Spring Sale (You Don't Want to Miss!)

In honor of Spring Break and it beginning to look a lot like spring everywhere, it gives me great pleasure to announce the Spring Sale of my eBook Ten Weeks to a Better Voice.

Ten Weeks to a Better Voice is the go-to guide for learning about and developing your best voice.  And as the title says, you'll do it in just 10 weeks.  The normal retail price for this eBook is $5.99, still an absolute bargain compared to a single $30, $40, or even $50 vocal session with a voice coach.  But because it's Spring Break week for me, the price is going to be $2.99 March 20-26th only.  To go to my Amazon page for this product, click here.

I don't write books that I myself can't use.  I would never place value in products that don't wow me because I don't have time for that and neither do you!  But this book is one I keep returning to over and over again because it has such practical advice on how to be the best singer I can be.  My favorite chapter is "Week Eight: Dealing with Performance Anxiety".

Want to know more about the book?  Here is the description:

So, you want to sing? Or maybe you already love to sing but want to know more about how your own voice works.  In just ten weeks, you can become the singer you've always wanted to be.

Ten Weeks to a Better Voice will help you:
-Increase your range
-Care for your voice for life
-Troubleshoot and eliminate common vocal problems
-Perform with ease and confidence

Even if you can't study with a vocal coach, this book will help you discover your individual voice and maximize your areas of strength.  Each chapter includes action steps to take your singing to the next level.  Get ready to sing it like you mean it!

Hopefully that description convinced you to check out the book, but if that didn't do it, here are two of the reviews from customers on Amazon.  One of them is a top 50 Amazon reviewer!

"This book is designed to get the beginning singer off to a good start: 'What you hold in your hands is a manual on the basics of vocal technique.' TEN WEEKS is designed to 'provide you with the tools to get you singing correctly with confidence.' 

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Week Four covers 'Strengthening the Head Voice.' It seems to me that head versus chest voice is a more advanced topic, but no harm in explaining that to the beginner right away."


"Kristin has done a fantastic job. It is like taking a college level vocal course and concentrating it into a powerful easy to understand reference guide you will use throughout your singing career. Many who sing for the most part do not understand their own voice and how to maximize and protect it. This book will definitely give them the information and edge to succeed."

My goal during 2016 is to reach and impact at least 100 singers who would like to get better at their craft.  This is such a great way to get that started. I really hope you'll consider investing in this book, especially at the rock-bottom price of $2.99!  You just can't beat it.  

Remember, Ten Weeks to a Better Voice will only be on sale for $2.99 from March 20-26th.  Follow this link to my product page on Amazon.  

Thank you for your awesome support!

Week Three: A Singing Space

(This post is part 3 of 10 in my series highlighting my new book, Ten Weeks to a Better Voice, available here .)

Week Three is all about gathering the materials you need to enhance your singing and also about establishing a space where you can "escape" to make music.

Never underestimate the importance of ambiance when you want to get some great practice in.  It's nice to have a place that you can call your own (even if it's just a couple of square feet) for being creative.  Once you've established your music space, fill it with items that motivate you to sing.  You could put a binder full of lyrics on a small table somewhere close and display a few of your favorite CDs or an MP3 player and headphones.  Some people even like to display inspirational sayings and quotes to help them get motivated.  Whatever makes you want to use your creative space-- put it in there!

I have three singing spaces that I visit each week.  Only one is located in my house.  My music room is where I teach lessons each week, learn songs for church, warm-up my voice, and write and produce music.  For a closer look at my music room, you can check out a previous post, the Making of a Music Room here.

My second space for creating and practicing music is my classroom at the elementary school where I teach music, which is really just a portable building.  When I first found out I would be teaching in a portable, I'll admit, I was a little disappointed, but I quickly grew attached to my little building which has affectionately become know as the "Music Castle" (you know, because I am the King and all!).

I like to keep the space open in the middle so students can easily move to the floor if we're doing an instrument activity.  Or they can stay seated in the chairs if we're singing, reading, or writing.  It may not look like much, but a lot of music is created and practiced between these four walls!

The third singing space I visit each week is the choir practice room at my church.  Sometimes we hold rehearsal in different rooms, depending on other events scheduled at the church on any given week, but as long as I have a keyboard, lyrics, an MP3 player with the songs, and chairs for all the choir members, I can practice anywhere.  During our choir rehearsal, we start out with warm-ups for about 5-10 minutes, then begin rehearsing the songs for the upcoming Sunday service and we work in any new music we need to learn as well.

