The voice is the one instrument that you carry everywhere you go. Your voice is used when you’re at work, at a loud restaurant, with friends, at home with family and, of course, when singing! Often singers wonder why their voices sometimes get tired even though they’re not doing excessive amounts of practicing and performing. Usually the cause is the EXTRA use on top of the singing. Moreover, factors like diet, stress, sleep, and physical fitness also affect the way our voices function. So, if you’re wanting to preserve, protect, or prepare your voice for a big performance, take into consideration the BIG vocal picture! Find ways to spare your voice from any unnecessary extra wear and tear. If you do, your best voice will be with you anytime, anywhere!
Feel like you’re not getting enough AIR? Try invoking the “Rule of 12 Breaths”! While sitting down, breathe 3 times into your ribs with arms over your head. Then clasp your hands behind your back, push them down and breathe 3 times across your chest. Next wrap your hands around yourself in a hug and breathe into your back 3 times. Finally, roll down and place your elbows on your knees. Again, breathe 3 times and feel the expansion in your lower back, belly, and pelvis. After 12 breaths, you should feel a great expansion of breath all over your body! Any time your breathing is feeling shallow, just remember the “Rule of 12 Breaths”. You’ll be breathing much more efficiently without even having to get up!
We all strive to be EXCELLENT in our artistry. However, no artist, performer, or singer is PERFECT. It’s important to make the distinction between Excellence and Perfection. To be Excellent is to EXCEL. It is the ongoing state of excelling and doing well. In other words, Excellence is a process and not a final result. Perfection, on the other hand, is static. It is something that is already fully whole and complete. This is why Perfection is never attainable for any artist. Nor should we desire to attain it. Because if we were Perfect, we would be DONE. But, thankfully we can never be Perfect. So, our artistic and vocal journey continues every single day. Our Freedom comes from letting go of the desire to be perfect. Our Joy comes from the constant state of pursuing Excellence. And our Excellence comes from our Joy and Freedom to sing!
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"You are enough." You don't need to be someone else. You need to be YOU. No matter how much you prepare for an Audition, you can never be sure what the person on the other side of the table wants to see or hear. What you can be sure of is that you can give them YOU! To Audition at your best, stay true to who you are and to your own artistic choices. If a casting team wants to hire someone else, then there’s nothing you can do to change this. Your job is simply to show them YOU. Once you have mastered this simple, yet elusive skill of not being someone else, you’ll be amazed at how many times “YOU are enough” - both when you book the part and also when you don’t!
Riffs require great vocal FLEXIBILITY. So, how do you keep the POWER in your Riffs while maintaining agility and flexibility? One way is to take advantage of Nasal Resonance! If you pinch your nose with your thumb and index finger while Riffing, you’ll ideally feel a slight buzzing sensation near your nostrils and nose. Practice singing your Riffs with STRENGTH while also monitoring how they feel. If they feel buzzy, comfortable, and fluid, then begin taking your hand away mid-phrase. The sound will probably remain balanced as you remove your hand. All singers can have vocal agility and power simultaneously. And, Nasal Resonance will always be one of the best ways to BLEND the two qualities. For better Riffs - just follow your Nose!
Forget YOU! Or, more specifically - forget yourself! It’s one of the most valuable things that any performer can ever do. You’ve already mastered every note, every acting beat, and every word. Now try to go back to a blank-slated nothingness. Bring your imagination to a time when you didn't even know your song. Pretend that you’re a total newbie who has never even learned a song, sung a note, or conveyed a feeling. How spontaneous would you feel if you were singing for the first time? How would you discover and navigate your creativity? Dare yourself to forget. To let go and completely lose yourself in your music. Even if it's just for a brief moment... Forget YOU!
