You can always learn to sing better…

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Susan McAllister-Bee

This is for all the adults who were too shy to sing as a kid, and now as a adult you love singing along with the radio, but you wish you could to it better. Here are a few tips to try…

1. Use a set of good headphones to listen to an easy song by one of your favourite artists.

2. Listen intently and try to mimic the words and expressions but without making a sound. In other words, pretend you are that performer and articulate every word with clarity and preciseness.

3. When you are ready to add your voice, take one side of the headphone off and leave the other side on. You must be able to yourself as well as the performer.

4. Now sing quietly but intently with the performer. Make sure you are enunciating the words clearly and with expression. Be careful to be on exact pitch as the performer. Remember, you are not trying to mimic your interpretation of the performer’s sound, you are mimicing the consonants, vowels and phrasing.

5. Remember you are doing this quietly, but not quiet like a whisper, but quiet like you are talking…..just like talking on pitch.

6. If you find yourself needing to be louder as you go higher, then you are not approaching this exercise correctly. The voice needs stay at the same volume on the low notes as the high notes.

7. To help find what the high notes will feel like, try a “cry” approach, or a dog whimper to the pitch of the high note. Notice the thinness of your voice when you are in your head voice. Remember, your goal is not to match to “sound” of the performer, but rather the “pitch” of the performer. Sometimes just lightening up on the high notes will usually create the correct connection. This may be very breathy but you are going in the right direction.

9. Now with practise you can start to “lean” into the notes. This should help eliminate any extra air getting through.

10. One last tip — be true to your voice. It should not be your goal to sound like the performer in the song, it should be your goal to sing the song with your voice to the best of your ability.

Let me know how this exercise worked for you. Do you have any questions?

Singing with Emotion…

Posted on November 19, 2009 by Susan McAllister-Bee

When someone wants to learn how to sing better, there are quite a few angles that can help. Technique is obviously very important, and a huge part of the puzzle is being able to sing and show “emotion” in your voice. How do you know if you are singing with emotion? Well, for me as a listener, if a singer can make me “believe them” then they are emotionally reaching me with their song!

“Feel” Your Voice, Don’t Just Listen

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Susan McAllister-Bee

Good singing originates from the sensations you feel. When you sing a note that is close to your speaking voice, you should feel it resonate in your chest. Put your hand on your chest and try it, but don’t push or sing too loud. Singing (and talking) should be done at a comfortable “medium” volume. As you sing higher you should notice the resonance starts to leave your chest and you should feel a sensation in your mouth and the top of your palate and teeth. As you start to go even higher the resonance shifts to the back of your mouth in the soft palate. This is where a lot of singers try to adjust their sound by reaching for those notes. Instead of “reaching” for the notes you should approach them with ease. Yes, the sound will be lighter but it will be true. Learn to “feel” what your voice sounds like in this relaxed state. This step is necessary in the process of creating a balanced sound that connects your entire voice from low to high.