Tag Archives: how to sing

How to build chest voice

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Before you start “building” your chest voice, be sure you are mixing. In other words, be sure you have a low, middle and a high voice that are working well together. This is the ideal first move in building up your voice.

If you are wanting to build “power” then you could be fooling yourself if you think building chest voice is the answer. Chest voice is your speaking voice. You can work on your chest voice simply by working on your speaking voice.

There is a small population that needs to build their chest voice, and they are mostly females. I divide this into two main categories.

1.  Ladies who have had previous voice training and sing only in their head voice to reach low notes.

2. Ladies with poor speaking habits. ie too much breath. This causes inadequate cord closure which causes inadequate onset of the sound.

It is rare to find men who don’t use their chest voice when they are speaking. I’m sure speech therapists do come across this, but I never have.

So if you think you want more chest voice, find out first what your chest voice is already like and ask a singing coach or teacher.

If you want more power in your voice with a deeper more bottom end sound, try lowering your larynx and working glottal onsets. Voila……….a beautiful deep rich tone.

Great ladies of voice

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Why do we love Adele’s voice so much? Or Whitney Houston, Celine Dion or Christine Aguilera? Sure, it’s because they exude so much drama and passion when they sing, but how do they do that?

The ability to portray what you are feeling in a technically correct way is really what we are talking about here.  Once your voice is mixing and you are accessing your head voice with ease every time you open your mouth, then is the time to challenge yourself vocally with dynamics and different vocal textures.

These singers all display a wide variety of vocal textures and color, and a lot is due to their ability to change from thick cords to thin cords throughout their entire register. (Well, let’s just hope Adele is training to do more of this, so she doesn’t cause damage again to her cords on her next tour).

These singers can easily “back up” their voice to the “fry” level,  as well as, safely belt hard and strong. Their vocal cords are resilient and can withstand a huge amount of breath pressure.

IMHO, it’s only Christine who at times belts purposely without mixing. This is that dull yelling/groaning sound she makes in the back of her throat when she’s not allowing the resonance to go into the “mask” (in other words her head voice). But get this, Christine is no amateur. This lady chooses to do this coordination (pull chest). She knows her voice well. Christine can do cartwheels through her first passagio when she wants. In one phrase she’ll sing with thick cords and pull her sound as high as she can in the back of her throat. Then, in the next phrase, she’ll thin out her cords and soar easily through her first bridge and even up through her second!  Christine has her vocal ability mastered. Just listen to her speech. I detect no rasp or fry damage….just clean, crisp cords that haven’t thickened too much over the years from extreme use. She knows her voice is big business, and she takes care of it well.

Adele has very thick cords (a naturally big and loud voice) and I don’t think she had ever really learned the importance of thinning them out regularly to allow for flexibility and endurance while singing so hard on the road. Everyone knows about the vocal problems she has had.  Hopefully she will still be able to amaze her audiences with her huge voice, and stay away from vocal damage on her next tour.

Whitney’s voice was superb in her day. The problem was, of course, her lifestyle choices and simple lack of attention to details to maintain a  healthy voice over the years. Her ability to thin out the cords deteriorated. What was once an easy soar through her entire range, became a huge challenge because the cords were no longer able to master this co-ordination. This is not unlike maintaining good physical technique and stamina to achieve a long list of physical abilities. For example, playing the piano, ballet dancing, perfecting your golf swing. The list goes on.

I admire Celine Dion. This woman is in total control of her vocal destiny. She is known for not talking before shows, mastering warm-ups, cancelling shows when she knows she is not healthy. Here is a singer who pays close attention to her technique and abilities on any given day.

I hope this post has inspired you to continue your journey to sing better every day. Keep learning and keep addressing your vocal issues, so you become the best singer you can be!

 

The illusion of power

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Too many times I hear over-compressed cords from students who think  they are singing with power. Unfortunately this sound is dull and to be quite blunt … ugly. Over-compressing the cords will only cause students trouble as they try to sing higher, because  they can’t release this sensation without flipping into falcetto. The answer is; mixing with head voice and allowing the cords to thin and stretch as you sing higher.

Men, you can find your head voice by singing a G above middle C in a connected, stable and controlled sound. This isn’t falcetto. This is head voice. If you feel your throat “choking” you then your larynx is probably too high. This coordination is not going to help you sing in optimum head voice mix, so work on getting that larynx down first.

Women, you can find your true head voice by singing a high C. Again, make sure this isn’t breathy or you are probably in falcetto (which means the cords have come apart).

Working this area of your voice is very important for mixing. Learn to love your head voice. It may seem weak and foreign to you, and that is all-the-more reason to figure out this area of your voice from this approach. Keep the volume at a medium to low level.

There are other elements that will help build a powerful and strong mixed voice too. Once your head voice is easy to control and identify, then you can work on pharyngeal sounds and exercises to bring out the illusion of power. Yes, the illusion of power. The illusion of a super-human sound that is actually just your head voice in a mix!

Am I mixing yet?

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One of the most common questions I get asked is “how do I know if I’m just in chest voice or in mixed voice?”

My best answer is that mixed voice allows you the freedom to crescendo and decrescendo at will.

Now, you may not have the stamina yet to actually follow through with a crescendo or decrescendo when you are in your mix (in other words you are running out of breath)….but that should be one of your goals…..to have the ability to vary your volume at the peak of your performance.

