Year help: I’m studying Classical Singing for two years now, against all odds and with a BIG vision. - Help.com

Technique is remarkably easy when you have good coaching, and it takes nothing more than time and commitment. If you can afford a coach right now, start working on your breathing. That will get you set to benefit the most when you get an actual coach. Montserrat Cavallé actually advocates two whole years dedicated to breathing before even starting vocalizes. Get a small something that is heavy (around 5 or 10 kg), place it on your lower belly and breath in, raising the weight. Hold the air inside your lungs for as long as you can (goal is something between 40 seconds and 1 minute), and then exhale VERY SLOWLY, sustaining both the very light outflow of air and the weight on your belly. That’s excellent practice for stronger support muscles. Back exercises are also excellent. Swimming, Rowing and Yoga are the most popular physical activities among singers, as well as walking, obviously. If you can afford a book, I recommend Cathrine Sadolin’ “Complete Vocal Technique”, and anything by Richard Miller.

For ear, well, you know I’m certainly not the best person to give you advice in, but there are heaps of softwares around. I’m currently working with EarMaster, which is yielding some results (but not the ones I dreamt of and desperately need). I heard just today about one called “Carry a Tune”. I’ll try it tonight when I get home.

Yeah, I do. But it took me a couple of months before I could actually do it without the need of my coach singing in tandem with me. Actually, the first coach I got was also a tenor, because I couldn’t sort out octaves higher (with a Bass) or lower (with a lady coach)! :D

I’m a mess. But persistance is in my genes!!

Yeah! I actually own a record of her singing one of Mendelssohn’s faeries in “Midsummer’s Night Dream” together with Frederica von Stade. Both singers, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and narrator Judi Dench made a fantastic job, but I HATE Seiji Ozawa’s rendition. It’s really frustrating that he transformed the spell the elves were casting for Titania’s sleep (and ulterior enchantment by Puck and Oberon) into a colourless lullaby. It was supposed to be a typical Fae trick, predicting the mayhem the donkeyhead affair would cause!

My classification is Tenor Lirico-Leggero, the lightest of tenors (but not countertenor). Come to think of it, maybe that’s why I miss the pitch so often… Too light voice. I’ll mention this to my coach, let’s see what she thinks!