"Descend on that high note like a leaf gently falling onto a lake."

Beautiful image. But what does a singer actually do with that?

In this episode, we tackle the imagery debate head-on. We share a personal story of doing breath support exercises for years—lying on piano benches with heavy books, dutifully tensing abs—only to discover that less than 10% of breath support actually comes from the abdominals. Within a week of learning what was really happening, dynamic control improved and a full step was added to the top of the range.

That experience reshaped everything about how we approach imagery in teaching.

We break down: → Why imagery is wildly inconsistent from student to student → The difference between "tangible" and "abstract" imagery → Why most voice teachers rely on imagery (hint: it's often the only tool they were given) → A simple framework for using imagery more intentionally → What singers should know about finding the right teacher for how they learn

Imagery isn't bad. But it's not enough on its own. This episode helps you figure out when to use it—and when to dig deeper.

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Presented by Drew Williams-Orozco

Written by Josh Manuel