5 Important Tips for Soprano Singers to Keep in Mind

5 Important Tips for Soprano Singers to Keep in Mind Suzy S. Are you a soprano? Keep your voice in great shape with these tips from Saint Augustine, FL voice teacher Heather L Being born a soprano comes with both its perks and its challenges. On the one hand, we sopranos have a lot of the solos in choruses and choirs, and most of the highly dramatic arias and ballads. On the other hand, we tend to overwork and abuse our voice more often and get diagnosed with a lot more pathologies of the voice. Every voice type is special, and soprano singers have their own quirks. Heres a list of five important tips for sopranos to keep in mind. Be patient, but dont wait too long. A famed soprano refused to perform an aria from Mozarts The Magic Flute until she was 30 years old, because she knew that she just wasnt old enough yet. The human voice doesnt really develop into all of its awesome brilliance until the mid-20s. And lets face it, this could be one of those rare times in life when people tell you that youre just too young. How great is that? That means that its important to listen to your voice teacher or your choir director if she tells you that youre not ready for a certain song. On the other hand, singers voices have shelf lives, just like the bodies of professional athletes do. So, if you plan to pursue soprano singing as a professional career, dont wait to find a voice coach. Start looking now! Build endurance, but listen to your body. Its important to build endurance by learning how to sing for increasingly longer periods of time. Follow the guidance of your teacher, but this is effectively done among other things by having more frequent, but shorter lessons. This means that if youre currently taking a one-hour voice lesson every week, then you could take two half-hour voice lessons every week. By building both mental and physical endurance, youre also improving your concentration, making you all the more ready to sing the big songs. But remember, nothing is more important to your career than the health and longevity of your voice. So, as is always the rule, listen to your body and pay attention to sensations as you sing and speak. Eat right and work out. Every voice type generally has its typical physical characteristics. In other words, baritones tend to be tall and lean. Tenors are usually shorter than other men, with short necks and broad shoulders. Contraltos and mezzo sopranos generally have curvy bodies, while sopranos tend to be petite with long necks and a smaller amount of muscle mass. Our bodies are our instruments, and one of our goals is to have a strong and solid instrument. So, what sopranos should keep in mind is that its often really helpful to make simple strength training, like lifting weights, a part of your practice regimen. Be careful not to be either underweight or overweight. Eating right meaning the right balance of complex carbohydrates, fats, and protein (to build those muscles)  is also really helpful in achieving that strong and solid instrument. Speak well. My voice physician once told me that he estimated that ninety percent of the vocal problems that his patients face are from poor speaking habits, not poor singing technique. Avoid the very popular vocal fry, talk in a well-modulated voice at all times, consult your voice teacher if you have any concerns and seek only an ENT (ear, nose, throat) physician who  specializes in treating voice professionals. And sometimes, if you have poor speaking habits, you  may need to see a speech therapist who specializes in treating singers. Get a laryngoscopy annually. Sopranos in particular are prone to nodules, hemorrhages and other pathologies of the voice. Early detection and prevention is key to having a healthy voice for a lifetime. One of the best tips for sopranos to keep in mind is to see a voice specialist physician yearly for an exam of the vocal mechanism, specifically the folds. A laryngoscopy is a quick procedure where the physician will insert a tube into your nose or a scope with a video camera at the end, which can detect several problems for which you may not be experiencing symptoms, including cancer. You already get annual eye, dental, and general exams. Your voice deserves the same! Perhaps the most important tip for sopranos to keep in mind is to make stress reduction a part of your daily life. Stress, and the tension that it can lead to, make soprano singing more difficult and can create both small and large problems over time. Learn stress-reducing techniques that are easy and that can be used all day long and in any situation. Your high notes are precious; keep calm and sing on! About the Author: Heather L. teaches singing in St. Augustine, FL and online. She is a graduate of the prestigious Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, has performed with internationally renowned opera star Andrea Bocelli, and others. Learn more about Heather here!

