Well, maybe not all, but certainly some.
Beware of anyone who preaches that his technique is the only road to a better singing voice. This is simply egomaniacal. Great singing is a combination of many factors, and is complicated by the fact that not everyone agrees about what great singing actually is.
There is a saying in dance “learn the rules like a pro, and then break them”.
It’s perfectly appropriate for singing as well.
Freedom to express yourself is directly related to the amount of control you have over your voice. With good singing technique, you have equal control of your high, middle and low registers. You are essentially creating a baseline that you should always return when warming up and vocalizing.
Does this mean you have to stay there? Absolutely not. Once balanced, the voice can explore the qualities that ring true with the style of music you want to sing.
Although good singing technique is necessary to sing all styles of music well, certain styles can require the voice to do certain unique co-ordinations, especially with vowel formation, amount of breath being released, glottal attack and twang. However, most important is knowing that you are mixing well from the top of your range to the bottom.
Get your voice balanced and then start to build the qualities you are looking for.
While I was studying SLS I had some interesting experiences while actually singing songs.
Before I explain, let me say that mixed voice and balancing the voice is the best way to gain control over your abilities to do other coordinations. It’s your baseline. It’s the place where you return when you get out of whack. (And, by the way, you can access these great scales at Vocalize U. These scales are an octave and a half and if you can get through the scales comfortably, then you are indeed mixing!)
Speech level singing lessons are great for training sound and safe voice technique, but they leave the artist out of the equation.
My experience was when I was singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow in the key of C. The first two notes are low C to high C. You go through your first passagio at about A (ladies). My coach wanted to change my mix at high C. He wanted a headier sound on high C. I was quickly able to change it for him, but it was at that moment that I realized there must be more.
And indeed, there is.
There is a delicate balancing act happening in your body while you sing. Your breathing pattern is responding to how you just spent your last breath. This happens automatically and we don’t really need to think about it. Or do we?
Speech Level Singing takes the emphasis off of breathing technique, and puts it at the vocal cord level. The student is encouraged to make “correct” sounds at a volume that is least breathy and most manageable throughout their entire range. I like this approach because singers learn to control the voice throughout both registers at an even volume at the same time. Endurance and strength is built on a foundation of blending and smooth transitioning from the singer’s lowest note to their highest note. This blending (mixing) is a great technique for all genres of music.
Once a singer is mixing, it’s time to step up the workout and maximize effort and balance thoughout the body. The vocal cords are getting a great workout. Now the body needs to learn how to help the vocal cords control breath pressure. The better breath management a singer has, the more control is achievable by the singer.
There are many “visualizations” and exercises that can help a singer with breath control. One easy visualization is the sensation of picking up a suitcase in each hand. Notice how your abdominal muscles and rib cage engage as you “pretend” to do this. Be sure your neck and throat do not engage as well. This body anchor feeling is a great way to understand and sense how the body can help your breath control. Now, sing any vowel on a comfortable pitch without this body anchor, and then again with this body anchor. Did you notice a difference in your tone? Most likely the tone is less breathy with your body anchor (or at least it should be!)
The back, neck and head can also assist in breath management. This sensation is not tense, but simply anchored. In other words, the body, neck and head are engaged and ready to help the vocal cords do their job (which is closure). Be sure to embrace your entire “self” as you sing. There is no need to force the voice to make sounds that don’t happen easily when you are anchored well. Instead, repeat, repeat, repeat with different approaches. Try to take in more breath. Try to anchor more. Did it make a difference? Singing well is very physical………….the trick is putting the “physical” in the correct parts of the body!
I’ve talked about the “mixed voice” and how to find your “mixed voice” before. This is a term created by Maestro Seth Riggs in his Speech Level Singing method years ago. It is also used by Brett Manning, Roger Love, Dave Brooks, and countless other top-quality singing coaches from around the world.
There is a lot of controversy surrounding this term in the singing community. Some singing teachers from around the world cringe when they hear the term “mixed voice”. I believe this stems from the fact that we physically do not actually have a “mixed voice,” and the fact that many singers do not actually know what it is, what it should feel like, or how to get it.
However, I believe all singing teachers will agree that we do have a chest register (or chest voice as referred to by SLS), and a head register (head voice as referred to by SLS). These are two terms that have been around for hundreds of years, and are commonplace in a singer’s vocabulary.
I tell my students that a mixed voice is simply the ability of a singer to ascend or descend in pitch between their chest register and their head register without constriction, and with the appropriate balance of both registers. Every singer knows about those whacky areas of their voice where singing gets a little tricker. This area, called the bridge or passagio, is where the larnyx and the body need to make careful adjustments in order to sing higher without constriction. In SLS, coaches do this with carefully selected scale combinations of vowel (resonance), consonant (cord closure), and volume (air flow).
I, frankly, like the term mixed voice for myself and for my students. For myself, it is a balanced sensation (or state) that I exercise daily with scales to keep my voice healthy, strong, and flexible. I don’t use the same blend of mixed voice when I perform because I prefer to sing harder at my gigs. That is a choice I make. I am self aware of my vocal limitations, and trust me, we all have them!
Do you have questions or comments. Please leave them below! Thanks.
Once good technique is memorized by your vocal cords, then and only then, should a singer really “lose their technique” in a song. A good singer is one who has control of their voice.
A good singer knows their voice. They understand their chest, mix and head voice, and they know how to get through their entire range with ease and balance.
Test yourself….are you a good singer? Try a siren….start in your high voice and take it down to the lowest note you can sing while keeping the tone, the feeling and the vowel the same.
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!