Give your entire spine all the LOVE it deserves! Your spine is made of 33 vertebrae, starting all the way up in the center of your skull and extending all the way down below your hips. When you're warming up to sing, give your spine some TLC by doing a very slow roll-up and paying attention to each individual vertebra. Start with a few deep breaths in a low forward bend. Then, as you roll up slowly, try to feel each bone align with the one below. Be careful not to "hinge" up when you get to your shoulder blades or your neck! Spinal flexibility leads to better breathing, alignment, and freedom from tension in the larynx and neck. It’s also one of the best ways to improve your voice without even singing a note!
Every vocal journey is filled with highs and lows. It’s easy to become discouraged or feel that your voice simply isn’t good enough. When you find yourself singing the blues, take this self-esteem boosting challenge: write down one thing every day that you LOVE about your voice or singing style! Whether it’s your range, your tone, your captivating stage presence, or that one note you hit like nobody else can - there are more amazing things about your voice than you realize! Finding one positive attribute a day will keep your mind focused on your strengths, rather than dwelling on your weaknesses. Never stop striving for improvement, but take time every day to appreciate the skills you already have. You’ll be amazed how much faster you grow with the right attitude!
Where does STYLE come from? Think about the clothes that you wear. Do you wear them because you like them? Because you think others will? Or, perhaps because you've seen others that you like wearing them? Your unique vocal style will be similar. It’s a combination of personal instincts of what sounds good and feels good coupled with the celebration of outside influences. Don't worry too much about "copying." Your interpretation will never be an exact replica of another singer. Instead, think about achieving sounds that feel good to you within those inspirations. And remember, your style can EVOLVE. Just like what you wear - you can always make subtle or large changes to your approach to suit every occasion!
Here’s some GOOD news and some BAD news. First, the bad news. The bad news is that you will never be able to accurately hear your own voice. Even when you hear yourself back on a recording, it sounds different than what you hear in your head when you’re singing live. There is GOOD news though. The good news is that your voice is meant to be shared! Your listeners get to experience your voice in a way that you never will. You get to FEEL it. We get to HEAR it. But, ultimately the relationship between the vocal giver (you) and the vocal receiver (us) will always be necessary for the uniqueness of your voice to be fully known. This is the magic, the mystery, and the MIRACLE of singing. And this is indeed GOOD news!
Have you ever seen singers singing with books in front of their ears? If you have, you may think they’ve lost their minds. Maybe all those intense breathing exercises finally sent them to the loony bin. Or, maybe this "old-school" vocal trick still WORKS! Try it! Grab two books or any two hard-surfaced objects. Press the spine of the books in front of your ears and begin singing. VOILA! You've instantly gained a more accurate idea of how you sound to other people. Your ears no longer can judge your internal resonance. Instead, they experience your sound as it appears to others. So grab those books and start cultivating a new relationship with your resonance!
What does it mean to bring your sound “FORWARD”? This term is thrown around a lot in vocal lingo. Unfortunately, it’s not very specific and can get confusing for many singers. “Forwardness” usually means to make the resonance of the voice (i.e. formants) “brighter”. However, there are several different ways to do this. You could raise the larynx. You could widen the lips. You could lift the tongue’s base. You could add “Twang”. All of these things make the sound more “Forward”. So, if someone tells you to bring your sound more “forward”, then maybe you can ask them to be more specific. Or, maybe you can be more specific yourself by only adding the “forward” elements that help your voice best come forth!
VOCAL REGISTRATION! Is this a "fancy vocal term" or a concept that's unfamiliar to you? It doesn’t have to be! Vocal Registers are merely shifts in the function of the vocal cords, the vocal muscles, and the resonance of the sound as you move across your range. Each Vocal Register will FEEL a bit different to you. Pay attention while you do your vocal exercises. What sensations do you notice as you move through registers like Vocal Fry, Chest Voice, Mixed Voice, Head Voice, Falsetto, and even Whistle? Identifying and remembering your registers PHYSICALLY will help you to blend them seamlessly and also incorporate them into your songs. CONGRATS! You’ve just become a better singer AND you know another fancy vocal term!