The Importance of Vowels

The Importance of Vowels Suzy S. If youve been taking singing lessons for a while, youve probably practiced several silly warm-up exercises. You know, the ones where youre making funny faces and sounds, saying nonsensical phrases, and so on. All of these exercises have one common goal: to prepare the voice and help you learn to keep your mouth and throat open. Read on as Seal Beach instructor Carl B. explains why vowels are important for this very reason A few years ago I coined a phrase that clarifies the importance of focusing on the vowels while singing.   It is: “A song is a series of songs called vowels.” Each vowel should be perfectly formed, sung as beautifully as if it were a song unto itself, and sustained as long as the song allows, regardless of genre. The international singing vowels are ah, eh, ee, oh and oo.   These are the vowels sung in Italian, and also in Hawaiian.   I have read arguments that there are actually 7 vowels in Italian, and I leave that discussion to others for now.   Other languages also have additional vowels, for example in English we also have uh, ih and aa. The reason that we focus on vowels while singing is that vowels are the most open and also the most beautiful sounds we can make with our voice.   Because vowels are the most open sounds, the audience hears them best, and so hears the beauty of your sound, your personality, and the emotion in your song. Rather than use the term “resonance area,” I use a more descriptive term, “echo chamber,” because the throat is the echo chamber we use to enhance the sound of our voice.   As mentioned in my previous article, we create an echo chamber in our throat by implementing the beginning of a yawn.   In doing this, each perfectly-formed vowel creates its own particular echo chamber areas.   If a vowel is not perfectly formed, we lose some of that vowel’s particular echo chamber areas, and thus reduce the beauty of the sound and the emotion. Many singers do not realize how well their vowels are or are not being formed.   Even very good singers can lose focus on their vowels and think they are forming perfect vowels when they are not.   The reason most people say “That’s not me!” the first time you hear yourself on an answering machine or other recording is that we dont hear ourselves primarily through our ears, as others hear us.   Instead, we hear ourselves primarily through the vibration of our jaw bone.   The only way to truly hear yourself as others hear you is to listen to yourself in a recording. When you begin taking perfect vowel formation seriously, youll be surprised at the improved sound of your recordings, and also of your audience’s more emotional response to you and your singing. Carl B. teaches singing and speaking voice lessons to students of all ages in Seal Beach, CA. Carl  teaches singing in English, Italian, Spanish, German, in all styles including pop, jazz, classical, country western. He joined the TakeLessons team in August 2012. Visit TakeLessons to search for a vocal teacher near you! Photo by michael_swan.

How to Set the Right Goals for Learning Guitar

How to Set the Right Goals for Learning Guitar Suzy S. Learning the guitar is a great goal in itself but youll need to get more specific if you want to truly make some progress! Read on as Hillsboro, OR guitar teacher Geoff A. walks you through the goal-setting process For Beginners The first goal is getting the fingers of the fretting hand to cooperate in forming chords. I begin with E, A, G, C, B7, and D chords. Practice ten to fifteen minutes twice a day and understand: your fingers will hurt a few weeks until calluses form, depending on how much you practice. The second goal is learning to string chords together with smooth transitions, in time to a beat. This takes practice and time. Practicing with a metronome is essential for beginner. Set the metronome to around 54 beats per minute and strum once per beat, four beats per chord, then switch to the next chord. At first there will be beat clicks between chord changes â€" but always play in time with the metronome. The “game” is to remove clicks between chords one by one, until there are no clicks between changes. You should also give yourself permission to not do well at first. Allow yourself the time necessary to understanding what you are learning. Your progress may be slower than others, but try not to compare yourself too much. I have worked with students who learned quickly, then struggled with improving. Others have struggled at first, then made amazing progress afterward. For Intermediate Players It is important to discover what you lack. You might know you struggle with things, like good time-keeping and chord knowledge. And you know nothing about other things. You need improved chord knowledge â€" not just learning new chords, but learning how chords are put together, which requires knowing your scales. Limitations in chord knowledge undermines long-term enjoyment, so brush up on your theory. For Advanced Players At this stage, musicians often need a reality check. Many believe they are more “advanced” than they are. Once you accept this truth, then you are ready to do the necessary work to improve. This generally includes similar things to intermediate players’ needs, which is to find where the holes in your knowledge lie. Once determined, a plan must be created to overcome obstacles and meet challenges to make the strides toward advanced abilities. Bottom Line This article covers a very limited view of goal-setting for each level, based on my 25 years of teaching experience. At the end of the day, it is about embracing life-long learning and growing in your pursuit of musical excellence, whether for fun or for career aspirations. You have to be open to the unknown, the “undiscovered country,” with a good teacher giving you the guidance you need. The right teacher will help you down that road, as long as you understand the journey may be longer, and more difficult, than you imagined. As they say, the journey isn’t exciting if it doesn’t scare you a little. The reward is that playing music will deliver dividends far beyond the technical knowledge you learn. And that is a journey worth taking! Geoff A. teaches songwriting, music theory, bass guitar, and guitar lessons in Hillsboro, OR. His specialties include rock, blues, Americana, pop, alternative, folk, finger style, bluegrass, worship CCM, gospel, and jazz styles. Geoff joined the TakeLessons team in February 2013. Learn more about Geoff  here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by Eryne Donahue

