It is great to be present when a voice student turns a corner. It happens like this. They are doing well, but working too hard. The muscles in the back of the tongue and jaw are tightening as they rise up higher in the voice and they choke themselves as they come to the upper passaggio. But when they make that transistion to the upper voice, the jaw relaxes, the back of the tongue and the larynx stay low and the voice floats up into a new resonance in the head. They are both delighted and startled by the change. Suddenly the voice is "on the breath." And it turns them instantly into a diva.

I've been working hard with Ashley for years. She has always done her part and made steady progress. She's in the summer of her 17th year. Today she turned the corner into the upper voice and became a diva. Suddenly a huge resonant, easy, beautiful, perfectly in tune sound. She could not do it every time at first, but she did it over and over again. Amazing how simple it is once you figure out what to do. It's like stepping over the threshold onto the stage. You just go through a door and there you are. There is still plenty to work on, but you are in the room with the big boys and girls. And you belong there.