Aria guides: Embroidery Aria

How-to

Have you ever been faced with an ugly truth that's hard to deny? That's the gist of the stunning "Embroidery Aria", sung by Ellen Orford in Britten's Peter Grimes. The "Embroidery Aria" is no easy sing, and as you work on it in the practice room and with your teachers and coaches, we can help you get off on the right track with our latest Aria Guide:

Aria guides: the Composer's Aria

How-to

It's brisk, colourful, more than a little meta in subject matter, and it's a trouser role to boot. It's a densely packed aria that shows off your goods, and there's a fine line to tread between singing beautifully in the way that Strauss so often asks for, and pushing your voice into the realm of screaming.

4 foreign language challenges for singers

How-to

Without enough nasal quality in those very particular French vowels, you'll sound like an awkward American, speaking Italian with a bad head cold; go too far with your nasality, and you can be accused of making a gross mockery of what French sounds like to non-French people.

Music degrees & expectations: 4 tips for new students

How-to

Remember that being able to call yourself a Curtis student or a Juilliard student or say you attend the Conservatoire is a statement about status, and no indicator of your musicianship. So, be fair to your chosen school and what it can offer; more importantly, be honest with yourself about your academic goals.

Surprising practice tips: 4 arias to try too fast

How-to

Music that's meant to be slow can come with side effects like heaviness and stagnancy, which make the singing process unnecessarily difficult. Often the easiest way to find an aria's shape - and uncover some decent phrases - is to practice it at a metronome marking that's decidedly too fast.

The practice tip you don't want to hear

How-to

That's where slowness comes in. It's the great magnifying glass, the exposer of weak spots. It's in slow practice that you find the crux of the problem, the ignored detail, the missing piece that makes the difference between a section of music that's hit-and-miss, and one that's consistent like a Swiss watch.

4 English language habits that make a singer's life harder

How-to

There are some words that aren't actually helped by being overly literal with the pronunciation. The T's in words like "better" and "getting" have a natural tendency to sound more like D's; depending on how they're set, the sung versions of these words come out more clearly by keeping these "lazy" D sounds. An airy T sound can actually obscure the sound of the word, since it's unfamiliar to the ear.

Infographic: exercising for your art

How-to

Since we're in the business of helping you all stay passionate about it, we're pleased to share this great infographic from the folks over at TakeLessons.com. In the midst of all the things there are to learn about singing and musicianship, it can be easy to skip the bare essentials, like keeping your body healthy, limber, and prepped for great artistry.

Opera shorthand, part II: Proben & Fächer

How-to

Last year, we brought you some tips on opera-insider jargon, and how to speak the industry shorthand. Part I focused on the names of operas and their nicknames, and in part II, we're talking rehearsals and types of voices. So, if you're hoping to infiltrate opening-night opera parties, or just keep up with the opera talk with your singer friends, we can help you with the shortened lingo.

4 arias & their common misconceptions

How-to

Daughters have been making pouting faces and puppy eyes at their fathers to get what they want for centuries, and Puccini encapsulates the strategy perfectly. "Babbino" is like saying "Daddy", or even "Daddykins", and to sing it on top of the lush tune is the equivalent of crocodile tears. "I'll throw myself off a bridge", Lauretta paraphrases (twice), if she doesn't get her way. Ugh.