Each of these spaces is different and each of them contributes to my life as a musician.  Of course, you really only need one great space to practice music in.  What's important is that you establish a place to practice and you visit there often, several times per week.  It needs to be a place, no matter how big or small that motivates you to S-I-N-G!

If you want more information on creating a singing space, be sure to pick up a copy of my book, Ten Weeks to a Better Voice on Amazon. Through August the 31st, you can get the eBook for a discounted price!

Happy Singing!

Ten Weeks eBook Sale!

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to take a minute and thank you for your overwhelming support of my new book, Ten Weeks to a Better Voice.  I am so excited that this product is finally available, both in eBook and paperback.  I have received so much positive feedback and support from all of you and I am so grateful!

That being said, I believe that there are many people out there who don't yet know about Ten Weeks and might be able to benefit from it.  So, for the last few days of August, my eBook will be on sale.  The sooner you purchase it, the deeper the discount!  Starting tomorrow, the 27th, you can get it as cheap as $1.99!  At this time, just the eBook is on sale.  Click here for the link to the eBook.

So, if you haven't had a chance to read Ten Weeks to a Better Voice yet, I hope you'll consider purchasing the eBook while it's on sale from Amazon.  If you have read it or know of someone who might enjoy reading it, please feel free to repost this or send them the link.

If you own the book, be sure to follow along with my week by week overview of the book right here on my blog.  Look for the next installment, Week Three, coming soon.

As always, thank you to my faithful readers!  Happy singing!

Kristin

Week One: The Biology of Singing

(This post is part 1 of 10 in my series highlighting my new book, Ten Weeks to a Better Voice, available here .)

Biology was not my favorite subject in high school.  In fact, anything science or math-related was not my favorite.  Yet somehow, my tenth grade biology teacher was always able to make biology fun.  Anytime we were watching a video that had the potential to be gross, our teacher always passed out BlowPops.  I used to think he was trying to gain "cool points" by doing that, but later realized that a student was much less likely to throw-up if he or she was sucking on candy.  Clever, clever, Mr. Biology!

Anyway, fast-forward to now, and would you believe that my first chapter in Ten Weeks to a Better Voice is mostly focused on biology?  I didn't realized how important it was until I began the quest to understand how exactly a person forms a single sound.

"Every sound you make starts with a breath.  You must have adequate air to produce an adequate sound.  When you engage your diaphragm (a muscle below your chest that aids in breathing), the lungs pump air up to the vocal cords (also known as the vocal folds), which then vibrate and form an audible pitch.  Then the articulators (the tongue, soft and hard palates, cheeks, and lips) share the sound as it flows from the mouth.  This is how a single sound is produced every time.  Now you can see how inadequate breath support will fail to produce the desired tone in singing.  If you were to take a shallow breath, not engaging the diaphragm, your vocal cords would not have enough air to produce a quality sound.  Then you might try to 'help' yourself by tensing the neck or lifting the tongue.  This type of singing, occurring repeatedly, would eventually cause you to lose your voice, because your throat is not meant to take on the work of the diaphragm.

The vocal cords are located in the larynx in your throat.  The size of the vocal cords determines the range of pitches that a person can sing.  The size also varies, depending if you're male or female, with men having deeper voices because of deeper, thicker folds.  Your genetics and gender determine which voice part you can comfortably sing." --An excerpt from Ten Weeks to a Better Voice

The first step to becoming a better singer is to gain knowledge on how your voice works.  In the paragraphs above, I refer to the diaphragm, the "singing muscle".  Even though you cannot physically feel the diaphragm,  you can imagine it as a horizontal band that lies just beneath your rib cage.  When you are practicing, imagine contracting and releasing that muscle as you inhale and then sing on the exhale.

In my study of the voice and in the years I've spent teaching lessons, failure to fully engage the diaphragm is the single most common problem I've observed from the singers I've worked with.  If you don't engage the diaphragm fully, you don't get adequate breath support, and then the sound of your singing comes out thin and weak.

This week, think about the different vocal problems that you deal with.  Can being aware of how your body produces sound help you with them?  Can you practice deep breathing and stretching before warm-ups to increase awareness of the diaphragm?  I hope this little biology lesson will help your singing this week!

Week Two will focus on stretches and warm-ups that will help you have more productive practice sessions!

