Category Archives: Singing Instruction

Singing

The untrained voice and belt singing

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The definition of (chest) belting according to Seth Riggs is using an excessive amount of air (air blast) and vocal cord tension in an attempt to sing louder.

Over the last 50 years, singers have been using their voices in many new and demanding, interesting and entertaining ways. Whether we like it or not, the untrained voice is creating sounds that many cultures desire and enjoy. Traditional singing techniques consider these sounds wrong. What is a singer to do? Take traditional vocal lessons and never be able to create these sounds? Or train elsewhere and learn how to make these vocal sounds without harm to the vocal cords.

Belting is indeed “a flavour” that the Western world has embraced. This can be a learned technique, but for the most part is self-taught. Good singers who are very “intune” with their body energy and support can acquire a belting voice with much practise and careful attention. An example of this would be Celine Dion and Adam Lambert. Unfortunately, when a singer is not careful about the problems associated with “belting” incorrectly, it can result in hoarseness, vocal nodes, fatigue, and even total loss of the voice.

Singers need to be aware that traditional training is not always the best path to study voice. Musical theatre voices are changing as well. Producers are hiring singers who can belt more now than ever. Again, we may not like these changes, but this is happening. The trained voice is being set-up for failure in the music business.

Having said that, Speech Level Singing does not encourage or teach belting. Belting is a preference in style. SLS sets a singer up with a strong, well-balanced voice, that allows the singer to sing in any style they wish.

I will try and unravel more about vocal styles in upcoming posts.

Why I’m glad I didn’t take traditional singing lessons…

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I grew up singing. I sang at nursery school, I sang at church. I sang at public school in the choir and when I was 13 started a “band” with my sister. I played bass guitar and she played drums. We also had two friends in the band who sang and played guitar. We would perform at church events, community events, and frankly, anywhere we could. My parents were very supportive and it was a huge part of why I am still singing and performing today.

I didn’t take singing lessons as a child, but I did take piano lessons. I can remember the hurdles I had with my voice early on. I can remember the limits I had. Even though I had a “nice voice” it was mostly chest voice. The highest note I could sing comfortably was a C above middle C, and that was pushing it. I struggled with this limitation for years as I went on to play and sing in different dance bands for over 20 years. I got good at belting but I had trouble lasting a gig that was more than three nights in a row. If I had a virus I was doomed. I knew I couldn’t make it through even one night without being hoarse.

I studied classical voice when I was in my 30’s and pregnant with my first child. It was something that I always wanted to do. I practised hard and took the Grade 9 Western Conservatory practical exam after two years of training. After that, I quit. I had learned a lot, and it was some of the most vigorous singing I had ever done. However, I didn’t want to sing classical music. I wanted to sing contemporary music.

The reason I am writing this post is to tell you how glad I am that I never had traditional singing lessons as a child or teenager even though I wanted them. To put it simply is that classical singing lessons would have changed my vocal sound, and I would never have been able to sing popular genres the way I do now. The reason I know this is because I experienced myself what singers with trained voices are experiencing as they try to sing other styles of music. Unfortunately, traditional classical training gets in the way. Popular and contemporary music focuses a lot on music written under the first bridge, through the first bridge and usually climaxing near the second bridge (not over the second bridge). Singers usually approach the second bridge with more chest in the “mix” than head voice. This is the problem. Classically trained singers have trouble disengaging so much head voice in their mix. They are not familiar with their speech level chest voice which is very common in popular music.

The best thing that happened to me is when I stumbled upon Speech Level Singing (SLS). I had been reading and researching it for years, and finally decided to enroll as a student/teacher. (Yes, I still take voice lessons!). SLS was the technique that saved my voice. I can now sing hour after hour, night after night, with consistency, great tone, power and strength. It has been the only technique that made sense to me. I am now able to strengthen my mix daily and stay healthy and ready for regular singing day after day.

My comment to you is this. If you take traditional vocal lessons, you need to realize you may be altering your voice in a way that you don’t really want to. Traditional training approaches the voice from the high end first. You end up with this beautiful head voice tone. However, the chest voice can suffer and leave you wondering why you can’t sing certain songs the way other singers do.

Times are changing and there is no better time to tell singers about these differences than now…..so spread the word!

How to Sing Better…

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If you have tried to learn how to sing better by reading information online, or by purchasing online products, then you have noticed that a lot of the information out there differs and it can be confusing. How is a singer suppose to know what is actually going to help them sing better? I have outlined some points below that may help.

