Tag Archives: speech level singing

Less is more….

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Hi Everyone,

Less is more….so what am I talking about?  Well, a few things really.  Did you know that you need LESS air to sing high notes…not more. Most people use way too much air when they sing high notes. This engages the outer muscles around the vocal cords which causes fatigue and strain. Singing high notes should feel easy. When a singer is grimacing with the look of strain (not to be confused with emotion), you can bet he/she is using muscles outside of the voice box, and their larynx is probably rising as well. Ideally when singing, the larynx should remain relatively stable, and the singer should be able to reach any note without throat muscle interference.

In the words of Seth Riggs, founder of the SLS technique, you need to allow the vocal cords to do the work. That is, as you singer higher, the vocal cords should simply “zip up” and use less air.

The SLS technique will teach you how to do this.  But first, you may need to back up. You may need to do less. You will need to know your habits. You need to know what is working and what isn’t. A good SLS teacher will tell you this in the first lesson. Then you will be able to sing well in any style of your choice! Check out www.speechlevelsinging.com for a certified teacher near you!

What SLS has taught me…..

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I’ve only been studying Speech-Level Singing officially for a short time. I have made more improvements in my students voices in this short time, than I ever did before SLS.  Here is why.

SLS treats every voice as an individual. Let’s face it, no voice is the same. There isn’t a single recipe that works for everyone. Every voice is an individual personality with tendencies, habits and qualities.  Before SLS I treated most voices the same with similar exercises and goals. Not any longer.

With Speech-Level Singing, the teacher learns to listen for the singer’s habits and tendencies. These indicate the exercises the singer needs to do in order to have a healthy, stable and balanced voice from the low notes to the high notes. No longer will a singer feel like they have two voices, or that they can’t hit the high notes. No longer will a singer feel like they have to “change” or “manipulate” their voice in order to achieve the desired response.

With Speech-Level Singing, the singer can sing any style they wish. It’s fabulous instruction for musical theatre and classical voices. As for singing rock, we all know there is no way to sing rock without creating some abuse to the vocal cords. However, knowledge is power. SLS can help the singer stay balanced and healthy when not performing, and SLS will teach the singer tips that help create the sound they want with minimal damage.

I wish I started my journey with Speech-Level Singing 30 years ago! Hopefully I’ve inspired you to improve your voice with the SLS method!

Please leave me your comments. I welcome your thoughts!

Singers, has this happened to you?

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I haven’t been blogging much lately. I’ve been so busy with the kids, performing at festivals and keeping up with my gigs. The weeks are just flying by. However today, I had a booking that inspired me to share my singing experience with you straight away.

First, let me mention that I’m a seasoned singer. I’ve been singing professionally for years.  And, for the record, sometimes I neglect myself.  Yes, sometimes, I don’t practise what I preach.  By this, I mean, I neglect my voice…I don’t bother to warm-up adequately before a singing performance.  Sometimes I notice, sometimes it doesn’t matter. Today, it definitely mattered. Today, I noticed big-time. Today, I should have warmed-up better.

I always do liproll exercises while I’m driving to bookings. Today was proof that I needed to do more than that, but didn’t.

I could tell right away in the first song that the notes near my bridge (A, B flat) were giving me trouble. If the song was mostly set under my first bridge then I would really “get stuck” when I had to reach the A or B. This is most of my songs! I found I was preoccupied with “warming” into those notes, instead of focusing on the audience and the song.

It took about 45 minutes of careful singing to finally get the notes around my bridge to set in comfortably. By then I was crooning and ready for the night. The problem is, the gig was almost over! Only 15 minutes left!  By the end of the gig, I was very warmed-up and ready to sing.

This has happened to me before. You would think I would know better. After all, I’m a singing coach. I preach about warming up the voice adequately all the time…………maybe next time I’ll learn, ha! Don’t let it happen to you!

Finding your head voice…..

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This is such an important topic….. the head voice.

I have two singing students currently age 9 and 10 who have great pitch and love to sing. The problem is they came to me not ever having used their head voice. They’ve never mimicked or experienced their head voice. They’ve avoided the entire range about their first bridge. Needlesstosay, the only songs they want to sing are from artists who sing below their first bridge such as Taylor Swift. This can be severely limiting and unfortunate to a young singer.

Children need to be taught to experience their light, babyish, high voice at an early age. This can be done by mimicking the sound of a bird or a train whistle. Children with a high speaking voice have an easier time because they are already close to their head voice. However, girls and boys who have a deeper speaking voice, usually because they have slightly shorter and thicker vocal cords, may have a more difficult time. It’s usually this type of singer that gets “stuck” in their chest voice.

Another thing to watch out for is the child who frequently has a hoarse or raspy voice. It’s highly likely their vocal cords are damaged from either poor speech habits, frequent loud talking or yelling such as at a hockey game, or possibly from swelling in the larynx due to health reasons. These children usually have trouble finding their head voice as well.

