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About the sample recordings:
These songs have not been recorded for downloading, sale, profit, comparison to the original artists, or anything else. They are simply samples for potential clients to hear that I have the ability to teach technique and placement in different styles. I am not a songwriter and only sing for the sole purpose of teaching. My dream has always been to help singers achieve their own dreams by being a part of that process.
My Philosophy as a Vocal Technique Teacher:
If you don't have good technique, and know that your voice doesn't sound the way it should or wish it would, this will be the one thing that undermines your confidence while performing, and your self-esteem every time you put yourself out there to sing.
It's my experience and the experience of countless others that if this is the case, it won't matter how many people tell you you're great, that you sound great, or that they love the way you perform. When you disagree, yours is the only opinion that matters.
In all the years I've been teaching, I have learned and believe that good technique must become second nature to you; the only way you know how to sing. You can't be worried about how you sound or what's going to happen when you get to a trouble spot, or you will end up crippling your performance by coming off too mechanical or academic. The job of a singer is to perform, to have the song come from the artist's emotions inside of you. Yet that can be a daunting task if you don't like your voice or think you can rely on it.
If you don't know right from wrong, right placement versus wrong placement, or how to support the mechanism with the diaphragm without squeezing or pushing it, then you put yourself at risk for damage with any given style of singing. Acquiring good singing habits as second nature requires lots of persistence and practice of daily vocal exercises, the guidance of a teacher, and being taught what to listen for when taping and practicing on your own.
I teach based on scientific principle, and direct singers how to determine what went wrong with the singing mechanism when it felt and sounded wrong. Sometimes the singer is so far removed from what they are feeling physically that they have to literally be instructed inward over and over again until they can properly recognize the sensations. Once this is learned, singers may at first only feel what they've done wrong AFTER having just performed a section of a vocal exercise, but with practice, they learn to anticipate and correct it themselves.
Learning good technique is a journey. For someone like me, it is a forever journey, as I am fascinated by the voice and all the things it can do. I am constantly willing to challenge myself to learn new things so that I can teach anyone and everyone, no matter which style they prefer.
For you, the journey may be about GETTING your voice, or rehabilitating it, perhaps learning new habits and skills to make yourself sound better, or to feel like you have some control over the mechanism--to finally know what you are doing. Once you have everything sense-memorized, you will find so much confidence in what you can do that there will no longer be anything holding you back. Making technique second nature will finally free you to emote and express artistically--without ever having to worry about whether your voice will perform well while singing a song again.
For more about Dena, private lessons and lessons online, her bio, clients, and books published see her website www.denamurray.com for details.
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