Explore the Michelle Ostrove Blog

What is vocal balance? When you are working on your voice to become a better singer, you need to balance the two important functions of your voice: the airflow and the muscles you use to sing. You really need an expert vocal coach to learn to balance your voice. Training your voice all on your own is difficult, if not impossible, especially in the early years. If you have too much airflow, the vocal cords (folds) can get overpowered and…

One of the most important qualities a singer or pianist can possess is confidence! The more you perform the more your confidence will grow. This is a key issue for your development if you want to be a performing artist. Being confident is nothing more than believing in yourself; confidence comes from within. You need confidence as much as you need talent and ability to play piano or sing. Many professional artists struggle with stage fright. You can manage and…

All great singers share five attributes and you can master these traits, but it takes dedication and work (practice)! When you think of an amazing singer, what do you notice? Most likely it’s their tone, how their voice sounds when singing a song. The first attribute is belting out the notes. Belting is not yelling; it’s producing a strong and powerful sound using breath & diaphragm support. Breathing into the diaphragm and exhaling using the diaphragm and surround muscles in…

Being nervous is natural, if you don’t address it your nerves might keep you from growing as an artist. Everyone deal with being nervous, whether it’s singing in front of people or playing the piano for an audience. Every singer or pianist has been nervous the first, second and third time they have performed in front of other people. They felt exactly like you! They got scared too! The difference between you and a famous singer or pianist is they…

Your attitude will determine your altitude in life. In business, people would rather work with someone with a good attitude and personality. If someone is very talented and they are hard to work with, or come across as a know it all, most people do not want to work with them. They leave no room for other opinions, thinking their way is the only way. When you work with individuals that are uplifting, loyal, positive and do what they say…

Every singer and musician have a story of how their path lead to success and no two are alike. Justin Bieber was discovered on Youtube and Arianna Grande started singing the national anthem for hockey, basketball and football games, did a Broadway musical “13.” Arianna was hired for a role in the Nickelodeon TV show “Victorious,” from that point her career blossomed. Brittany Spears Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake started on the Mickey Mouse Club, but they all have their…

No one likes the word failure, but everyone experiences it and no one likes to fail. You can fail at something small or large; it doesn’t matter but failure drains your ego and self-esteem. Whether it’s singing a song or playing the piano and getting negative response, it hurts. No matter what the scenario, small like mean comments or large, like losing a job or getting turned down for something you really wanted. You have to let things go and…

Every singer strives to sing with control and power in their voice, very few start out that way. It’s important to create a consistent sound from top to bottom when singing. It’s important to learn how to bridging the gap between registers. The powerful voice sounds full, yet released (not forced). The full and healthy sound (with ease) has a lot to do with three techniques that we will be discussing today. If you fail to use good technique moving…

It’s easy to identify which students will go the farthest as a singer or pianist. It’s not always the one with the most talent, it’s the students who enjoy the process of learning how to sing or play the piano. There is a real interest in understanding, learning, and enjoying the practice. Have you ever worked on a song or songs, over and over, perfecting your technique and realized that you’ve been working on these songs for an hour or…

The vocal onset is how you approach a note when you sing. It’s described as the way you start singing a note. It’s about the breath and vocal cords (folds) come together at the start of a note. One of the first things I tell a singer as they begin a song, is to capture the audience’s attention with the first word(s) that you sing. Don’t start on a limp, wishy washy note. Start on a solid, strong (diaphragm and…