“I only sing in the shower. I would join a choir, but I don’t think my bathtub can hold that many people.” HA! Ever hear that one? Most showers are made with materials that amplify sound waves. Your voice sounds better because of the resonant acoustic properties. But, you don’t actually have to be in the shower to sound good. Your HEAD is its own resonance chamber! Making adjustments to your larynx position, jaw, tongue, mouth, and soft palate will all change how your own personal resonance chamber functions. So, instead of relying on ceramic tiles - amaze yourself at what resonances you can create without the help of those resounding walls. Vocal technique is the art of making your shower portable!
Have you explored every nook and cranny of your voice? While it’s never wise to push your voice, it’s actually a great idea to occasionally explore your voice’s EXTREMES. Have you found the highest possible note in your Head Voice? What about your lowest possible note near your Vocal Fry? You also might consider volume. Experiment with your loudest and softest volumes. How about Larynx height? Have you felt the sensation of your highest and squeakiest Larynx? How about your lowest and hollowest Larynx? Knowing the extremes of your voice is one of the best ways to improve your technique and artistry. Almost all of our singing is done in the middle of all these extremes. However, understanding extremes will help you to make the more nuanced adjustments that your technique needs!
KNOWLEDGE is power! That’s why the most important part of the Audition process comes before you even walk through the door! You want to be able to enter an audition room thinking "I KNOW this." This knowing feeling comes from having done everything in your power beforehand. Make sure you've practiced your material inside and out. This will ground you psychologically and physically, allowing you to release nervous tension, calm your breath, and support your sound. A calm mind and a relaxed breathing system are big keys to expressing yourself freely and artistically. So, make sure you KNOW your stuff. If you do, the casting panel will also KNOW exactly what you are capable of!
It’s time to put your Riffing skills into your SONGS! Start by taking a simple song that you know quite well. Sing it through once on the melody without changing anything. Next, sing it again - but this time see if you can add a Riff or two to some phrases. Start with two or three-note Riffs that are easy for you and go from there. Don’t feel pressured to add too many. Only add them where they feel natural. Not sure where to place them? Just think of what the LYRICS mean to you. Riffs should be an extension of words that need emphasis or emotion. The best Riffs are not “showboaty”, but are instead inspired by the lyrical content. If you practice this way, you’ll be thrilled with what a difference there is in adding a tasteful Riff or two to your songs!
How does the DISCIPLINE of practicing become the ART of performing? When preparing and rehearsing, it's all about "taking in." You must read, study, memorize, and shape every nuance of your material. You create the through-line and the journey of your character from start to finish. But, when it's time to perform, a fundamental CHANGE must take place. "Taking in" must turn into "letting go!". Before you walk on stage to perform, don’t think about all the beats you want to hit and moments you want to create. Don’t set your mind on what's going to happen (much of that is out of your control). Instead, tell yourself, "I've done the work. I have everything I need." Set your mind on trusting yourself and letting go. The moment you do this is the moment when your craft becomes your ART!
From all of us at New York Vocal Coaching - we wish you a JOYous New Year! May your New Year be filled with happiness, music, love, and amazing vocal achievements. Reflect on your vocal journey and embrace the developments you’ve made this past year. Listen back to your recordings, recall all the songs you’ve sung, and celebrate your vocal discoveries. Be sure to share your list of vocal goals for the New Year with your Voice Teacher or with a family member or friend who supports your singing. We hope that you are proud of yourself because we are so proud of you! Get excited for 2023 - the best singing you’ve ever had! Here’s to a blessed New Year of Making A Joyful Noise!
New Year’s Eve means it’s time to set new vocal goals! The key to a successful goal is that it’s challenging yet attainable. If your New Year’s Resolutions are too difficult you may be inspired by them initially, but then burn out quickly. On the other hand, setting the bar too low won’t be productive either. Remember that yearly goals are simply stepping-stones on the path to achieving your dreams. They aren’t the dream itself. So, vocal goals can be as simple as adding five minutes to your practice each day! Or they can be more ambitious- like going on twice as many auditions this year than you did last year. Just make sure that the goals you set for yourself are something you want and can achieve in just one year’s time!
