Explore the Michelle Ostrove Blog

The holiday season can be a very stressful time with more traffic, crowds and shopping. Singing or playing the holiday songs on the piano impacts our brain function and our behavior. Voice lessons, piano lessons, or music in general can reduce stress, reduce pain, and reduce symptoms of depressions. Music also improves cognitive function (the way our brain makes connections to remember new things and our reasoning through logic), motor skills, spatial-temporal learning (problem solving) and neurogenesis (brains ability to…

There are three important elements that will create a real sense of emotion when you are singing or playing the piano. These elements work together to provoke feelings to the listening audience. They can bring a sense of urgency, sadness, happiness or fear in a matter of seconds. The three key elements are crescendos, tempo and quality of tone. Crescendos and decrescendos are all about the sound growing louder or getting softer, which is part of the dynamics of a…

How to naturally amplify your voice from the recent blog (Monday 11/15 “How To Naturally Amplify Your Voice”) discussed the chambers in your body that resonate sound. They are acoustic resonators for your voice along with the larynx and pharynx. Vocal articulators are also used to manipulate the sound as you resonate. All the sounds we make when we sing are the results of muscles contracting, air passing through the vocal tract, and articulators producing the words we sing. We…

We all know that the power for your voice comes from the diaphragm and breath support. But did you know that your vowel sounds and consonants play a very important role as well? Yes, they do! The vowel sounds start from the vibration of your vocal cords (folds) and the consonants are made by the exhaled air stream and they are formed by your mouth. What does that mean? Well, consonants can push out too much air, which will cause…

What are the basic fundamentals to a perfect vocal performance? There are four important components you need to master when you sing, in order to create a polished performance. The first component is having good posture. Stand up straight, reach both hands into the air above your head, now let the slowly come down to your sides. This is good posture…do not slouch. A hunched back or slouching shoulders does not provide proper support (read 8/25/20 blog “Proper Posture”). Good…

What brings music to life? Dynamics, they are the variations of loudness and softness between notes and phrases in a song. Dynamics offer, a singer or pianist (musician) a way to show expression and feeling in a song. Using a variation of loudness and softness in music builds a song a brings it to life! Otherwise, your music will fall flat and lifeless. To sing a song with the same volume and intensity throughout the song will make the song…

Everyone makes mistakes, it’s a process of learning and can help singer or pianist grow in the craft. You need to keep things in perspective. Every singer or musician (pianist) has made mistakes when playing or singing a song; no one is exempt from making a mistake in a performance. Mistakes will always happen; you will have good and bad performances. It’s not the mistakes that make you, it’s how you handle them after they have happened. Forgetting the lyrics,…

Your voice is a musical instrument, just like a piano or guitar. As a vocalist you need to have complete control of your voice to hold notes for an extended period of time or use dynamics in your singing. To sing without cracking or a break you must have breath – diaphragm support. Your diaphragm plays a significant role in breathing when you sing. Your vocal power, strength and control all come from the diaphragm. You are probably wondering “What…