“What nice Velar-Pharyngeal Control you have!” Wait. WHAT?! That’s the technical term for Nasal Resonance. It can give you greater flexibility, volume, and clarity while also making singing more effortless. Try pinching your nose and singing in three different ways. 1. With a LOT of buzz in your nose. 2. With NO buzz. 3. With a moderate amount of buzz. With each of these variations, try taking the pinch away and producing the same sound you achieved with the pinch. Remember, a sound that passes through the nose won’t necessarily be perceived as "nasal"! Instead, having control over the amount of Nasal Resonance you use will help boost various harmonics in your voice. Now THAT’s nice Velar-Pharyngeal Control!
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!
Studies have shown that it takes professional sight-singers approximately TWELVE times singing through a new song before their breathing functions optimally. This means that the mind focuses first on learning the notes and only later can vocal technique be added. What can we learn from this? First, give yourself TIME to familiarize yourself with the notes, rhythms, and lyrics of a song. Don’t be too hard on yourself about technique initially. PLAN your breaths ahead of time. Mark them on your music with a dash. Take many breaths at first. Breathe at any punctuation marks or ends of ideas. In the initial stages of learning, give yourself the best chance by approaching a song step-by-step. Don’t get immediately frustrated with learning new music. Breathe. Plan. Practice. Succeed. Repeat.
How often do you COMPLIMENT other singers? It’s easy to get wrapped up in competition and trying to make a name for yourself as an artist. But, true Artists appreciate all the beauty around them - even if it’s being made by someone else. As Artists, we should be able to genuinely appreciate the work of others without having to compare it to our own. Even when we’re comparing ourselves to other voices as a learning tool, we still need to be able to step back and simply ENJOY other singers! Valuing and encouraging fellow vocalists will keep you focused on singing as an art instead of a contest. With this approach, every singer truly wins!
In today’s entertainment industry, VIDEO auditions are often taking the place of LIVE auditions. Thankfully, video recording on your smartphone is considered to be an acceptable practice. This said, it’s still nice to make your audition videos look as professional as possible, even with a small budget. You might want to invest in a tripod for your camera or phone, so that the picture is steady and at the right height. Either purchase a basic lighting kit or find some good lamps that show you at your best. Record your audition videos in a space that is free from too many visual distractions. The space should also be free from any background noises. Keep your audition videos as simple and as professional as possible. This way the casting team will focus all of their attention on YOU!
From rappers to auctioneers - We have all stood in AWE of those who possess the ability to speak quickly and clearly with prolific prowess. If we challenge ourselves via exercises (cue: TONGUE TWISTERS!), speaking in real life will seem easy in comparison! Start slowly, carefully, and deliberately to achieve the full integrity of each individual sound. Then gradually speed up until you can go five times as fast for each of these Twisters!
“Red leather, yellow leather."
“My cutlery cuts keenly and cleanly."
“Shy Shelly says she shall sew sheets."
"You know New York, You need New York, You know you need unique New York."
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COMEDY isn’t funny when an actor thinks they are funny or tries to get laughs. Instead, it’s funny when the actor is serious, deadpan, or very committed to what they're saying. DRAMA isn’t dramatic when an actor shows how sad, angry, or emotional they are. Instead, it’s Dramatic when an actor focuses on overcoming a challenge they face. Try to play the OPPOSITES when performing your songs. Avoid getting caught up in the general MOOD of the music. Instead, discern what that mood is and see if you can find something to juxtapose. Hope in the sadness. Memory in the loss. Annoyance in the laughter. Awkwardness in the confidence. Do this - and your songs will become the OPPOSITE of boring.
We often think of our vocal quality on a SPECTRUM. Bright vs. Dark. Forward vs. Back. Heavy vs. Light. There are many factors that contribute to these qualities but they don't always have to work together! Think about sound mixing boards in a recording studio. We don't raise or lower all the faders at the same time! Instead, we look for the best balance of the faders, adjusting them individually or in various combinations. We can think of singing the same way. If you're looking for a brighter tone, you can raise your larynx, brighten your vowels, or add some "twang." What if you brighten your vowels while lowering your larynx? What if your larynx stays neutral and you add some twang while you keep your vowels the same? Each of these elements (and more) can function independently giving you countless options. Become the sound engineer of your own voice!