The Voice Science Podcast

Practice Does Not Make Perfect? What 10,500 Twins Reveal

Practice Does Not Make Perfect The Voice Science Podcast · Season 3, Episode 4 What can identical twins tell us about practice and musical ability? Following our episod

How Much Does Deliberate Practice Really Matter?

Deliberate practice matters—but how much does it explain? Following our two episodes on Ericsson, Krampe, and Tesch-Römer’s influential 1993 paper, we explore Macnamara,

The 10,000 Hour Rule Is a Myth, Part 2: Does Deliberate Practice Create Experts?

In Part 2 of our exploration of Ericsson, Krampe, and Tesch-Römer’s landmark 1993 paper, we turn to Study 2 and its comparison of expert and amateur pianists. The expert

The 10,000 Hour Rule Is a Myth, Part 1: What Ericsson Actually Found

The Voice Science Podcast is back, and we’re kicking off the new season by dismantling one of the most repeated ideas in learning theory. The 10,000-hour rule is everywh

Summer Break!

A quick but important update from the VoSci team — and a preview of what’s coming in September. The Voice Science Podcast is taking a summer break. When we return, expec

Breath Support, Part 2 — Where the Air Goes: Finding and Fixing the Leak

Last episode, the premise was simple: when it comes to breath, more is almost always the wrong answer. This episode makes good on the promise — finding the leak and fixin

Breath Support, Part 1 — Why "More" Is Almost Always the Wrong Answer

“More air. More support. Bigger. Push more. Give me more.” If you’ve spent any time in a voice lesson or choir rehearsal, you’ve heard it. And according to Josh Manuel, f

Do You Know Your Type? A Model for Understanding Different Types of Students

Not all students want the same thing — and assuming they do is one of the most common sources of frustration for both teachers and students. In this episode, contributor

Why Does My Voice Strain? (And How to Fix It)

Vocal strain is one of the most common complaints singers bring into the studio — and one of the most misunderstood. In this episode, Drew walks through the mechanical ca

A Case for Voice Teacher/Trainer Licensure

Anyone can legally teach voice lessons in the United States. No degree. No clinical hours. No exam. No license. In this episode, contributor Timothy Wilds makes a direct

The Reason You Can't Sing Has Nothing to Do With Your Voice

When someone tells me they can't sing, I usually hear: I tried, it didn't sound right, so I assumed the instrument was broken. It almost never is. This episode

Your Choir Director Is Your Real Voice Teacher — For Better or Worse

Your Choir Director Is Your Real Voice Teacher — For Better or Worse | The Voice Science Podcast Has your choir director ever told you to "open your mouth," "create mor

You Can’t Actually Sing from the Diaphragm - Here’s What Actually Works

Overview A complete rework of Episode 1. Expanded with two new sections — symptom mapping (what failing breath support looks and sounds like) and studio observations (te

The Art of Phrasing

Why Technically Perfect Singing Is Boring — And What Actually Moves People | The Voice Science Podcast (Title A — A/B test against: "What 'Phrase It Better' Act

The Pros & Cons of Voice Classification

Are you a soprano? A baritone? A mezzo? If you’ve ever found yourself obsessing over your voice type, you’re not alone — and this episode is exactly what you need to hear

Teaching the Singer in Front of You

Most voice teachers teach the same lesson to every student. Same warmup, same exercises, same repertoire suggestions. It's efficient, it's comfortable—and it sh

Improving the Voice Training Experience

Voice training has the potential to be deeply rewarding—for students and teachers alike. But too often, that early excitement fizzles into disappointment and a disappeari

The Imagery Debate: Do Metaphors Help or Hurt Your Singing?

"Descend on that high note like a leaf gently falling onto a lake." Beautiful image. But what does a singer actually do with that? In this episode, we tackle the imager

The Formant Formula: Teaching Contemporary Commercial Music

The finale of our five-part formant series tackles the question every classically-trained voice teacher faces: how do you teach CCM without making students sound operatic

Just Sing What's On The Page

"Just sing what's on the page." The advice that made me feel slapped across the face—until I realized I'd been confusing inspiration with artistry for years. T