Sing Orlando

Book Intro with Kirsten

Vocal Coach Ken Taylor — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 16:36:36 +0000

Kirsten Taylor

BOOK AN INTRO!

Please keep in mind, Kirsten conducts all her lessons virtually.

ABOUT KIRSTEN

Kirsten discovered her passion for singing at the early age of four when her grandmother brought her to sit in on church choir rehearsal. Little did she know that would spark a journey from performing in countless choirs and musical theatre productions to directing children’s theatre shows across the country.

Though she earned a degree in Musical Theatre from the University of Virginia and has accumulated years of professional experience in that field, Kirsten has enjoyed studying all vocal styles from classical to belt to contemporary rock/pop to find the right blend of techniques for her own voice. She now uses this knowledge to discover the best strategy for her students. Constantly learning, Kirsten is an accredited track member of the International Voice Teachers of Mix (IVTOM) and is currently earning her certification in Peak Performance Coaching with Dr. Jon Skidmore.

Kirsten’s clients can be seen in Broadway shows, on cruise ships, and at theme parks, dinner theatres, and prestigious colleges around the country, including Berklee College of Music, University of Central Florida, and Florida School of the Arts.

When she can, Kirsten enjoys performing in local theatre productions. Favorite roles include the title role in Mary Poppins (Spotlight Theatre), Inga in Young Frankenstein: The Musical (Shoestring Theatre), Cinderella in Into the Woods (Shoestring Theatre), Kate McGowan in Titanic: The Musical in Concert (CFC Arts), and Betty Haynes in White Christmas (Athens Theatre Company).

When not teaching or performing, Kirsten is likely watching Friends or Great British Baking Show for the 100th time while snuggling with her floof, Luna, or exploring the area with her husband, Ken.

ABOUT KIRSTEN'S LESSONS

What do you specialize in?

Genres: Musical Theatre, Pop/Rock, Jazz

Services: Audition preparation, music cuts & edits, character voice & accent training,
performance anxiety coaching, vocal health & wellness consultations

What ages & experience levels do you teach?

Ages: Adults and serious (but not too serious!) teens.

Experience levels: All experience levels

What is your availability?

General availability: Tuesday-Friday afternoons & evenings, Saturday mornings & afternoons

What are your lessons like?

I often say my lessons are like hilarious vocal CrossFit or juggling. Singing is an intricate combination of many factors… Often ones we don’t even think about! I’m also completely ridiculous so we’ll laugh a lot in lessons.

How to Overcome Stage Fright

Vocal Coach Ken Taylor — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 19:27:40 +0000

How to Overcome Stage Fright

Sing Orlando coaches Kirsten & Ken answer the following question in their livestream:

“I have bad stage fright. How can I get past my performance anxiety?”

Stage fright gets in the way of many good singers. And it’s a shame, because it keeps them from enjoying something that they love.

But it can be overcome. Learn more in the full article on our sister site AskaVocalCoach.com.

Get Physical – Vocal Technique & Movement

Vocal Coach Ken Taylor — Sat, 04 Jun 2022 22:05:14 +0000

Get Physical - Vocal Technique & Movement

This may sound obvious, but your voice is a part of your body. What’s less obvious is using your body in different ways can have a very positive or negative effect on your singing.

Coach Kirsten shares how your vocal technique can be affected by what you do with your body, and what you can do to help make sure you’re getting the best sound possible. Enjoy!

Try out the ideas in this video and see how well they help!

And naturally, if you’d like to book a lesson with Kirsten or any of our other coaches, we’d love to help. Simply fill out the form so that understand what you’re looking for, and we’ll get you setup with a coach in no time!

Sing Smarter, Not Harder

Vocal Coach Ken Taylor — Sun, 29 May 2022 14:08:51 +0000

Sing Smarter, Not Harder

After over a decade of coaching singers, I’ve discovered one of the main issues most singers have is they use entirely too much effort to make the sound come out.

Over time, this leads to soreness, tiring out quickly while singing, or even vocal damage.

Instead, I want to help you guys learn to sing smarter, not harder.

You see, your voice is an incredible instrument. It’s designed to work with minimal “effort” in the throat on our part.

We just have to use it the right way. So how do we do that?

Simple. Here are 3 tips to help you sing smarter, not harder.

When Singing, Use Resonance to Create a Full Sound

The fullness of the sound is created by resonance or space, not push in the throat.

