Tag Archive for: singing lessons

THREE SECRETS TO HIGH NOTES

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  1. DON’T STRAIN OR PUSH
    When it comes to high notes, most people think that if they just try a little harder, those notes will come out. Singers often sabotage themselves by straining to hit a note that they could probably hit if they weren’t straining to hit it!
    Start by relaxing through your shoulders, neck and jaw. Take this to another level by trying this bent over with your arms hanging down while singing- at least until you can be just as relaxed when you’re upright.
  2. TRY A SPOKEN SOUND
    Strangely enough, many people hit those high notes in their everyday speech, free from strain. Then they go to sing the same pitch range and it’s suddenly much harder. (It’s a Right Brain VS Left Brain thing – but I’ll cover that in a future tip).
    Try this: say “Woo-hoo!”, really excited, like you’re cheering for your favorite team. You just hit some fairly high notes, free from strain and effort. Now go back and forth between the spoken and sung sounds in that range until your sung notes feel just as easy.
  3. OPEN UP
    Technically speaking, one of the biggest obstacles to reaching higher pitches is the position of your larynx (pronounced LAIR-inks) or voice box. Most singers instinctively raise their larynx as the pitch goes up. This puts strain on the vocal cords by needlessly stretching them, actually inhibiting the pitch (usually causing the note to go flat).
    So open up. Start a little extreme by dropping your larynx like you’re about to yawn. Holding your hand on your throat to feel the bump of your larynx, and see if you can sing without the voice box moving back up. This takes some practice. Notice where your body really wants to fight it and work to control those areas. Once you’ve proven to your brain that the larynx doesn’t need to come up when you sing, you can try singing with it neutral (which is the goal) rather than dropped (in the yawn position).

PERFECT PRACTICE

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I don’t agree with the adage, “practice makes perfect”. I prefer “PERFECT practice makes perfect”. The reason being that the brain will gravitate towards whatever it has done the most. Repeating something correctly or incorrectly will lock it into your muscle memory exactly the way you practiced it.
Inevitably, when I begin to make changes in a voice, the body/nervous system resists at first. When it comes to muscle memory, the brain’s job is to keep the status quo and defend it’s established neural pathways. My job as a teacher is to use the tools I have to prove to the brain that another way exists, then take the voice there often enough that this new way of vocalizing becomes what the body now naturally falls into.
At first, a student may feel unsure of how to find a new coordination on their own – that’s why I may not be too quick to encourage them to practice what we are learning until they can find it independently. There is a moment I watch for when a singer does it incorrectly, then self-corrects before I have a chance to redirect them. This is when I encourage them to practice their hineys off. When I know they are repeating a technical exercise correctly at least 90% of the time (and they correct themselves the other 10%), this is when we start building it into their muscle memory.
Ideally I would have a “beginner” voice come for shorter durations of lessons so we don’t overload the brain with new sensations – but vocalize them multiple times a week . Once the momentum of “self-correction” kicks in we can lessen the frequency of lessons and increase practice time. As we advance through technique and move on to song application, a singer will often need to increase their lesson time to provide space to apply the technique.
When you practice correctly, your “perfect practice” will be rewarded.

WHY TAKE SINGING LESSONS?

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The first questions I often ask new students are: “What do you wish your voice was able to do?” and “What do you wish your voice would stop doing?”. Many singers assume they are stuck with the default setting on their voice and don’t realize (until they take lessons) that there are often easy solutions to the things that have been bothering them about their voices for years. Of course, some of these solutions can take minutes and some of them need months or more of consistent work. Nevertheless, almost anything they can think of has a do-able fix. Working with a teacher can open up a world of possibilities for their voice.

Even professional, working singers sometimes are unaware of how much they have shaped their singing around their vocal limitations. When pro singers are sent by their agent or record company to work with me, they often express a concern that voice lessons might change what is unique and marketable about their sound. As a teacher, I feel it is ultimately my job to keep a singer working, so I agree I don’t want that to happen either. Instead, I explain it this way: some artists can make something beautiful with only a few, limited, colors on their palette; but what if they had access to every possible color? They would still have the tried-and-true colors but would now have the choice to add in more if needed.

