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!
Mastering your Vocal Resonance can feel like riding a seesaw. It’s all about BALANCE! Balanced Resonance is the key to a healthy, long lasting, and skillful voice. As we sing higher, we should gradually shift from oral resonance to nasopharyngeal and Nasal Resonance. Or, in short, from the MOUTH to the HEAD. This ensures that we're allowing the vocal folds to lengthen as pitches rise. Think of what you might call “shout singing.” This resonance imbalance favors oral resonance too much and sounds heavy, thick, and immovable. A resonance imbalance in favor of too much Nasal Resonance might sound loose, sometimes breathy, and even "nasal". As you traverse your range, try to notice whether the seesaw has tilted too much toward a mouth-driven sound or if it’s become too contained in the head. Keep your vocal seesaw in BALANCE!
It’s time for your Alignment CHECKLIST! Follow these 5 Steps to great posture and alignment for your singing. FIRST - distribute your weight evenly between both feet on the floor. SECOND - lengthen your spine and your neck. THIRD - allow your shoulders to fall away from your ears. FOURTH - slightly tilt your tailbone and widen your lower back. FIFTH - inhale and expand your ribcage and low abdomen. By going through this simple and easy Checklist before you practice or perform, you will always be able to guarantee that your body is in its optimal position. Great alignment? CHECK!
Diversity makes the world a better and more beautiful place! Just like we ask our leaders and politicians to engage everyone's experiences, we as artists must also seek opportunities to engage with other artists from different backgrounds. It begins by being open to seeing and listening to material you might not otherwise choose. But it doesn't stop there: TALK to other artists that are different than you. What inspires them to make music? How do they go about writing, learning, or performing a song? How does their unique style help them to share their soul? There is no better way to expand our artistry than by engaging with people very different from ourselves. And, we might indeed make a few new unexpected friends along the way!
Experiment with the BRIGHT and DARK acoustic qualities of your voice! It’s an exercise in balancing the Formants (resonances) of your vocal tract. By lowering your LARYNX, you will notice some darker sounds and by raising it you will hear brighter sounds. The TONGUE is another aspect to play with. Raising it like in the EE Vowel will brighten your sound and lowering it like in the AH vowel will darken it. Finally, the LIPS play a role as well. Puckered lips darken your tone, whereas spread lips brighten it. All of these elements happen very rapidly when we sing. So, it's important to take some time to explore each of these sonic ingredients to master your acoustic possibilities!
We typically consider how ACOUSTICS relate to our singing voices. But, it’s less common to consider how Acoustics affect our SPEAKING voices in our everyday lives. Most of us speak much more than we sing each day. Our singing voices are trained to be heard properly in different spaces, but we must also train for our non-singing spaces! Whether talking at home, in an office, in a classroom, in a restaurant, or in a conference room - it’s important that we use our voices properly. A big factor in being heard is the Acoustics of these common spaces. Does your voice get tired because you aren't using your voice properly for the room you're in? If so, then make sure you adjust your resonance, breath, and volume based on your environment. Start noticing the way your voice needs to change from place to place. Let your workspace work FOR you!
Is your SMILE holding you back as an artist? Often we are taught from an early age to "Smile!". Smile when you meet someone new. Smile when you’re feeling blue. Smile when you’re onstage. Obviously, there are few things in life as wonderful and attractive as a Smile. The problem is, many actors and performers end up with a kind of “permagrin” Smiling habit. They Smile in songs and scenes even when it’s not appropriate to do so. This ends up backfiring and causes performances to not be real and truthful. Plus, it is generally quite poor vocal technique as well. Often over-Smiling is such a habit that singers don’t even know they are doing it. Make sure that you can sing and act from a starting place of neutrality. Lose the fake Smile. Keep the true JOY!
Mirror, mirror on the wall! Thou art a practice tool above all! While you shouldn’t always practice singing in front of a mirror, an occasional check-in with your unbiased wall-mounted observer is very beneficial. Certain physical movements and tensions can become habits and eventually crutches if they are not eliminated. So, sing in front of your mirror from time-to-time to gain awareness of your own tendencies. Search for physical habits that distract from your singing or add tension to your instrument. See if you can achieve your best sounds without any undesired movements or tensions. Soon your mirror practice will reflect a polished performer and a technique that’s the fairest of them all!
