
by Michael Mayer | Dec 4, 2013 | Q&A, Registers, Resonance Line Up
Hi Mr Mayer! here is a question that puzzles me: I find Lilli Lehmann’s profile very helpful for myself. (I am referring to the picture page 44 in the Dover edition of “How to sing”) Like many singers, I have a tendency to think any pitch too low,...
by Michael Mayer | Oct 10, 2013 | Uncategorized
I’m starting a new research project that I hope to compile into a book. The basic premise is to collect as many questions about vocal issues as possible and try to figure out any recurring themes. From this collection of questions I’ll take the top ten and...
by Michael Mayer | Sep 11, 2013 | 9/11
It has been a while since I’ve put something new up on the blog. My time and energy has been devoted to singing projects. But I want to get started back posting information here more consistently. Since today is 9/11/13 I thought I would re-post my remembrance...
by Michael Mayer | Apr 1, 2013 | Uncategorized
I received this email the other day and I think he has made a valid argument. Your article on Jonas Kaufman was truly ridiculous. I’ve also a degree in voice, I’ve been studying singing 20 years, and have students. I think anyone who harps on about the...
by Michael Mayer | Mar 18, 2013 | Uncategorized
Recently I subbed for my church choir. I had been the Tenor section leader/soloist for a few years but resigned two and a half years ago. I had a similar position in Greenwich, Connecticut when I lived in New York. Classical Singers will be familiar with these...
by Michael Mayer | Jan 21, 2013 | Uncategorized
Today in the US we observe the life’s work of Martin Luther King, Jr. He is easily recognized as the most influential leader of the civil rights movement. But from high school, around the time the Government created the MLK holiday, I have had great respect for...
by Michael Mayer | Jan 1, 2013 | Promotions
Happy New Year to everyone! I recently realized that 2012 marked the 10 year anniversary of VocalWisdom.com. So better late than never, right? It is hard to believe that it has been over 10 years since I started writing about the voice. I started VocalWisdom.com not...
by Michael Mayer | Dec 17, 2012 | Performance Anxiety, Singing Success Tips
I have recently discovered a TV show on Paladia music channel called “Live from Daryl’s House”. It is an interesting concept, each episode is a live jam session of a guest artist with Hall and Oates founder Daryl Hall at his upstate New York house....
by Michael Mayer | Nov 29, 2012 | Singing Success Tips
I learned today of the passing of motivational speaker Zig Ziglar yesterday. I admit I am not an avid reader of his material, but I did read a couple of his books when I was in college. And when I have come across his quotes I have always found them helpful. In fact,...
by Michael Mayer | Oct 11, 2012 | Uncategorized
I’ve been thinking a lot about who has had an influence on me and my professional development lately. The reason for this is because the person I think is the biggest reason I am where I am now as a singer and voice teacher passed away on Sept 19. I have talked...
by Michael Mayer | Jul 31, 2012 | Uncategorized
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by Michael Mayer | Jul 13, 2012 | NG, Posture, Q&A, Tongue, Uncategorized
Dear Michael, I have a question for you: I know that the tongue must stay in the “ng” position, but sometimes I loose the sensation, especially when pronouncing words. Maybe you can help me with that, maybe there is a particular feeling in the mouth which...
