Awareness, practice and play: the three threads behind how I teach
My philosophy of teaching voice is held together by three threads: awareness, practice and play - and built on a foundation of feeling safe in your own voice. Underneath that sits detailed, ever-evolving and evidence-based voice pedagogy.
But fundamentally my job isn't to tell you the "right" way to sound. You'll show me, and tell me, what your right way is. My job is to help you find it, and to give you the tools to get there.
One exercise at a time: why slow, focused practice changes your voice faster.
Have you ever finished a practice session having sung through your whole set, a warm-up video and a few scales for good measure, and still felt that your voice hasn't really changed? If so, you're in very good company. Many singers I meet assume the answer is more: more time, more exercises, more songs. In my experience however, the singers who change their voices fastest are often actually doing less, but doing it with far more attention.
Here's why focused practice can do more for your voice than an hour of singing through everything.
How to practise singing - Part 3: how to actually get your practice done
You know what to practise. You know how to practise. So why is it still so hard to actually do it?
This is the third post in my series on practice: what really makes a difference when you want to make changes to your voice and build new vocal skills. In this one, we're looking at how to pull it all together, and the simple tool that I think makes the biggest difference of all.
Sing it like you mean it: free feelings and actions lists for singers
Your voice already knows how to laugh, cry, sigh, call and groan. It's been doing it since before you could talk. When you sing with a clear feeling or intention behind each line, you can tap into those natural set-ups and let them shape your sound without you having to enter overthinking territory.
Below you'll find a list of feelings and a list of actions to choose from. Use them in your practice to help you play with what your voice can do, and to help make every line mean something.
How long do I need to take singing lessons for?
How long do I need to have singing lessons for?
In this blog post we look at why awareness, having clear goals and having some guidance from an experienced teacher can best help to answer that question.
Estill Voice Training™ in Action: A Workshop Recap
Estill Voice Training™ at the Community Studio in the Canterbury Cathedral Precincts, November 2025, led by Laura Boon (Estill Master Trainer).
Read about the workshop from the perspective of one of the attendees.
What is Estill Voice Training®, and is it for me?
On Sunday 9th November, I’ll be running another full-day Intro to Estill Voice Training® workshop in Canterbury, and if you’ve ever wondered how your voice works, or how to help others use their voice more confidently, this day could be for you.
We’re going to be learning in the beautiful and central Community Studio behind the Cathedral Gift Shop. This one-day, in-person session is designed to offer a friendly, practical and engaging introduction to Estill Voice Training®, and how it can support you, whether you're a singer, a teacher, a choir leader, MD, actor - or simply curious about the voice.
Help! I’ve got stage fright!
Performance anxiety, a.k.a. stage fright, happens to performers the world over, and at all levels of experience, including international superstars like Andrea Bocelli and Adele.
But there ARE ways to help reduce its impact. Here are some of them…
Estill Voice Training - Introductory Workshop
On 10th June I ran an Introductory Workshop in Estill Voice Training in the heart of Canterbury. I was joined by a wonderful group of singers, teachers and artists who were so generous in sharing their voices with me! Here’s just a snippet of what they had to say…
How sleep affects the voice
To have a healthy voice, we need a healthy body. And to have a healthy body, one of the most important things we need is SLEEP. Most adults need 6-9 hours of sleep per night to be functioning healthily. If we get less than this, poor sleep can lead to an inability to focus, poor memory, mood instability, increased stress, inefficient voice use… all of which are unhelpful for singers…
What key should I sing it in?
It’s sometimes seen as a badge of honour to be able to sing songs in the original key, but in my opinion this is just silly. Why would you not want to make your singing both comfortable, enjoyable, and have it show you and your voice off to its best? So wherever possible, I always advocate for changing the key to suit your voice. How to find the best key for your voice…
4 ways to prepare for a performance
Putting work into developing your vocal coordination and technical abilities whether or not you have any performances lined up is a smart move. Then you'll be able to trust your instrument to technically manage the demands of the songs when those performance opportunities come up. What does this look like in reality?
8 Essentials of Vocal Health
Having a healthy voice isn’t just important for singers and professional voice users, it’s important for everyone! If you’ve ever had issues with your voice, you’ll have an idea of how much of an impact it can have on your daily life, your work, your ability to communicate to express yourself clearly, and even on your sense of identity.
As Erasmus told the world way back in the 1500s (and people with common sense have known ever since), prevention is better than cure. So here are some of the ways to look after your voice day to day, to keep it in great condition and serving you well.
5 easy ways to keep your vocal folds happy
Our vocal folds do such a lot for us, so it’s the least we can do to look after them and keep them happy. Here are 5 easy ways to do just that
Why tongue twisters are great for your voice
Tongue twisters can be used to warm up the voice and to provide targeted exercise for our articulators. They're fun to say, and to sing.
Tools and resources to help you learn to sing
As singers, we’re lucky that our instrument is both portable and free. With the exception of all the things we should be doing to take care of ourselves as a whole (eating well, sleeping well, staying hydrated, managing stress levels) it doesn’t require quarterly services or expensive upkeep. However, once we start thinking about voice training, it can benefit from a little investment. Here’s my list of some add-ons that I’ve found useful. Although none of these are essential to a healthy and efficient voice, they can all play a useful role when training it.
How to ad lib (for those who find it scary!)
Some singers find improvising very intuitive, but others find the prospect very daunting! If you’re in the latter camp, then this blog post is for you!
How to practise singing - Part 2
In part 1, we looked at why we should practise and the kind of things we might practice. Now we need to look at how to actually do the practising. Here are some options.
How to practise singing - Part 1
Practice, rehearsal, run-throughs, exercise - whatever you like to call it - when we want to make positive changes to our voices, it’s essential. It’s where the real change happens. Where our range extends, where our agility and flexibility improve, and where we gain vocal stamina. These days we’re all constantly bombarded with distractions in our lives, and so we want to make any time we do devote to practising our singing really count. Practising singing is so much more than just singing through your songs until you ‘get’ them. In this 2-part series, we’ll explore the why, what and how of practice as well as some common pitfalls.
How to warm up your voice
We all know we should warm up our voices before we sing - but how many of us do it religiously, every time? What about warming up for speaking? Here are a few things to think about.