Chie

I was walking on Larkin Street in downtown San Francisco at ten in the evening. At almost every block, panhandlers approached me. With the housing crisis and the continued decline of living quality in a big city like SF, even

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I used to study songwriting 101 very diligently. How-to books frequently pop up in the new book list.  Tons of blogs offer advice every day, some useful and stimulating, some not. I've learned the basic forms of song structures, say,… Read more

Has anyone seen a movie called "Whiplash”? (Spoiler alert,avoid reading this further if you hadn’t watched it already.) It's a movie about a maniacal jazz music teacher and his students. Well, it's about the teacher tormenting one particular student whose…Read more

Have you seen Bruce Lee in “Game of Death"? Aside from his charisma, lightening-fast nunchaku technique and his dazzling fashion sense of choosing to wear the yellow jumpsuit, Bruce Lee can also teach singers how to strengthen their voice. 


Bruce… Read more

Imagine a beautiful swan feather. Put it in your palm, bring it to the level where your mouth is. Blow toward it gently so it leaves your hand and floats in the air, until it lands on the grass.

Remember… Read more

Do you know black bean juice is good for your throat? The juice (or simply broth) contains antiflammatory agent called anthocyanins. According to www.naturalnews.com,
"Anecdotal evidence shows that the broth of cooked black beans is a curative arthritis… Read more

I have performed as a soloist for a choral group several times in the past. Every time I sing classical arias or art songs, I get nervous because they demand the most difficult vocal technique. That is why I felt… Read more

I occasionally get requests from someone who used to be another teacher’s student. The person wants to switch teacher and she picked me for a replacement. The reason could be very benign or understandable: Karate schedule changed and the current… Read more

In one of my December 2013 blog I talked about the importance of posture. If you feel you have got the hang of it, the next thing you need to learn is how to breathe.
Let’s talk about the mechanism… Read more

Happy New Year! This is the Year of the Horse according to the Chinese calendar. Like a fresh-born foal, I am excited and filled with anticipation (and quite a bit of anxiety). One thing for sure, is that I will… Read more

Last Friday, I watched a wonderful movie called "The Music Never Stopped." It was based on a true story about a relationship between a father and a son, and how they reconciled and found each other again through… Read more

How do you support your singing through breathing? I asked this question to one of my teenage students, Arianna. She is into musical theater, and she is interested in learning how to produce strong tones that can carry to the… Read more