My goodness,

These are all the ideas that have been floating around in my head too. Skepticism versus believers. I am glad to hear this has worked for some of you, especially Robin - that is great. I have studied some Alexander method and definitely think there is a lot that is useful in that method. I am sure there is a lot that is useful in Speech Level singing, however, I am skeptical when one practitioner puts down others and then charges a bundle for you to study with them, and sites a lot of pop icons to convince you (which he did by the way). I have read many of Alice's threads and have contributed at times. She is a great resource.

Let me ask a personal question. This teacher said that I had a "serious" problem. I am tightening the muscles right below my chin when I go up the scale. You can feel these muscles by putting you thumb under your chin while you sing. My voice teacher agrees that I am doing it, but does not think it is a problem. He thinks that it is one of the ways I am creating a traditional sound, rather than the open operatic sound. So, it is an interesting question. Do I fix my serious problem, or keep singing the same way, or try to split the difference (what I will probably do). Also, I am not suffering from vocal strain that I notice at this point, and my voice is generally described as open clear, lilting, words that don't indicate that the listeners are hearing a strained tightness. Any thoughts?

Ok, enough typing.

Claire