I’ve often asked students, “Did you do that interesting thing with your voice because it was your choice as an artist, or because that’s the only thing your voice could do at that moment?” Inevitably those same artists observe that they like their voice more and feel more “at home” in it after we’ve worked together. Adding more artistic choice will always benefit any singer.

So now, let me ask you those questions:

  • What do you wish your voice was able to do?
  • What do you wish your voice would stop doing?
  • If you have an answer to either or both of those, book a lesson with me so you can find all the colors available to you.

6 MISTAKES NATURALLY GIFTED SINGERS MAKE

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You know the one. That kid who got the lead every year in your school musical because she had the highest and loudest belt on the planet while the rest of us were still navigating pubescent vocal cracking. As a young singer I felt frustration and envy. As a vocal technique teacher, those are the voices that sometimes concern me the most. Here’s why:

  1. “SELF-TAUGHT” LABEL
    Naturally gifted singers may wish to retain the “self-taught” label. When something doesn’t feel right, they don’t seek help.
  2. VOICES PUSHED BEYOND CAPACITY
    They are often complimented on how far they can push their voice – which encourages them to push it beyond capacity.
  3. YOUNG VOICES BOUNCE BACK
    Their voice bounces back easily from abuse because they are young but once they get older, issues start to snowball.
  4. SURROUNDED BY “YES-MEN”
    Naturally gifted singers can be drawn to teachers who support and cheer their unbalanced vocal habits. They may shut down teachers who say things they don’t want to hear.
  5. PEAK CAREER CRASHING
    They establish careers based on out-of-balance vocal habits until their voices fail, and worlds crash – often at the peak of their careers.
  6. TEACH THEIR OWN IMBALANCES
    Once their voices fail, they fall back on teaching other singers. Students are drawn to them because of their performance reputations. Since they’ve never had to deconstruct and understand their own vocal problems they tend to recreate those same issues in their students.

I see it all the time – whether it’s an emerging singer or a successful singer on an international stage. Sometimes they get far enough for us to witness their voice losing its luster but, more often than not, we never hear of them beyond their 30’s – their voice doesn’t make it that far. Finding a good teacher can mean the difference between a long career and a short one. Of course, some of the most ideal voices out there are singers who continue to study with a voice instructor long after they’re successful. Don’t just find a vocal cheerleader. Find a teacher who understands how to make your voice the best it can be, for as long as possible.

3 SECRETS TO A GOOD VOCAL WARMUP

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BELT VS MIX

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BELT  VS  MIX

(*To understand the following explanations about Belt and Mix Voice, I would recommend reading my blog explaining “Chest Voice and Head Voice”.)

Whichever style of music you sing, you may have experienced a sensation in your voice where you felt you had to push your “chest” voice (the voice you use to speak with) to it’s limits in order to reach higher pitches. In many musical genres this ability is highly valued and a singer is given much praise for their ability to do this.  They work for years with teachers who train them with techniques to take this type of vocal production to it’s furthest possible extreme. Of course, the ability to belt is a useful skill and there are ways to do it fairly safely – to a point (I’ll cover that in a future post). 

And then there are those voices you hear who seem to be able to effortlessly take this powerful vocal quality up into the stratosphere without breaking a sweat – for example, Barbra Streisand, Josh Groban, Adam Lambert, Patty LaBelle, Beyonce, Pavorotti (OK so he was a little sweaty at times), 

Most people believe that either you have this ability or you don’t. Somehow these effortless voices have a God-given miraculous ability to sing in a gifted way you’ll never possess. In fact this ability is available to most singers if they have the right instruction.   

To simplify, when a voice hits a chest voice “ceiling”, I would refer to that as a “Belt”. When a voice can take a strong, balanced sound effortlessly throughout their range, I call that a “Mix” or “Blended” sound. Now for a more detailed explanation.

