? University

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What I’m about to say has been said before, but it needs to be said again, and again, and again. BEWARE of your educational choices when pursuing your singing/music career.

Do not assume that what you learn at university is your ticket to staying up-to-date on the latest information and scientific research about the voice (or getting you a singing job). In fact, many universities will reject and delay updating curriculum that is vitally necessary to singing your best in the 21st Century. Let’s just say many jobs and many egos are at stake.

Do your homework, and learn up-to-date singing techniques from as many reliable sources as you can find.

HINT, HINT: Take private singing lessons from a coach you trust, and go to a college that specializes in your desired speciality……musical theatre? music business, recording engineering, production? song writing?   Go to a university if you want to TEACH ……. but, by the way, there are no teaching jobs……

Vowels

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A great deal of singing better is dependent on your ability to form vowels which involves the entire throat, the soft palate, the tongue, and the mouth all the way out to the lips.

Your efforts in perfecting your vowel formation can make dramatic advances towards your goal to become a better singer.

There are tons of tiny muscles pulling and pushing simultaneously as you form your words. Your strict attention to detail in this area will engage these muscles, eventually allowing you to raise the soft palate higher, move the tongue with ease, keep the throat open, etc.

The oo vowel (as in “boot”)  is especially helpful to allow the up and down changes in resonance. In other words, it helps you access your head voice. Work with oo everyday, and continually try to elongate and narrow the vowel even more. Relax your jaw and lift your soft palate as much as you can…..think of the beginning of a yawn and raise your eyebrows, and you will be well on your way. Again, exaggerate these movements to engage muscles that you don’t regularly use.

Another important vowel is ee (as in “beet”). Careful that you don’t squeeze this and make it thin and reedy. Instead, start with oo and keep that elongated open feeling in the back of your throat. Now, simply change the vowel to ee without changing the position of your jaw. Let the back of your mouth, tongue and soft palate do the work. Think of the ee as a horizontal line at the back of your throat. Be careful not to close the throat. This can be very challenging for some singers, but it’s very important work.

Any questions? Please let me know.

How to Become A Vocal Athlete

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To become a better singer, you must simply exercise. You must exercise with correct form and attention to detail. It’s no different than going to the gym to workout your body.

We have all seen people who go to gym and simply go through the motions. Their form is not disciplined, and therefore the correct muscles are not activated when doing the exercise.

This is the same situation when singing. If you are not activating the correct muscles and coordination within the throat and larynx to do the exercise on hand, then you are simply wasting your time. Other muscles are doing the job instead……..and that is what we are trying to change in the first place!

 

 

Singsong-like speech

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Do you know what is meant by the term sing-song-like voice? You know, the talking voice that flows up and down in pitch throughout each sentence. Great speakers and presenters usually have this, and so do actors. The freedom of a sing-song-like speaking voice is usually prominent in people who are confident and interesting and/or happy. They are easy to listen to because their speaking voice changes pitch and inflections on every word.

Practising a sing-song-like speaking voice is a great step to finding your mix. Singing in a mix requires the freedom to “let go” of your default pitch for speaking.

So, grab a book and start reading. Pretend you are telling a fabulous story to a group of children, and in the story there are many different animals with different sounds. Some of the animal sounds are louder than others. Some of the animals are small and cute, while others are big and bold. Try to reflect this speech to the back of the room in a “free” and “continous” feeling. For fun, try and draw out the last word in every sentence on whatever pitch it lands on.

Simply float your speech on a steady stream of breath while  moving your pitch up and down. As you get comfortable with this, move your pitch even higher to your bridge area. Do not flip. Engage your body with the energy that is necessary to maintain this without getting louder.

This is a great exercise for vocal awareness.

It’s an illusion

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Don’t be deceived about the “size” of commercial voices you hear on recordings. They are sometimes produced in the studio to sound big and thick and bright. If you heard these singers in your average-size living room, you may be shocked to realize they sound nothing like they do on recordings.

This is, in fact, part of the perception problem that happens when we try to copy some of our favourite singers.  We try to mimic what we think is the singer’s vocal power, when it is actually an illusion of power created in the studio with amplification and effects. Even on our favourite shows like American Idol and The Voice, there is tons of reverb, delay and EQ effect added to a singer’s voice to make it sound “larger” than it really is.

