Matthew Maness | Opera Singer | Vocal Teacher

As singers, we need enough technical knowledge in our tool belts to translate what a director or conductor is asking for. It isn’t necessarily their job to get the sound out of us. Their job is to describe the sound quality they’re looking for; our challenge is to find a way to create it within reason.

Rather than feeling offended by a request, we can approach it as a playful search for the right color. Of course, it can be difficult when a conductor keeps asking for something but can’t quite put it into words. In that case, do your best and don’t worry about the rest.

When working with sound, I often find that thinking “up” or “down” isn’t enough to make the sound move in that direction. We also need to understand the mechanics behind the sound quality we want: throat position, vocal cord closure, timbre, vowels, breath, and more.

Hope this helps! Love and light to you all. #singing #voice #vocalcoach #technique #sing