Instagram story viewer> @singingathlete> Posts

Andrew Byrne | The Singing Athlete

@singingathlete

527

posts

42.5K

followers

1324

following

I teach singers how to train their brains 🧠 and bodies 💪
Author: #1 best-seller The Singing Athlete
Free stuff and more👇

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

Same singers. Same day.

Morning: technique work in the studio, experiencing vocal breakthroughs with brain-based voice training.

Afternoon: Out on Lake Geneva with the Alps behind them, applying the same athletic principles used in the studio to real-world physical training.

Voice and body feed one another, and here is where you can experience it.

If you are the kind of singer who needs to feel the work kinesthetically, this is the one for you.
 New intensive dates are coming soon in the US and Europe. Get on the early access list at link in bio.

#TheSingingAthlete #BrainBasedVoiceTraining #VoiceTraining #SingerLife #SingingAthleteIntensive taken in Lausanne, Switzerland by @singingathlete

123

4

a day ago

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱? 
Not running. Not walking. Actual skipping, arms swinging, feet bouncing off the pavement.

It turns out to be a surprisingly good workout, and if you hate running, skipping might be the way in. It’s playful and rhythmic, and it doesn’t feel like training (even though it is.) 
Skipping also generates power from the ground up, the same kind of ground force that feeds directly into belting.

And it trains the otolith organs in your inner ear, the structures that control posture and sense of vertical movement. A more stable inner ear means a more stable platform for the voice to work from.

Try skipping (to my Lou) before your next practice session and notice what your voice does with it.

Save this for your warmup.

#TheSingingAthleteIntensive #BrainBasedVoiceTraining #VestibularSystem #BeltingTechnique #VoiceWarmup taken in Tour de Sauvabelin by @singingathlete

446

11

3 days ago

𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵.

Lake Geneva behind us, the Alps behind that, and a room full of singers who showed up ready to work (and somehow also ready to hike immediately afterward.) 🏔️

This is the Singing Athlete Intensive in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Mornings are brain-based vocal masterclasses. Afternoons are drills and workouts by the lake. We build toward a capstone performance at a Swiss venue, which feels like exactly the kind of experience that makes a nervous system pay attention.

So grateful to be here working with the divine @allysonofadixon and @miracrispin to create this program. And what a stellar group of singers.

#TheSingingAthlete #BrainBasedVoiceTraining #SingingAthleteIntensive #VoiceTeacherTraining #SwissAlps by @singingathlete

127

4

4 days ago

𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗙#𝟲. 𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀.

Nicole Cebulko (@nicole_cebulko) was working the whistle tone ending of “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” at Broadway Master Camp, chasing an F#6. (Higher than Mozart ever asked the Queen of the Night to sing!)

First pass, she came in under pitch. I had her bite down between her molars and whimper up high through her nose. That bite activates the vertical intrinsic muscle of the tongue, which flattens the tongue body and opens the pharynx instead of letting it bunch and crowd the tiny resonating space whistle tone needs.

Second pass, her tongue involuntarily pulled into a hot dog shape, activating the transverse muscle instead, and she couldn’t turn over into whistle.

I had her spread her fingers wide to physically coach the shape her tongue needed to find. It worked, so we pushed further into devil horns, straight out of an 80s hair band (and weirdly perfect for this 80s tune.) 🤘🎸

With her hands locked in the horns, her tongue cleared out of the pharynx and she hit the note.

Save this one for the next time a student has to hit the stratosphere.

#TheSingingAthlete #BrainBasedVoiceTraining #WhistleTone VocalAnatomy BroadwayVoice taken in Lebanon, New Jersey by @singingathlete

545

6

7 days ago

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻…

Three days in a room where together we explore a fresh look at vocal training.

New muscles are activated: pelvis on the floor, pushing a pole into the ground, a hip loaded in internal rotation. The voice responds to what the body is doing…so we find out what the body is doing.

We activate the senses. Vision drills with a fixation card. Tuning fork to the jaw. A vibration tool on the sternum. Every input changes the output, and you watch it transform in real time.

We work with the whole body. Ankles, ribs, tongue, eyes. Nothing is off the table, because the nervous system does not organize the voice in isolation.

Then we experience the vocal breakthroughs. That is what these pictures are. Singers who left with a voice that behaves differently.

