I have been singing for most of my life, but I’ve always had strange random issues… like the constant need to clear my throat, or how choppy my voice will RANDOMLY sound. I’ve taken private voice lessons whenever my family could afford them, but I’ve never really had consecutive training over an extended period of time. My last voice teacher actually told me I had some sort of damage done to my vocal chords and that I should stop singing altogether until I finished vocal therapy with her. However, it was $75 a lesson for that, and I couldn’t afford it, so I didn’t continue. This was in January. Since then, I’ve kept singing (I perform around the Salt Lake Valley), but my voice feels so strained and I’ve having a horrible time trying to warm-up my voice, it’s like none of my old exercises can help me with my higher range…(another A and above) (i’m an alto). I have a massive concert I have to sing at on Saturday, and I’m terrified I’m not going to have a voice. What can I do? Oh, and I’m highly interested in your CD’s. Which would you recommend? You can check out my channel for my style of singing!
Thanks so much,
-Rachel

Hi Rachel,
Your voice should never hurt or feel strained. The first thing I would do if I were you would be to go to a laryngoligist. They specialize in looking at the larynx and voice mechanism. You need to find out what is going on inside before you move ahead and cause permanant damage. Perhaps you have nodules which are blisters on your vocal chords. You don’t want to sing on them because they can calcify and really cause problems. I would start with the medical perspective. Let me know the outcome and I can try and help you from there.

Ariella Vaccarino

Does the appearance of veins in the neck when singing a bad sign.. I see it in the professionals as well.

Hi Kevin,
That is an interesting question. I don’t think appearance of veins is ideal, but I have seen it in many singers as well. It means that there is some unnecessary straining going on in the neck. The support should be lower in the abdomen and legs. Your neck and throat muscles ideally should be free to release the sound. This does not mean that there are not good singers who do this and still sing well. But ideally you want to put the stress and support lower in the body. I would have to have a specific example to judge the severity of the issue.

Ariella Vaccarino

Hello I was wondering with along with singing improvement will this course also help with my speaking voice as I do both. Thank you.- John

Hi John,

Thank you so much for personaly mailing those cds to my P.O. Box. I would like to purchase a Traditional Christmas Carol cd if you have one. Carols like “O Holy Night”. YOU HAVE AN INCREDIBLE VOICE…WHAT A FABULOUS GIFT FROM GOD.- Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

Thank you for ordering my cds  right back at you!   I am glad that you are enjoying them.  that is wonderful to hear.  I do not have a Christmas Carol CD, and don’t have any future plans for one at this time.  I am working on some new CDs in the Voice Lessons To Go series right now.  I will be making some recordings of me singing songs in the next year or so.  I will let people know as new recordings become avialible.  Make sure you sign up for my free blog: www.voicelessonstogo.com/blog.  I write weekly tips on singing.  I also announce all new products there are well.  Happy singing!

Ariella Vaccarino

please check out my videos and give comment and please give me advice on how to improve my singing..and do you think you can give me a free voice lesson via yahoo messenger?? we are going to do video call or maybe voice call..can you..please,,i beg you..i really love singing so please help me……we are just the same…we are music lover so please help me improve my singing..thanks.. Elaine

Elaine, I watched your video. Thanks for contacting me. I offer a service through my website called your vocal assessment. It is a paid service where you pay between 9.99-39.99 for vocal evaluations and assessments from me. If you are interested I would love to give you feed back on your singing. I think I could give you some strong tips. I apoligize for not offering this as a free service, but I sell my cds of voice lessons to thousands of people and am contacted regularly for this so I need to sell my time since I am a professional voice teacher etc… No matter what, it is clear that you love to sing. I think you could use some professional assistance for some improvemnets whether it be me or another teacher. Good luck! www.voicelessonstogo.com that is the site where you can sign up for vocal assessments. I do them immediately.