It is amazing to me how many children and adults have poor speech quality in their voice. The singing voice starts at speech level, so if a voice is muddy and unclear when talking, then it’s going to be muddy and unclear when singing.

Hopefully this article has raised some awareness for parents. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.

Speech-Level Singing … Taking the High Road

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During one of my last posts I talked about Brett Manning and Seth Riggs and this wonderful singing method called Speech-Level Singing.

Today I want to talk further about how this technique is going to change the lives of many singers in the future.

This world is constantly moving forward in ideas, creations and inventions. This is happening at an incredible rate now with our current technology and ability to communicate to everyone all over the world. The educational system cannot keep up. Gone are the days that schools can teach you the “latest” information on a given topic, and that is certainly the case with singing technique.

Singers of the future may actually find it detrimental to their voice to study vocal technique in university. Think about it. Why do we go on and study voice at university? Is it for the prestige so we can put those initials after our name? Is it so we can get a higher paying job? Is it so we can become a vocal teacher? There are many good reasons to go to university and study voice. You will certainly achieve a wealth of information about the history of singing and music in general.

Unfortunately you may not learn about Seth Riggs and Speech-Level Singing (SLS) at university. You will learn about the Bel Canto technique which is what SLS is derived from, and other classical forms of voice, but not SLS. It will take years for SLS to reach universities. In the meantime, singers will continue to graduate from universities and teach voice the way they were taught by their professors. This has been going on for centuries.

Here’s the thing. Most singers, not all, but most singers no longer want to just sing classical music. For a singer to get a job in music theatre or on broadway, a classically-trained voice is not always what the producer is looking for. This is why I say it could be detrimental to go to university for voice. I don’t think singers, in general, realize the implications upon entering university at the age of 19 or 20.

Brett Manning’s “Singing Success” OR Seth Riggs’ “Singing For The Stars”

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First, let me say I have both SLS products for about six years and they are both fabulous! However, neither can beat personal one-on-one SLS lessons with a coach to get instant feedback for your voice.

My goal with this blog is tell you about my experience with SLS (Speech Level Singing).

Let’s review — Brett Manning has an extremely successful SLS reputation. His online marketing is amazing, and my guess is his Singing Success CD/book program has outsold “Singing For The Stars”, but I have no proof of that.

Let’s review — Brett Manning was a student of Seth Riggs for many years. Brett Manning learned from the best. He has a spectacular voice and can demonstrate the whistle. My goodness!!

Speech-Level Singing teaching took a turn in about 1995 when Dave Stroud, a then-longtime student and friend of Seth Riggs, knew something had to be done to uphold the integrity of teaching Speech-Level Singing. It was Seth who created the exercises that make such great logic in the way to teach SLS.

The Bel Canto technique (beautiful singing) is still at the heart of SLS.  Seth Riggs has updated and simplified the logic of teaching voice, and made it easier for teachers to understand and thereby, get great results immediately from their students. You probably know that Seth Riggs is the master vocal coach of many great singers such as Michael Jackson. The list is long so if you want to know more about Seth Riggs, go here www.sethriggs.com.

Let’s be very clear that SLS has been the choice of many opera singers and musical theatre singers. This method is not just for country and rock singers. It doesn’t matter what style you sing because SLS is not about style. It has nothing to do with style. It has everything to do with balancing the voice through your entire range. If you must abuse the vocal cords during your concerts, then at least SLS can help you stay healthy and grounded in between concerts.

The world of SLS changed in about 1995 when Dave Stroud created an organization whereby teachers who want to teach speech-level singing need to “tested and approved”. This was a  huge undertaking but it has strengthened the method of “Speech Level Singing”.  All teachers wishing to associate themselves with Seth Riggs must now undergo lessons and testing from 1 or more of 7 SLS master teachers in the world. These are level 5 teachers who have reached this level with Seth Riggs. They are (in no particular order) Dave Stroud, Jeffrey Skouson, Wendy Parr, Kathy Kennedy, Greg Enriquez, John Henny and Spencer Welch. You can learn more about these teachers, and others at www.speechlevelsinging.com.

Well, that’s it for now. I will continue talking about SLS in future blogs, so stay in touch! I welcome your comments please!

In musical theatre, singing and acting go hand in hand…

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So you want to go into musical theatre. You’ve studied voice and music in university and now you are ready to work……….Ahhhh, too bad you didn’t taking some acting classes too. The director is looking for the whole package……….well, unless you just want to be in the chorus.

The director not only wants you to read some lines, but he wants you to belt a song…..that’s it……..show us your best belt.  Do you know how to do it? If you studied classical voice then you’re in trouble. You don’t learn how to belt with classical training.

A good belt is when your chest voice can carry up into “the mix” through your second bridge and beyond. Notice I said “the mix”. That means there is head voice in there too, however it’s just not predominant. Without the head voice you end up with this sound that is quite unpleasant. It is strained, dark and sounds like you’re yelling.

Belting is something that can be learned. Classical training is not going to strengthen your belt. Try speech level singing. Learn how to get into “the mix” and strengthen your chest register up through your 2nd bridge.