My
name is Arlys Alford, and I would like to tell you a little bit about my
interest in voice and vocal coaching.
My vocal exploration began at age 3, singing solos
for Sunday morning service in a small town in the Midwest and later adding
ballet and piano lessons to my artistic study list. In high school I continued vocal performance
in the concert choir and madrigal singers under the tutelage of Hal Wildung, a teacher who affected me so deeply with his love
of classical choral music that it changed my life although I wouldn’t realize
it until much later. As a young artist, I wrote, sang and performed
with numerous original rock, pop, funk & blues bands; simultaneously
either acting, singing, dancing or choreographing stage musicals. Then,
through overwork & improper vocal techniques I suffered vocal fatigue and
caused enough damage that I no longer could sing a single note. The
real work and training was just beginning.
I sought out the help of Bonnie Faber, professional classical vocal
instructor and completely rebuilt my voice from the ground up, learning the
proper placement, posture, breath control and eventually found that I could
sing all night and still have a voice to speak with. My blessed teacher encouraged me endlessly,
especially when I would sound like a frog. J She constantly remarked about
how interesting it was how I worked with the notes and tones inside my body. Intuitively, I would begin stretching and
moving about while practicing the vocal exercises, finding ways to help me
release the tone, and discovering how it positively influenced my posture. Bonnie was the first person and first vocal
coach to notice my passion for wanting to fully understand the classical
singing practices and how they applied to all styles of music, and she
encouraged me to begin coaching others.
To that end I wound up studying with her for 6 years refining the
techniques, honing the exercises and my understanding of the practice. After moving to Los Angeles, I continued
diversifying my voice and coaching training working briefly with singer/coach Kathryn
Grimm (http://www.kathryngrimm.com/);
as well as Darlene Koldenhoven (http://www.darlenekoldenhoven.com/);
later studying Italian bel canto techniques under Linda Mitchell (http://www.vocalartsstudios.com/index.html). With Linda, I rediscovered my classical voice
and found myself singing opera arias for the first time with a new found coloratura soprano range. I
believe the voice is such an amazing instrument and can be the most difficult
to work with, psychologically, since it is so very personal and therefore must
be treated with great care, love and encouragement. I have been teaching privately approximately
10 years, taking on the occasional student mostly via referrals from other
students in between performing and my own artistic studies. As a songwriter, I have also been involved in
vocal production and song “doctoring” - helping re-write vocal melody and
lyrical material in the person’s own style to help better capture their dynamic
vocal range. Recently, I decided to open
myself up to taking on new students and to commit more time to coaching others. I hope to meet you soon!
Just have fun, feel good and enjoy your vocal
exploration!
Student Testimonials
"I spent ten years trying to learn how
to sing with little success. In just three lessons with Arlys I felt like
I finally found my voice. Thanks Arlys."
William
Erickson
“Before I
met Arlys Alford I used to cringe when ever I heard myself sing. She
helped me find my natural voice in a way that I could hear the intonation and
tonality giving me confidence, expanded vocal range and dynamic
power. If that was not enough, she also helped me discover melodic rhythm and
the lyrical compositional skills to develop vocal parts for my original music.
She knows that not everybody learns in the same way and therefore caters
lessons to fit the students learning style.
Thank you Arlys and looking forward to your review
of my next song. “
Richard Parissi
“Arlys
is incredible. She has taught me that everyone - EVERYONE has the ability
to sing and sing well. I used to think I just wasn't born with a
"good voice" and she helped me see otherwise. Her technique is
effective, and her lessons are always fun!”
Efia Pearson – Actress
“In a short
period of time Arlys has helped in my vocal exploration and I got acquainted
with the true potential of my vocal instrument. I got more volume and my
pronunciation improved. I appreciate that she was sensitive to my preferences
as far as the content of the songs for my practice. Her dancing background
allowed her to clearly communicate corrections of my posture that allows the voice to come out
effortlessly. Every moment with Arlys is inspiring and energizing.
Thank you, Arlys
for helping unleash the power of my voice. I am using it to uplift my
environment.
What a
blessing!”
Andreja
Smokvina
Simply
music piano teacher