Compare singing well to having a body that is in good shape. A good singer would be like a fit body. There are various shapes and sizes of fit bodies. Some are short, some are tall, some are muscular while others are not so. But, they are all “fit”.

Getting fit with singing means balancing your low voice, with your middle voice, with your high voice. In other words, a strong and consistent voice through your entire singing range….much like a fit body would have the correct balance of lean muscle versus fat content.

Where things get confusing is when we bring “style” into the concept of singing.

Consider this. Let’s say some fit people focus on their biceps, while other fit people focus on their chest. Then there are some fit people who work harder on their 6-pack, while others still work overtime on their back muscles. The one thing the all have in common is that they are first and foremost…fit. They look good everywhere, but some look extra muscular in a certain area.

If you use this analogy with singing, then you realize that every good singer must be fit first. Again, this means being able to ascend and descend through their entire singing range without strain or breaks. Once a singer is fit, then they can sing in any style they choose from classical to rock. This enables the singer to get “extra” fit in some areas.

Before you rock out, you need to know that you are singing well through your bridges, and then you learn to style in rock. Rock singing can be very damaging on the vocal cords, so being fit and staying fit is absolutely necessary. If you are a classically trained singer then you may be more fit in your upper register, but you may want to style in another genre of music. Blues, jazz and pop singers all have a stronger chest tone in their middle voice, while classical singers generally have more head tone in their middle voice. These differences are all about style.

How has Singing changed? Is Technique keeping up with Style?

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Before the age of microphone technology there was only one way to sing. You needed to be heard at the back of the stadium with only your own head amplification to count on. This led to certain vocal techniques which were the only correct vocal sounds to be produced. This is known as a classical sound. Vocal technique was and still is centered around this classical sound, and the fact that it can be achieved without damage to the vocal cords while achieving great demands.

Times have changed, and when “popular music” emerged, there came a different voice, the “untrained” voice. Or, shall we say the voice that was trained by the singer, himself. This is much the way it still is today, and the division between the two voice types has never been more apparent. The classically trained singer generally has superb head voice tone, resonance and breath control, while the untrained voice may not. The “untrained” voice may have a superb chest voice register with belt, while the “trained” singer may not.

The classical singer’s “popular” voice sound is the voice you hear most often in musicals and on Broadway. The trained chest voice is typically precise with enunciation, resonance and clarity. Musicals sometimes require the singer to use their chest voice in a different manner compared to their classical training. In fact, productions are requiring a strong chest voice more now than ever before. Producers are looking for that singer who can sing just as strong in their chest voice, through their middle voice, and well into the head voice. This is a huge hurdle for some singers, depending on how they were trained.

A good way to think about it is that history has typically taught voice centered around the head voice and all its resonators and worked it’s way down into the chest voice……..whereas, musicals and Broadway are more than ever looking for voices that have trained well from their chest voice and up. In other words, a strong chest voice is more important in theatre than ever before.

So consider these ideas when searching out a voice teacher, or when working on your own voice. Which section on the voice do you practise the most? Do you know your chest voice from your head voice? Can you sing strong in your chest voice and through your middle voice (the mix)?

Your thought and questions are welcome.

Analysis of Female Belters and the Star-Spangled Banner

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Recently Christine Aguilera performed the Star-Spangled Banner at the Superbowl. This poor performance was more than just forgetting the words. In this post I hope to provide valuable information to female singers worldwide about the importance of key choices and style choices of songs they sing. I will compare famous pop singers who belt and link to their Star-Spangled Banner performance.

First, you will need to know the first female passagio is around A above middle C (middle C is C4). This “bridge” is the transition between your lower voice (chest) and your high voice (head). It is more than just one note, it is a “passage” of usually 2-3 notes…anywhere from A flat to B flat. Do you notice that when you sing in this area, it feels different? This is where your voice needs to “mix” well so you can transition well into your higher register.

Watch Christine Aguilera’s performance here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpCFpYLPw74
Her key choice is F major. The “big note” on the words red glare and the last line free is C above middle (C5). A good belter has no problem hitting this note. Unfortunately, Christine was not well prepared for this performance. She started very shouty and never got “in the mix”. She basically got stuck in her chest voice and had to flip for the big note at the end. I think the reason she forgot the words is because she realized straight away that she was not mixing well, and was in trouble for the big finish. She knew her energy and focus was off, and it reflected not only in the lyrics, but also in her voice.

