It’s time to build

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Susan McAllister-Bee

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.

? University

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

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……

How does Jamie Vendera shatter a wine glass?

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

Is your speaking voice breathy? Deep? Raspy? Whiny? Twangy? Heady? Throaty? Chesty? Thick? Garbled? Thin? Muddy? Edgy? Mucky? Tight? Loose? High? Low? Brassy? Mellow?

Your singing voice starts with your speaking voice.

Did you ever wonder how Jamie Vendera can bust a wine glass with his singing voice? Well, have a listen here to his speaking voice.
Note the edge and brightness to his sound. He is resonating like crazy while he speaks.

This guy has it all together. He knows the voice inside and out, and his speaking (and singing) voice proves it.

The likely reason his speaking voice is more “defined” and “buzzy” compared to that of Brett Manning, is because he is also a screamer. And, he is obviously able to resonate at a frequency that is able to shatter a wine glass.

Sing above the pencil

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

For those of you still wondering if you are “mixing” with your head voice resonance, try this.

Visualize you are holding a pencil lengthwise between your teeth (or actually put a pencil between your teeth!). Now, direct every note you sing above the pencil line. In other words, “think” your sound into your face.

If you are pulling chest, you may notice that it helps you relax in the throat. Indeed, sometimes this is the only thing that needs to change in order to “allow” your head voice to join your chest voice…………Voila! You are mixing!

Laryngeal rise versus laryngeal tilt………

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

There’s a big difference between the larynx rising and the larynx tilting.

Too much raising of the larynx will only cause you grief. You are basically choking yourself into a squeezed sound with nowhere to resonate.

Tilting the larynx, on the other hand, will allow you to sing in your high register because the cords are being stretched and thinned. Good tilting will actually give the listener the illusion of thicker cords (chest voice).

One of the best exercises for laryngeal tilt is the ‘ng’ sound. Say the word ‘sing’. See how the tongue touches the roof of your mouth. Leave it there. The ‘ng’ will block off sound leaving the mouth. With two fingers, plug your nose to see if you are doing it correctly…. the sound should stop completely.

Now practise this through the break in your voice. Ladies from middle C to high C……..men from A below middle C to A above middle C.

If you can make this sound smooth and consistently through your entire range then the larynx is tilting well!

***Note, the upper range will feel and sound like a whine or whimper. This is necessary to keep the cords closed while ascending.

No classical singing lessons here…

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

I’ve said before that I’m not a big fan of classical voice training for commercial singing. I’m happy that I never had voice lessons when I was a teen.

The reason being is that I learned what my voice can and can’t do on my own…long before I ever took a voice lesson. Classical training would have suggested my coordinations for resonating with a high tongue and slightly high larynx were incorrect. Teachers would have opened up the back of my throat, thus creating a “classical” sound. Years of this type of training would have squashed all my instincts that have taught me how to belt and sing freely in my high range with a commercial sound.

However, teens now have options. Classical training is not the only road to good technique.

Moaning

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

An easy way to find your mix is when you moan. Yes, really exaggerate that whiny moan. Notice this makes you sing less loud……….that’s a good thing.

Can you get through your bridge now? Did it make those high notes feel easier? It should because you are tilting your thyroid cartilage.

If it’s not helping much, then take the volume even lower and engage the muscles in the upper part of your abdomen. Do not flip into falcetto. Control that feeling without tensing your throat……….voila, MIX!!

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

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

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!

The benefits of amplified acoutics on your voice

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

Have you ever noticed how nice your voice sounds in the shower? Do you not agree the shower is the absolute best place to listen to yourself sing!

There are a few good reasons for this. First, the steam from a hot shower is a healthy treat for your voice box. Second, you are usually showering alone (notice I said usually), and nothing helps you relax more than when you’re singing and no one is listening!

Third is the benefit of a reflective acoustical space created by the hard surfaces present in most bathrooms (mirrors, tile floors, and no carpet!) The reverbant sound of your voice feeds your mind with a lush, velvety smooth sense of one’s own voice. Now if only you could amplify that! (And yes, you can!)

My experience has always been that when I’m singing with amplification and some reverb added, I am really able to enjoy listening to myself. It fills me with a sense of being in a much bigger place with a much bigger voice……and who doesn’t want a bigger voice?!

This scenerio is likely to lessen the urge to sing too loud and push too much air through your vocal cords. Listening to yourself in an enjoyable way helps you relax and “feel” your instrument. Ultimately that is what good singing is…..the ability to feel how good you can sound! What do you think? Do you sound good in the shower?

Sounds that make a difference

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

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.