Tag Archives: how to sing rock

The root of the tongue

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Learning how to sing better means knowing about your voice, and all the elements that can affect your sound. The tongue can be a major player in sound production. It can help you make beautiful sounding tones, or it can cause your voice lots of grief.

The root of the tongue starts in the same area as the vocal cords in your throat. Most untrained singers don’t even realize the tongue is causing problems with their singing. Usually this creates a tightened or strained sound, and sometime it causes a nasal sounding singing voice. What is happening is the tongue is actually backing up and “covering” the vocal cords, instead of coming forward, staying relaxed, and allowing the throat to be open.

You can check this by singing your favorite chorus with your tongue lying out over your bottom teeth and lower lip. You don’t have to force it out, because again you would be creating tension in the tongue. Is your jaw and tongue relaxed enough so that your entire throat feels free? Now sing your chorus.

It is difficult to pronounce words this way, but the purpose of this exercise is to notice the open throat and tongue release.

This is a great way for rock singers and singers who are learning to belt to get in touch with the physical effort necessary in their body for optimum breath support for their mixed voice. Notice you may need to decrease your volume to maintain the balance of cord closure to allow the voice to mix in the upper register.

If your sound is breathy, then that is a key indicator that your vocal cords and breath support can be engaged better with proper coordinations. You have taken the tongue out of the equation so you can focus on your “cry” to get cord closure.

Do this everyday with the tongue out and experience an open throat with good vocal closure. Use sounds like “uh-uh” (as in “us”) and sing up and down through your register break. Don’t force your sound. Your voice will eventually start to become less breathy and you will start to hear and feel the edges of your cords touching. This is a great way to get in touch with “vocal fry” too.

Questions? Comments? I would love to hear from you. Please leave a message a below.

How do you “sing with emotion”?

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Why is it that “your” music stirs up such a strong “sense” within you, but not necessarily in the person beside you. Is it the lyrics? Is it the beat? Is it the volume and speed? Is it the singer? Why is it that what rocks one person’s music world doesn’t do the same for another?

We are all unique and special. We come from different backgrounds, different cultures, and different eras. However, the one thing that is for sure, music stirs emotions within us.

Rock music is typically raw, edgy, loud and speech-like. There is usually no vibrato.  If you sing rock music, the risk is that you may create these conditions incorrectly within the larynx causing the cords to over-compress in your low register, and not thin out or stretch as you sing higher. This can decrease your ability to express emotion.

Singers who “mix” their voice in both registers, can usually express their emotions in more distinct ways. The dynamics are more varied. They can easily add vibrato once in a while if desired. They can move with flexibility throughout their entire range with good pitch control, and easy production of consonants and vowels to form their words.

All these qualities are signs of good vocal technique. And let’s not forget that the body, head and neck is working very efficiently along with the vocal cords to hold back breath.

This is when the emotions you are feeling can actually be heard or “felt” by others. This is how you sing with emotion.

Questions? Comments? Please leave a message below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The big mouth

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So why do all your American Idol favorites sing with huge mouths?

Answer: Because the big mouth is directly related to the freedom associated with making sounds found in contemporary styles such as rock, pop, gospel, jazz, musical theatre, country, and even opera!

The ability to get great cord closure (to sing high notes with thin and stretched cords), and resonate in the oropharynx (back of the throat and out through the mouth), is what we are talking about here. This means the soft palate is high enough (which it needs to be), and the jaw and tongue are relaxed enough (which they need to be), and the throat is open enough (which it needs to be), to allow the sound to project off the uvula and soft palate area. This creates great oral resonance (oral twang). With the right amount of breath support, this sensation is very freeing and very BUZZY. You will feel the buzzy vibrations on your upper teeth, the hard palate, in the nose, and even out the top of your head! But be careful. Make sure you are not just making head resonance. It needs to come out the front of your mouth! This is mixed voice (middle voice) in high gear, and the safest way to belt out your notes! This is what gives great singers the illusion that they are singing in the chest voice, when in fact, they are mixing like crazy (split resonance).

This is not easy to do, and it’s not as simple as described above. The actual critical playing card is your ability to control and manage your breathing.

