Stepping into 2022

STEPPING INTO 2022

Can you believe we are about to wrap up 2021? In many ways it was just a blur. Now we look forward to a new year and hopefully a good one.

If you are like me, you may have made the same or similar new year’s resolutions every year. Lose weight. Make more money. Get organized. Stop procrastinating. Those are a few of mine.  Now I just say, “Ditto” every year. Lol.

2021 may not have been much improvement over 2020, but maybe for some of you it was better. I know I didn’t get to the end of the year without the loss of loved-ones, and a few other disappointments. When it comes to our singing, I think it’s a good idea to take a step back and review our year and make some intentions for the next year. But looking ahead I want to have a positive outlook and embrace the new adventure that is 2022.

So here is my encouragement for you for 2022. I always like rhymes and catchy sayings and they are usually cheesy. Here it is for the upcoming year:

BE YOU IN TWENTY TWO

This is a singing blog, so what does that mean for singers?

As we go along in our singing journey, we continue to learn techniques and do exercises to improve our voices in one way or another. We admire great singers and strive to sound like them and try to figure out what the heck they are doing to get that awesome sound. Sometimes we end up feeling not as good, not worthy of singing at all and maybe even consider quitting.

It’s one thing to study the greats and learn from them. I’m all for that. But think for a minute. Maybe they sound that way because they sound that way. Not that they didn’t work on their voices, but they worked and experimented and discovered what their voices did best.  Make that your goal for 2022. Be the best you.

The over-riding message I want to encourage you with is to MAKE A DECISION TO BE A JOYFUL SINGER NO MATTER WHAT.  We all got into this singing thing because it gave us joy at the beginning. We love to sing. Don’t forget that. So how do we keep the joy and make progress and really be ourselves? Here are three ideas:

1.     Take a look back. I’m sure I say this every year but that’s ok. Realize singing will be a never-ending journey. There is always something new to learn. If we base our happiness on reaching a certain skill set and keep moving the line of what that is, we will never be happy. It’s like deciding to walk to the horizon and you walk all day and get exhausted and never reach it. This will keep you unhappy. But stop and turn around and look and measure where you came from at your starting point. You will see all the progress and realize you have gained so much great skill and experience. Take time to appreciate that and count those blessings. Even the so-called failures. We always learn more when we fail because there really is no failure. It’s just feed- back.

2.     Envision what you want for your singing experience. Go ahead and make some goals for your voice. Maybe they are technical goals like expanding range or learning to belt or even learning a genre you have never sung. Maybe it’s more how you want to experience your voice. Maybe join a choir for the first time, or book a coffee house and do a set or surprise someone with a Valentine song or even audition for a musical. Visualize it, feel it and work toward it. If you are realistic about your voice, (knowing what limits you do have…we all have them) you can sing just about anything you desire. You will be singing your way, with your voice.

3.     Commit to steps and actions in order to achieve your goals. It’s the small consistent steps we take that create the habits we need to achieve our goals. So steps could be, regularly scheduling practice times, learn a new song every week, set regular time aside to write songs, take care of your physical health, invest in voice lessons or whatever you need to do to get going. Make a list and write it down.

My overall theme for this year for me is to decide be a joyful singer always. I strongly recommend that for you too.  There is a misconception that if we are happy with our voice, we won’t make any progress with it. We feel we must be unhappy with it so we will work harder. Actually that is a very negative approach and you will actually make faster progress if you enjoy and love your own voice. Remember, I say this all the time: We take care of things we love. So love your voice enjoy it, and take care of it and it will respond in ways you never imagined.

If you’d like some help with your singing journey, I would love to work with you.  Having a singing coach can speed up your progress. A coach can show you in 20 minutes what it took them 20 years to learn. Contact me for a free discovery call to see if we make a good match.

I do wish you all the best for the New Year. May you stay safe and healthy and be abundantly blessed!

Stay brilliant and sing on,

love, Rita

How to Avoid Vocal Damage

A couple of months ago, I had a fall when I was out on my daily walk. I tripped and fell straight down onto my chest onto the sidewalk. I managed to get up very slowly and walk the remaining 6 blocks home. The resulting injury was that the ligaments that are attached to the muscles, cartilages and rib bones got pulled, strained and torn. It only hurt when I breathed or moved. Lol.