Assess and Reassess is the key. Test, load, retest, keep what works. By the end of three days you are not memorizing drills. You are seeing new things.

Level One London: August 24 to 26. Two slots left. Link in bio to apply, or get early access to fall dates.

Share this to your Stories if you know a teacher who has been waiting for a course like this.

#TheSingingAthlete #BrainBasedVoiceTraining #LevelOneCertification #VocalPedagogy #TeacherTraining taken in Manhattan, New York by @singingathlete

81

2

11 days ago

𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿. 𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀.

German rock singer Yvonne Pröbstl (@yve.meine.saengerin) has a history of lower back trouble, so after hearing “Alone” by Heart, I ran a forward bend test.

Her hands went to the ground. That looks like enviable flexibility—and it can fool you.

Watch the shape of her spine on the way down: the lumbar stays in extension, arched rather than rounding-several spinal segments are sitting the movement out entirely.

So I asked about hypermobility. Both elbows hyperextend. She scores a 5 on the Beighton scale, a nine-point screen that checks the pinkies, thumbs, elbows, knees, and forward bend for joint laxity. A 5 puts her firmly in generalized hypermobility.

A hypermobile singer needs firm contact. The joints do not deliver a clear signal about where the body ends, so the nervous system has to borrow that information from something solid.

She already had the perfect tool. Her mic stand 🎤

She pushed it down into the floor, the lats and deep core switched on, and the belt opened right up.

Assess and Reassess. Save this for the next hypermobile singer who walks into your studio.

I’m so excited that Yvonne is joining us for the Level One Certification at Mountview in London: August 24 to 26. Three slots remain. Link in bio to apply.

#TheSingingAthlete #BrainBasedVoiceTraining #Hypermobility #BeightonScale #RockVocals taken in Berlin, Deutschland by @singingathlete

466

14

12 days ago

Look at this gorgeous group of newly-certified Level Two NYC students—a brilliant room of brain-based singers and teachers working at the highest level. Loved spending the weekend with them!

#singingathletecertification #brainbasedvoicetraining #singingathlete #singingathletecert #brainbasedvoice taken in Manhattan, New York by @singingathlete

210

10

13 days ago

𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲’𝘀 𝗷𝗮𝘄 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.

This past spring in Malmö 🇸🇪, Alice came in working on a song from the Eurovision movie (which delighted me more than I probably should admit—big fan.)

But she also came in with a history of jaw dysfunction on her right side only. Locking. Pain. Numbness and swelling only on the right side.

The TMJ sits just in front of your ear, where the jawbone meets the skull. It’s a paired joint, but the two sides don’t always share the load evenly. When one side compensates more than the other, that’s usually where the swelling and irritation show up.

I looked at her pterygoids, the muscles that pull the jaw side to side and forward. Hers were pulling unevenly.

That asymmetry can drag the joint disc out of position, and a displaced disc puts pressure on the retrodiscal tissue behind it. That tissue is loaded with nerve endings and blood vessels, which is exactly why it hurts and swells the way hers did.

I put the @rezzimaxpaintuner on her right TMJ. Her voice opened immediately.

It was so much better that I practiced my (bad) Swedish slang, “Det var som fan,” (roughly translating to “that was like the devil” but meaning “That was awesome!”. A shout-out to @ternstrom for teaching it to me).

Where do you tend to hold tension unevenly, right side or left?

#TheSingingAthlete #BrainBasedVoiceTraining #TMJDysfunction #VoiceAndJaw #AssessAndReassess taken in Malmö, Sweden by @singingathlete

245

4

16 days ago

𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹...𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝗻.

The Singing Athlete Intensive lands in Switzerland this month, presented with AMT Live, and the singers who claimed those spots are about to spend a week discovering what their voices can do.

The room is still open for you. Audit slots are available for every session, and watching this work is its own education. You will see a singer perform, see us assess what their nervous system is doing, watch an intervention get applied, and hear the voice change in real time. Assess and Reassess is startling to witness.

Dates and times in Lausanne:
July 21: 11h to 16h30 July 22: 14h to 18h July 23: 9h30 to 13h30 July 24: 9h30 to 13h30 July 25: 9h30 to 13h30

Each masterclass is 150€ to audit. This is a front row seat to brain-based voice training with professional repertoire on the table. 🇨🇭

Link in Bio to reserve your slot, or email studio@amtlive.org.