The Limitations of Core Standards on Higher Order Thinking Skills

The Limitations of Core Standards on Higher Order Thinking Skills How Basic Education Limits Students’ Ability for Higher Order Thinking ChaptersThe Ongoing AssessmentsOn Building Cognitive SkillsCommon Core Versus Blooms TaxonomyHow to Bring Higher Order Thinking Into the ClassroomIt’s really not hard to see why so many students are able to obtain their school leaving certificate yet have no idea how to think or reason through a problem: all you have to do is ask a school teacher.Assessment, marking work and reporting students’ progress make administrators out of teachers.These tasks take up too much of the teachers’ lesson planning time and too much classroom time, with the net effect being more teachers abandoning the profession before replacement teachers can be fully qualified.That phenomenon has a spiral effect. Because there are fewer teachers, the student-teacher ratio increases: more kids in class mean more papers to mark and more reporting to do.Where, in all of this, do teachers get to use all of the classroom strategies they learned in their teacher training?If students cultivating higher order think ing skills were simply a matter of teacher availability, solving the problems that beset teachers would mean that they would be available to encourage students to think critically and solve problems, right?To be sure, the pressure teachers labour under is untenable and something must be done. Hopefully soon!However, if the Department for Education intends to arm British students with 21st-century skills and help them learn how to think, they will have to make some major changes to our education system.Let’s take a look at where such changes could be made and how much better general education could be â€" for teachers and for our students.Multiple choice questions do not require critical thinking or problem-solving Image by tjevans from Pixabayteaching to the test: for all of the summative assessments being conducted, our national curriculum leaves little room for teachers to make use of any classroom strategies they might have picked up during their professional development.Or, if you prefer analogies, you might say that teachers are harnessed to a careening carriage and expected to keep upright and in control.Teaching to the test is only half of the trouble.The other half â€" and perhaps the bigger issue at hand is that a lot of the learning in today’s classrooms is more a matter of memorization than a cognitive process.That claim is substantiated by the fact that exams seem to consist of more multiple choice questions than essay questions.There is value in multiple choice, but the downsides far outweigh them: one can score well on such an exam by guessing or merely memorising the correct answers.There is nothing wrong with building a fantastic memory but, no matter how many questions a student answers correctly on a bubble sheet, it still gives no indication on how well s/he understands the concepts s/he is being tested on.You can encourage your students to build cognitive skills by asking open-ended questions Image by Tumisu from PixabayOn Building Cogn itive SkillsCognition: the mental act or process by which knowledge is acquired.For children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, the education program is all about building cognitive skills.Teachers in these classes employ a variety of teaching strategies designed to maximise student learning, such as brightly coloured visual material, music and movement.Students are mainly taught through games and play but are expected to sit still for maths and literacy lessons.In fact, EYFS is a fantastic example of educational psychology at work: it emphasises teaching and learning methods and is focused on cognitive development.And then, as though a water tap had been suddenly shut off, all of the pedagogy that addressed every learning style and all of the active learning is replaced by teacher-centred instruction.Starting at Year 1, students are treated to teacher-led lessons. Reading skills are cultivated, math and science are taught... but little critical thinking is encouraged.In fact, rel atively little room is given for students to exercise any kind of thinking skills. That pattern follows students throughout their academic career and it is not the fault of any teacher.Learn more about higher order thinking here.Common Core Versus Blooms TaxonomyThe term ‘common core’, imported from across the pond, represents the most important subjects of a curriculum.Maths, English and science are considered common core. Other subjects, like arts and humanities, are not considered core subjects.You can find a good reflection of UK schools’ core subjects in the compulsory GCSEs: the subjects that everyone must sit are considered ‘core’.Of our core subjects, only English and Literature truly lend an opportunity for group work; for students to cultivate critical thinking skills.For example, a teacher may group students and assign them various aspects of the text to dissect and render conclusions about. Or s/he might task student groups to engage in character analysis, to d iscuss the setting and the period of the piece...Opportunities for creative thinking are much more difficult to spot in other classes.The critical question here is: while students’ formal learning goals are generally met â€" often with the help of a private tutor, are their learning needs being met?An Overview of Benjamin BloomMr Bloom was an American educational psychologist who pioneered the classification of educational objectives.  