Give it try. What do you think? Allow the voice to come out the mouth with the freedom of resonance in the head. Stick three fingers between your teeth to keep your jaw and tongue from gripping. I know it’s hard to form the consonants in your words…so just sing the vowels. If you can perfect this to a sound you like, you are well on your way!

It’s time to build

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So, you are mixing. You have control of your larynx (not too high, not too low), and you are accessing the edges of your cords everyday through exercise, and getting good closure throughout your range. What’s next?

Build up of the voice to the next level is not effortless. In fact, the next level happens beneath the vocal cords. It’s your breathing.

That’s it. Maybe now it’s time to step it up and take in more breath.  But be careful, this does not mean let more breath out.

In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

If you are mixing with good resonance and cord closure (as mentioned in paragraph #1), then it’s time to make your body work harder.

Practise taking in deep breaths that make your belly extend. Hold it there. Feel the suspended feeling? Feel the buoyance to your upper chest and body? Feel the pressure build up down yonder in your genitals and rear end? There are many visuals that can help you achieve this sensation.

1. Imagine an open umbrella where the cover moves freely, in your abdomen (the open top imitating your rib cage). Not an umbrella that collapses, but an umbrella that waves from open to a little less open in a suspended, wavy but firm, motion (this is you breathing in and out).

2. Imagine holding up one of those plastic, floating, swimming devices around your mid to upper abdomen.  Keep in mind that you must still breath in and out, and keep this sensation of holding up the floating device. Feel the relaxed nature of the rest of your entire body as your abdomen and ribs are expanded while you breath. Notice as you take in the air, the device will tighten a bit around your upper abdomen. The abdomen will naturally fall in a little as you expel some air, but the sensation of holding up the device remains at all times. If this is totally uncomfortable or you feel lightheaded, then take in less air, and engage in these sensations and visualizations using less air.

3. As you expel air while breathing, engage in the pressure feeling of bearing down and build up that happens below your belly button. Control this feeling, learn to love this feeling, get familiar to this feeling; this is your breath support. Once you tap into the sensation of pressure build up in the lower abdominal area, genital and butt area, simply experience it while breathing. Remind yourself that this is your new way of breathing. This is the sensation that you will carry with you all day long while you continue to practise your new way of breathing.

You can use these sensations every minute of every day to help with your voice. You will notice your speaking voice will “pop” with ease when speaking. You will notice the rest of your body (your arms, legs, neck, head, jaw) simply relax into this unique, natural body effort that comes from deep within.

This way of breathing will help you in all facets of your life. You will feel more energy and more alive. Try to find that balance where you can manage these sensations throughout your entire day; not just when you’re singing.

Questions? Comments? I look forward to answering any questions.

The rock singer’s voice

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Singing rock music is extreme. If you are going to do it, you had better do it well. This means you need to be fully aware of what is going on inside your throat and body.

If your goal is to sound a certain way, or to sound like somebody else, then you may very well be in trouble. Most rock singers you admire have been singing for years and years and years. That’s why we love their voices. They have that vintage-sounding tone even in their speaking voice. Check your speaking voice; do you have a brassy component left over from years of blowing hard through your vocal cords. Probably not. And most teachers would say, that’s a good thing!

Singing extreme music like rock will require you to challenge yourself to be extreme. Are you sure you are ready? Are all your ducks lined up? The key here is being extreme in all the right places.

1. Do you have one continuous, seamless voice from the bottom of your range to the top of your range? (mixing)
2. Are you are total control of your increases and decreases in volume? Can you go from loud to soft back to loud in one long breath? (cord closure)
3. Can you do all the sounds I’ve listed in some of my posts? (ie hung-gee, the sirens, nay, nay, nay) (resonance)

If the previous exercises bog you down, then you are not ready for more. These need to be as easy as speaking.

Next step: Go out and do it! That’s right. Go get a gig and do it for free. Sing, sing, sing, and then go sing some more. Follow all the guidelines about warm-ups and cool-downs, but sing everyday, as long as you can. Pay attention, be careful. Get in tune with your voice and body.