What’s the key to success in the Music Industry? YOU. As an aspiring artist, you must understand who YOU are before prospering in the field. Don’t let the industry compromise what makes you special. There will always be a multitude of great artists out there. Yet, your originality is what keeps you grounded and sets you apart. Your productivity, your preparation, and your perseverance are completely up to YOU. Are you writing new music? Are you studying? Do you know what you’re saying as an artist? Are you staying true to your heart, your uniqueness, and your Joy? The more specific you can be about your own gifts and goals, the more ready you are for success. No artist in history has ever had everything go according to plan. So, take control over the one thing in the Music Industry that you can control: YOU!
Feeling Joyful? Feeling sad? Your voice reflects your emotional well-being more than you can imagine. JOY inspires exuberant, energetic singing, whereas depression can make creating or even listening to music difficult. Some singers even struggle to make bold, strong sounds because they struggle with self-confidence in daily life. Never fear! Singing is actually one of the greatest cures for the hardships in our lives! Invite your Vocal Journey to be a part of your Inner Journey. Let singing help pull you out of the sorrows that you are experiencing. Let your “Joyful Noise” reflect any happiness you feel deep in your spirit. But, also invite singing into the pain and suffering that you are overcoming! And YES... you WILL overcome this...
What do you do when it’s time to sing your awesomest HIGH NOTES? Do you close your eyes? Do you stare straight ahead like a deer in the headlights? Do you have a ZOMBIE-like out-of-body experience? It’s important that in performance we drop any EYE habits that we may have developed during practice. When we listen and focus too hard, our eyes freeze up and we lose our stage presence. For the audience, this is like watching a singer take a BREAK. Momentarily, the singer is thinking about something else that the audience is not a part of. The performance only continues after the high and difficult part of the song is over. When a High Note is approaching, stay connected to your audience and your message. Don’t place your High Notes in the back of your mind. Place them in the hearts and SOULS of your listeners.
Want to know of a singer that you should NEVER listen to? The singer who is singing before you at an audition! If they are good, it may make you feel inferior. If they are bad, it may give you a false sense of security. Either way, getting yourself into “competition mode” by listening in will stifle your creativity and prevent you from truly being yourself. Auditions aren’t actually competitions. Instead, they are simply opportunities for the casting team to find the ideal fit for their project - and for YOU to be that person. Sometimes someone “better than you” will be cast. Sometimes someone “worse than you” will be cast. Either way, this is the wrong thinking. Don’t look side-to-side at others. Look AHEAD... toward the wonderful audition you are about to give.
Remember to REWARD your singing! Singing involves muscle coordinations that only get better with practice and time. Yet, we often refuse to reward ourselves until we sound “perfect” or until we achieve something that we perceive to be a monumental accomplishment. Remember though - every time you practice or take a lesson, you're taking a step forward on your vocal journey. Every time you study a new artist, you're developing your stylistic potential. Every time you show up for an audition (even when you don’t get cast), your career is moving forward. Every time you sing to make someone else happy, you’ve given a precious gift. Don’t wait to reward yourself. Celebrate the amazing steps forward that you're making each and every day! If you do, you’ll soon remember that singing is its own reward!
Drink WATER. You’ve heard it before - and with good reason. Staying hydrated helps your vocal folds maintain moistness and elasticity. This is a very good thing, especially for your high notes. Water and non-caffeinated beverages are also great for vocal recovery. After the wear and tear of a day of speaking and singing, water helps remove cellular waste, mucus, and debris. Remember, though, nothing you drink will touch your actual vocal folds (unless you choke). Steaming or the consistent use of a humidifier is the only way to get water in contact with the vocal folds. Keeping the outer surface of the vocal folds moist requires proper humidity levels. So drink up, steam up, and enjoy the benefits of happy, healthy, elastic vocal folds!
Are you starting to get ANNOYED at one passage, one phrase, or even one note that’s causing you trouble? Switch up your routine! If you’ve practiced that pesky passage a lot on its own, then try singing the song all the way through. Let it be imperfect for a little bit and have some fun. Even if it's unfinished, you can still perform it beautifully. If you still feel frustrated, take a few days off from it or take it out of your repertoire book for a while. Otherwise, you may end up stuck in a rut where you always associate a great song with feelings of frustration and defeat. Great songs can take time. Don’t let any song that you love become condemned as a source of unhappiness! It may still be a JOY one day soon!
We usually think of our ears as information RECEIVERS. But, really they GIVE just as much information to the voice as they get. Your ears and voice are part of the same neurological loop. So, changing what you hear changes how you sound. In fact, the voice can only produce what the ears can hear! This is known as the Tomatis Effect, named for Dr. Alfred Tomatis, a pioneer in music therapy who showed how the ear "builds, organizes, and nourishes the nervous system.” How does this apply to you? Incredible singers HEAR incredible singers! To be a top-notch vocalist, it's critical to seek out the vocalists who are pushing the boundaries of vocal limits. Instead of your ears always listening to your VOICE, it's time for your voice to listen to your EARS!