Specifically, his work resulted in the understanding of three realms of knowledge acquisition:the cognitive domain, which encompasses the analysis, comprehension and application of knowledgethe affective domain is the emotional dimension of learning which includes how students characterise, organise, value and respond to information, andthe psychomotor domain: this aspect touches on the perception and adaptation of knowledge and the mechanism through which it is applied.Teaching a student how to use a computer would involve all three domains.The fir st domain would involve the understanding of how a computer works, the second would attach a value to this skills set as a tool for both entertainment and a way to earn a living and the third would entail addressing the machine through typing and activating the mouse.Our public education system does a great job of addressing the cognitive domain but does little to evoke any affective response to the material being learned and permits virtually no physical activation while class is in session.Between crowded classrooms, overwhelmed teachers and only one aspect of student learning being addressed, something needs to be done to change the status quo!You may group your students so that they may debate an issue before presenting conclusions Image by StockSnap from PixabayHow to Bring Higher Order Thinking Into the ClassroomNobody is disputing teachers’ role as an educator; we only point out that their work might be more stimulating and rewarding if they thought of themselves as facilit ators of knowledge.What’s the difference?A teacher teaches, meaning, s/he imparts knowledge. Whether said information is understood, assimilated and useful remains to be seen â€" and is not necessarily demonstrated through assessment techniques.By contrast, a facilitator is someone who helps bring about a certain outcome. In educational circles, those would be learning outcomes.Here is one example of how facilitating could work.First, you would organise your classroom to permit group study. You would then seat students of similar cognitive abilities together â€" your more advanced learners, your SEN students and students anywhere along that spectrum.You may even consider putting some of your more advanced students with groups who are not quite at that level to make use of peer teaching strategies.Next, you would assign them to work according to their abilities and interests.Your high achievers may enjoy higher level thinking projects â€" those that call on both problem-solving ski lls and critical thinking.The bulk of your students may focus on either critical thinking or problem-solving and your SENs might be comfortable summarizing the lesson or other learning activities that target their interest but are related to the material currently being learned.Far from being a classroom out of control, you will find your student engagement at an all-time high!Meanwhile, you can circulate around your groups asking open-ended questions designed to assess their understanding of the material and the work at hand.You may even find time to mark papers while your students are engaged.Another way you could help your students develop thinking skills would be through debate.Choose an issue that is related to your day’s study topic. It can be a current event or something that affects student life (that helps students find value in the exercise). Write the issue on the board.Label each the four corners of your room: Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree.As yo ur students start their learning session, point to what you wrote on the board and then indicate the four positions they may take. Invite them to take a few minutes to think about the issue and then head to the corner which represents their position.You will be pleasantly surprised to find that debate over the issue will start spontaneously, in each corner, as students reinforce each other’s views.You would then ask them to explain their views, either in writing, orally or a combination of both.  You might even permit them to create a visual of their position.There are so many ways teachers can encourage higher order thinking skills; doing so might lighten their load and may even help rediscover their passion for educating!Now discover the difference between critical thinking and higher order thinking?

Difference between BEFORE and AFTER Easy English Grammar

Difference between BEFORE and AFTER Easy English Grammar Hi there. Welcome to Harrys World of Words and Phrases and English in a Minute.I want to talk to you about the use of BEFORE and AFTER. I actually used this as part of a lesson with a student earlier today.And in addition with before we can say beforehand.In addition with after afterwards. Okay.So before I made this video I was giving a lesson.I prepared the video beforehand.I prepared the dinner beforehand. So in advance.After the lesson I made the video.After the dinner I washed the dishes. After the event. Okay.Afterwards I will prepare some notes.Afterwards I will do a workout.So after, afterwards, before, beforehand. Okay.So remember to subscribe to our Channel and join us on www.englishlessonviaskype.com and well catch up soon.