What makes a great “big” voice is a singer’s ability to control their voice during register shifts, changes in volume, and use of correct resonators. These things can only be done well when a singer’s larynx and vocal cords are in good shape. These abilities have nothing to do with whether a voice is actually “big” or not.  (A big voice is when a person is loud when they are talking … not just singing … and this usually means they have thick vocal cord).

Amplify a voice that has great control of the above qualities, and you get one heck of an awesome voice. And yes, this voice can be “big”.

 

 

Diary of a singer

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Wow, what a busy weekend.  Three singing bookings plus Sunday morning church equals 4 plus 2 plus 4 plus 2 hours of singing between Friday evening and Sunday morning…..and I must say I pulled it off without a hitch.

But, not without a lot of planning, vocalizing, and careful monitoring. Sure enough, I made it look like a breeze. My audience’s feedback was everything from “your voice is like butter” to “Wow, how do you do that with your voice?”

So, here is how it happened.

Friday morning I woke up with a tickle from the dry air caused by having the furnace on for the night. It quickly reminded me to get out the humidifier for Friday night’s sleep. But in the meantime, I had a full weekend of singing scheduled, so I carefully had to set my course.

As always, I started with my head voice, narrow vowels and a volume less than that of regular speech. I did lip rolls and woos endlessly to get the blood flowing. I always vocalize at a low volume. This helps me balance my air flow first, and send signals to the rest of my body that if I want to have any power later on, I had better work for it now. This means engaging my entire body in the process of breath control. My stomach is involved, my ribs are involved, my back is involved….you get the drift….my entire being is engaged. This is slow and methodical, all the while testing and re-adjusting the attack of my consonants, and tone of my vowels on exhale. It’s not easy work, but it’s a sensation I am all-too-familiar with. It’s a balancing act of pressure inside my lungs versus pressure outside my lungs.

By 3 pm I’m ready to load my gear, shower and dress for my show. I keep in touch with my body and it’s direct energy that is connected to my breath control. I know this is what I will need to do for the entire evening if I am going to be at my best.

And I was. I was still able to sing as well at 1:00 am as I did when I started at 9:00 pm.

Saturday morning ritual started similarly, but I was tired. I had a shower and relaxed in a hot bath. I spent some time focusing on deep breathing and releasing narrow vowels on a continuous smooth breath of air. I didn’t push it. My body slowly started to gain more energy and strength. Within two more hours I had the stamina and consistency to continue my vocalizing. Again, mixing well at a low volume. I paid special attention to my ability to create the exactness and smallness of my “cry” which is crucial for good vocal cord closure.

My Saturday afternoon gig was basically like a warm-up for the evening gig. This is because the venue was smaller with a more intimate audience. This was great because it made me work hard to sing intensely and beautifully in a small environment. I set the volume of my speaker system loud enough so that I could get a bass boost on my voice when I had the microphone touching my lips.  This is a great technique for singing the verse of ballads, and when you want an intimate and conversational style. Then, for variations in intensity and texture on my voice, I would “dance” with my microphone allowing for immense control of dynamics. I was able to pull back just enough from the mic on high notes to allow my chest voice to mix nicely from the bottom up giving the illusion of “big”.  Because I have what is considered a “small” voice, the microphone added a wonderful depth and texture to my tone. With the microphone taken away, my audience could have still heard me sing, just as one would hear you sing in an open-concept large living room. The point here is that without the microphone I would have been inclined to sing a lot louder. But, in this case, the microphone, and my to-die-for monitor system, allowed me to sing with superb awareness and subtlety at a balanced and controlled volume.

I sang again into the evening from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am with sheer confidence, and a slight bit more extremeness than the night before. Knowing I could push the envelop ever-so-slightly made my belting songs such as Cabaret, I Will Always Love You, My Heart Will Go On (etc), just a bit more dramatic. Then and only then did I blow a little bit harder than was actually necessary to accomplish the task.

So, what should you take from this post?

IMHO, singing is very physical work. It is exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. Learning how to pay attention to your body and its’ ability to do wondrous things for your voice is an intense and personal journey. This is something that is not easily taught. No one taught me how hard I would have to work to sing so well. I have learned from years of experience, there is only one person you can count on…….and that is yourself.

