Andrés, thank you for posting because you wrote everything I had been thinking, too, but I feel like I am repeating myself again from all the other singing threads I linked to with my earlier message. Peter, I will send you a private message on this, but my voice teacher says that for free you can send her a tape of your singing and she will respond with some analysis of the direction in which you need to seek guidance (singing in the back of the throat, scooping the notes, blocking the sound on the roof of the mouth, breath support or whatever it is she can hear from a tape). BUT, again, I repeat what Andrés wrote. One cannot really learn how to use your singing voice to its maximum ability from a book or tape, although you can learn information about singing from a good source as Andrés referred to. Each individual is different and a teacher needs to be able to listen to what you are doing and hear how your voice improves as you work on what you need to learn. Don't worry about being turned into an opera singer!! Only a person born with the type of vocal cords that could create the operatic sound can learn to sing that way, and learning the good techniques that will protect your voice is not going to make you sound like you are singing opera. If you are serious about protecting your vocal cords from damage and having a lifelong ability of singing with endurance, then learning vocal skills is important. Another advantage of studying singing is that you HEAR what other singers are doing when you understand the mechanics. You listen to recordings and suddenly realize which singers do not have enough air to get through a phrase, which ones are off key or blocking the sound in the roof of their mouth. The advent of microphones and studio manipulation makes up for alot of weaknesses in singers.

Right now I am listening to an NPR radio story on Bessie Smith and the St. Louis Blues with Louis Armstrong on coronet (1925) with a harmonium, also! She had a voice with power and control and support. It's a great performance. The perfect voice for that song.