Any TRACHEA fans out there? Well, fun fact! It has been shown in studies that a deep breath will often cause what is known as “Tracheal Pull”! This is a chain reaction that occurs when the diaphragm flattens out during a large inhalation. As the diaphragm flattens downward, it pulls the lungs, the trachea (windpipe), and the larynx downward as well. They are all connected! The common benefits of Tracheal Pull for singers include a lowering of the larynx and a loosening of the vocal folds. So, Tracheal Pull can be a very effective strategy for singers wishing to explore deeper and looser sounds in their voices. All you’ve got to do is breathe DEEPLY and also remain aware that your breaths are truly interconnected to the opening of your throat. Isn’t it time you became a FAN of your Trachea?
What is your Vocal DEFAULT Setting? There are constantly new musical trends and styles emerging that require singers to ADAPT. Adaptability requires a balanced, reliable, and healthy “Vocal Default Setting”. For example, if we always sing too loudly, then it's hard to move gracefully to softer sounds. Or, if we always sing too softly, then it's difficult to find the power we need. Ideally, our Default Setting is a moderate volume that allows us to sing comfortably and also transition into softest and loudest extremes. Optimal Default Settings aren't just about volume though. You’ll also want a neutral larynx, vocal registration that’s not too heady or too chesty, and tone that's not too bright or dark. By spending some time building a Vocal Default Setting that lives in the middle, you’ll have the easiest time accessing the full spectrum of what your voice can do!
Is there a difference between breathing for singing and breathing for everyday life? YES! In everyday life, our vocal folds generally stay apart, allowing air to enter and exit the body with ease. During singing, our breath is constantly flowing and our vocal folds are constantly vibrating. Great singing requires a balance of airflow and compression. Airflow from the lungs and muscular compression between the vocal folds interact to help create pitch, volume, vocal registers, and timbre. Lots of airflow and very little compression could result in a wispy or “breathy” vocal quality. On the other hand, lots of compression and very little airflow will likely result in a "pressed" or harsh tone. There are infinite gradations in between these two examples that can be explored! You will never run out of possibilities as you breathe, experiment, and master your singing voice everyday!
Unwanted vocal tension can appear in many ways. AURALLY - the voice may sound unstable or crack, the vibrato may be too fast or too slow, or the voice may sound constricted or tight. VISUALLY - you may see a tight or shaking jaw, bulging in the neck, or excessive tension in the face. KINESTHETICALLY - you may feel tight in the throat, restricted in the tongue, or rigid in the rib cage or abdominal region. Whatever the signs of tension may be, it’s important to determine the SOURCE. Work with your voice teacher to target the origin of the tension so it can disappear! Then, in your practice sessions, work to cut it off at the ROOT!
Atten…TION! Standing at attention with “perfect” posture can conjure images of rigid, tight muscles constricted in a frozen state - not the ideal conditions for singing. Great singing requires “tension” to be sure, but tension that’s supple and ready to move. Imagine your singing posture NOT as a "set" position, but instead as a combination of energies moving in opposing directions. For instance, let your spine have an upward momentum out of the crown of your head AND a downward motion into the floor. Or, keep your ribcage and abdomen expansive AND free to move inward. Keeping your posture at ease AND intentionally in motion will help keep your singing free and agile. Don’t let your posture command a tension. Let it command Attention!
Practice the PROCESS - not the product! Everyday we are new and different human beings. Our bodies and minds shift slightly. So do our voices. It’s part of the beauty of being human. This is the same reason that delivering a perfect performance is an impossible challenge. Even if you ever gave one, it would need to change immediately. So, when you’re feeling down before a show or audition, keep in mind that the process is always more beautiful than the product. Strive for your ideal performance, but remember that true art is created in the soulful and audacious efforts you give each day. Falling slightly short may be the very thing that makes you a lovable performer... and a lovable human being.