I could take shallow breaths but not a rib expanding singer’s breath. Singing was not possible for several weeks. I was able to hum and do gentle warm ups of short phrases, but nothing with volume or long sustaining notes.

You never know what can take your voice down. I was thankful that I didn’t have any gigs lined up.  This was an unusual circumstance…not your typical vocal injury.  It hit me out of the blue. It wasn’t really a vocal injury, but it stopped me from singing.

So it got me to thinking about ways we can avoid vocal damage and what to do if we think we have damage. I hope that it is important to you to keep your voice functioning well. As singers, it is imperative to make it a priority.

This will not be a comprehensive solution for everything. Just an overview. In case you weren’t sure, I’m not a doctor.

Three signs you should see a doctor:

1. If you have two weeks of persistent hoarseness or voice change such as a loss of range.

2. Chronic vocal fatigue.

3. Throat pain or discomfort with voice use.

Your voice will let you know when all is not well. If it feels or sounds different from the way it’s always felt or sounded…pay attention
Signs of vocal problems:

·   Hoarseness or laryngitis that doesn’t go away.

·   Loss of range

·   Feeling like you have to clear your throat all the time.

·   A husky tone that developed over time or suddenly.

·   Getting vocally tired sooner than usual.

·   Feeling like you have a lump in your throat all the time.

·   Getting laryngitis often.

Not all of these things require a trip to the doctor. You can check into what might be causing it. Examples: Can you hear yourself at rehearsals? Are you eating late at night and getting acid reflux? Changing a behavior may clear up the problem.

Most issues can be resolved. Serious damage results in things like nodes, polyps and hemorrhages.

So what causes vocal Damage?

ABUSE: Smoking, vaping, not drinking enough water, screaming, yelling, coughing and frequent throat clearing. These activities can lead to vocal trauma. One wrong scream can do you in.

I work with a lot of teenagers and impressing them to not scream is almost impossible. I usually will not teach cheerleaders because they are usually chronically hoarse.

I have a lot of students that go to winter or summer camp with their church groups and almost always come back hoarse. The peer pressure to scream keeps them from holding back. It’s a little frustrating.

So screaming at football games, on a roller coaster, or yelling over a crowd in a restaurant are examples that can cause a stressful situation for your voice. If you have a vocal stressful situation, take vocal rest a day or two…silence would be best and drink plenty of liquids.

MISUSE: Examples would be speaking too high or too low in your natural range. I have a student that babysits early in the morning and she talks in a very high voice to the little kids. She found herself getting hoarse. I told her to warm up as though she was going to sing, and that helped.

When we try to speak too low because we want to sound “professional,” we have trouble projecting that and that can be wearing.

A word about vocal fry: Vocal fry is not unhealthy. We use it a lot in vocal therapy. Where we run into real trouble with vocal fry is, when we try to project with it. Then the false folds come in and we have constriction, and that can cause damage.

OVERUSE: Certain occupations use their voices a lot and get over -use. Occupations such as: podcast hosts, fitness instructors, teachers, people who work in a noisy environment, (restaurant, construction, warehouse) singers, actors, performers, salespeople, pastors, sports coaches, trial lawyers etc…Also high school theater students who have weeks of long rehearsals, and of course, cheerleaders.

Imagine if you have one of these vocally intense jobs and you want to sing as well, extra care must be taken.

Other causes of vocal problems: Allergies, sinus infections, medications, acid reflux, and neurological disorders.

So what is a singer to do? Here are some ways you can avoid and remedy the problems.

·   Practice overall health practices. Remember, what is good for your body is good for your voice.

·   Warm up and cool down

·   Adjust your environment.  Add humidity if necessary.  Use a mic if you teach.

·   Hydrate ½ oz of water per pound of body weight.

·   Consider your voice like a savings account. Spend wisely.

·   Use an effortful voice only when necessary.

·   Speak to people in close proximity.

·   Reduce talk time before and after long speaking or singing engagement.

·   Incorporate vocal rest into the day.

·   Try to avoid coughing and throat clearing.

 If you feel you need medical help for your voice, see an ENT or laryngologist. A speech language pathologist might be in order to help you with habits that might be causing problems. Don’t hesitate if you feel something isn’t right and isn’t going away.  

