When someone tells me they can't sing, I usually hear: I tried, it didn't sound right, so I assumed the instrument was broken. It almost never is.This episode unpacks why singing lives much closer to speech than most singers think, why what you hear of your own voice isn't what's coming out of your mouth, and why the first year of lessons is mostly about removing habits — not building new ones. We get into attractor states, the diaphragmatic breathing problem for pop and musical theatre singers, what every other instrument in the practice wing knows about fundamentals, and the research showing that how you practice matters far more than how long.Whether you have a teacher or you're going it alone, the path forward is the same: short sessions, specific goals, daily, and a recorder you're willing to listen back to.Ready to go deeper? VoSci Academy gives you structured Practice Paths, real-time pitch and interval feedback, and biweekly Q&A calls. Learn more at voicescience.orgPresented by: Drew Williams OrozcoWritten by: Josh Manuel
Your Choir Director Is Your Real Voice Teacher — For Better or Worse | The Voice Science Podcast Has your choir director ever told you to "open your mouth," "create more back space," or "raise your soft palate" — and you had no idea whether you were actually doing it right? You're not alone. And the stakes are higher than most people realize.A 2019 study by Chorus America reported that 54 million US adults and children sing in choirs. That means for the vast majority of singers, the choir rehearsal — not the private lesson — is where all the voice training is happening.In this episode, contributor Timothy Wilds unpacks what that really means: for choir directors, for choir members, and for the long-term vocal health of anyone who has ever stood in a section and tried to follow their director's instructions.You'll learn:Why the choir rehearsal is the primary site of voice training — and why that mattersThe real vocal knowledge gaps in choir directing, and why they existA practical three-part framework for decoding the most common choral directives:"Open your mouth / drop your jaw" — what the director is after, and how to test it"Open your throat / create more back space" — the anatomy behind the instruction, and how to find it"Raise your soft palate" — what that actually means physically, and how to know you've done itWhy singers consistently overdo these adjustments — and what happens when they doWhat choir members should expect from their directors, and how to advocate for themselves in the room👉 Want structured training between rehearsals? Check out Practice Paths at voicescience.org🧠 Topics Covered:Chorus America 2019 data on choral participationWhy most singers' vocal education comes from choir, not private lessonsDirector knowledge gaps: church, school, and theatre contextsOral cavity opening — the one-finger testPharyngeal anatomy: dimensions, flexibility, and functionVelopharyngeal port, velum, and the "ng" soft palate testThe "Goldilocks position" across all three directivesWhy oversized breaths and exaggerated adjustments undermine the goal🔥 Helpful for:Choir singers trying to understand what their director is actually asking forChoir directors looking to be more precise and effective in rehearsalVoice teachers working with students who have a choral backgroundAnyone whose primary vocal training has been in an ensemble setting
