Articles
What nobody taught you about your voice
Articles on hoarseness, the fear of cracking mid-song, a teacher's voice at the end of the day, and the technique that moves the effort from your throat to your diaphragm. By Nirel Argov, founder of Kolot.
For singers and teachersHoarse before a performance? Why "it'll be fine" failsA singer calls me at 9:15 PM, a day before a show, with a throat on fire. Why people who use their voice every day rely on "it'll be fine," and what it costs.Read the article
For singersVocal stamina: how to sing more gigs without losing your voiceA calendar full of gigs is the dream. The fear that your throat won't hold up is what stops it. Why it happens, and why a few more exercises won't fix it.Read the article
For singersHow long does voice training take? Weeks, not yearsMany singers think voice training takes years, so they never start. Why that isn't true, and why a few weeks of the right practice make a real difference.Read the article
For singersHow to stand out as a singer: emotion beats connectionsThe music world is a jungle where managers and money win. Except for one kind of singer: the one whose voice moves people. Why emotion beats everything.Read the article
For teachersLosing your voice as a teacher? What changed after 38 yearsAfter 38 years of teaching, his voice could no longer carry a lesson. What two teachers wrote me after the course, and why authority starts with your voice.Read the article
For singersAfraid your voice will crack on stage? The real problemThe crack itself isn't the real problem. The fear of it, which follows you through the whole show, is. Here's how singers build real confidence on stage.Read the article
For teachersWhy teachers lose their voice: the clapping testClap for three and a half hours? You'd laugh. Your vocal cords do exactly that every school day. Why teachers lose their voice, and how to stop it.Read the article
For teachersThe class can smell weakness (and it starts in your vocal cords)8:15 AM, a full class, and your voice comes out small and hoarse. The kids notice. Why hoarseness isn't "just part of teaching," and what to do instead.Read the article
For teachersVocal nodules: the small bump that threatens your careerVocal nodules are one of a teacher's biggest fears, and a tight neck at the end of the day is an early warning sign. How to protect your voice before it hurts.Read the article
For singersStuck at the same range? Practicing more won't fix itSame range for months, and you're sure the answer is more practice. But effort without direction only reinforces bad habits. Here's how to break the plateau.Read the article
For teachersThe badge of honor that's wearing out your voiceIn the teachers' lounge, a hoarse voice on Thursday is almost a medal. It isn't a badge of honor. It's a warning sign, and ten minutes a morning can help.Read the article
For kollel and yeshivaHoarse after a day in the beis medrash? Why your voice gives outTwo sedorim of learning aloud and your voice is gone by night seder. Why chavrusa learning wears out the throat, and how to learn all day without strain.Read the article
For rabbis and maggidei shiurHow to project your voice in a shiur without shoutingThe back row strains to hear, so you speak louder, and by the end your throat burns. How to project your voice through a full shiur without shouting.Read the article
For bar mitzvah parentsBar mitzvah leining with a changing voice a guide for parentsWeeks before the bar mitzvah, his voice cracks in the middle of the leining. What is happening to his voice, and how to help him lein with confidence.Read the article
For the Shabbos tableYour voice is gone after Shabbos? It's not the cholentZemiros on Friday night, more at lunch, shalosh seudos in the dark, and by Havdalah you sound like sandpaper. Why it happens and how to sing all Shabbos.Read the article
For baalei kriahLeining every Shabbos? How to keep your voice to the last aliyahNo microphone, a full shul, and half an hour of leining or more. Why a baal koreh's voice tires before the end, and how to keep it strong every week.Read the article
For anyone who talks for a livingHoarse from talking on the phone all day? It's not the talkingCalls all day and a gravelly voice by four o'clock. Why phone work wears out your voice when you never raise it, and how to get through a day of calls.Read the article
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