Vocal Motion

Calling parents in Marin County, CA, tune your children’s voices in private or group lessons at Vocal Motion, a teaching facility that offers an integrative method for singing and speech. Owned by Monica Norcia, a voice teacher, singing performer, pianist, and music director since 1997, Vocal Motion specializes in building the voice and speech of kids and adults alike by placing special attention to diction and understanding of text and musical melody into lessons. Monica has successfully helped many students find their voice and get accepted in auditions, musicals, and plays, as evidenced by the heaps of praise and thanks she receives in her Testimonials page. Get in touch with her through Vocal Motion and learn how she can teach you how to take your performance to the next level.

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Hope you had a great summer. What's up this fall?

Aside from continuing to offer the "Art of Breathing" work along with voice lessons, I've also decided to connect more with my community. I'm joining the Mayflower Chorus for their Christmas program Dec. 13 and 14 and performing in the Marin Musical Theater's fund-raiser Oct. 4 and 5. I haven't sung in a chorus foreeeeever! And this chorus in particular special because everyone in it is a sweeeeeetheart.

Also, I'll be music directing "Matilda" in the afternoons this fall over at San Domenico. (Show is mid-March.) A wonderful score. I have, after 20-plus years, decided to no longer music direct adult or kid shows that rehearse in the evenings. My aikido and meditation practices are taking precedence as well as spending time with my husband.

When I first started music directing shows in 1997 - it was "The Pajama Game" at Alameda High School across the bay - the idea of conducting a band was frightening. Then came conducting a band while playing the keyboard. Even MORE frightening. But, as everything you work at, it got easier. And then it got fun. But I think my favorite will always be vocal direction - teaching the music and helping the cast members find his or her voice.

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Sound Advice #47 – Many Roads Intersect With Good Singing

Recently, I went for an astrological reading because I’m in my “second Saturn return” (Please Google it if you are not an astrology buff). I was wondering what the planets had to say about where I am in life. The astrologer and I had a wonderful talk about how to tweak my work

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Sound Advice #46 – The Voice: A Mirror to our Inner World

Recently one of my Marin County singing students was working on a song in her voice lessons that was very emotional for her. She loves the song and its message. And she sings it technically very well. However, something was missing in the delivery and the discussion that ensued opened

Voice lessons in my Marin County studio entails teaching students how to properly project the song’s emotions so as to make the audience perceive the song’s or the singer’s message correctly.

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Sound Advice #45 – The Tongue is a Many-Splendored Thing

I admit it. I am a vocal technique nerd. Students who take voice lessons with me in my Marin County studio are often invited to explore some voice-related anatomical part, such as the ribs, the muscles of the torso (and the diaphragm), the larynx and the tongue.

Let’s explore the tongue’s role in enhancing your vocal technique. My voice lessons in my Marin County studio also involves teaching students how to release the root of the tongue when singing.

Read more here:

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Sound Advice #44 – What Exactly is Vocal Technique?

Many aspiring singers take voice lessons to improve their vocal technique. We learn about breathing, resonance and how the vocal folds work for the style of singing we want to do. But what exactly is vocal technique? It’s simply “a way” to do something. I like to think of it as taking

Take voice lessons in my Marin County studio and improve your vocal technique so that your voice becomes nimble, acoustically efficient and embodied.

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Sound Advice #43 – Out with the Old, In with the New. But First…Pause

Don’t listen to that voice that tells you. You can’t do it, especially if you’re taking voice lessons. Say “yes” to anything that inspires you to change your life for the better. Read here! https://www.vocalmotionmethod.com/sound-advice-43-out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-but-firstpause/

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Sound Advice #42 – When It Comes to the Breath, Start with Beginner’s Mind

It’s fun to hear kids sing – and I’ve heard quite a lot, both in my Marin County voice lessons studio and out in the schools. Most children have not taken singing lessons and they sing quite naturally. They breathe whenever they run out of breath – at a comma, between

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Does Knowing the Anatomy of Singing Matter?

In voice lessons, it is best to understand the human anatomy, its vocal function and its relationship to our technique especially when our voice gives us trouble. Read here!http://www.vocalmotionmethod.com/sound-advice-41-knowing-anatomy-singing-matter/

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Sound Advice #40 – To Learn or Not to Learn New Songs

Recently at the beginning of a choral rehearsal I was music directing, one of the altos, when I said we were going to learn a new song, said: “Can we just sing through it! It’s so excruciating to pick everything apart so slowly. We’re not THAT bad!” I was slightly put off. When

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Sound Advice #39 – Losing The Singing Spark

There are many times when those who come to me for voice lessons in my Marin County studio tell me they don't feel like singing but recognizing the problem will make them look closer to their true selves and find the solution to this dilemma. Read more here! http://www.vocalmotionmethod.com/sound-advice-39-losing-singing-spark/

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Sound Advice #38 – Is There an Optimal Physical “Form” for Singing?

Addressing long-standing habits and freeing your whole body in the voice lessons I provide is the way to a healthy voice that will last into the golden years. Learn more here! http://www.vocalmotionmethod.com/sound-advice-38-optimal-physical-form-singing/

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Sound Advice #37 – Singing While Playing An Instrument

I give voice lessons not just to teach musicians to sing better but I also teach Alexander Technique because it addresses the ever so-tricky balance between singing and playing. Read more here! http://www.vocalmotionmethod.com/sound-advice-37-singing-playing-instrument/

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Sound Advice #36 – Recognizing and Accepting Your True Gift

I give voice lessons to help a student find his or her own gift and sound because it is much more exciting to discover your true voice. Read more! http://www.vocalmotionmethod.com/sound-advice-36-recognizing-accepting-true-gift/

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Sound Advice #35 – What Voice Type Am I?

Voice lessons teach you how to avoid vocal interference and unnecessary tensions that can hide the true quality of the voice. Read here! http://www.vocalmotionmethod.com/sound-advice-35-voice-type/

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Sound Advice #34 – Going with the Flow

In my singing lessons for kids and adults, I try to teach not only excellent vocal technical skills but to increase awareness of how the “gerbil mind can adversely affect our bodies and sound, getting in the way of flow. Read more here: http://www.vocalmotionmethod.com/sound-advice-34-going-flow/

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Sound Advice #33 – Detecting Energy Leaks that Affect the Voice

One of the first things I do when a prospective student comes to my Marin studio for voice lessons is to get a general impression of his or her body organization and energy. Some folks are physically and energetically collapsed. Others might be hyper-tense. It’s not just physical,

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An Integrative Method for Singing and Speech

Life is tough, and it takes a lot of patience to step out of the way that is why we need someone to guide us as we grow.

The same with Singing, that is why voice lesson is needed if you want to learn precisely. Read more here: http://www.vocalmotionmethod.com/sound-advice-31-voice-lessons-reflection-life/