I hope these tips have helped. If I can help you with your singing journey in any way, connect with me by emailing from this website. 

Stay brilliant and sing on.

WHAT GIFTS DID 2020 BRING?

As we head into 2021, many of us are thinking, “Good riddance 2020.” In fact, on my calendar on the date of December 31st, I have written, “Buh Bye 2020.” The year was like no other and I don’t need to tell you how it has impacted so many lives. Who would have dreamed this would happen?

 But have you thought about what gifts did 2020 bring to you? You are probably saying, “What? 2020 was the worst year ever!” But along with all its challenges, if you stop and think about it, there were gifts as well.

 For me, like many people forced to stay home, I got the gift of time.  For those months that everything was closed up, I was home with time to think about what I want I really want to do and what is really important in life. (Hint: it wasn’t material things) I’ve learned how much I value connections with the people in my life more than ever.

 Like other voice teachers around the globe ALL teaching went online. So the gift was I that I got very good at teaching on Zoom.

 This was a year of learning more tech stuff than I ever would have. I am tech resistant, so I still only do what I want to do as far as the digital world goes.

 Because I had no gigs or speaking engagements, I had more time to write and create courses that I never would have. I had to lean on what I know about keeping my voice in shape without the incentive of an upcoming gig to spur me on. It actually made me a more disciplined singer.

 What about you?  What gifts did you receive? What have you discovered about yourself in 2020? Are you more resilient than you thought? Did you write new songs? Did you develop an appreciation of simple things? 

 Let’s face it. We could talk all day about how horrible this year has been. I don’t know how it negatively impacted you. I pray you stayed healthy and safe, as well as your loved ones. But I know many people lost jobs, did get sick, lost loved ones, or perhaps became depressed and lonely.  We’ve all been touched by this virus in one way or another.

 Most of us would just like to hit the “reset” button and have a better experience for 2021.  But as we are all thinking about resolutions and goals this time of year, will there be room for the new habits and plans we are making? If we carry all the pain, anxiety, fear, and anger that 2020 brought many of us into 2021, there won't be room for the positive changes that will make our dreams come true.  And since this is a singing blog, stress and anxiety can make singing very difficult.

 It’s like when you go to the grocery store without first taking inventory on what you already have, and bring home the groceries, to find you have to clean out all the expired and moldy food in the fridge and maybe you accidently bought food you already had on hand. So a better plan would be to clean out the fridge, make a list of what you need and then go to the store and get your groceries.

 So here’s what I’m doing. I’m extracting the good I got from 2020 and carrying that into 2021. The negative yucky stuff… I’m leaving it behind. I’m taking the best and leaving the rest.

So as you think about the new year, instead of just resolutions and goals, take inventory and  think about what you already have and who you already are and expand from there. One thing to leave behind is any negative self-talk. DO NOT beat yourself up if you are a singer and you did not take advantage of the time and improve your voice. Even if you didn’t sing a single note all year, don’t feel any sense of failure. Empty out your “fridge” of putting yourself down. It’s not going to carry you higher. Leave that behind so you aren’t weighed down as you move forward.

 I feel very optimistic about 2021. It may not be perfect. There will be a lot of adjustments for all of us. I’m holding the vision of an open world with hugs, gatherings, music and health. As we step into it with care, let’s not forget the lessons and gifts we gained when the world came to a halt.

 If I can help you with your singing journey in any way, feel free to connect with me. Drop me an email or send me a private message on Face Book.

 Happy New Year to each one of you.

 Stay brilliant and sing on!

GETTING BACK INTO VOCAL SHAPE AFTER TAKING A BREAK

When the pandemic hit in March, our lives were turned upside down. So many activities came to a screeching halt. If you are a singer, I know your singing activities were all shut down, such as choirs, high school musicals, night club gigs, recitals and more.  

So, what have you been doing? How have you spent these months? I am not singing nearly as much as I was. I still teach, but I’m not performing anywhere or preparing to sing anywhere. I started finding my voice losing steam after singing for a short time. It was time for me to take my own advice that I give to my students every day.

