Nice to see a singers’ thread on the board!..carry on… 
~fig
I’m horrid at answering questions so it’s probably best if you don’t ask me any, but I did want to chime in as another singer. I’ve been singing my whole life in school choirs and stuff and had four years of classical voice lessons in college while getting my degree (B.A. Music, concentration in voice), and now I perform pretty regularly in coffeeshops and bars in my area doing a solo acoustic thing backing myself up on my guitar. It’s nice to see so much interest in the craft – I don’t know who I’d be without my voice. 
What’s your reaction when you have to sing with a conductor whose beat is impossible to follow? I’ve just come from final rehearsal for a performance tonight of Stravinsky’s *Symphony of Psalms * and Ravel’s *Daphnis et Chloé * suite, and the conductor’s unclear beats are driving us all crazy.
How do you not ‘scoop’ up into a note? I’ve found that literally no matter how hard I try, I always add in a tiny grace note a minor third below the intended note right before, and I think it really malaffects my singing.
Ouch–my sympathies! 
It drives me nuts, just like you. Part of the whole challenge is watching the conductor with the utmost attention and following their exact directions while singing, and if they’re not being clear–well, you start thinking about new and creative uses for that baton.
Seriously, if it’s driving you all nuts nobody’s going to perform well. Is it possible to mention it to him (or her)?
That’s a tough one–I think I know what you mean by scooping up. It comes down to training, and really, the only thing I can think of is going very very slowly, note by note, and trying to hit each note right on before going faster.
Do you have a vocal coach? Are you in a choir?
I use a technique that my singing teacher passed on to me. Mentally think “over” the note, have your mouth in the correct shape for the vowel and then, once you’re on the note, think down. It works very well.
Um, singing Doperettes, are you screamers?
I’d assume that vocal gals are vocal in the bed, as well. Please don’t prove me wrong.
“The Singing Doperettes”. The WORST band name ever, right there.
Okay.
Part-time opera singer (mostly local companies), sing in a couple of professional choirs, I actually make my living teaching voice.
Two things–try to breathe “on the note”. What that means is: while you inhale, be thinking about the note you’re going to sing. With enough practice, you will find that everything “pre-sets” and you are able to come straight in on the note.
Also, if you are singing something that starts with a voiced consonant, remember that the consonant has pitch, and must be the same pitch as the note you’re singing. If you sing “la” (for example) and you don’t correctly pitch the “l”, you’ll sound like you’re scooping.
This is kind of a lame answer, but you really just need to spend a lot of time studying. There is no simple way to strenghten the voice; you’re talking about the fine coordination of a bunch of really tiny muscles, over which you have no direct control (go on, flex your crico-thyroid!). If you just keep at it (assuming your teacher isn’t an idiot) you will find your voice getting stronger.
Hm. Toronto, eh? I shouldn’t have left Buffalo yet.
Harumph.
It certainly drove us nuts at last night’s (Saturday’s) performance. We stuffed up several entries because his beat was so unclear. Our musical director had a word with him and he was much clearer for this afternoon’s performance.
Yes, I have a singing teacher. I sing with the Sydney Philharmonia Choir.