Client Spotlight: Dorine Beasley
Dorine is one of the best parts of my day – her love for learning and ability to explore different ‘colors’ in her voice is unmatched. She has a warm, rich lower quality to her voice and was very hesitant when we started and I told her she had higher notes hiding in there… we found them and now she can sing whatever she wants!
Tell me about yourself?
I consider myself an adult learner. I enjoy learning new things so I figured I would give voice lessons a try. In the past, my only experience with singing was in the shower, the car or tackling karaoke with family. I never thought about singing outside of my home because of its lower tone. I thought a lot about the negative experiences I had as a little girl with a deep voice and even to this day people who don’t know me mistaken me for a man over the phone! However, voice lessons have given me the opportunity to explore my lower register and my vocal range as a whole. Now I embrace my voice and I really like what I hear! I take voice lessons because I now enjoy the relationship I have with my voice. Singing is work but it’s fun exploring “all” the colorful sounds that I can create with such an extensive vocal range.
What do you love about your voice?
Take a guess… I absolutely love the lower register of my voice. As a female with a low speaking voice, singing from that area comes easy. I can create many different sounds with my singing voice as a result of the lower registers and I like that. I am also comfortable singing in the upper registers of my voice as well. So much so that I spent a little time experimenting with the classical music singing in a soprano range and I didn’t do bad!! All in all, I like the fact that I can do a variety of things with my voice. I wouldn’t change the fact that I have a naturally lower speaking and singing voice for anything in the world!!
How has Starling Voice Studio helped you?
I can’t say enough about how Starling Voice Studio has helped me. To start, I’ve learned how to sing in a healthier way and with more confidence. Julia has an intuitive ability to create personalized vocal exercises that improved my breathing and my ability to transition between registers. I had never done lip trills before and incorporating them into my practice work like a charm. Not to mention, Julia is patient, encouraging and the energy she brings to each lesson helps me progress more than anything. She is super positive and always wants to know my thoughts or how I feel about what we’re doing. Most of all, my lessons are fun!
What’s your vocal goal this year?
My goal is to continue to work on the middle range of my voice as well as transitioning between the middle, upper and lower registers of my voice. I’ve been doing vocal exercises and singing songs that have helped a lot. Ultimately, I would like to connect all those beautiful sounds from top to bottom smoothly and effortlessly!
What advice would you give someone starting voice lessons for the first time?
Everyone is different but these tips have worked for me:
*No matter what your reasons are for taking voice lessons, try not to be too hard on yourself.
*Sometimes, taking a break from a song then going back to it is the best remedy.
*You don’t have to practice for hours on end every single day to master vocal skills. A few minutes a day/every other day goes a long way!!
*Vocal health is very important. Among other things, drink plenty of water.
*Try to find a voice teacher that is patient and has a creative style with teaching because everyone learns differently. One that gets to know “your” voice and creates a learning environment where your mistakes don’t cost you your confidence.
*Do your homework when searching for a voice teacher. A good fit professionally and personally is everything. Most of all insist on making your voice lessons with your teacher, “FUN!!” You will be surprised with your progress!!