Watch Jennifer Hudson’s performance here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE-7YqwZZ4o
Jennifer’s key choice is A major. This performance is spectacular. She is one of the best “mixing” chest belters in the business right now. What the listener may not realize is that Jennifer is belting C#5 in the second line on the word proudly and this is already a higher note than Christine’s “big note” of C5. Listen to how Jennifer can slip easily into her dynamic range of loud and soft within any given phrase. This ability means she is definitely mixing well. Christine’s voice on the other hand would not have been able to decrease in volume without “flipping” into a heady sound.

Watch Mariah Carey here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-Hw-0_JOys
Mariah’s key choice is E major. This is a semi-tone lower than Christine’s. Mariah is a fabulous “mixer”. Listen to her delicate weaving back and forth in the mix at the beginning of the song. I am disappointed that she picked such a low key. Her “big note” is only a B4…..however…..I guess that’s not really true…because on the words free she shows us her fabulous super head voice which I believe is a B6. This will be why she picked the Key of E major so she could fit this note in. I would have preferred a higher key and have her leave the super high note out.

Watch Beyonce here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWgZ_MSMHgw
Beyonce’s key choice is G major. Love this key and performance. She saves the belt for the appropriate spots in the song. She has a beautiful mix throughout.

Watch Whitney Houston here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqqL_LRWyJs
Whitney’s key choice is A flat major. This is, of course, when Whitney was belting and mixing superbly. This performance is A+. Whitney’s decline in vocal ability over the last few years is a prime example of not taking care of your instrument. Her choice of lifestyle has all but destroyed her voice…..very sad to say the least.

Watch Faith Hill here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJI_rlar68M
Faith’s key choice is G major. This is a good performance for Faith. She is mixing well. You can hear her carefulness at the beginning of the song, to be sure to include her head resonance in the low notes. This is important so that as she ascends she can stay well in her mix. Indeed, there is a beautiful balance in her belting notes of B4, C5 and D5.

Watch Kelly Clarkson here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMuaXm0Ps2E
Kelly’s key choice is E major. A very low key choice in my opinion for Kelly. This was I suppose a safe choice, but she can definitely belt higher in her mix. The “big note” is only a B4. Also, I feel she is rushing through the song. It could have been a touch slower with more emotion.

Watch Celine Dion here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z53EROEjCsA
Celine’s key choice is G major. This really is the optimum key choice for this song. I would have preferred to hear her start a little more subtle in dynamics. But, nonetheless, Celine is one of the best chest belters in the business, and this performance only proves that. Her big notes are B4, C5 and D5. This key allows the biggest part of the song to stay just under the next passagio which starts around D#5. Perfect key choice for chest belters.

Watch Carrie Underwood here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePMrIe5SBqw
Carrie’s key choice is F#. Good performance for Carrie. She is mixing well and her belt is strong from A#5 through C#5.

Watch Taylor Swift here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbvMDTkdoKE&feature=related
Taylor’s key choice is E major. This is about the only key she could safely pick without having trouble at her bridge. Taylor is not a good mixer. Her big notes are G#4, A#4 and B4.

Well, there you have it. For anyone wanting to practise their chest belting I suggest you “copy” Jennifer Hudson and Beyonce. Get the feel of their gentle, relaxed mixed voice, which then leads into a beautiful mixed belt at the climax of the song. Work your belting this way, and you will get stronger the correct way. The reverse is true for copying singers who belt in their low range. You run the risk of not being in a good mix, and therefore you will get stuck. This kind of voice can rarely sing well above a B flat or high C. And, while I admire Christine Aguilera’s talent, I highly suggest you never ever try to copy her voice. You are only asking for trouble.

I appreciate your comments or questions. Why not drop me a line.

What happened to Christine Aguilera?

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You probably heard the gossip surrounding Christine Aguilera’s mix-up of the words of Star-Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl. You can revisit that performance here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpCFpYLPw74 I would like to talk about that performance, but not about the words she messed up, but rather her voice.

First, let me say I am a big fan. She is one-of-a-kind. I have heard her perform at times extremely well (You tube – live video concerts) and other times, not so well. This performance was definitely the latter. It is clear that she was not able to get into a good mix as she ascended in pitch during the song. She probably recognized that she was “pulling too much weight”, and things weren’t just right. This may be the reason she messed up the words. It can definitely be distracting when you find yourself in the middle of song, giving it everything you have, and knowing that there’s no backing down now, you have to get to the big finish, you have to get to that big note…….and…..well, what happened in Christina’s case, is that she had to flip and sing the biggest note in the song in her head voice. I’m sure that was not her plan.

