Over the decades I have heard thousands of singers audition, perform, and practice.  As a director of choirs and musical shows I followed how singers sounded after trying various singing techniques, vocal methods in books, and expensive coaches.  I learned what works, and even more I learned what does not work for singers.

First do no damage

Life is good when you sing!  You can hardly be in a bad mood when you sing, and it is also a very healthy activity mentally and physically.  The point is that if you wish to improve or strengthen your voice you can try anything,  and the worst that can happen is you’ll waste your time singing unproductively.

But there is one destructive type of voice training.  You can injure your voice with bad technique and you will know it is bad because the advertising emphasizes qualities like Loudness, Broadway Belt, and Gigantic-6-Octave-Vocal-Range-Mega-Wonder.   The advertising will drop names of pop stars, but I can assure you anybody who sings well after such ‘training' sang well before the training.  You will only learn to shout on pitch while straining your vocal folds. 

Bad technique can actually cause permanent vocal damage.  If ever you start coughing after singing or are the slightest bit hoarse – Stop Immediately.  Don't injure your voice!

• Richard Gard, DMA

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