How to talk about Money in English ?? - Learn English with Harry

How to talk about Money in English ?? - Learn English with Harry Money is an important in our daily lives. It is also a popular topic that may come up in your IELTS or FCE exam. Lets learn to talk about money in English.I have a podcast episode for you from my podcast Speak Better English with Harry. It is available to listen on both iTunes and Spotify. So make sure to subscribe.In this episode, I use upper intermediate vocabulary. I recommend you to listen to the episode first in order to practise your English listening comprehension. You dont need to understand every single word.  Then have a look at the vocabulary words below and listen to it again.  Let me know if you have any issues.   Talk about Money in English Short extract of podcast episode Money, saving money makes the world go round. And I think it is a really true saying because without it, what would we have?Well have no trade between nations. Well have no investment by companies. Well have no money to spend. In the supermarkets, no way to feed and clothe ourselves. And generally people will just struggle.Of course, we could go back to the old days when we used to barter.Thats BARTER. Meaning exchange something for something else.So if I did something for you and fix the door or put in a window, then you would do something for me like fix my bathroom or cook me a meal or give me some of your vegetables. So this would be a barter where we would exchange one service for another service or some products for a particular service.But that, Im sure, still goes on. It does in different parts of the world where money is not so easy to get.But in the Western world and the first, second world economies, then money is King as they say. And without it we can do very little some times and we have money.Were not quite sure what to do with it, but certainly if we dont have it, then we definitely have a problem. The different words we can use to to describe money, we can call it cash. I like to have cash in my pocket. We have cash in the bank. The ATM is, or where we withdraw money from these machines in the wall. We call them cash machines. So cash is a very common word for it. People say, do you have any money? Can you lend something? Do you have any cash? Could you give me something? How to talk about Money - Vocabulary to barter to exchange something for something elseATM cash machineto withdraw money to take money from a bank accountcheque a printed piece of paper that you can use instead of moneyto rob / to get robbed to take money from someone or somewhere illegally, usually using threats and violencemoola(h) (American English, slang) moneylolly (British English, slang) moneydenomination the value of a bank note or coinwealth a large amount of money and/or other valuable thingspurse a small bag or case in which women carry money and credit cardswallet a small case in which men carry money and credit cardscashless without cashtransaction cost an amount that bank or credit company charges for using a bank cardto handle cash to receive and give money in businesscryptocurrency a digital currencysalary a fixed amount of money that your employer pays you every month for the work you doto borrow the money to receive money from someoneto lend the money to give money to somebodyto inher it to receive money and/or other valuable things from someone who has diedassets something valuable that a person or company ownsto charge to ask someone to pay money for services or goodsto overcharge to ask someone to pay too much money for somethingto put some money aside for a rainy day to save money weekly or monthly for a day when you need itto splash out money to spend a lot of moneyto fritter away to spend money without really knowing where you spend itto be broke to ahve no moneyto be ripped off to be charged too much money for something, to be overchargedto tighten your belt to spend less moneyeconomic related to the economy or businesseconomical not spending or costing a lot of money 8 Phrasal Verbs related to Money to bank on to depend on something happeningex. Im really banking on getting that job in the insurance company.to come across to find something   or meet somebody by chanceex. I came across my school photographs while I was clearing out the attic.to do without to live without having something that you cannot affordex. Sam doesnt have much money these days so he has to do without expensive holidays.to get by to manage to survive on a small amount of moneyex. They dont have much money but they get by.to save up to avoid spending money, often for a specific purposeex. I am saving up to get a new phone.to come into to inherit moneyex. Sarah was shocked to find out that she had come into a large amount of money.to close down to stop doing business completelyex. Lots of small businesses have closed down recently.to take back to return something to the shop you bought it fromex. If your watch doesnt work, you need to take it back.