#TheSingingAthlete #BrainBasedVoiceTraining #LausanneSwitzerland #VocalMasterclass #AMTLive taken in Lausanne, Switzerland by @singingathlete

33

2

18 days ago

𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀? 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲.

Had to share this clip of Melissa Dano (@singwithmelissa), our first Lebanese certified teacher (currently living in Kuwait), working live in yesterday’s Level One Certification Online master class.

Melissa shared with me that she has experienced a degradation in her vision over the past eight years, leading to a lot of visual threat and the need for glasses.

She was singing “I Say No” from Heathers, and every time she reached the belt, her eyes squeezed shut like something was about to hit her in the face.

That reaction has a name: the 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅.

The trigeminal nerve, cranial nerve V (which controls your “placement”), senses a threat approaching the eye and fires a signal straight to the facial nerve, cranial nerve VII, which controls the orbicularis oculi. That muscle has two divisions. The orbital portion is the forceful, full-face squeeze. The palpebral portion is the light, everyday blink.

Melissa’s nervous system had escalated a simple high note into a full orbital response.

I had her traction the orbicularis oculi open, gently holding the muscle in a lengthened position while she sang the phrase again. She belted it clean. She showed no strain, no flinch, no squint.

She burst out laughing and said “It’s so fun to trust your body.”

One of the principles of the Level One training is that 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗺𝘀 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

Everything in the body is a chain reaction, a domino effect, and you can create change anywhere in the system.

Five spots remain for the 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 (𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄): 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟰-𝟮𝟲. Link in bio to apply.

#TheSingingAthlete #BrainBasedVoiceTraining #CornealReflex #OrbicularisOculi #CranialNerves taken in Kuwait by @singingathlete

426

18

21 days ago

𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗹𝗯𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲.

Albin was working on “Stars” from Les Misérables during our session in Malmö, and his spine didn’t want to extend in a back-bend assessment.

I put him face down and had him push the floor away through his olecranon, the bony point of the elbow where the ulna meets the humerus.

That side of the arm fascially connects into the back line through the shoulder girdle and upper back, the same system that governs spinal extension.

Push through the right point of the elbow, and the back line gets a signal it wasn’t getting standing up.

His voice opened, so I got him up to sing “Stars” again immediately, and he held a good amount of the change.

This is how you do it—do the drill, then see what stuck.

Save this if you teach alignment and want a new entry point for spinal extension.

#TheSingingAthlete #BrainBasedVoiceTraining #AssessAndReassess #VoiceTeacher #VocalCoach taken in Malmö, Sweden by @singingathlete

389

4

23 days ago

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝘆𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 👅

(Wanna learn how to do this? Join me in London for Level One 8/24-26. Link in bio to apply)

Matthäus Hörmann (@copenhagensingingschool), working on Dream On by Aerosmith in Malmö.

He was locking out his right leg on the stratospheric notes. He also has a history of patellar tendonitis and VMO swelling on that same side.

The vastus medialis obliquus is the quad muscle that pulls the kneecap into proper tracking, and when it has been irritated or underperforming, the knee often finds a cheaper way to feel stable. Locking the joint solid is one of the easiest options available to the nervous system.

We didn’t start at the knee. We tested the attachments of his right internal abdominal oblique. The internal oblique has a fascial connection to the iliopsoas through the lower abdominal wall and inguinal region, so its tone and sensitivity can influence hip stability directly. And hip stability is exactly what a locked knee is trying to borrow from somewhere else.

On palpation, the lateral edge of the muscle was super ticklish. The posterior aspect was relatively dull. When one area goes quiet like that, the nervous system will often make a neighboring area louder to compensate. It is a threat response, a way of making sure the brain still has some source of reliable feedback, even if it picked the wrong one.

One of his classmates ran a massage gun over the posterior aspect of the oblique. We retested the top notes. The leg stayed soft and the sound came through clean.

“Very nice,” Matthäus said. “I should do that more.”

Where do you notice yourself locking or bracing when a note gets big?

#TheSingingAthlete #BrainBasedVoiceTraining #InternalObliques #Iliopsoas #PatellarTendonitis taken in Malmö, Sweden by @singingathlete

117

2

25 days ago