If you stopped singing altogether, and are ready to get back to it, treat your voice the same way you would treat your body after not going to the gym for four or five months. You wouldn’t go back to the gym and bench press the same weight you did five months ago. You need to build back up. Being a vocal athlete, you are working little tiny muscles within your instrument in your body and care should be taken when starting back up.

So first, assess your voice and be honest. You may have been singing a little or maybe even have continued voice lessons. Good for you! Perhaps you just aren’t at the place you were when you were performing or rehearsing several days a week. Here are some tips to get you back on track:

1.  GET YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH IN LINE. You know the drill: Up your water intake; clean up the diet if comfort food has taken over your life; Get plenty of sleep; Exercise. Nothing new.

2.      ALIGN, MOVE, BREATHE.  The whole body sings, so whatever you have learned about alignment, movement and breathing, start with these things. Do stretches. Check in with your body and notice any tightness in your joints and loosen them up. Align your body, by stacking it up from the feet, hips, shoulders, and head. Don’t stiffen up like a soldier, but don’t collapse the chest or slouch. Activate your muscles for breathing by expanding your ribs on inhales. Get the whole body ready to sing.

 3.  BACK TO THE WARM-UP HABIT. If you have not been singing at all, the warm-ups will actually double as strength builders at first. I’m a huge fan of SOVTEs (semi-occluded vocal tract exercises.) I call them low impact warm-ups. These include anything that partially blocks airflow such as sirens on an ng, singing through a straw, lip trills, tongue trills, and fricatives. Try gliding through your range as low and as high as you can go for a few minutes. Sing a song or do scales with a straw. If you vocalize 5 minutes at a time with an SOVTE several times a day, you will be surprised how quickly your voice will respond. This is a safe way to get things moving again. After a few minutes of SOVTEs, open up the gates and vocalize with open vowels throughout your entire range. After getting the voice warm, start going through your songs and getting them back in shape.

4.  SLOWLY INCREASE TIME. The first two or three weeks back at it, I suggest singing with intention every other day. What do I mean by that? We often sing a little here and there, washing dishes, in the shower or in the car. That’s fine. I encourage all singing. It all counts! But when you sing with intention, it is a time of skill and strength building. For the first couple of weeks practice with intention every other day for about 20 or 30 minutes. This includes exercises and singing songs you are working on. Then you can add days and add time until you can sing at least an hour straight without getting hoarse or over tired. You can continue increasing the time until you are at least where you were before you took a break. I always suggest taking a day off every week to give your voice a rest.

5.  TURN UP THE VOLUME WITH CARE. When you are getting back into vocal shape, it isn’t wise to start with your most intense belt song. But don’t sing everything  breathy either. Easy does it on the volume. Try sustaining notes going slowly from soft to loud and bring it back soft again. (Messa di Voce exercises) Sing your songs at a lighter intensity and build it back up to performance volume. You will be glad you took your time to do this. You don’t want to get hoarse and be forced to be on vocal rest for a week or two. Stability out -weighs pressed and pushed volume. Once you can sing at your former intensity, do it! Take that voice for a run at least three days out of the week.

6.  BRING UP THE RANGE BIT BY BIT. When you first assess your voice, you may be disappointed that you can’t sing as high as you did a few months ago. Don’t worry. Your range will come back quickly. It didn’t go anywhere. You just need to access it by gently bringing up your range step by step. Start vocalizing in your comfortable range then in each practice session bring up the range a half step at a time during an exercise such as a scale or an arpeggio. You can also take a song a half step higher and so on.  Within a few weeks you will have access to your full range and if you keep it up, perhaps you will increase your range higher than it was before.

7.  TRY SOMETHING NEW. This is a perfect time to learn new songs, work on your musicality, and try new styles.  If you don’t already have a vocal coach, this would be a great time to look into that. A voice teacher can safely get you back to speed efficiently. A great advantage  of having a teacher is they can be that extra set of ears that can tell if you are singing in an unhealthy way and they can guide back on track.

I hope these tips have helped you. The worst case scenario would be that you don’t do anything, then things open up and you hit the road with your band and lose your voice the first night. That is what nightmares are made of. Be prepared because eventually we will be back out there singing. I don’t know when, but I do know that I want to spend this time wisely. When you look back on this season of your life and somebody asks you, “What did you do during the great pandemic of 2020?” I hope your answer will be, “I became better because of it. I had some down time and I improved me.” This applies to all aspects of our lives right? But that’s another blog.