If you feel like you are hanging on for dear life on your highest notes….there is a good chance you are not mixing.

? 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……

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?

 

The voices of Carrie Underwood, Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Steven Tyler, John Mayer

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Chest voice and head voice are terms for describing where the sound resonates in your body when you sing. In other words, the sound timbre or “color” of a voice quality at a certain pitch.  Singing teachers have argued for centuries over these concepts, and continue to do so.

Most singers have experienced these sensations, and know what true chest voice and head voice feel like. Singers usually recognize they feel very different. To some singing teachers, this is how the voice is taught. They teach you to sing in one register or the other.

With Speech Level Singing, and here at Bee Music Studios, students learn how to sing throughout their entire range while negotiating the transition from their chest voice to their head voice. This is called mixing. Singing in a mixed voice means the singer has the ability to maximize their chest resonance on low notes and head voice on high notes.

At Bee Music Studios we take mixing a step further. Once a singer can ascend and descend throughout their entire range with ease, a singer can learn how to maximize the “illusion” of chest voice on high notes. This is a voice quality frequently heard in rock, pop, country, R&B and opera! (Just listen to Pavarotti).  This illusion is created when the thyroid cartilage in the larynx tilts forward. Tilting of the thyroid cartilage causes the vocal cords to thin and stretch.  This is a very healthy way to sing high notes.

Some singers can actually tilt their cartilage and sing with thick folds. This is not recommended for amateurs, and in fact, takes a great deal of self awareness to achieve this balance without vocal trauma.

Here is a link to Carrie Underwood who does a fabulous job of singing with thick folds and a tilted cartilage. She can manage this because she has great breath control and self awareness. Notice the chin rising for the belt notes. There are other coordinations going on as well here, but that’s for another post!  The action really happens at the one minute mark. (FYI Kelly Clarkson is a master of this as well).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvTwFl6OIAk

So what’s the difference between Adele’s voice and Carrie Underwood’s voice?

The issue with Adele’s voice is too much air passing through the vocal cords on high notes. This can be damaging to the vocal cords.

Adele’s voice is “chestier” and that’s why we love it!  She has a lot of breath escaping and that adds character to her sultry, smoky voice.  The problem is, all this breath passing through the cords can cause havoc to a singer’s vocal cords when trying to reach high notes. The more air coming through the vocal cords, the harder it is to control. Maybe with more tilting of the cartilage, Adele can still achieve the sound we love to hear, without all the breath.

This is a prime reason why John Mayer has already had trouble with his voice, and yet Steven Tyler continues to scream regularly with no issues whatsoever after 40 years!

Do you like this post? Why not leave me a message below!

Why not give it a “cry”

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This amazing little coordination can do wonders for your voice. You will notice that if your habit is to sing too loud, it will automatically take you back to a volume where you can manage this sensation. What sensation you say? The sensation of a cry…..or a moan…..or a sob……or all three!

First, the “cry” is doing something very helpful to the vocal folds by “thinning” and “stretching” them. It is helpful to be able to control your air through this vocal cord set up because you helps you sing higher pitches without flipping into falcetto. You can also get this sensation by doing a high pitch puppy dog whimper.

Second, add the  “moan” or “groan” sensation with the “cry” and you get the added benefit of keeping a neutral larynx. Sometimes the “cry” sound makes you raise your larynx too much, which can block the sound and create tension and tightness in the throat. This is not ideal. Instead, try an even balance of the “cry” with a “moan” or “sob” feeling. This is a great way to learn how to sing higher in your mix. Don’t push it. Feel the balance and practise at a volume that you can manage through your entire range.

Questions? Why not drop me a line!

Changing your sound

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There are many variations in sound quality you can make simply by altering the shape of your vocal “tube” or tract.

Your tube is the length and area where your breath passes as it blows through your vocal cords. Moving the “house” or “voice box” gives you many options. Knowing how to move it up or down will instantly change the sound of your voice. When your voice box (larynx) is lower in your throat, you have lengthened your tube creating a darker, more robust sound. Move your larynx up, and you have shortened your tube to create a thinner more piercing sound. The entire voice box can tilt as well.

The tongue, soft palate, and shape of the mouth will give you many vocal colors to play with. When the soft palate is low for instance, the breath may escape through the nose changing the sound. If the tongue is high there is added resistance to the breath creating a pressure change which is essential for the “belt” sound.

These are just a few options that can add texture and interest to your voice.

 

Sounds that make a difference

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There are many sounds you can practise that will help your singing improve.

One great sound is “neighing” like a horse. You want to make the sound a bit witchy or nasty. The problem is, if you force the sound, you are actually causing constriction, which is not going to help at all. This is a sound you can practise everyday that should feel relaxed. It is not a loud sound. You want to practise this at a speech-level volume with thin folds (your head voice).

Some singers will be able to do this easily, others will not. If you have trouble singing in your high voice, then this may be difficult so go slowly. Simply do it everyday, as often as you can, and it will gradually start to become brighter, louder, edgier, and less breathy. This can’t be forced…it must be “experienced” regularly. This is a fabulous head voice workout.

If you are doing it correctly then you will be working the aryepiglottic sphincter muscles in your larynx. When the AES is narrowed, the voice becomes more intense and more resonant at certain frequencies. AES narrowing is also called twang.

Check me out here at www.soundcloud.com for an example.