Are You Straining to Sing? Advice from Celebrity Voice and Performance Coach Jeannie Deva

Tue, 10/07/2014 - 3:41pm
Written by Jeannie Deva

You can hear it in the quality and feel it in your throat when it happens. The muscles tense and pull, your tone gets kind of pinched, pitchy and shrill. And if your voice doesn’t break you can consider yourself lucky.

Perhaps you only experience strain on certain occasions. You might think it’s because you weren’t born to sing in certain keys or just have a naturally low voice or the song is wrong for you (even though you love it).

And it’s true; you can lower the key or simply cut out certain songs from your repertoire. But, there is a hidden reason why you may find yourself straining. Not knowing what it is makes it easy to blame it on other things. That, not being the real reason, keeps the solution illusive and at arm’s length. So, are you ready for the unveiling of the guilty party?

What is Strain?

10 Rehearsal Tips for Powerful Performances by Jeannie Deva

Tue, 08/05/2014 - 12:44pm
Written by Jeannie Deva

Your audience may think it’s magic, but anyone who achieves outstanding performances has worked hard to do so. What is the key to this success? Through my own development as a veteran performer, as well as by helping countless singers and bands achieve success on stage and in the studio, I’ve been able to develop these tips to help your rehearsals result in “Wow” performances.rehersal tips for powerful performances

1. Envision your message. Sometimes referred to as “the whole package” or “branding,” the overall image, sound and message of a band or solo performer should be established early on. The better you can define your general message and image the more focused your activities will be. This vision of your “product” acts as the criteria for every detail of your music, arrangements, set list, staging, outfts, etc. This is your musical presentation, persona and unique identity. As your career develops, so may your vision and everything realigns to harmonize with it.

Vocal Lessons: Breathing While Singing Harmony

Tue, 07/29/2014 - 12:09pm
Written by AW

When you’re singing with a group, it’s not the clothes that matter – it’s all about knowing when to breathe. In this sample singing lesson from the Online Vocal School, Jeannie Deva goes over some great tips for singing harmony in a group.

Properly timing where to take your next breath is very important in group signing, so we’ll also learn how to coordinate your breathing while singing harmony.

7 Ways to Remedy Vocal Exhaustion

Fri, 06/13/2014 - 12:00pm
Written by AW

vocal exhaustion remedies

Jeannie Deva has written a new article about what to do when you're singing at a show and your voice starts to give out. Here's a quick list of the tips, and you can read more about each one on VoiceCouncil.com.

  • Check out Your Mic
  • Watch Your Compression
  • Hear Your Monitors
  • Drink…Water
  • Lower the Stage Volume
  • Warm Up
  • Try Vocal Lessons