Having spent the last two years working with an amazing group of European singers and choral directors as part of a pan-European project called LeoSings I have decided to cement some of the ideas into ten tips on various subjects. As a singing teacher I owe an awful lot to my colleagues in AOTOS and EVTA so I cannot claim these ideas are unique to me but I think they are helpful, so here goes with the 1st of my ten tips starting with healthy singing.

1. Know your facts about the singing voice and be very clear, healthy singing does NOT hurt!
2. Keep water levels up, not over doing it but maintaining good hydration in the body.
3. Balance body and mind, “head, shoulders, knees and toes” as the children’s song goes, but watch the jaw, tongue and neck area and the lower abdomen area.
4. Watch the knees don’t lock and over tense the psoas muscle.
5. Freedom in the diaphragm area and space for it to move are essential. Rotate those hips Elvis!
6. Check hearing – as your unique timbre depends on how you use feedback, aural and kinaesthetic!
7. Be aware of the side effects of medication…
8. Deep full body breathing helps you access your full voice, don’t be content with half singing. Even the great ‘crooners’ used more body than they let on. Sinatra was a master.
9. Resonance and focus are the keys to unlock the colours of your voice, everyone is unique, don’t forget that.
10. Enjoy your sound, ‘if they hear the ring, they’ll pay you to sing!’ Now wouldn’t that be good.