LET ME KNOW HOW I CAN HELP YOU!

Email me from this website or you can also find me on Facebook and Instagram. (RitaCastilloVoice)

Stay brilliant and sing on!

DON’T LET THE CORONAVIRUS STEAL YOUR VOICE

First of all, I hope this finds you well and safe taking good care of yourself as you isolate and spend time at home. Staying well is the number one priority. We are all experiencing something that we never have before, and we are all figuring out how to navigate this new temporary normal.

Changes have occurred so quickly and there was barely enough time to think about it. Suddenly singers had gigs cancelled, school shows cancelled, and even school cancelled. Life suddenly was turned upside down for all of us on so many levels. With life being so uncertain there seemed to be no reason to sing, think about singing, and no reason to work on singing skills.

Some of my students are taking a break for different reasons. Some reasons are financial and some emotional. I got a text from one student that read, “I feel it is best for me for now to stop taking voice lessons for awhile. I think it’s the right thing as some things feel hard for me right now and my heart just isn’t in it to sing.” Who can’t relate to this? I’ve even had moments that I felt this way. My engagements for April were cancelled as well as the spring recital for my students, so it all seems so pointless sometimes.

But another student felt differently. She said to me in our last online lesson, “I have all this pent -up emotion and energy. I need to sing and focus it and express my emotions.” I think we all fall somewhere between these two extremes. My feeling is if there were ever a time people need to sing is now! Singing boosts endorphins, (makes you feel good) boosts your immune system and is emotionally healing to you and those who listen to you sing.

Here are some tips to get you through this emergent time:

1.      STEP UP YOUR HEALTH HABITS.
Not just physical health. Nurture your emotional, mental and spiritual health as well. Of course, follow all the guidelines of sheltering in place, wash hands for 20 seconds, wear face coverings and keep your distance from others.

Step up your physical exercise. Walk daily if you can. The sun and fresh air will help boost your immune system and give you some vitamin D. Maybe try a new online exercise class.  Eat healthy foods. Cut down on sugar, drink more water and get plenty of sleep.  Staying physically in shape is as important to the singer as warm-ups and skill-building technique exercises. Staying active will also raise your mood. Not being able to go outside has caused me to sit so much more and I have to be mindful to make exercise a priority.

In case you are not aware, isolation is unhealthy. It actually suppresses the immune system and can affect your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual condition. We were designed for relationship. How amazing that we have technology to stay connected to our loved ones! You can check on them by text, phone, FaceTime, email etc… Be sure to take some extra self-care time for yourself. Do things that bring you joy. Read books for enjoyment, do something creative, plant flowers, pray, meditate or anything that brings you joy and peace. 

2.      TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE EXTRA TIME TO BUILD AND IMPROVE YOUR VOICE.

I know if you are a gigging singer, you have had everything cancelled. Your shows, gigs, and events. Everything came to a stop. Also, high school singers are very disappointed that their spring musicals have been postponed or cancelled. My students are very sad right now. Some had their very first lead role and the shows were coming up. This has been very emotionally trying.  My advice: Keep singing!  Your gigs will return, and you want to be ready! If you were regularly working as a singer, remember you are a vocal athlete and need to keep your voice strong. Sing most days of the week for at least an hour at full intensity as though you have an audience. (after warming up of course!) When the shows are back on the schedule, this will help you avoid losing your voice the first night out.

Now that you are not so busy, you can work on skills you didn’t have time for before. You can fine-tune weak areas that you didn’t have time to focus on before.  If you have been taking lessons, this is a great time to master those issues your teacher has been bringing to your attention. Maybe it’s pitch work, ear training, getting rid of that bugger of a break, or mastering a new genre. Be creative. Learn a new instrument or maybe write some songs.

Be sure to continue and perhaps improve your vocal rituals. Warm up every day whether you sing or not. Do some semi-occluded vocal tract exercises such as humming, lip trills, or straw work. I have always called these low impact vocal warm-ups.  I do these first thing in the morning and use them as a voice assessment to see what shape my voice is in for the day. Make appointments for yourself to practice at least 4 days out of the week. Put it on your calendar. Use that time to warm-up, vocalize to build up your voice, work on technique and go through songs. Don’t neglect beginning your routine with a little body alignment and breath work.