It’s tempting when we want to sing with more volume to push more in our throat. But doing that causes all sorts of issues.

It creates tension, closes off our range, and makes singing consistently for longer periods of time very difficult.

Instead of pushing, I’d suggest you start using resonance space to help you create the fullness of the sound.

When I talk about resonance, I’m referring to the space we create in the vocal tract.

The vocal tract begins at the vocal folds and ends at the lips.

The more narrow space you create in this space (the mouth and throat), the fuller the sound will be.

The two easiest ways you can do this is by dropping your jaw and releasing the tongue down and forward.

Focus your attention in those areas to create more narrow space, and you’ll go far.

Sing with a Steady & Consistent Flow of Air

Airflow is a big piece of the singing puzzle.

When you have a consistent flow of air, your vocal instrument functions easily and stays balanced.

When your airflow is inconsistent, the altering levels of air pressure underneath the vocal folds pushes your voice box up and down and then other muscles have to come in and help balance the voice.

This makes you work much harder when you sing.

All that said, it’s important that you sing with a steady and consistent flow of air if you want to sing smarter not harder.

Make Singing As Easy As Speaking

Another idea we can take on that helps us sing smarter, not harder, is the idea that singing should feel no more effortful than speaking in an energized way.

The more you use your natural voice to create sound, the easier the sound creating process will be.

Problem is most people, often times other than consciously, work harder while singing than they do when speaking.

There are two good ways to tell if you’re doing this.

First off, pay attention to the feel when you’re singing. Do you feel like you’re working harder than you would if you were speaking?

If so, play with making your singing feel more like speech.

Another easy way to tell is to compare the sound of singing vs speaking.

To do this, sing a phrase of music, then speak that phrase in the next breath.

If the two examples sound like a different voice, odds are you’re working too hard.

To sum it all up…

Singing doesn’t have to be difficult. Work the ideas mentioned above into your voice and you’ll be singing more effortlessly in no time. Here’s a quick reminder of what they were:

Sing with a steady and consistent flow of air.
Use space to create the fullness of the sound, not push in the throat.
When you sing, it should feel no more effortful in the throat than energized speech.

Work these 3 ideas into your singing, and I guarantee you singing will become much easier for you.

Happy Singing!
Ken Taylor

Ken started coaching singers professionally in 2006, and has never looked back. He’s helped hundreds of clients with the next leg of their vocal journey by working with them via Skype or out of his local studio (Sing Orlando). When his not teaching or sharing his singing knowledge online (check out his FB or YT), you can find him hanging out with his beautiful wife Kirsten, playing racquetball, or relaxing somewhere in or by salt water.

The Pollen Count Climbs

Vocal Coach Ken Taylor — Sun, 29 May 2022 13:02:05 +0000

The Pollen Count Climbs

True story: I got a standard allergy test a few years ago and my doctor told me that in his 40 years as an allergist, he’d never seen anyone who reacted so strongly to literally every allergen.

He said he can usually recommend people move to the desert or tundra, but in my instance – I’d still be allergic to things there too!

All that to say: I know firsthand that singing with allergies is HORRIBLE.

In college, I didn’t even audition for shows with performances in April or October because I knew my voice would be phlegm-tastically out of commission.

Naturally, I knew I couldn’t just avoid singing during allergy season – especially when I moved to Florida where things are blooming the whole dang year.

So, I researched and experimented like crazy.

Now, I’m not a doctor, so take what I say with a grain of salt. It’s always smart to do your own research or talk to your doctor about the information presented here.

I’m just hoping this series can provide a springboard for those of you singers who sound like Marge Simpson when the pollen count climbs!

What Allergies Are:

Allergies happen because your immune system is reacting to [insert actually-harmless allergen here] as if it’s about to harm you.

Why? Nobody knows for sure.

Genes sometimes play a factor and sometimes they don’t.

Environmental exposure can make you allergic to something or exposure can help you NOT be allergic to something.

Oh, and allergies can start as a child or your body can just decide to be allergic to something later in life… yay! (#sarcasm)

So anyway, think about when you have a cut. The area around the cut swells and gets red, right?

That’s the immune system sending lots of help to the cut to stop any potential infections that may get in. (Anyone else having flashbacks to Magic School Bus right now?)

There’s a similar reaction when you’re exposed to allergies.

