Explore the Michelle Ostrove Blog

Many famous singers are not the most gifted soloists. Artists like Bob Dylan, Madonna, Kanye West and Paris Hilton are not technically gifted vocalists. To be success as a singer requires daily practice. Very few people are amazing singers from the beginning. The first step is to learn more vocal skills. We will look at a few important basics to create a good vocal foundation. The top qualities of a solid vocal foundation are pitch, clear enunciation, diaphragm and breath…

When you sing a song or play a song on the piano, it’s important that you connect to the song. The singer or pianist will need to feel and emotionally connect to the song. Sometimes people (including children) attach to the melody or beat.  You should pick a song that had some personal meaning to you. When a song is personally meaningful, your desire to share the message will drive your performance. This will instantly improve your performance because you…

It’s important for a singer to get comfortable with their voice and master healthy vocal technique. To gain confidence while singing requires practice in front of different settings. Try singing in a karaoke bar, open mic night, or even a family gathering. If you are singing in a new venue, go to the stage when no one else is around, walk the stage and get a feel for the venue. If it’s possible, check out the sound system and microphone.…

You need breath control to sustain or hold a note. There are two ways to hold a note, the first is with vibrato which is a fluctuation in pitch. The second way to hold a note is the opposite of singing with vibrato, it is singing with a straight tone or what I call holding the note solid in the tone with no fluctuation in pitch. Holding a note with no vibrato is not as easy as you think. If…

There is such a thing as vocal color; it is the distinct quality of tone that gives color and personality to your voice. Every voice has its own unique timbre. Once you have established good vocal technique you need to add different shades of color. It’s like adding highlights to your hair. It’s wonderful when you are gifted with flexible and colorful voice, but if you don’t have a beautiful singing voice, it can be developed. You can expand your…

Every singer has experienced the one place in a song that is a struggle. You know that part is coming up and you dread it! There is always going to be a section in every song that needs work and preparation before singing or playing the song live. How do you work through a troubled area in a song. The first thing you need to do is find out what the problem is. Is it range? Is it the phrasing?…

When a person has the determination, it means they have made a firm decision, set a goal and will not waver from the pursuit of achieving the goal. Whether it’s playing the piano, becoming a great singer, songwriter, or putting together a killer band, the artists who make it happen had a determination to make it happen. Determination gives you the motivation to get up in the morning and work hard at your goal. Pushing through every obstacle that gets…

There are many ways to improve your singing. There are a few things that are very important to build a solid vocal foundation. A singer’s pitch, emotion, diaphragm and breath support. Each of these components deals with a different aspect of singing. Pitch relies on your hearing, emotion deals with your feelings, diaphragm and breath support is improved through the muscles around the rib cage, diaphragm and abdominal muscles. The first important area of singing is to sing on pitch.…

There are three exercises that really strengthen your voice when you sing. The bubble or lip trill and tongue trill are my top two exercises. The third exercise is the straw technique and it can really impact your voice The straw exercise helps to strengthen your voice in so many different ways. I know it sounds silly, but it really works! There are many benefits from using this technique. The straw partially blocks air from coming out which creates a…

Every singer has experienced the dreaded crack or break in their voice. It can be embarrassing and also frustrating when this happens. It’s important to try and stay in the moment, but often the incident will cause a shift in your mind and attack your self-confidence. As a vocalist work on mastering the art of moving from one register to another smoothly without a break or shift in the voice (it’s called passaggio). There are two places, first one is…