If you are taking voice lessons, and have the means to do so, please continue during this time. Teaching voice is likely the only source of income for your teacher and all the voice teachers have scrambled to get their lessons online so that you will not miss a beat. I am thankful that I have already been teaching online for a few years, so the transition isn’t so bad for my students who usually come in person. If it is not possible for you to continue lessons for financial or other reasons, keep up the routines your teacher has set up for you.

 You can also go online and find teaching videos but with a caution: Use your common sense. If it doesn’t feel good to you, then it probably isn’t good for you. In Estill Voice Training the cautions are if an exercise causes a tickle, cough or scratchiness, stop and re-group because something is wrong. The downside of watching and learning from videos is that the teacher cannot hear if you are doing the exercise correctly or not. Protect your precious voice!

3. DON’T LOSE YOUR JOY.

For me this is the most important thing to keep in mind. Remember, that this is a temporary situation. It will come to an end. We will all be together again singing, dancing, laughing, and enjoying life. Realize how resilient you are and look forward to the future.  It is my hope that we will all look back on this and realize that we are stronger for the experience. Your voice is a gift and gifts are meant to be given away. People need to hear you sing. I really believe that. It’s very healing, not only for the singer, but the listener.  We all have a choice when there is adversity. We can crumble under it and let it injure our lives, or we can use it as an opportunity to give ourselves an upgrade. This applies to any aspect of our lives. Don’t let the Coronavirus or anything steal your voice or steal your joy. They both belong to you.

If you are thinking about online lessons and would like to find out more about it, connect with me and we can do a free consultation to see If that’s something that would work for you.

LET ME KNOW HOW I CAN HELP YOU!

Stay brilliant and sing on!

Vocal Resolutions 2020

It’s that time of year that all of us are thinking about resolutions, goals and intentions. Have you thought about making singing resolutions? Here are some tips that will help you actually achieve those vocal goals and dreams! 

#1: Take a look back. 

Before sitting down and making that list of goals you want for your voice, be sure to take some time and think about how far your voice has come in 2019 and celebrate that. Has your range increased? Are you more confident? Can you sing for longer periods of time without strain? Perhaps you’ve learned to glide through that dreaded break between registers. Has your pitch improved? Whatever the accomplishment, give yourself the props you deserve. Your hard work is paying off. 

#2: Envision what you want for your singing experience in 2020. 

Now you can think about the areas you want to improve. They can perhaps include some of  the same achievements you already noted when looking back at 2019. You can take the areas in which you have already improved and kick it up a notch. For instance, if your pitch is spot on now, you can make a goal to learn to sing in harmony or learn songs with more complex melodies. What new goals might you have? Do you want to learn to sing in a new genre? Do you want to learn to belt? Maybe you have a dream of singing in public at a coffee house. Maybe  writing your own compositions and recording them is on your dream list. Write it all down. Your chances of achieving your goals increase greatly just by taking that step of writing them down and not just dreaming about it in your head. I encourage all my students to keep a singing journal. They journal their practice sessions, what they learn in lessons, and their observations along the way. It is an extremely helpful tool. 

#3: Think about what steps and actions you can commit to in order to achieve your goals. 

So now you have your list of goals. You notice I haven’t really been using the word resolutions? I like saying goals and intentions better. If you prefer resolutions, that’s fine. Just remember this is a process and may need adjusting along the way. 

Everything we do in our life is run by habits. That includes singing. So for each resolution or goal you have, make a list of any habits you will commit to so that real change can take place. 

Examples: 

Goal: “I resolve to take care of my vocal health.” 

Action habits: “I will start my day with two glasses of water and then drink throughout the day and stay hydrated. I will refrain from talking over noisy crowds and straining my voice in those situations. I will eat healthy food as much as possible, avoiding junk food, in order to maintain a strong immune system.” Etc… 

Goal:  “I resolve to practice more” 

Action Habits: I will warm up my voice gently every morning in the shower. I will plan and put on my calendar a minimum of three to four practice sessions per week for at least 20 minutes of intentional singing. I will practice the exercises my teacher gives me and apply them to the songs I am singing.” Etc… 

Goal: “In 2020, I resolve to get over my nerves and sing in public.” 