The Traveling Saleswoman

Today is a day that ranks up there with my graduation from college, my wedding day, and the birth of my son. No kidding!

Today I received the most wonderful package in the world in the mail: fifteen pristine copies of my first ever self-published book, Ten Weeks to a Better Voice!  Now I know I wrote about the eBook a few blog posts ago, and while I'm definitely glad that the eBook is available for people who want it, there is just something about holding my dream in my hand.  Thumbing through the pages I spent so many hours researching, testing, and writing.  This book has been a labor of love for the past three years, and I'm glad to say that it can finally take on a life of its own.

Now, the name of the game is getting this book into the right hands.  It is available on Amazon, so it reaches a wide audience, but I want people to know that it's out there.  A short singing resource that will help the average Joe become a better singer.  Or the seasoned performer who needs some tips on caring for her vocal cords in the best ways.  This book includes those things.

So in honor of the new book, for the next ten blog posts, I will be writing brief summaries of the chapters, covering all ten weeks.  Then if you want more information, you'll be able to pick up a copy of the book or download the eBook on Amazon.

I once read about a woman who always kept a few copies of her own book in the trunk of her car.  That way, whenever she had the opportunity to sell one, she was prepared.  You can bet that I will be doing the same!  I called myself the "traveling saleswoman" on Facebook today, and I'm ok with that title because I truly believe in the product I'm peddling.

Those of you who have read my previous blog posts or know me can hopefully tell that I am passionate about singing and singing well.  The mission of Ten Weeks to a Better Voice is to help anyone learn to sing better, with or without a voice teacher.  So if you know of a singer who could benefit from the book, please share this post!  Or better yet, buy them copy of the book (shameless plug)!  The easiest way to find it is to go to Amazon's website and type in "Ten Week Voice" in the search engine.

On a sincere note, thank you to everyone who has already purchased the book, read it, or reviewed it on Amazon!  I could not live my dream without your help!

As always, Happy Singing!

(Here I am, cheesing it up with four copies of my book!  One of these could be yours! Thank you for your support.)

Ten Weeks to a Better Voice

Once again, I sit down to write a blog post and realize it's been more than several months since I updated this blog.  Hopefully my procrastination with this blog is a thing of the past because I now have an exciting new product available and I want to highlight it and expand upon it using this platform.

Last week, I released my first eBook, Ten Weeks to a Better Voice to the Amazon marketplace.  If you have a Kindle reader or even the Kindle app on your smart device or computer, you can purchase this eBook from Amazon for $5.99.

Here is the description of the book straight from Amazon:

Ten Weeks to a Better Voice is the handbook for singers of all levels who desire to improve their singing. In just two and a half months, you can expect to learn more about your own unique sound, improve the weakest areas in your range, and gain more confidence to perform for audiences of all sizes. Ten Week Voice is designed to work even if you can’t afford to take voice lessons! This book covers the following topics: 

• Getting started with singing 
• Voice warm-ups and stretches before singing 
• Creating a space to practice music 
• Improving the head voice 
• Strengthening the chest voice 
• Developing the mixed voice 
• Emotions in singing 
• Dealing with performance anxiety 
• Solving common vocal problems 
• Finding your performing niche 

The author believes that anyone who desires to improve in singing can do so by employing the tips and techniques contained in this book. Each chapter includes Singer’s Next Steps which will help you incorporate your newly-acquired knowledge into your singing to see and hear results immediately! 

I can't tell you how excited I've been to release this vision into the world!  It was born as a result of so many people sharing their vocal concerns with me or asking me how they could increase their ranges.  I wanted to share this valuable information in one place that could serve as a resource singers can return to again and again.  I also wanted to make the tips and techniques accessible for a small price so even singers who can't afford voice lessons can benefit.  

I hope you'll consider purchasing this eBook if you are a singer and want to learn more about the craft.  In celebration of the release of this book, in the upcoming posts I will be highlighting and expanding upon different chapters of the Ten Week Voice and also providing incentives to purchase the eBook.

By the way, if you've purchased the eBook and read it, I want to hear from you!  Post a comment on this blog, on my facebook page, and/or write a review on Amazon.  I would love to know how it helped your singing. 

Thank you for your support!  I couldn't do what I do each day without you, my fellow singers and musicians!  You are truly my muse!

Ten Weeks to a Better Voice (Click here to view and purchase my new eBook)