My throat hurts when I sing or speak for very long. Help!
You are just trying to sing with the same muscles that you talk with. It's a whole different ballgame when you try to sing loud, using your inside, polite, phone talking voice. When you speak at a low, everyday volume, you can get by controlling your voice with your throat. You will hurt yourself if you don't use the right muscles when you sing. Back
I am tone deaf. Can you help me?
You're NOT tone deaf. You just don't how to make your voice go up and
down.The 'Tone Deaf Remedy'class is for you. In the first lesson you
will
learn how to find the correct note every time. Subsequent lessons will
build your confidence as we break down the fundamentals of music and
rhythm. Please know that the only reason you haven't sung well
heretofore is that no one has taught you. How can you know if you don't
know? That's what teachers are for. Back
I have smoked for years. Will I still be able to learn to sing?
Over the years, smoking will cause your voice to sound coarse and lower
in pitch. And we all know what it does to the lungs. You will learn how
to re-discover and strengthen the sweeter tones of your voice
and increase your breathing capacity. Many of my students have either
reduced or quit smoking as a personal reward for learning to sing. Back
I used to study voice. How can your program benefit me?
Even though you may have trained before, I am responsible for testing
you to see that you have a firm understanding of breathing, placement,
vowels, posture and phrasing. I will run you through the curriculum in
an accelerated manner and if you demonstrate a strong proficiency, we
will proceed into expanding your range and shaping your voice to meet
your personal goals.Back
Do you teach children?
It depends upon the age of the child. As a general rule, I require that
at least one parent learn with the child. This is because many parents
have a secret yearning to sing but have relinquished that 'talent' to
the child. My experience has shown that if the parents sing, the rest of the family will sing. Back
I was trained classically and now I want to break out of that
repertoire and even sing some jazz. Can you help me loosen up?
Absolutely. Your classical training taught you to project your voice
into a room without the aide of any electronic amplification and to
sing on the front of the beat. Now, instead of projecting you will
learn how to focus the sound inward and down in the body. You will also
learn how to ease up and ride the back of the beat.Back
I am a shallow breather. How will singing help me?
You will feel in lesson one how your body is designed to hold a LOT of air. You will feel stretched in every direction and then you will take home a practice cd to work with every day. Within ONE week of the first class, you will know enough to never return to the shallow breather status of your past. Back
My speaking voice is stuck in the high/low position.
Is it possible
to change it?
You are merely stuck in a habitual pattern. We will identify and
strengthen new muscles that will expand your range and you will
discover other vocal options. Please understand that you will evoke new
responses within yourself and from others when you speak with a more
flexible and natural voice. Are you prepared to reveal the parts of
yourself that have been unexpressed?Back
Will you teach me how to sing with my diaphragm?
I know it's popular to say that we breathe with our diaphragm but it's
only one muscle used in the breathing process. Your posture is the
frame from which the breathing system unfolds. Once those muscles are
strengthened, we will open your breathing in a step-by-step fashion
until you are breathing with the entire body.Back
I lose my voice after speaking or singing for short periods of time.
You are using throat tension to modulate your voice because you don't
know the painless and more efficient alternatives. You will first learn
to release control of the voice from your throat and then how to build
the muscles that are really responsible for producing a healthy and
strong sound.Back
Will we sing songs in class?
You will not actually sing until the end of the second lesson when you
will learn how to turn breath into sound. If we add songs too fast,
your attention will be drawn to the words and the notes instead of the
subtle fundamentals of breath and tone control. We will sing vocal
exercises that feel like songs but have no words so you learn to focus
upon the core techniques that make up the art of singing. I will show
you, as we tune and train your voice, how these tuning techniques are
applied to songs as the course develops.Back
Do you work with the chakras?
If you work with the chakras already, you will be able to apply your
knowledge to this class. But I will not be mentioning chakra aspects of
sound production. My experience is that if you can produce a ringing
and tuned tone throughout your core voice, the chakras will also
exhibit more flow and power.Back
I'm over 65. I know it's too late for me to develop a beautiful
voice?
Singing is an art form that improves with age. The more you sing, the
better you will sound. You will learn to ride the pain-free 'sweet spot'
of your voice up and down your reverberating body as
well as how to expand and contract the volume. You will watch your
voice strengthen, day by day and you will not be able to deny it’s
innate beauty.Back
When I sing high my voice hurts.
Will we work on the high range?
The pain means that you are working against the natural, intelligent
design of your Body Voice. Once you understand the logical mechanics of
beautiful singing, your high range will show up painlessly. In the
Fundamentals class we will open the entire length of your range but we
will focus mainly upon building and strengthening your mid range. Later
curriculum units to strengthen the high and low ranges will be built
upon the skills you learn in this class.Back
I am a novice singer. Do you take beginners?
Yes. Almost everyone I meet is a beginner on some level. Sometimes even
professional singers who have skipped important steps in their training
process must begin all over at step one. You will learn a set of basic,
standardized, mechanical skills that are the backbone for a lifetime of
healthy singing and speaking. It won't take long to get you up to
speed. It really depends upon how many minutes a week that you are
willing to practice.Back
Will you make me sound like an opera singer?
Only if you ask me to. Classical opera singing is a very specific form
of singing wherein a singer traditionally sings over an orchestra, into
a large auditorium without the use of a microphone. The skills used to
painlessly spin the sound into such powerful tones are fundamentally
the same in every style of music but more exaggerated in the operatic
style.Back
I speak very softly. Will your class teach me to project my speaking
voice?
The greater volume of air you carry in your body, the greater the
volume and strength of your voice. You are probably cutting your breath
off at your throat. First we will unlock your throat and increase your
air capacity. Then you will learn to use your whole body as a
resonating chamber to amplify your voice.Back
I'm very shy. Will you have me sing in front of others?
When you see that
practically everyone in a class experiences the same discomforts as
you, you tend to not take the process so personally. Almost everyone in
my classes have some form of shyness but it fades away as the class
builds a strong sense of pride in one another's accomplishments.Back
How much practice time do you recommend?
If you will establish a habit of 20 minutes 4-6 times a week, we'll all
be very happy. Think of it as your meditation time that is so essential
to your well-being. You'll be rather pleased with your quick progress
and I will be truly happy that you are using the skills that took me a
lifetime to develop. The practice sessions for each class are
approximately 20 minutes. So make a standing appointment for at least
20 minutes a day, put the cd in the player and blow off some steam.
Umm, err, I mean, "Practice."Back
How long will it take before I sound better?
You will notice a difference from the 1st lesson. You will learn that you've been actually working against yourself all of your life. And once you understand HOW your instrument logically functions, you will be so excited to learn more as fast as you can. The more time you spend
mastering the simple basics of the breathing cycle, the faster you will notice finer voice control
and new qualities in your voice. Back
What kind of people study with you?
Singers and non-singers, psychotherapists, musicians, health care
providers, spiritual seekers and leaders, athletes, asthmatics, public
speakers as well as other vocal coaches use the the Kelly Kerr
techniques for their core method . Some people just come because they've vowed not to get off this planet without singing full out and without feeling self conscious. They just want to experience the joy of singing well. (That of course is everyone's main reason.)