Hi Ariella,

I am very new at this. I do not have a good singing voice at this time. I am not one of those American Idols that cannot sing, but thinks he/she can. I do know that some people are born with the talent to sing, and some people have just been lucky enought to have parents with money that put them in vocal training since they were children so they learned how to sing good. I have never been trained at all, so I do not even know if I could ever have a good singing voice, but I want to try and see where my voice could go.! I want to order vocal training CDs, but I do not know where to start. Should I only get the first CD or get the bundle? Or do something else? Thanks you for taking your time to read this and respond. Dee

Hi Dee,
I think that it is awesome that you are looking to try something new and expand yourself.  I know it is frustrating that you may not have been trained as a kid.  Usually, if someone has an interest in singing it is for a reason.  They have a talent, or a musicality about them- some just have a strong appreciation for the craft.  However it translates for you is great.

If you have zero training I would start off with v.1 and v.2  The first one is beginner vocal warm ups, breathing exercises and tips on singing.

The second gives you some musical education while training your voice.  You will sing vocal warm ups while you learn about scales and chords etc…  If you become comfortable with those two then start adding the other two cds.  Good luck.
Please start off slow.  Just like starting any exercise program.  You don’t want to push the muscles that get you to sing to fast.  Ease into it- never strain, and always stop when you feel tired.  Your stamina will build daily.

www.voicelessonstogo.com
Ariella Vaccarino

Hi Mioschi,

I was glad to hear that you are working with my CDs.  It sounds like
you very serious about singing which is great.   You asked a lot
questions, and I’ll do my best. 
First of all, Never Scream.  Singing should only and always feel
comfortable.  You are more then welcomed to take your chest voice as
high as is comfortable and then use head voice for the rest.  You have
just started with the cds, after time, I think the head or chest issue
will reveal itself to you.  For now, do what is comfortable and try not
to think about it to much.  Use your vocal warm-ups as your “healthy
singing time”.
Regarding your breathing: the surprise breath position in your upper
palette is great to start off every phrase.  It is for your breathing
in general.  I am not sure what you mean by the position of your
stomach.  Just know that your stomach needs to be active in supporting
your voice so that the muscles in your throat are not being strained. 
Put the tension/support in your body into your stomach back and legs-
not the throat.  Don’t think to hard about the process.  Just continue
working through the CDs and your body will start to memorize the
correct connections in time.
Regarding knowing when the vocal muscles are strengthening: Just like
in any sport, you will improve your strength a little bit daily.  You
should find you can sing longer without getting tired.
I would be happy to go into detail regarding your voice through my
Vocal Assessment program.  You can purchase whichever plan works for
you on my site.  Then you can send me your voice and questions, and I
can answer more specifically to what I hear you doing.
Sing well!
Ariella

I am in the baritone/bass range and it appears that your CD’s are geared more for the soprano range. Will I be able to sing along with the CD’s and hear the differences in tonality?

Michael

Thank you for your inquiry regarding my CDs.  I have kept the range on the CDs fairly generic to deal with this exact issue.  All the exercises start on middle C and go up between E & F, on the way down I take them to the A below middle C which is too low for me but perfect for you.  You would be singing the whole thing one octave below me, so you should be fine.  I encourage regularly on on the CDs for you to drop out whenever you feel the notes are too low or too high.
Thanks
Ariella

I was wondering whether or not my vocal timbre will change over time. I’m 19 now and I don’t really like the sound of my voice. It isn’t falsetto, pitchy, nasally or anything like that and I’m not singing out of pitch or range either, but it kind of sounds like I’m trying to sing in an older voice even though I’m still young. I also had a small chest cold a few months back and I still have a little bit of it in my system and I’m wondering if that’s affecting the sound of my voice. Thank You for taking the time to read this message and I hope to hear from you soon.- Sean

Hi Sean,
Thank you for your email.  You know it is hard to give a person evaluation of your timbre and voice since I have not heard you.  Every voice is different, and timbre can be effected and manipulated or undone by many things.  The best thing you can do is get to a good voice teacher and have them evaluate you.  If that is not an option I offer Vocal Assessments on my site where you can submit your voice with questions and I will listen and act as your “virtual voice teacher”.
Check my blog out on my site.  I did a whole blog on vocal timbre that might offer some help
As far as your cold, your chords could still be a little swollen which could cause some short lasting changes.

Thank you for your question.
Ariella Vaccarino