BELT

When a voice is coordinating in a true “belt” the vocal cords are attempting to take the chest voice coordination up as high as it can go without allowing the vocal cords to make the switch to a thinner vibrating mass (For further explanation see my “Chest Voice and Head Voice” blog). And when a singer takes it to that limit they will often find that, when they do make the switch, it flips into a falsetto or “heady” sound that is very different from the power of the chest voice.

If you’re a guitarist, imagine trying to play your higher notes all on the bass string – it would only be possible to take the pitch up so high before you’d have to shift up to the next string….but now the shift to the next higher note will be more abrupt because you have to travel so far back down the neck of the instrument. It makes much more sense to make the shift earlier when it’s easier and less abrupt. 

Also, in order for the vocal folds to create higher pitches in chest voice coordination, the Thyroarytenoid (TA) muscles must ad extrinsic muscles (muscles not necessary for healthy vocalizing) to pull and stretch the vocal folds to make them thin enough to make higher pitched sounds. As a result the Larynx (pronounced “LAIR-INKS”, the cartilage that houses the vocal folds) – also known as “Adam’s Apple” and “voice box” – physically starts getting pushed up along with the pitch by those extra muscles. At this point, the only option to keep the note vocalizing in that way is with a lot of volume and a lot of extra muscle strain.

There are also specific ranges of Harmonics this sound production is limited to, commonly leading to a “splatty” tone quality.

 

MIX

When a voice is coordinating in “Mix”, the vocal folds are making a transition at the top of the chest voice range to a thinner vibrating mass and transitioning to adding the Cricothyroid (CT) muscles around those shifts known as “bridges” or “passaggi” while maintaining a similar “closed quotient” to the chest voice resonance (*see “Closed Quotient” explanation below).

This is different than head voice because, rather than an abrupt switch (known sometimes as a “vocal flip” or yodel) from TA muscles (chest) to CT muscles (head), this is more of a gradual hand-off, allowing for a seamless sounding transition.

In an ideal mix there will be no strain present as the singer vocalizes throughout their range: only the action of the vocal cords vibrating and resisting the air.

The larynx should stay neutral, meaning that it should stay comfortably in the middle while vocalizing – not moving up or down with the pitch. (Take a moment to find your larynx with your fingers – if you swallow you’ll feel it moving up, if you yawn you’ll feel it move down. Now say the sound “ahh” from a low pitch to a high pitch and back again. Does your larynx move up and down with the pitches?).

The transition from chest to mix means that the resonance, while starting in the mouth will begin to move behind the soft palate (where your uvula hangs) causing you to experience a phenomenon known as “split resonance” – where the resonance sensation is felt both in chest and head voices at the same time. 

This type of sound production also creates the possibility for more Harmonic range, allowing more “warmth” and fullness to the sound.

 

Most people need guidance finding their Mix Voice. I highly recommend finding a voice instructor who has the skills to walk you through the process. I will describe some of the steps to finding mix in an upcoming blog but can’t recommend enough that you find an instructor who has the tools to get you there correctly. Everyone comes with their own unique set of vocal issues and there may be some work to do before your voice is ready for this step.

 

*Open Quotient/Closed Quotient
The vocal cords are attached at one end, like a “V”, and vibrate quickly together while resisting air pressure from the lungs to create what we hear as pitch. Like when you pull the end of a balloon together with your fingers and gradually allow air to escape the balloon, creating that high-pitched, “eeeeee” sound. (Interesting aside, that is how your vocal cords sound all on their own, without your throat and mouth as resonating spaces). The greater percentage of time the vocal folds stay closed between vibrations – the more air is resisted – the clearer the vocalized sound is (Closed Quotient). The lesser percentage of time the vocal folds stay closed between vibrations, – the more air escapes – the “breathier” or more air is heard in the sound (Open Quotient).