When you can sing for 4 hours continuously without going hoarse, you are ready to step up your game.

Any comments or questions. Please leave them here.

More on rock singing…..

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My last post told you of the set-up in the voice box that is ideal for singing rock music. So what differentiates a good rock singer from being just-OK?

The answer is control! Most amateurs are squeezing out their sound in an attempt to sound “big”. When a singer is in control of all the fine details of the sounds he is making, the listener will be engulfed by how “large” the sound is when the “effort” is in the correct place.

Thyroid Tilting

The ability to tilt the thyroid cartilage will give the listener the illusion of “chest voice power”. Tilting will help the singer to bridge to their head voice with pharyngeal and mouth resonance. To achieve ideal conditions and optimum resonance in the head voice, the cords need to stretch (lengthen) and thin.

The puppy dog whimper is a good indicator (if you are doing it correctly) as to whether you are tilting well. The cords must stay together as you practise! Too much air will blow the cords apart too much. You should feel this “whimper-like cry” behind your upper teeth or behind the nose. Some describe it as starting at the back of the throat and carrying through the head voice area. Pay attention to making it as buzzy and light as you can. This means you are working the inner edges of the cords. The ability to do this without flipping (cords blowing apart) above your first passagio is very difficult. Master the delicateness of this and you will see your control improve instantly. (Alter your volume to find the balance where you can maintain this sound). Start small and light and achieve control of the detail).

To help keep your cords thin, add a “cry” to the onset of your sound. This moves the larynx up slightly, so be careful to know that you are tilting as well. The “whimper” and the “cry” in your head voice will set you up nicely for thyroid tilt and cord thinning.

Do you have any questions? Please let me know. More later on another very important component of the voice when singing rock……TWANG!!

So you want to be a rock singer?

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The following conditions are present for singing rock music.

Rock singing is high intensity. Rock singing requires optimum effort to avoid laryngeal constriction. Optimum effort means singing feels as easy as speaking in the throat. Breathing is high effort – breath control exercises are recommended.

Avoid constriction of the false vocal cords by thinking a “happy smile” inside your throat. Add the sensation of a sob or moan.  Stop any exercising if your throat tickles, scratches or makes you cough.

Vocal cords – Usually glottal, aspirate, and thick to stiff – say “uh-oh” on different pitches to experience glottal onset. (Engage the muscle at the top of your stomach, and middle of your ribs – to help with breath control).

Aspirate means air. Most rock singers sing with variations of an aspirate voice. This means that some breath is escaping. The folds are relatively short, and thick, similar to speech voice, and stiffen when stretched for high pitches.

The thyroid cartilage is tilted – say “meow” or whimper like a puppy dog. Practice this at the same volume in your low voice and high voice. Feel the “sweetness” added to your sound.

The cricoid cartilage and the thyroid cartilage are connected by a joint, that allows the two cartilages to rotate relative to each other creating an open space. (This is an over-simplied way of describing what actually goes on between the two sets of cartilage).  Try to find the small space between the thyroid and cricoid cartilage by putting your finger on your thyroid notch (your Adam’s apple). Now slide down slightly, just below the bump. This is the space. Tilting the thyroid cartilage when you “meow” or whimper may feel like the larynx is trying to rise. However, this sensation is likely the thyroid cartilage trying to tilt (which stretches the vocal cords).

The cricoid cartilage is engaged – when a singer is belting and/or shouting. This is high intensity voice production and has the potential to injure the voice. I suggest practising “happy” shouty singing with optimum breath control and thyroid tilt to get the cords to stretch. (Check your puppy dog whimper on all pitches and then do a happy shout and maintain that pitch for a duration). Remember, if it tickles, scratches or hurts, you are doing it wrong and should stop.

The larynx – this is the entire voice box. In general, rock singing requires the larynx to mid to high. However, if the larynx goes too high, the singer is unable to bridge to their head voice.

The tongue/jaw/mouth/soft palate – Rock singers typically have wide open mouths with the tongue raised in the back of the mouth, with the tip meeting nice with the back of the bottom teeth. The soft palate is high. (You can get this open big feeling by pretending to bite into a big apple, and allowing your tongue to hang out over your bottom lip).