What went wrong? Well, a number of things could have gone wrong. Maybe she had a virus and her cords were slightly swollen. Maybe she didn’t prep her mix well enough before the performance. I wouldn’t think she would go into the performance unprepared, but my guess is she belted with too much volume in the beginning of the song, such as the words “by” the dawn’s early light. These heavy chest tones can immediately unbalance the voice and make it difficult to get into your head voice. This song is in the key of F and the main belting note that she sang over and over is the A above middle C. I think the fact that she pick this key was detrimental for her. The key of G would have put her over her bridge slightly at the belting note, and possibly made it easier to be in the mix. In other words, she could have actually been singing higher, and not have had to flip. She would have been able to carry the chest in the mix all the way up to D above middle C no problem.

Do you have trouble singing on key?

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There are a few different reasons why people have trouble singing on key. We usually assume it is because they are not “hearing” or “listening” to the music well enough to copy. Teachers will generally assume this is an ear-training issue. While I don’t totally disagree, I want to draw your attention to a couple of more points.

Singing is no different than playing an instrument….the instrument just happens to be your voice. Your voice is made up two vocal cords (vocal folds) that must come together (adduct) to varying degrees in order to make pitch. The higher you go in pitch, the more adducted your cords must be, and they need to be able to hold that closure while singing. Every person is genetically predisposed from birth to have a unique set of vocal folds. Some are thicker than average, some are thinner. Some are longer than average, some are shorter. Some are more flexible than average, and some aren’t very flexible at all.

The vocal folds grow and change as a child ages and grows into adulthood. Genetically we can be cursed with a “poor” set of vocal cords from birth. Also, during childhood a great many things can affect the voice……like continuous cough, asthma, and frequent shouting or speaking loudly. These abuses can cause the folds to swell and create the inability to “adduct” fully and properly. Also, poor speech habits can have drastic effects on the singing voice. If words are produced with improper vowel and consonant formation, (which can also be a issue of poor breathing habits), then the singing voice can be doubly doomed. Unfortunately, these problems can be interconnected, because if genetically you have poor vocal cords then speaking properly is obviously going to be difficult which in turn affects your singing.

It is common for me to see young boys and girls (any age from 4 and up) with an unusually low or raspy voice, or with poor speech habits, who have trouble matching pitch above their speaking voice pitch. This is because it is much more “effort” for them to zip their vocal cords properly than the average little boy or girl with a normal speaking range. These little low voices have trouble singing on key because they need to be able to hold the cords together to sing at a higher pitch than they are speaking. To some of these little guys, they have never experienced the sensation of holding their vocal cords together because the effort is either too difficult, or too unusual in that they have never easily experienced vocal cord closure.

If you are wondering if this is a problem for your child, you can simply try the following examples to get good vocal cord closure. Can she make a fire siren sound? Can he meow in his high voice? Can she “scream” without using extensive force? These guidelines will let you know how well they are able to adduct their vocal cords.

The bottom line is that it is more “effort” for these little ones to match pitch. They need more encouragement and more experience doing it correctly. The more they sing higher or talk higher, or imitate higher sounds, then the vocal cords with start to engage in this muscular activity. It’s very important to get these little ones who have low or abused vocal cords started with high sounds/noises as young as possible. The older the child gets then he/she thinks he can’t sing on key and stops trying to match pitch all together. They don’t necessarily lose their love for singing, however! They will still go around singing, but unfortunately everyone around them will notice that they are not in key. The vocal cords end up only being engaged at their speech level (the pitches near their talking voice) and they never experience the sensation of their vocal cords zipping up.

Have you experienced anything that rings true with above? Do you have questions or comments? Why not drop me a line. Susan

Picking the right song….

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It’s not as easy as you might think.

Most singers will pick a song that they love without any thought to what might be best song for their voice. Here are some things to consider.

Know your range from the lowest note to the highest note you can sing with ease. Don’t pick a song that has that one or two notes that you know will cause you trouble even though the rest of the song is fine.

Consider transposing it to a key best suited to your range. You may need a piano or guitar player to help you with this, but it is worth it. Some singers/musicians are sensitive to changing the key of an original artists’ song, because to their ears the song just doesn’t sound right unless it is sung in the original. However, I don’t believe in this concept. As a singer it is not out job to sound like the original singer! In fact, it is quite the opposite. We need to sing in the key that is best for our voice range.

