Sometimes in class, especially on days where students are under the weather or super tired, we do Vocal Analysis. Meaning, the student will observe whether the vocalist in the video hast good or bad technique (yes even some famous people have bad technique), how strong their stage presence & emotional implementation is, which breathing technique they use, if they are in service of the audience or themselves etc. and lastly what their takeaway is from observing. And since MJ is on everyone's lips at the moment, it's the perfect occasion to share one of my favorite videos from my vocal-analysis-list, because he was the perfect example for the following aspects: 1. Dropping of the jaw! - It is evident that this man has practiced projection, vowel placement, dropping the jaw and overall use of his oral cavity, so much to perfection, that his TMJ and jaw muscles are visibly stretched! He has what I call the Nut-Cracker-Jaw! A hallmark that all highly trained singers have. 2. Vocal Apparatus Positioning and Vocal Closure! - Right in the first sentence you can see a beautiful combination of different Vocal Apparatus Positioning plus a combination of different degrees of vocal closure: On the words: "A willow deeply" we have Concave Vocal Apparatus Positioning with Full Vocal Closure, and on the word: "scarred" we have Natural almost Convex-leaning Vocal Apparatus Positioning with a bit of Falsetto=Breathiness! .... He continues that throughout the whole verse, followed by Concave Vocal Apparatus Positioning with Light Distortion on "Cause they got no place to be" and then moving to Convex Vocal Apparatus Positioning with Strong Distortion on "that's why I'm starting with me" !!! Well dang! Try pulling that off in every single sentence in only 40 seconds! 😅 UNBELIEVABLE ain't it!? And there are so many more masterful things going on in this performance, but some of the main takeaways I hope you'll remember are the following: Besides the fact that tons of practice can unlock this level of greatness, there is another common challenge that most of my students face, which is that we often don't realize how much the fear of being judged actually constricts our body movements. When you think your mouth is far opened, you are most likely still only at about 20% of how much professional singers actually open their mouths. And we are just talking about the mouth and not the full body. And Michael is an excellent example of this. I highly suggest watching this at least 3 times.

This is a friendly reminder that your Vocal Apparatus Positionings require different breathing techniques: Concave Vocal Apparatus Positioning (Operatic or Belting) --> Belly Breathing Natural & Convex Vocal Apparatus Positioning --> Flank Breathing Not only can you find the complete insights about all the breathing techniques and vocal apparatus positionings in our 3.5h Vocal Mastery Course on here, but since all the videos that I made about these topics are pretty old by now and on my DissiNotRA YouTube Channel that has transformed into a reaction channel, I am happy to announce that I am in the process of recording mini tutorials on a whole new dedicated YouTube Channel where all of the above will be covered in short versions as well. Much love to everyone and stay vocally healthy! 💜

ALWAYS REMEMBER: - Singing is an Athletic Sport! - Warmup & Cleansing of the Vocal Cords go hand in hand! Meaning, If no phlegm is loosening and moving while warming up, something can't be right. HERE ARE 5 FACTORS TO ALWAYS CHECK BEFORE JUDGING OR PANICKING! - Not warmed up? = Diaphragm, agility & control, and range won't activate. - NO JUDGING or PANICKING! You wouldn't expect a gymnast to perform without warming up. - Just woke up? = Higher chest range will feel hard to reach! - NO JUDGING or PANICKING! Either you give it about 2 hours, or you just accept that Warmup & Cleansing take a bit longer than usual. - Slept only a couple of hours? = Higher chest & head range, and overall performance feels super exhausting! - NO JUDGING or PANICKING! Warmup & Cleansing just take a bit longer than usual. - Just ate? Especially dairy, chocolate, spicy? = A bunch of phlegm will hang on your vocal cords. - NO JUDGING or PANICKING! Either you give it about 2 hours, or you just accept that Warmup & Cleansing take a bit longer than usual. Cleansing the vocal cords is a practicable skill that every vocalist should have in their tool box. - Sick? Flu, acid reflux, lingering cough? - NO JUDGING or PANICKING! Warmup & Cleansing just take longer than usual. Therapeutic exercises have to be applied. Another essential that every vocalist should have in their arsenal! Attached you will hear a Whatsapp voice message that I left my friend (in German), cancelling the birthday plans, cause well... as you can hear, the flu hit my vocals really hard over night! 😅 BUT GUESS WHAT! I sang at full capacity the same afternoon. And you know why? Because I know what and how to do it. 😏 ... Warmup & Cleansing took me a staggering 45min tho! But zero panic! 👩🏻‍🏫 Much love to everyone and never forget, the world needs your talent, otherwise you wouldn't have it ! 💜

For a little over a year I have worked on this extensive and super in-depth Vocal Mastery Course. After being asked for many years by my students to finally release a course with MP3s and PDFs and all sorts of learning material, it's finally here. A 3,5 hour course. I literally poured my heart into this project. 👩🏻‍💻🥰 I have the most wonderful, inspiring and talented students, so I am sure you all will love this space. 🫂 It's an honor working with you all! 🙏🏼 Much love, DissiNotRA 👩🏻‍🏫

have you ever had one back window of a car down on a highway and it causes a horrible fast "thumping" sensation? I feel that in my ear sometimes when I'm trying to tune my cords to a note. is that because I'm a little sharp and/or flat and the sound waves are out of alignment?