Arlys Alford

My name is Arlys Alford, and I would like to tell you a little bit about my interest in voice and vocal coaching.

My vocal exploration began at age 3, singing solos for Sunday morning service in a small town in the Midwest and later adding ballet and piano lessons to my artistic studies list. In high school I continued vocal performance in the concert choir and madrigal singers under the tutelage of Hal Wildung, a teacher who affected me so deeply with his love of classical choral music that it changed my life, although I wouldn’t realize it until much later. As a young artist, I wrote, sang and performed with numerous original rock, pop, funk & blues bands; simultaneously either acting, singing, dancing or choreographing stage musicals. Then, through overwork & improper vocal techniques I suffered vocal fatigue and caused enough damage that I could no longer vocalize a single note. The real work of vocal training was just about to begin. I sought out the help of Bonnie Faber, professional classical vocal instructor and completely rebuilt my voice from the ground up, learning the proper placement, posture, breath control and eventually found that I could sing all night and still have a voice to speak with. My blessed teacher encouraged me endlessly, even when my voice sounded like a frog! She constantly remarked about how interesting it was how I worked with the notes and tones inside my body. Intuitively, I would begin stretching and moving about while practicing the vocal exercises, finding ways to help me release the tone, and discovering how it positively influenced my posture. Bonnie was the first person and first vocal coach to notice my passion for wanting to fully understand the classical singing practices and how they applied to all styles of music, and she encouraged me to begin coaching others. To that end I wound up studying with her for 6 years refining the techniques and honing the exercises. Thus marked the beginning of a wonderful journey that continues to this day.