When I sing songs recorded by male artists like the Beatles, Elton John or Billy Joel, I definitely have to change the key to suit my voice. Oh sure, I can sing the notes of the original recording, but that is not the best sound for my voice…..and most female voices (almost all female voices!) are going to sound better in a raised key.

Consider this…..Male voices get their “biggest” notes when they reach their bridge and higher, around E above middle C. Great male singers will belt a G or A above middle C and sound fabulous. When a female sings it in the same key, it will probably sound dull. This is because the notes are all under our first bridge. The female voice doesn’t get her “biggest” notes until she is over her first bridge which is around A or B flat. The best female belting voices like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion are singing way over their first bridge and sometimes over their second bridge at E flat above high C. These are some big, big sounds.

Consider this….Taylor Swift is a huge recording artist. She has not made it in the music business because of her voice. In fact, all her songs barely reach the first bridge. In live concert she struggles with this a lot, but they can fix this in a studio setting so we don’t notice the struggle very much on her recordings (although you CAN hear it).

Young girls love to sing Taylor Swift songs for a couple of reasons. The obvious is the song-writing about love and hurt, and so on. The other is because most of her notes are easy to sing! That’s right!

Ladies, have you noticed that you can sing some male songs really easy? Now you know why. You are singing mostly under your first bridge. Guys, have you noticed that you can sing a female song fairly easily? (don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone!) Again, the reason is because you are singing their songs an octave lower and below your first bridge.

So, in conclusion, consider how you are handling your song choices. If you want to sing your songs better, then train your voice to handle your vocal bridges. Learn where they are and what they feel like. Then you’ll be able to sing any song of your choice well!

I’d love to hear any comments about your voice, or voice troubles. Why not leave a message!

How to get a “mixed” voice

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Everyone’s voice has a low section and high section. The low end is your chest voice and the high end is your head voice. The essence of good singing is utilizing both the chest voice and the head voice at the same time. This is called your “mixed voice”. Make sense?

Your chest voice is where you speak. Try saying “A – A – A” like the “a” in cat. Say it with some umph, and a little bit nasty. Make an open big mouth and say it again. This is your engine….and yes, it can sound rather obnoxious. But, don’t disregard this, this is your power house!

On the other end is your head voice. This is the light, airy sound at the top of your voice. Some people can’t access it very easily. Try and do a sigh with your light high voice. This is head voice.

The ideal voice is when the chest voice and the head voice work together at the same time. Unfortunately, often what will happen is one voice will “outweigh” the other, creating an imbalance of sound and sensation.

If you have any background singing with a choir or training with a classically trained teacher, then you were probably encouraged to sing with your head voice brought down even to your low notes, This can create a very strong head voice, but unfortunately doesn’t match up in balance with your chest voice, leaving you light and airy on your bottom notes with minimal strength.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you have been singing pop, country or rock music on your own and copying some “not-so-well-balanced” singers, then you may have developed a strong chest voice without allowing any head voice in the mix. You may notice that you have to sing louder and louder as you go higher and higher, and eventually you just can go further. Your sound is likely harsh and well, possibly, very annoying. And, let’s not forget to mention that you probably hurt!

“Getting in the mix” is the vocal workout you need. If done correctly, it will help your voice be stronger and more flexible than you ever thought possible. You will be able to sing any note you want.

It worked wonders for me, and I know it will for you too!

Have you got any questions? Why not drop me a line!

Does your child sing all the time…….what age should they start lessons?

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The majority of singing teachers suggest a child should start taking singing lessons around the age of 9. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Children can start taking singing lessons as soon as they have the desire to sing!

By the age of 9 children have already established “habits” that can be difficult to change. The easier way is to develop these habits from an early age. If the child is going to be singing all the time anyway, why not encourage and teach them how to do this properly at an early age.

One important factor is to have the parents involved. A 5-y-old is not likely going to practise in between lessons, unless the parent helps establish that routine at home. If you treat her vocalizing the same way you treat doing her homework, and brushing her teeth, then the voice will grow and develop to be a strong and beautiful instrument.

So if your little one is always singing, and talks about being the singing star, why not encourage great vocal development that will stay with them through their entire life!

Do you have any questions or comments, why not let me know what you think.

Susie