Allergic Reactions & Why

Inhale pollen? As far as your immune system is concerned, the WORST thing to happen would be an infection reaching one of your vital organs, like your lungs.

So, your nose swells and produces mucus so that more infection (i.e. pollen) can’t enter through the nose.

Your throat reddens and swells so less pollen can get through there, too.

Eyes? They get red and watery so you blink out that bad stuff and it doesn’t get in the bloodstream!

Basically, it’s like the immune system is that overprotective family member that thinks everything is going to kill you. (We all have at least one of those, amirite?)

Like, I appreciate your concern and I know you have the best intentions… but really you’re driving me crazy.

Allergies and Singing:

First, if your throat feels completely phlegm-y or sore or swollen, please don’t sing!

Try some natural allergy remedies for singers and allergy medications for singers to help.

As always, drink tons of water and do your best to avoid hiking your larynx when clearing your throat.

If that still doesn’t work, stay on vocal rest as best you can.

If you must sing, use minimal volume. It’s not worth the stress on your cords and any potential damage that may result.

Just like our bodies and minds, our voices have good days and bad days too.

Best of luck, fellow allergy-ridden friends! You can make it!

Natural Allergy Remedies for Singers

Vocal Coach Ken Taylor — Sun, 29 May 2022 12:54:04 +0000

Natural Allergy Remedies for Singers

Allergies + singer = struggle bus.

I’ve had allergies my whole life, to the point of just not singing in the peak pollen weeks of spring and fall.

When vocal rest and tons of water aren’t enough, natural remedies are the healthiest way to go. Fortunately, most of these are super easy to incorporate into your lifestyle and budget.

Add Turmeric. This herb can be found in liquid, tea, or capsule form. It’s a natural anti-inflammatory. (Inflammation = swelling = one of the symptoms of allergies we don’t like.)*
Add Ginger. Similar to turmeric, ginger is anti-inflammatory. You can find it in teas, add fresh ginger to some hot water, or if you can stand it, you can eat fresh or dried ginger straight.*
Steam or water vapor. Yup, place your face over a pot of boiling water or take a hot shower. Or, if you need steam frequently and don’t like standing over a stove for minutes at a time, you can get a fancy portable steamer like this:

Think about eliminating dairy. *sob* Like most dietary information out there, science is undecided as to whether or not dairy increases phlegm and inflammation in your body. However, dairy definitely does exacerbate a feeling of thickness in the throat, which you may not want if you’re already experiencing post-nasal drip.
Gargle. Grandma knew what she was doing when you were sick as a kid. Salt and some warm water will help soothe throat irritation. Gargle on high pitches to raise the larynx a little and get your cords closer to that soothing warmth and healing salt.
Add probiotics. Probiotics are good gut bacteria (pro=for the benefit of; biotic = relating to living things #wordnerd). Lots of science says that a lot of our allergies actually come from an imbalance in our digestive systems. By replenishing our guts with good bacteria, our immune system apparently functions more reasonably. Be sure to research the right quantity and type of probiotic for you if you go this route.
Other natural remedies out there. There are SO many other options. Just be really careful and double-check everything. Make sure that the remedy doesn’t dry out your cords. There’s a common natural remedy circulating that claims you should eat local honey to build up an immunity to pollen. When I tried this, it made my allergies worse than they’d ever been in my life. Research agrees local pollen is not the best for everyone. So just be cautious, check multiple sources, and check with a doctor before deciding to follow something!

*PSA: Trader Joe’s has a Ginger-Turmeric tea. It’s like they created it for allergy-ridden friends like us.

Any natural remedies that have or have not worked for you in the past? Comment here and let’s help each other out!

How Allergy Medications Affect the Singing Voice

Vocal Coach Ken Taylor — Sun, 29 May 2022 12:43:10 +0000

How Allergy Medications Affect the Singing Voice

Allergy medications are sometimes a necessary evil for singers with allergies.

However, the more informed you are about how medications affect your voice, the better you can prepare.

Before turning to the following medications, I recommend trying natural remedies for allergies first.

The important thing to note about almost all allergy medication is the fact that almost all allergy medications dry out your cords.

That said, be sure you drink way more water than normal when you’re on allergy medication.

Allergy Medications

Below, I’ve listed and explained different types of remedies singers often reach for when needing an allergy fix.

I am NOT a doctor and please check with a healthcare professional before taking any action on new medications! I am just an allergy-ridden singer who loves voice science!