Preparing for university

Preparing for university If your child is off to university this autumn, then the whole family need to do a lot of preparation. It's important to have some frank and open chats with your student child as they prepare for their first taste of independent life. Here are our five top tips to help your child prepare for university: 1. Make sure your child knows how to manage their finances. Set up a student bank account with them and discuss how to budget. If your child is going to have to get a part-time job make sure they can manage a job with their university work. 2. Find out what they get supplied with in their halls of residence and what they need to buy. Make a full list of the supplies that are needed, including any supplies for their course, and then buy the cheapest version wherever you can as things at uni often get broken. Then make sure your child has student insurance! 3. Away from home, your child can be tempted by the excesses of student life. Talk to them about balancing partying and study before they go and make sure that they know to phone you if they get into difficulties once term starts. 4. Does your child have study skills, the ability to touch type and speedwriting? These are all very helpful to have during a degree. See if there is anywhere that they can learn these skills - their university might even offer classes, or you could hire a study skills tutor for a few lessons. 5. Expect to feel sad when they leave. You might even see a few tears from them when you say goodbye. Luckily, mobile phones and email make it easy to keep in touch, so remember that it's au revoir rather than adieu.

New Planets and New Knowledge

New Planets and New Knowledge pexels.com Also interested in new life is Thomas Zurbuchen, an associate administrator at NASA, who says “you can just imagine how many worlds are out there that have a shot to becoming a habitable ecosystem … Are we alone out there? We’re making a step forward with this a leap forward, in fact towards answering that question.” But really, it isn’t all about alien life. In fact, these planets might not have life whatsoever but we would even learn something from that. One of the big takeaways if alien life isn’t present is what makes planets hospitable and what prevents life. These seven planets were found orbiting Trappist-1, a dwarf star 40 light-years away from us. (For those of you that aren’t sure what a light-year is, that’s over 200 trillion miles away from us.) According to Michael Gillon, an astronomer, “This is the first time so many planets of this kind are found around the same star.” However, Trappist-1 and our sun are quite different, which begs the question: what about the planets orbiting it are different? In comparative terms, our sun would be the size of a basketball and the Trappist-1 star would be the size of a golf ball. Interestingly, in order to determine there were planets orbiting the star, scientists noticed a dimming of light from the star, as if a planet was passing in front of it. They recorded this process meticulously, calculating both the size of the star and the number of planets in its orbit. Apparently, all seven planets are very near the dwarf star, one of which only takes 1.5 days to orbit it. According to Dr. Gillon, “They form a very compact system, the planets being pulled close to each other and very close to the star.” Another interesting observation is that originally, the planets may have been formed much further from the star, pulled in over time by the gravitational pull. So what has everyone so excited over these planets? For one thing, it’s believed that the surfaces are at the proper temperature for water flow, as the star nearest to them is rather cool. If this is the case, the planets might have one of the most essential ingredients for sustaining life. Of course, this is all speculation. But it’s exciting, nonetheless. There are still debates and a lot of questions to be answered, and most of the information we have at this point is speculation. But science has also come a long way; decades ago, we didn’t know much at all about the other planets in the solar system. Now, we have over 3,400 confirmed planets out there. So it only stands to reason that we might not have more answers until a few more decades from now. Apparently, astronomers believe that technological advancements are needed before more planets will be discovered around brighter stars out there. So the fact that they have found these planets is really spectacular  and could be extremely informative as to what else is in the solar system that we aren’t even aware of at this point. And of course, it’s easy to get excited about the potential for alien life, as it’s an interesting (albeit scary) thought that there are extraterrestrial beings out there we didn’t even know existed. And for those of us that aren’t so onboard the alien train, this discovery could bring with it scientific information regarding what it takes for a planet to sustain life and whether or not other planets could potentially be as hospitable as Earth. Again, right now, it’s all speculation grounded in scientific knowledge. But this discovery is still one to pay attention to, even if you aren’t an avid believer in aliens. Science is home to some groundbreaking discoveries that may just shape our future, so pay attention to what’s going on around you. This is big news for many reasons, and might just be the key to understanding what else is out there because if science agrees on anything, it’s that we aren’t alone. There’s plenty more out there to be discovered, just waiting on our technological advancement to reach it. So here’s to the scientific discoveries of the next few decades we can’t wait to learn what you have in store for us.