When the wrong sensations are oh so right.
Singing is a constant act of monitoring what's happening in the body and the environment and determining how to adjust it. So much of...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Apr 16
- 4 min
So many choices! Which SOVTE is right, right now?
SOVTEs have become all the rage in voice studios, and for good reason. There's good science behind them, and singers have found they can...
13 views0 comments
Dr. Heather Nelson
- Apr 9
- 3 min
Get to know your best breathing friend: The diaphragm
We've all heard it. Heck, I just heard it from a high school student a week and a half ago. She wanted to learn how to better "breathe...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Apr 2
- 3 min
Science-y Bells and Whistles: Are They Worth It?
When I was doing my doctorate, I spent a whole lot of time in the vocology lab, working with software and tools that we used for research...
21 views0 comments
Dr. Heather Nelson
- Mar 5
- 4 min
Vocal efficiency isn't what you think it is.
Vocal efficiency has been a bit of a buzzword in pedagogy in the last few years. We can talk about it all the time in voice lessons, but...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Nov 20, 2022
- 6 min
When is efficiency a problem?
When I was doing my PhD in pedagogy and voice science, so much of the conversations we had in my department around teaching singing had...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Nov 8, 2022
- 3 min
Pay attention to THIS! No wait, THAT!
Teaching singers is more than just singing through songs over and over and over. Holistic singing lessons includes combining neuro...
178 views1 comment
Dr. Heather Nelson
- Nov 1, 2022
- 4 min
Goals for the Casual Client
There's a big industry around goal-setting and planning, and much of the mindset of the culture of goal setting has crept into the voice...
22 views0 comments
Dr. Heather Nelson
- Sep 27, 2022
- 5 min
What to expect as singers age
"Aging" is practically a dirty word in many Western cultures. Even in the singing world we tend to be obsessed with youth, often for very...
240 views0 comments
Dr. Heather Nelson
- Jul 25, 2022
- 4 min
Wanna learn something new? Sleep on it.
There's no way around it. Sleep is essential for life. And the quality of your sleep can directly affect how well some of your life...
45 views0 comments
Dr. Heather Nelson
- Jul 17, 2022
- 6 min
Analyzing Research on Register Transitions
Lately I've been on a bit of a kick, writing some straight up vocal science posts that are making me happy. I love me a good research...
31 views0 comments
Dr. Heather Nelson
- Jul 10, 2022
- 5 min
Love Your Ears
There's a ton of discussion about vocal health in the singing world, and how to keep our voices healthy over a (hopefully) long career....
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Jul 3, 2022
- 5 min
Sing Bright Like a Diamond
Harmonics are nifty. It's just one aspect of voices that I find endlessly fascinating. How singers use and manipulate harmonics is a...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Jun 5, 2022
- 5 min
Phonation Threshold Pressure: What it is and why you care
This is gonna be a straight up voice science post, just talking about phonation threshold pressure. Because science is fun, and voices...
258 views0 comments
Dr. Heather Nelson
- Jun 1, 2022
- 3 min
Sumer is Icumen in, lhude sing "what continuing ed am I going to do??"
I love me a good Medieval music pun. There are so few opportunities for them! (If you also love Medieval music, here's info on one of the...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- May 22, 2022
- 4 min
How to start a fight among voice scientists
There was a running joke when I was doing my PhD work that to have a good time at a voice research conference, walk into the room and...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- May 15, 2022
- 3 min
The first step in teaching clients who are older than you.
Here it is: Remember that you will be that client one day. And treat them the way you want to be treated. We expect to get older, but...
15 views0 comments
Dr. Heather Nelson
- May 8, 2022
- 4 min
There's always pressure in your singing.
And that's not necessarily a bad thing! I'm talking specifically about air pressure that is happening at all times along the vocal tract,...
390 views0 comments
Dr. Heather Nelson
- May 1, 2022
- 3 min
A Choir of One: Teaching Choral Pedagogy in the Private Lesson
I love choirs. I mean, I luuuuuuuv choirs! I love to conduct them, sing in them, listen to them, plan for them. All the things. Choirs...
39 views0 comments