1. Nasal Sprays*** (Flonase Sensimist, Nasonex, etc.):

If your allergy symptoms consist mostly of nasal congestion, eye irritation, and post-nasal drip, nasal sprays are one of the best for you as far as your voice is concerned.

Nasal sprays reduce inflammation in the nose and therefore stop congestion. Often, they stay in the nose and don’t make their way to the throat at all – keeping your cords safe from the typical drying effects of allergy meds.

That said, you may need to experiment a little with these. Some nasal sprays contain scents that are intended to be pleasing but could really agitate your nose more and make your reaction worse. Other sprays may allow too much medication through the pump, causing a worse stuffy-nose feeling or causing the medication to drip past your nasal cavity and irritate the throat.

(For what it’s worth, after trying Nasonex, Nasacort, Flonase, Afrin, and other sprays, my favorite by far is Flonase Sensimist – no scent and a light enough spray it won’t feel like you’re shoving liquid up your nose #win. It’s different for everyone though!)

***BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL about what kind of nasal spray you’re buying. Daily over-the-counter allergy nasal sprays are not addictive. However, stronger decongestant nasal sprays (even those found over-the-counter) can be addictive or even make your symptoms worse, causing you to rely more and more on that medication. As I’ve said before, do your research!

2. Oral Antihistamines (Zyrtec, Claritin, Benadryl, etc.):

These medications try to prevent or stop the immune system’s over-reaction to allergens.

However, as singers, you should know that these medications “dry you out“! Add at least 8-16 ounces more water to your daily intake.

3. Decongestants (Mucinex, Sudafed, etc.)

These medications decrease the swelling and phlegm-production as a result of allergies. That’s why they work so well.

That said, the outer layer of your vocal cords is… mucous! That mucous membrane is there to protect your vocal cords. So, if you take decongestants (or “super-decongestants” below), be extra aware of how your voice feels, stop singing whenever things begin to hurt, and drink EVEN MORE water!

4. Super-Decongestants* (Mucinex-D, Sudafed-D… anything that you have to bring a card to a pharmacy for them to get from behind-the-counter)

These dry you out MOST!

Only take these if you’re super, super, super congested and take them with a HUGE glass of water. THEN add at least 16 more ounces of water to your daily intake.

(*Not what they’re actually called but I needed a term for them.)

5. Throat Remedies: Sprays, Cough Drops, Lozenges, etc.

These don’t necessarily help allergies, they just soothe the throat if you’re feeling the effects of allergies there.

That said, many of these throat remedies contain menthol, which numbs your throat.

This is DANGEROUS because yes, it helps your throat feel better, but that also means you may push harder or sing in a less healthy way because your throat is numb and you don’t have any negative feedback telling you to adjust or stop!

If you’re a singer, I’d argue NEVER use a product with menthol unless you plan on not using your voice much.

Comment below on your experiences with different allergy medications as a singer!

The Importance of Posture While Singing

Vocal Coach Ken Taylor — Sun, 29 May 2022 12:33:26 +0000

The Importance of Posture While Singing

We as singers are unique from all other musicians.

We’re different in that our body is our instrument.

That said, when we alter the shape of our instrument, it greatly effects the sound we create. Posture plays a big part in this process.

So let’s discuss a few things you should be on the lookout for.

Release Resting Tension

The first thing we want to be aware of with our posture is resting tension in the body.

The more we rigidly hold onto musculature, the more that hold will find its way into our voice.

That muscular rigidity also closes off valuable resonance space.

So, when you’re singing, make sure you’re free of tension in the body so that your voice can remain free and easy.

Maintain an Erect Posture with Shoulders Released Outward

The way we sit or stand while singing plays a huge part in the type of sound we produce.

If our shoulders are hunched forward and our posture is closed off, the resonance space we use to amplify our sound is lessened. This leads to a smaller, thinner sound, which is obviously less desirable.

This sound also often leads to singers pushing to create more volume.

So make sure that you utilize good posture, allowing your shoulders to fall out and away from each other while maintaining an erect, non-slumped over position.

Keep Good Head & Neck Posture

Finally, your head and neck posture while singing is key.

When you raise or lower your chin, you pull your vocal mechanism out of balance.

Even turning the head from side to side effects the sound in an interesting way.

Check out the video below for an example of what those sounds are like.

