By mixing the chest and head voice you receive the full benefits of “both voices:” the natural and powerful sound of the chest voice, and the beauty and range of the head voice. As a singer learns to sing using both of these resonances and trains the vocal folds to stay together, it is possible to vocalize smoothly and evenly from one register to the next. 

Depending on how these two resonances are “mixed,” a variety of sounds can be created and all styles of music can be accommodated. A sound that is natural and unaffected throughout the entire vocal range can be used in ALL styles of singing.” (IVTOM 2012)

I have always been interested in the voice and the textures created by this incredible instrument. 

My own journey started in Perth (Australia) at 8 years of age. I sang lead in many musicals at school and in church ensembles, won a singing scholarship and a drama scholarship as well as performing on TV, in duo’s, trio’s, bands and with DJ’s. I did a lot of session work. After completing my degree (Bachelor Arts of Media Studies, majoring in Film & Television), I moved to the east coast of Australia to Sydney, where I lived the life of a full-time gigging musician, 6/7 nights per week, sessions during the day – you name it! 

When covid hit I relocated back to my beloved hometown of Perth. 

Whilst gigging, a friend introduced me to the concept of ‘Mixing’. I took lessons in this technique and my own voice blossomed. 

I remember clearly a year after I began working on my voice in this new way – someone at a gig who hadn’t heard me sing for a while said, ‘You sound awesome! Even better than before! What have you been doing?’ I knew it was because of my new technique. Next thing I knew, people at gigs kept coming up to me and asking if I taught. Well, I took this as a sign and became a teacher; and I have never looked back! 

I am a Global Board Member, Mentor Teacher and National Co-ordinator for Australia-Asia International Voice Teachers of Mix (IVTOM) and continue as a Freelance Professional Vocalist. I personally think this is the greatest singing technique in the world. Mix gives you the freedom to sing in any style you want, but with no breaks in your voice. Think how cool it would be to be able to sing every note in a song easily. Especially for singer/songwriters, imagine singing what you hear in your head in an easy and effortless way, never compromising the melody because you can’t ‘reach’ the note. Also, over 100 Grammy Award winners have used this method so it must be doing something right! 

Time and time again my students reach their goals; whether they want to be able to sing in front of friends, at church or in a choir or they are professional vocalists needing to ‘tweak’ some problem areas to get better performances and recordings. I have also helped rehabilitate many students who have gone through tough issues such as vocal nodules.  

(See Testimonials). 

In addition to being a Technical Vocal Instructor, I specialise in Performance Coaching & Style and Stage Presence. I also help people get great vocals in the studio.  

​ 

As I often say to my students, “There is much more to sounding great than just singing with good technique.” 

​ 
Qualifications/Past Experience: 

2021: Global Board Member - IVTOM

2015: Mentor Teacher and National Co-ordinator for Australia-Asia - IVTOM

2012: Full-member of IVTOM

2007 - 2012: Certified Speech Level Singing Instructor 

Bachelor of Arts Degree – Media Studies majoring in Film & Television. 

Extensive live/Studio experience: 
Solo, band, DJ’s eg. 5 star hotels in Sydney/Overseas. Prestigious Venues in Sydney, Australia - The Basement, Opera Bar, Blue Beat, Ivy, Hugo’s, The Establishment, Zeta Bar - Hilton, Intercontinental Hotel, The Arthouse, Star City Casino and Countless Corporate Functions. 
Session Singing: TV/ Radio Commercials, Demo’s for others originals etc. 

Member of: 

The Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) 
The Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) 
Phonographic Performance Company of Australia Limited (PPCA) 

​ 

Studied Piano via ‘Simply Music’ Programme:  www.simplymusic.com 
Train regularly with Master Teachers around the world. 
Attend Seminars & Events that have relevance to Vocals & Performance: 
Apra Awards 
Aria Awards 
CMJ Festival NYC 
Sydney Song Summit 
Pat Pattison Songwriting workshops

​An Overview of Teaching Mix 

Goal of MIX: 

The goal of a MIX teacher is to help the student develop a pleasing and natural tone (especially on the often ‘dreaded’ high notes) through as much range as possible with no ‘cracks’ or ‘breaks’, apply this sound to a song, and then help the student perform the song with Great style without losing the even and smooth sound. 

This is accomplished by doing the following: 

Help the student understand ‘what’ and ‘where’ the bridges (or ‘passage area’s often called the “passagio”) are. 

Show the student how to navigate the bridges by teaching good posture (breathing), vowel production (pure, narrow, vertical vowels), and how to have a relaxed and stabilized larynx. A stable larynx is very important as we want to make sure that the muscles normally used to chew and swallow food are not used to force the larynx up or down in order to ‘improve’ the sound. This causes an imbalanced sound. 

MIX Voice is founded on the concept of singing in the same comfortable manner as you speak. Imagine the body in an open, relaxed condition doing what it was designed to do. The result is a voice that sounds full and connected all through its entire range, with no breaks or sudden shifts in tone. 

The Process: 

To accomplish these goals, MIX teachers begin by using specific vocal exercises which are designed to help the student experience the sensations he or she should feel during proper vocal production. The purpose of each exercise is to help the student get into the proper place and then move toward application to a song. 

First Lesson: 

A Great ‘get to know you and your voice’ session. At the first lesson I will ask a few brief questions about your vocal history and then immediately diagnose your voice. This diagnostic test consists of a simple vocal exercise that will give me enough information about your voice to move forward with the correct method of teaching specifically for you.

First Lesson: 

A Great ‘get to know you and your voice’ session. At the first lesson I will ask a few brief questions about your vocal history and then immediately diagnose your voice. This diagnostic test consists of a simple vocal exercise that will give me enough information about your voice to move forward with the correct method of teaching specifically for you. 

Future Lessons: 

During these lessons we continue to work on MIX Technique through various exercises tailored specifically for you. We then work on applying the technique to the chosen song. Each lesson is recorded so it can be listened back to during the week. A Great way of learning & remembering! 

Online Lessons (Skype/Facetime/Zoom):

If you live far away, are going overseas for awhile, or are on tour, practising social distancing, are in quarantine or lockdown, or it just takes too long to get to my studio in peak hour traffic, you may want to consider online lessons. 99% of my lessons are taught online since the pandemic. 

I have taught people as far away as Hong Kong and as close as around the corner. 

Also, sometimes you may have an important performance and you want a warm-up before the show. 

My skype name is: Maz Mazak 

Please note: Online lessons must be pre-paid.