top of page
Search


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...

Dr. Heather Nelson
Jul 3, 20225 min read
Â
Â
Â


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...

Dr. Heather Nelson
Jun 5, 20225 min read
Â
Â
Â


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...

Dr. Heather Nelson
May 31, 20223 min read
Â
Â
Â


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...

Dr. Heather Nelson
May 22, 20224 min read
Â
Â
Â


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...

Dr. Heather Nelson
May 15, 20223 min read
Â
Â
Â


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,...

Dr. Heather Nelson
May 8, 20224 min read
Â
Â
Â


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...

Dr. Heather Nelson
May 1, 20223 min read
Â
Â
Â


SOVTEs: All The Cool Kids Are Doing Them!
You've likely heard and even used straw phonation in your voice studio, but why have straws become an essential tool in voice studio?...

Dr. Heather Nelson
Apr 24, 20224 min read
Â
Â
Â


First, do no harm.
I don't think any one of us would be surprised when I say that being human can be hard. Being a singer can be hard. And sometimes the...

Dr. Heather Nelson
Apr 17, 20223 min read
Â
Â
Â


Do Your Own Research
There's hardly a phrase that's been overused and under-understood in the past two years more than "Do your own research." Research is a...

Dr. Heather Nelson
Mar 20, 20224 min read
Â
Â
Â


Learning styles: Too good to be true?
Spoiler: Yes, it probably is. But let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Learning styles are the idea that because of a...

Dr. Heather Nelson
Mar 13, 20225 min read
Â
Â
Â


The Central Nervous System: A Basic Primer for Singers
All singing begins in the brain. And so it can be helpful to understand how the brain and the sundry parts of it are made and connected...

Dr. Heather Nelson
Feb 27, 20224 min read
Â
Â
Â


Three types of nerves in the body and the voice
Our bodies are full of nerves all over the place, communicating, observing, and acting. We've got three types of nerves that keep us...

Dr. Heather Nelson
Feb 20, 20223 min read
Â
Â
Â


Depression and Singing: Addressing Decision Fatigue
Singing is a whole body activity. Depression is a whole body situation. When a singer experiences depression, the voice is very often...

Dr. Heather Nelson
Jan 30, 20224 min read
Â
Â
Â


PRESSURE! When Sinuses Attack.
I don't know anyone who hasn't had a sinus infection at least once in their life. If you are that person, I wanna know how you've managed...

Dr. Heather Nelson
Jan 23, 20222 min read
Â
Â
Â


You say "Vocal Cords." I say "Vocal Folds." Let's call the whole thing off!
Okay, admittedly that was a terrible title trying to draw on a popular song, but stick with me. (And in case you need a little Ginger...

Dr. Heather Nelson
Jan 16, 20223 min read
Â
Â
Â


Most of the Time I'm a Human Doing, but Here's How I'm Going to Change That
It's that time of year, meaning we're only three days into it so far, and the talk of goal-setting, words of the year, intentions, and...

Dr. Heather Nelson
Jan 3, 20224 min read
Â
Â
Â


Achieving Your Continuing Education Dreams
If you're the kind of person who has been dreaming about getting a master's degree in pedagogy, but have no earthly idea how you could...

Dr. Heather Nelson
Dec 26, 20214 min read
Â
Â
Â


How do we actually sing in tune?
When a person is learning to sing in tune, meaning generally in the center of the desired pitch (not too sharp or flat or unsteady)...

Dr. Heather Nelson
Dec 19, 20214 min read
Â
Â
Â


Creating Awareness of Breathing Muscles
Getting to better efficiency in breathing for singing is a worthy goal, but sometimes we miss the very first step! Especially if you've...

Dr. Heather Nelson
Nov 21, 20211 min read
Â
Â
Â
bottom of page