Here is an exercise that is essential for rock singers.

Men: Hung-gee over your first passagio   [flowplayer src=’http://www.askhimin.com/bluepixeldesign/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/male-hung-gee.flv’]

Ladies: Hung-gee over your first passagio   [flowplayer src=’http://www.askhimin.com/bluepixeldesign/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ladies-hung-gee-0.flv’]

Please let me know if you have any questions. Feel free to leave me a comment.

More on belting

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Healthy belting requires ultimate breath control to avoid damage to the cords.

First, no pushing. Simply allow. It requires a lot of energy and effort to belt safely. This effort and energy is felt in your abdomen, pelvis, ribs and back. You should feel no tension in the throat. The throat is very open and the tongue is high in the back of the throat. This doesn’t mean you will feeling nothing in the back of the throat. But, you should have no pain, strain, tickle or cough-like feelings.

Belting high notes should be done with thin cords (although it may sound like some singers are belting in the chest voice). The volume of a good belt sound is no louder than the volume of your loud speaking voice.

Try this.

With good cord closure (compression), allow some air to escape with your high note. In other words, belt “hey” while allowing the “h” to help you let some air leak through your cords.

Keep your jaw relaxed and your mouth wide open like biting into an apple, or just like the feeling before a yawn. Again, the tongue should be high in the back of the throat with the tip sitting behind the front bottom teeth, and the soft palate is lifted.

If you feel tension at the back of your tongue then you are straining. Start again with a relaxed high tongue and open mouth and throat.

Staccato exercises in your high voice (thinning of cords) are great for stopping the breath, gaining control, and prepping to belt and sing rock.

This means your breath is drawn down deep into your lungs, and your abdominal muscles, back muscles and rib cage muscles are engaged in the effort of controlling your breath.

And don’t forget, you should always warm up and warm down with lip rolls, sirens and tongue trills.

 

Rock Singer’s vocal lesson

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First, I want to thank Justin for letting me tape his recent singing lesson. It is not easy to “let go” in a singing lesson and allow your voice to make sounds and try things that are not always pleasing, nor do they always feel “normal”. That is the key to developing a better voice….finding out what’s holding you back from progressing, and then taking the necessary steps to improve your voice.

You can see the video by clicking the link below. But, first, a little background on Justin’s voice. He has been singing a long time, (lol, at least since the age 14 when his “adult” voice started to set in!)  He is self taught….as most rock singers are. He noticed problems hitting high notes and vocal strain early on. Let’s just say it usually goes with the territory of “rock singing”.

Have a look at the videos (two parts) and let me know if  you have any questions. These exercises are specifcally good for rock singers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEDfi84TRKQ

 

Singing Isn’t Rocket Science….

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Learning to sing better isn’t rocket science. However, difficulty can arise when a singer wants to sound like someone else.

You know what I mean. Singers may want to sound like Josh Groban, Charlotte Church, Christine Aguilera, Steven Perry, Barbra Streisand….the list goes on. We all have our favourite voices that we try to emulate.

All the above voices are different in genre, style, texture and range. Let’s face it, no two voices are alike. That’s the beauty of being an unique singer! It’s not wrong to try and copy other voices, and in fact, I think it is an integral part of growing and exploring your voice. However, your voice is unique to you, and your instrument will not sound like anyone else’s on the planet.

I suggest you change your thoughts to your preferred style and genre of voice instead of a specific singer.

When looking for a voice teacher, make sure that teacher can sing the same style of music you want to sing. Classical singing technique will typically only teach you how to sing classical and opera music. Good vocal technique to sing Broadway is sometimes hard to find. You need a teacher who understands how to belt correctly (in a strong chest mix without strain) so that the voice can be free to sing notes that are loud and very high.

And guess what? If you can find a teacher who can teach you a strong “safe” Broadway belt, then you have probably found a teacher who can teach you country and pop and jazz too. Rock singing can be a challenge, so if you are a rock singer then be absolutely sure you have a teacher who knows what they are doing! This genre of singing can be extremely dangerous on the vocal cords.

Questions or comments? Leave me a message.