Mastering the nuances of each Vowel can revolutionize your vocal technique! Each Vowel has a distinct shape when sung. The long EE sound, as in “geese,” is known as a Closed Front Vowel. It often feels as though it “buzzes forward” in the face, and the tongue is arched high in the back. This diminishes the space in the back of the mouth. Conversely, the “AH” vowel sound, as in “hot,” is categorized as an Open Back vowel. You can feel why - the tongue drops and creates more mouth space. Plus, the resonance seems to retreat more into the back of the mouth. Practice FEELING the difference between these two very different vowels. Pay close attention to how the internal shape of your mouth changes the sounds you create as you work through all your vowels!
Imagine a person who embodies CONFIDENCE and AUTHORITY. How do you envision this person standing? Most likely, they are standing up straight with an elevated sternum, relaxed shoulders, and a long back of the neck. How do we achieve this ideal alignment? One great strategy is to imagine the top of the head "gently suspended from the ceiling by a silken thread." This image helps good posture to not feel "postured", but to feel SUSPENSORY instead. Any time you're feeling insecure, making this physical and mental adjustment is one of the most effective ways to communicate self-assurance nonverbally. This will promote positive feedback from others and cause you to embody this persona naturally over time!
"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're RIGHT!" Think of all the "EASY" goals that you’ve achieved without any anxiety. They were easy because you deemed them so. You knew you could do them without great difficulty and you did! Now imagine if you had the same mindset for a CHALLENGING goal. Often what makes something challenging is the belief that it will be difficult to accomplish. While some endeavors may be inherently more difficult than others, your MENTALITY has a larger impact on their "difficulty" level than anything else. If you want to accelerate your vocal progress, start by examining your mindset. It’s really as "easy" as that!
You can be a powerful ROLE MODEL as a performer! When you are performing with other musicians, be respectful of their time and gracious about their work. When you are in a venue or public space, be kind to every sound technician and crew member, and thank them for their work. If you have issues, address them directly but always with respect for the talent and effort of the people around you. Even if you are stuck working with someone you don't like, try to honor them for who they are anyway and maybe even lift them up. You will create a better performing environment for yourself and everyone around you. Your professionalism and courtesy will make people work hard for you and want to work with you again and again! You get back what you give!
“No PRESSURE!” But, are you aware that your voice has its own built-in pressure release system? As we approach higher notes or sing louder, the pressure within the larynx can get to be too much. YET - you can manually decrease this pressure by adjusting your larynx into a lower position! Place your finger on your “Adam’s apple” as you gently yawn and you’ll notice your larynx lower quite a lot. You can call upon a more subtle lowering action during singing to give your vocal cords extra room to stretch and loosen as notes get higher or stronger. This will improve your control, tone, range, pitch, and much more. So, practice using your new release system and feel the glory of singing with... NO Pressure!
Merry Christmas from all of us at NYVC! Today is a day of GIVING. At NYVC, we feel that every singer is truly a GIFT. We are so thankful for you and your beautiful voices from the bottom of our hearts. As you spend time with your family, take a moment to appreciate the gifts that have come your way this year. Also, consider all the gifts that you plan to give to others in the year to come. Most of all, never forget that your voice is a gift. Music is a gift. YOU are a gift. May your Christmas be blessed with love, singing, and most importantly... JOY!
It’s Christmas Eve. This evening is all about anticipation. The anticipation of a whole new era of Love, Peace, and Joy. As you softly sing “Silent Night… Holy Night…”, discover how your singing voice actually can be a prayer. A prayer for all those that you love. A prayer for a more peaceful world. A prayer for Joy to surround you with every breath that you breathe and every song that you sing. As your voice becomes a prayer, may you anticipate all the blessings that await your future. And may you offer your humble and prayerful song with hope and thanks in your heart. After all. It’s Christmas Eve.