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...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Dec 19, 2021
- 4 min
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)...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Nov 21, 2021
- 1 min
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...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Nov 14, 2021
- 2 min
Your Brain Is Your Friend...Except When It's Not
I say it often that all singing begins in the brain. Singing can also be influenced by the brain, specifically by reflexes, in an ongoing...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Nov 1, 2021
- 3 min
You Are Not a Jellyfish
Jellyfish have no spines, but you do! The presence of spines literally divides the animal kingdom into two distinct parts. Those with...
36 views0 comments
Dr. Heather Nelson
- Oct 17, 2021
- 2 min
Singing in Public is Scary!
Public speaking is among the top phobias for a lot of people. But singing in public is probably way scarier for most folks! How do...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Sep 19, 2021
- 1 min
The True Vocal Folds
This week let's get to know our thyroarytenoid muscle, also what we call the "true" vocal folds. I'll have another video released on my...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Sep 12, 2021
- 1 min
Taking a Breather
That's kind of a punny title, considering that the weekly blog is taking a little break so that I can concentrate on bringing good...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Sep 5, 2021
- 4 min
Intercostals: Essential Partners in Breathing
For some reason or another, in singing pedagogy over the recent past, we've focused a lot of attention on the diaphragm in breathing. I...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Aug 29, 2021
- 4 min
Pedagogy Happy Hour for September: Singing for those with chronic breathing problems
Singing in front of other people can be incredibly intimidating. Sometimes when I'm starting out with a new client, I have to consciously...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Aug 22, 2021
- 3 min
Seeing is Singing
This week let's examine the occipital lobe of the brain, and the ways it helps us to teach singers. The occipital lobe, seen in the image...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Aug 8, 2021
- 4 min
How Nerves Work
We all learned a long time ago that nerves carry impulses from the brain to parts of the body so that those parts do the things the brain...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Aug 1, 2021
- 7 min
Breathing In, Breathing Out
When you get right down to it, breathing is pretty simple. Air goes in, air goes out, repeat forever. It's also incredibly complex. The...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Jul 25, 2021
- 3 min
Performance Anxiety in Singers
Public speaking is often cited as people's number one fear. Most people probably don't consider public singing. But if they did, I bet...
45 views0 comments
Dr. Heather Nelson
- Jul 18, 2021
- 3 min
Hey-a Hyoid!
What's small, well-connected, and hard to say five times fast? It's the hyoid bone! Count this bone among the small but incredibly...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Jul 11, 2021
- 4 min
A Coo Sticks
I'm not going to lie, this is one of my favorite punny comics of all time. I've shared it sooooo many times because it never fails to...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Jul 4, 2021
- 4 min
I'm So Embarrassed!
Last week I was wasting time on YouTube and I came across a clip of a celebrity on a talk show. The host commented how this particular...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Jun 28, 2021
- 3 min
Every Breath You Take: Part 2
In last week's blog I introduced the idea that our breathing pedagogy for singers has two equal parts: philosophy and mechanics. If...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Jun 20, 2021
- 5 min
Every Breath You Take: Part 1
There's likely no other topic in voice pedagogy as difficult and as nuanced as breathing. Some voice teachers can have some very strong...
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Dr. Heather Nelson
- Jun 13, 2021
- 4 min
Chew on This: Muscles of the Jaw
There are a LOT of muscles in your face that work while you are singing and speaking. Some of them are mostly about expression, some are...
412 views0 comments