Have you always wanted to sing? You're in the right place. Located in Auckland, New Zealand. Available locally and online.
Learn how to use your voice and build your confidence so you can sing, write and perform the way you want to.
06/01/2024
Do you struggle to practise your singing? 🚀✨ Sign up for my monthly newsletter and get exclusive access to a FREE practise guide that will elevate your skills to new heights. 📚💡 Don't miss out on this great resource! https://www.victoriahollings.com/free-downloads
23/12/2022
Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope where ever you are, that you're safe and well. I know this time of year is very hard for some people, so Sid and I are sending lots of love your way! ❤ See you in the New Year.
No cockatiels were harmed in the making of this image. All Santa hats and decorations were added in post! Be kind to your pets these holidays too. 😜
💡 Did you know that singer's breathing (aka. diaphragmatic breathing) can have a calming effect on the mind and body? 💡
Apart from being central to singing with ease, singer's breathing is really good for calming nerves and even anxiety. It's often also used in yoga and meditation (though there are sometimes variations used, box breathing etc.).
When we breathe normally, the in-breath and out-breath are generally pretty even. During singer's breathing, we elongate the out breath. This deeper, longer out breath slows the heart rate and calms the central nervous system.
If you're having trouble getting your shoulders to stay still and down when you're breathing, try laying on the floor and relaxing your abdominal muscles. Notice that your stomach rises and falls with the breath. Now try it standing up! Try to notice how your body feels after breathing this way.
20/12/2022
Chloe has been doing so well in her lessons, she's now part of her school band and singing solos in her choir! Such a pleasure to watch clients grow and embrace their voices! ✨
18/12/2022
This quote tangentially touches on something I've been thinking about this week in terms of songwriting.
Do we approach songwriting from the perspective of, "will someone else like this?" or do we approach it from "this song communicates something about how I feel and who I am." Which one of these is more important? Obviously, it would be great if we could hit both marks––a song that is authentic and popular with others.
My next question would then be, would you still write the song if no one listened to it? Is the relationship to yourself, your creativity and your truth important enough to you that you would risk 'failure' or having to try again? Is it enough to just create?
Could we approach songwriting from the perspective of connection with ourselves first, and then the connection with others would be a pleasant but unnecessary byproduct of a deeply personal creative process?
What are your thoughts? I don't know if I have the answers to these questions, but I'm willing to ponder them.
15/12/2022
Even if you're not a professional voice user, it's important take care of your voice as best you can. The voice changes every day in response to the things below, but also to many other variables that are outside of our control (general health issues, needing to speak a lot for work etc.). Here are three simple ways you can look after your voice regularly:
💥 Try not to talk in loud environments
Talking over music or crowds can be more fatiguing to the voice than singing loudly. Take lots of breaks from talking, and if you can, go somewhere quiet to have a conversation.
💥 Get enough sleep
Sleep is important for your voice. If you're tired, you're more likely to strain and push to compensate for lower energy. Limit the late nights, especially around performances or high vocal load days. Getting as much sleep as you can will help with energy levels and reduce vocal fatigue.
💥 Drink enough water
Water doesn't actually touch the vocal folds. Hydration reaches the vocal folds after we consume the water, and it makes it's way around the vital organs first (which is a good thing!). But this means that it can take hours for hydration to reach the vocal folds. Instead of chugging water before a lesson or performance, try to maintain a decent level of hydration most of the time.
What are the ways you look after your voice? 🤔
13/12/2022
Improve your song with this structure tip! ✨
The verse of a song tells the story and gives context for the message of the chorus. If your song has three verses, think about how you can use each verse to build on the last.
This is a technique featured in Pat Pattison's 'Writing Better Songs', where he refers to each verse as a box, each one slightly bigger than the last. The bigger the box, the higher the stakes and the more information. In this example, I'm referring to the verses as being lighter and heavier.
The following idea helps to keep your listener interested, but it also helps you to move through your song to the end, and be able to write three unique verses,
✨ The first verse gives us the introduction to the story. We get the lightest amount of emotional weight here. We're just being invited into the world of the song, and it might include some background.
✨ The second verse is a slightly heavier weight. We get a little more of the story, and the stakes are higher. In terms of the arc of the story, you're in the middle. Something is happening or going wrong.
✨ The third verse is the heaviest. It has the most weight and we get the final or most impactful points of the story. There might be high emotion leading to the end of the song. It might include the effect of events in the other verses.
Try writing a song with this is mind and see how it changes the way you approach your song verses. Let me know how you get on!
11/12/2022
Thanks for the kind review, Sachini! I've loved working with you and seeing your confidence and skills grow! 😊
10/12/2022
Just a reminder that the studio is closed from the 22nd of December and reopens on the 9th of January. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to book your spot for the New Year!
08/12/2022
Sid's favourite voice warm up is a lip trill (aka. lip bubble), even though parrots don't have lips! Who would have thought?!
Lip trill sirens are a great way to start your warm up, especially if you don't have or don't play the piano. What's your favourite voice warm up?
06/12/2022
At the end of the day, we can train and do vocal exercises until we're blue in the face, but what we really want is to connect. To connect to the song, to connect to the people listening.
Voices break, tears happen, notes shake. Sometimes it's the imperfections and the unexpected things that create the connection we're looking for, the vulnerability of live performance. That's the real magic.
30/11/2022
So many voice challenges can be improved or even fixed by becoming more aware of how we're breathing.
This includes knowing:
- How much air you breath in
- How fast it comes out
- How much pressure is being used
- What's happening with your abdominals
- Whether you're lifting your shoulders
A good place to start is to build some body awareness! Watch yourself in breathe while looking a mirror, or get someone to copy what you do.
