Susan Anders

I got to study vocal improv and circle singing with the always jaw-dropping master Bobby McFerrin all last week. 200 singers from all over the world gathered in San Francisco to sing and learn. So inspiring.

I'm so happy to be teaching at CCMC this July 7-14. Loads of singing and playing all week in the beautiful Carmel Highlands. Everyone gets a little sleep-deprived and slap-happy. I'm teaching two classes all week: songwriting and vocal style. 

Big congrats to Brant Miller who is an International Acoustic Music Awards finalist in the Folk/Americana/Roots category--well deserved! Tom Manche and I worked with Brant when he was recording his nominated song No Interest In That.

It's been awhile since my quarter-life crisis but I love Julia Perla's new single Quarter Life Crisis. It's everywhere.⁠

Most singers purchase downloads now and shipping prices keep rising, so I'm no longer going to sell CDs, vocal workouts, and books from this site. I'm sorry if this inconveniences you. All of the physical versions of my methods are available at Amazon.com:

Vocal workouts and books are here at Amazon.com. 

CDs and CD sets are here at Amazon.com.

Singulair has long been the recommended allergy med of choice for singers since it doesn't dry the vocal cords, unlike many other allergy meds. But recent findings make me much more cautious about recommending it: it now has a 'black box' warning that it can cause depression, sleep issues, and suicide. If allergies are getting in the way of your singing I'd explore alternative remedies first.

     I just finished reading James Nestor's fascinating book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art: highly recommended! All singers will benefit from this book. Among many other recommendations, Nestor extols the benefits of nasal breathing, which has also been recommended by numerous cultures around the world for centuries. This is trickier for singers since mouth breathing is faster and often we don't have a lot of time in-between phrases for a nasal breath. But if you read the book I bet you'll be sold on breathing through your nose more often. 
     In the past I've often told singers to breathe through the nose when not singing, and also when warming up if one is having placement issues, has allergies or 'gunkiness' going on, or is singing flat. In the past I said breathe through the mouth when singing the rest of the time since it's faster. I've modified my thinking now: all the time now when warming up I breathe through my nose as much as possible, and when singing [if there's enough time in-between phrases or sections] I take a nose breath in there as well. 
     As singers we've learned to breathe deeply into the diaphragm and we've learned to slow the exhalation as we sing with good breath support. So we're ahead of the rest of the world on these healthy breathing practices. Check out the book and his site and you'll learn some new methods that could change your singing life for the better.

Congrats to my student Scott Ramminger on his most recent release! Scott sounds a bit like an early bluesy Tom Waits, and his blues/old-style R&B songs feature some very smart and thoughtful lyrics. Check out LIVE AT 3RD & LINDSLEY, NASHVILLE.

I'm teaching online singing lessons from my new home in Bend now, but Expertise.com has just listed me as one of the best vocal coaches in Nashville for 2022--since I taught in Nashville for almost twenty years and still work with many singers there I guess that makes it legit.

Big congrats to my student Will: he just started this fall at college, worked with me right before his audition for their production of the musical Working--and he aced it, he got several callbacks, and just got cast in a lead role. Nice way to hit the ground running at a new school!