Voce Bella Music – New Location! In 2016, for the sixth consecutive year, music students of Helen Coleman claimed First Place in the Age Championship entered at Ipswich Junior Eisteddfod. (May, 2016) Congratulations, young ladies! Looking forward to 2017! In 2017, Helen Coleman Voce Bella Music will be located in Newtown, a very short walk from Ipswich Girls Grammar […]
Muscle Tension Dysphonia.
What is Muscle Tension Dysphonia in Singers? Muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) is a common cause of vocal problems for singers, and occurs, to put it very plainly, when muscles that should not be used are being used for sound production. During normal, healthy singing, only the vocal chords should move, and there should be no tension in surrounding musculature. Instead, we […]
Notes for Students – Intervals Descending
Recognising and Pitching Intervals: Notes for Singers Sometimes, it is easier to pitch intervals using remembered melodies of well known tunes. Please see the following chart to learn descending intervals. These are very well known tunes, but if you do not know them, I suggest you search them out either in sheet music form, or on Youtube. […]
Notes for Students: Intervals Ascending – Sight Singing.
Recognising and Pitching Intervals: Notes for Singers Sometimes, it is easier to pitch intervals using remembered melodies of well known tunes. Please see the following chart to learn ascending intervals. These are very well known tunes, but if you do not know them, I suggest you search them out either in sheet music form, […]
SINGING – Notes about posture.
Singing – Posture for optimum performance. The stage is a platform projecting the artist’s sense of “Self”. When a singer, or any other performer, instrumentalist or public speaker, walks on to a stage, the audience will immediately sub-consciously pick up messages from their appearance – and from their posture and body language. These messages, albeit subtle […]
Tongue Tension
After a conversation with a student today, I have decided to write a short entry about that villain in the art of singing, the depressed tongue. (I almost feel I should insert a sad emoticon here!) The dangers of singing with a depressed/flattened tongue/ tension. The tongue can be a real problem for singers. I was […]
New Releases This Month! Jazz Standards and Sacred.
I am very proud to say that August, 2015, will see the release of three more tracks by Helen Coleman… A favourite Jazz Standard made famous by the legendary Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan, and performed in the style of a swinging Blues shuffle. This has been so much fun to record! Just wait for the […]
WAV files versus mp3
To mp3 or not to mp3? … a valid question. Recently, I read a very good article on this subject. It was an interview with Neil Young, a veteran musician, and I am going to insert the link for it here as my blog on this day. I wholeheartedly agree. As Musicians, most of us spend […]
Six Rules for Success
The Six Rules for Success. The link is a very good video which outlines six rules for success. The first day I watched it, I was inspired by it, not only because I am an Equestrienne, but because it applies to every discipline. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEBjnRREowg “Never be afraid to fail” Sometimes, we fail, and through persistence, […]
“One Day” is “This Day”.
In the past months, I have written various blogs about singing, and vocal problems, but on this day, I am writing about a different topic. That topic is “today”. Yesterday, overwhelmed by sadness, I deleted the telephone number of three people from my phone. One lost to cancer, one to an accident, and one to age. Deleting their […]