By now, it should be very apparent why posture is so important while singing. So be mindful of it over your next few weeks of practicing and hear your voice improve.

Happy Singing,

Ken

PS – If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our buddies over at Vocalist.org. It’s a great resource for any singer.

How to Access High Notes – Sing with a Mix Voice

Vocal Coach Ken Taylor — Sun, 29 May 2022 12:13:42 +0000

How to Access High Notes – Sing with a Mix Voice

I’ve worked with hundreds of singers over the past decade and nearly all of them wanted to expand their range.

Everyone knows they want this skill, but so few singers understand how to get there.

The simple solution to this problem is you must find your mix voice.

What is Your Mix?

Your mix voice is a blend of the chest and head resonance. It allows you to sing with the fullness of chest voice and the release of head voice.

The mix is what you hear singers on the radio use when they’re “belting” out high notes.

More often than not, that full sound in the upper end of their range is a mix.

The problem is, finding your mix can be difficult. To access your mix and those high notes, you have to learn to better balance your voice coordination.

From this point on, the article is going to get a little technical, but bear with me. It’s worth it!

Why is Finding the Mix Voice Challenging?

To sing in a mix, your coordination must be consistent.

How do we do that? We must consistently balance vocal cord closure and airflow.

Balancing this coordination is challenging enough. Unfortunately, most of us have bad habits that make this coordination nearly impossible.

These bad habits include:

Singing with an inconsistent flow of air.
Holding muscles in the tongue / throat to “help” us sing the note
Widening the shape of the vowel, which in turn widens the throat and often pulls the vocal cords apart.
Hiking the larynx. This causes the voice to crack as we sing higher instead of access the mix.

There are other habits that can pull the voice out of coordination, but these are the most common.

How to Unleash Your Mix

So, how do we fix these and find our mix?

Well, we must properly balance singing with a consistent airflow (and lean in the cords).

We must maintain a level larynx.

We narrow the vowels to ensure the vocal cords don’t pull apart.

And, we make sure that we sing in a manner that is free of tension in the tongue, neck, and throat area.

The above ideas are simple. Applying them is a bit more of a challenge.

Doing them all at the same time takes quite a bit of practice. Often a bit of guidance as well.

But the good news is once you find this coordination, you’ll unleash your mix. This will give you access to higher notes and make your a better, more diverse singer.

If you’d like to have an experienced set of ears help you with this, we’d love to help! Tell us a bit about yourself here, and we’ll help you find the coach that’s the best fit for you!

Padawan Progress!

Vocal Coach Ken Taylor — Sun, 29 May 2022 11:27:23 +0000

Padawan Progress!

Originally posted on 1/25/19

If you would’ve told me a few months ago that I would be getting paid to do what is basically my dream job, I would’ve laughed in your face!

But here I am, teaching singing to bright-eyed clients hungry for knowledge.

But getting to this point was not at all easy.

I’m a vocal coach in training, and since I love Star Wars (like, a lot), Ken and Kirsten have dubbed me their Padawan.

When I first came in, I couldn’t tell tongue tension from a hiked larynx. (It’s still kind of a struggle.)

But through the process of sitting down and watching Kirsten or Ken give lessons, rocker metal guy’s voice versus classically trained girl’s voice trained my ears to distinguish that different people have different sounds and styles.

Not every person is going to sound the same or want to sound the same.

“Marissa” might breathe out her nose while singing but have great cord closure. “Tony” has no trouble with air through the nose but has tongue tension – the possibilities are endless!

Adjusting and being flexible is the first thing I learned about being a vocal teacher.

Thing number two: not everything will be perfect.

Sometimes, you’ll mess up a scale you know by heart. Other times, you’ll spend 80% of the lesson laughing with your client at the noises you make.

Either way, no one is expecting you to be the best there ever was.

The third thing I’ve realized is what most clients look for when coming into a vocal lesson is someone who has a passion to teach – someone who is willing to try their best to get them the results they are desiring: whether that be a stronger vibrato, a better mix, or to hit higher notes.

Ultimately, clients look for someone who is able to both make them feel comfortable and have fun while singing!

So no matter what mistakes happen (whether you’re the student or the trainee!), it’s all a learning process!

I’ve learned to take the good, the bad, and the silly moments and run with them.

So while I’m still new to this whole process, my adventures with Sing Orlando have only just begun!