“WOOHOO!” and “YAY!” are more than just ways to cheer for your favorite team. They also help us understand the relationship between HARMONICS and FORMANTS. When your vocal cords produce a pitch, they aren’t producing one pitch, but a series of pitches known as Harmonics. Formants are resonances of the vocal tract that amplify Harmonics. Think of blowing over a bottle. The bottle vibrates at a particular pitch depending on how much liquid is in it. In singing, different shapes in the throat cause different frequencies to be amplified. Formant 1 relates to vocal strength. “YAY” makes use of Formant 1 and encourages chestier resonances. Formant 2 relates to the brightness or darkness of the voice. “WOOHOO” encourages a lower Formant 2 and causes darker resonances. Harmonics and Formants truly make a great team. GO TEAM!
There is an enormous amount of confidence that comes from playing a role that you’ve performed numerous times. Or, from performing an audition piece that you use on a consistent basis. But how do you keep your acting FRESH? One great way is to take a deliberate and disciplined approach to your BREATHING. In rehearsal, try taking a breath after a different word each time you read a line. This will change the rhythm of your speech. The rhythm of your speech will then change the meaning of the line. This will have an effect on your gestures and body language that support the line. Your acting will become richer in nuance and subtlety just from the breath alone. You can literally BREATHE new life into each and every character you play - even characters you've played many times before!
Practice makes perfect! Right? Well, for singing perhaps it’s better to say, “Perfect practice makes skillful singers”. When practicing, focus on targeting a SPECIFIC skill and ensure that you are doing so in a healthy way and an intentional way. Just imagine if every day you practiced increasing your range, you strained and tensed your muscles to hit the high notes. You would actually be practicing BAD habits that may lead to vocal problems in the future. So, the next time you practice, focus on healthy technique and specific new skillsets - make THOSE your habits! While we may never be perfect singers, we can become perfect practicers!
SPECIFIC goals are important when it comes to vocal improvement and practice. Generally speaking, the further along on your vocal journey you are, the more SPECIFIC you may need to be with your practice. When working on an exercise (or song), be mindful about what exactly you are aiming to do in your practice session. Are you focusing on resonance, breath, or alignment? Are you trying to maintain awareness of a certain sensation, sound quality, or visual cue? These are important questions to ask yourself at any level, so that you can direct your attention to the most effective aspects of your vocalisation. Being mindful of the SPECIFICS will optimize your chances for success and fastest progress!
SPECIFIC goals are important when it comes to vocal improvement and practice. Generally speaking, the further along on your vocal journey you are, the more SPECIFIC you may need to be with your practice. When working on an exercise (or song), be mindful about what exactly you are aiming to do in your practice session. Are you focusing on resonance, breath, or alignment? Are you trying to maintain awareness of a certain sensation, sound quality, or visual cue? These are important questions to ask yourself at any level, so that you can direct your attention to the most effective aspects of your vocalisation. Being mindful of the SPECIFICS will optimize your chances for success and fastest progress!
The music industry can be competitive and tough, especially as a new singer trying to get your first gig. To increase your chances of getting performance work, it can be useful to have auxiliary skills that COMPLEMENT your singing. Playing a musical instrument so that you can accompany yourself is one great skill. Dancing and acting skills can be valuable even if you don’t do Musical Theatre. Learning to sing harmonies can help with backup vocals or with singing in a choir or ensemble. You could also explore Music Theory skills, such as composing and arranging music for yourself and other artists. Even technical skills like operating a sound board or recording demos can help. Whatever the complementary skills you choose to develop, your versatility as an artist will help lead you toward success!
AUDITION!!! This word has the potential to make any singer nervous! But, instead of getting nervous, practice simulating every step of the audition. This can be done with your Vocal Coach or in the comfort of your own home. Practice walking into the room, taking your place, introducing yourself and saying what you will be singing. Hand your music to the pianist, calmly explain your music, and set your tempo. Take a breath and get into your character. Simulating the Audition as if it’s REAL helps prepare the mind and the voice for the big day. You may even try inviting a “casting panel” of a few friends or colleagues. Too often we rehearse all the details of the song, but then neglect the Audition experience. So, practice these details, so that you can be excited when you hear the word… AUDITION!!!
Remember your ROOTS! Why did you start singing? Were you inspired by a performance as a child? Was there an album you played on "repeat" as a teen? Maybe a certain vocalist left you in awe? No matter the reason, it’s important to reflect on what drew you to singing. It’s quite easy amidst constant practicing, rehearsing, auditioning, and performing to lose sight of your JOY. Yet, Joy will help you conquer the technical, musical, and performance challenges we sometimes face. To give the gift of voice to others, you must occasionally allow yourself to be blessed by the voices that inspired you. Think back and listen back to those who originally led you to singing. This practice will heal you when you’re feeling broken and energize you when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Remember your ROOTS and reach for the SKY!