Action Habits: “I will practice my songs thoroughly so I can be confident in them. I will sing in front of people I trust and get used to having people in the room. I will sing in different environments, (different rooms in the house, outside, at someone else’s house) so I can feel comfortable no matter where I am. I will go to open mic nights and watch others and get used to that atmosphere.” Etc… 

Do you see how by focusing on new habits will be the ticket to getting to your goals?  Successful people in all walks of life know the power of habit and habits are formed by taking action steps over and over until they are just a part of who you are. 

You don’t have to wait until the beginning of a new year to have a fresh start. Every day is a new beginning. Every song, every experience, and every moment is an opportunity to hit the refresh button.  Never focus just on “mistakes.” They are nothing more than information. Here’s a habit to break: Break the habit of beating yourself up and replace with the habit of kindness and love for your voice. Never hate your voice. It is privilege to sing. It is your gift to the world. 

One last thought: If you are not taking voice lessons, maybe now is the time to start in order to get the help you need to reach your vocal goals. There are so many wonderful voice teachers out there. Just be sure to find one that understands the type of singing you like to do. If you would be interested in working with me, go ahead and fill out the contact form and I will get back to you right away. 

Wishing you joyful and brilliant singing in 2020! 

My First Blog Post

Welcome to Rita Castillo Voice. Who is Rita Castillo you may ask? I have been a professional singer since I was 16 years old. That was a long, long time ago. I fronted bands and toured all over the world in about every singing situation you can imagine. We performed songs from all musical genres.  I did go to college as a voice major and studied classically, but continued singing my gigs at night. It wasn't too long that I discovered that the Classical principles I was learning (which I loved by the way) were not serving me in the popular genres I was singing. I spent the next several decades performing and at the same time looking for techniques that gave me ease in my singing no matter the type of song. In those days, we often performed 6 nights a week, 5 hours a night. That's a lot of vocal load! 

I started teaching about 20 years ago in the Long Beach California area and it has been a pleasure helping singers develop their own voices. I started out teaching other professional singers who were having difficulty suddenly after years of singing without problems. I was still in the singing trenches at the time and had a reputation for singing all those years and still had a healthy voice. I was happy to share my tips. Then I started working with beginners and singers of all ages, styles and vocal needs and that has developed into Rita Castillo Voice. 

Scientific research has discovered  more about how the voice functions in the last 30-40 years than it has 500 years prior. There are a lot of old time truths, but also quite a few myths.  I have made it my priority to discover those things. I have a fascination with voice science and have learned so much about how the voice works.I have studied many modalities and  am certified with Estill Voice International as an EFP  and am certified in the Neuro-Vocal Method. Estill Voice is not a method of singing, but a system that teaches how the voice works.  I continue to study the science and love learning from the greatest mentors in the field.  

It has been an honor and privilege to work as a local voice teacher/coach, but now I am ready to share what I've learned with you. Thanks to the internet, you do not have to drive to my house to work with me. )You can if you want to. I still teach from my home studio) I'm so excited to finally step out into this new cyber world! 

Do you love to sing? Are there areas in your voice that you would like to improve? Maybe you have never sung before and want to learn from the beginning. I would love to show you how to discover your own vocal toolbox and how to use it to maximize your own beautiful unique voice.  

Would you like to: 

Increase range and power? 
Improve tone, breath control, diction, vocal agility, musicianship, pitch, performance, song interpretation, mic technique?  
Build: Rep, confidence, vocal efficiency, and vocal stamina? 
Maintain vocal health no matter your age? 
Decrease: strain, tension, breathiness, or nerves? 
Lessen: anxiety, weakness, hoarseness/ 
Eliminate: vocal breaks and pitch problems? 
Reduce: vocal fatigue? 

These are things we work on and more. If you need help with any one or more of these issues, there is a technique to help you. 

So this is just a little bit about me. I want to know about you! If you think you would like to be coached one-on-one with me, connect by sending an email or private message and schedule a free 15 minute consultation to to see if we make a good match. Let me help you train your voice and let your voice be heard! Again, welcome to my new website.  

Until next time, 

Rita