So, how hard did you work today?

 

Getting the larynx down

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I love this video. All singers, regardless of the genre they sing, should vocalize at times with a low larynx. Watch the video and copy the instructions given by Cecilia Bartoli`s mother. The ability to maintain the larynx in this position while vocalizing will dramatically improve your overall singing ability.

I know what you might be saying; you don’t like opera, or you don’t like this sound. That doesn’t matter. That isn’t the point. The point is you need to experience and practise singing with a low larynx. Opera belting and rock belting are much closer in coordination that you might ever realize.

However, don`t deliberately depress the tongue. That isn`t necessary. Your throat will be very open and the larynx will be low with the yawn sensation coupled with the correct vowel sound and jaw position. Allow the tongue to just be.

If you are having trouble with this coordination, and you feel yourself fighting to maintain the position when singing, then start by simply making noises in this position. Allow yourself time to feel and learn from this coordination. If you have never done this before, it will feel totally foreign. However, embrace it…..practise it…….learn from it.

Broadway singers must demonstrate belt

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I’ve said before what a tough job it is for female Broadway singers these days. Most casting directors are requiring singers to demonstrate a belt, as well as show a nicely mixed legit voice. Not many auditions require a legit soprano voice anymore. Instead, they are looking for a legit voice that can sing from the bottom up without a break in the middle….a strong chest voice with a mix that can ascend into a belt without flipping.

Where are you going to find your voice teacher?

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As I have said many times before…I’m glad I didn’t take voice lessons as a teenager!

Why? Because I would have gone to the old lady down the street who directs the church choir….that’s why! There were no other options where I grew up.

And watch out. There are still many more choir-like teachers in your city than teachers of what-I-like-to-call 21st Century Singing teachers.

So, where should you take voice lessons?

First, you need to do your research. Watch out for university trained classical singing teachers if you want to sing R&B or country or pop or rock. This is not an ideal situation. Now that being said, there are some classically trained teachers who do understand a commercially viable sound in chest voice and mix…….but I believe they are few and far between.

Remember, your goal isn’t to blend in with all the other singers……….your goal is to stand out among the other singers!

More on Belting

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Let’s be clear …. belting wrong will hurt, and if it hurts …. stop.

Let’s be clear …. belting CAN be done without harm and without hurting.

Let’s be clear … belting well takes a lot of practise. It is not for amateurs.

There have been singers belting for their entire career with no voice problems whatsoever. The problems come when singers don’t pay attention to the signs and symptoms that their bodies and vocal folds will inevitably give them if they are using poor technique. Poor technique symptoms are: hoarseness, fatigue, laryngitis, cough, tickle and breathiness when singing in head voice (alone). When these symptoms happen you need to refer back to paragraph #1…..stop and practise good technique.

The ability to belt properly can be learned….but not in a short amount of time. One must have great breath control, possess the ability to sing throughout their entire voice register without disconnecting (balance), and be able to keep the soft palate and tongue high enough to allow facial, mouth and head resonance. If you are working hard to keep your larynx down, or your tongue depressed, or the back of your throat open, (many trained singers have been taught this), then you may be working backwards.  A contemporary musical theater/pop/rock belt requires your larynx to be neutral to slightly high. (Neutral as in your speech level, and slightly high because the root of the tongue is connected to your larynx. If your tongue is high, and you are projecting into your head register, the larynx is going to tilt and slightly raise. This is perfectly OK and necessary. Note the soft palate is very high, and the jaw and mouth are very open.

Have you noticed that the majority of singers who belt well are untrained. That’s because many singers are taught traits that get in the way of allowing belt to happen. Belting is a very free and expressive feeling…(and did I mention it doesn’t hurt?).

My favourite Broadway belter right now is Lea Michele. Check her out here.
Listen to her happy yell at 1:46. For those of you trying to learn to belt, this yell is something to practise. Note how free you feel when you yell like this. Notice the “cry” in her voice throughout the entire performance. Lea Michele is an Olympic vocal athlete; the creme de la creme. Do not try to match and copy her singing without knowing what you are doing. The ability to sustain a performance like this takes years of training and perfection.

Comments? Questions? Please let me know.