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Author Archives: klausgeorg
My Voice Teaching Philosophy
How many times have you heard a voice teacher say, “You need to relax” or “you need to get the voice out of your throat” or “I will teach you to support the sound in your diaphragm, not in your … Continue reading
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Verdi Requiem – A Chorister’s Perspective
As we prepare to close out the Grant Park Music Festival season with Verdi’s spectacular Requiem, I’d like to share some of my thoughts on this majestic work and on this particular interpretation, which will be given this weekend, August … Continue reading
Posted in Opera/Concert Reviews
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The right kind of tension
Let’s face it. Opera singing is not a light, relaxed activity. No matter how good you are, there is going to be some tension required. It will never feel like sitting on the couch watching TV. The issue is eliminating … Continue reading
Posted in Pedagogy, Technique
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The “Coup de la glotte”
Manuel Garcia is probably the most influential and most often cited voice pedagogue in history. He lived from 1805-1906, teaching right until the end, and his students conquered the world's greatest stages and several went on to become great teachers … Continue reading
Posted in Exercises, Voice History
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Don’t say don’t
While I'm a voice teacher, this concept applies to all types of teaching, and even, as I'm learning with my 13 month old son, to raising kids. Don't say don't. It's easy to analyze what's wrong and point it out—the … Continue reading
Posted in Pedagogy
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Vibrato and Airflow
Recent research suggests that vibrato rate is, to a certain extent, volitional. Specifically, singers were able to change their vibrato rate in response to hearing a recorded sound with a target vibrato rate. I experimented in my own voice and … Continue reading
Posted in Exercises, Technique
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Schubert’s Winterreise: A Translation
In the process of preparing the program for my first DM recital I decided to do my own English (non-singing) translation of Schubert's Die Winterreise. Rather than let that work go to waste after the recital has passed, I'm providing … Continue reading
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Singing Too Loudly
Almost every singing teacher I know has at some point had a student that had to be constantly told he or she was singing too loudly. It is common wisdom among singers that singing too loudly all the time is … Continue reading
Posted in Exercises, Pedagogy, Technique
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The Magic of “Messa di Voce”
One of the most famous, and most difficult, exercises for building the voice is the messa di voce. Basically, the object of the exercise is to swell a single note from the softest volume to the loudest and back to … Continue reading
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Voice Science: A Reading List
As I prepare the bibliography for the final project in one of my courses this quarter, I thought I'd share a (very condensed) reading list for those of us interested in the mechanics of the voice. Miller, Donald G. – … Continue reading
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