Have you FOUND YOUR SOUND? Many singers doubt whether they have found “their voice” or “their style”. In reality, though, “your sound” is as simple as the CHOICES you make. As an exercise, pick a common song with a simple melody. Start by singing the song as plainly as you can. Then, change it up! Experiment with all the stylistic tools out there: dynamics, sustains, rhythm changes, word emphases, melodic alterations, riffs, vibrato, straight tone, texture changes, and others. Before you know it, you’ll be making choices that are 100% original and discovering a sound that is truly your own! Once you know you can CHOOSE it, you’ll never LOSE it!
Today we encourage you to use your voice to lift others up. To engage in thoughtful, peaceful discussions. We encourage you to quiet your voice to hear different opinions and to always honor the humanity in others. How do you use your voice?
Have questions about the WHISTLE Voice? Well, here are some answers! It’s the highest vocal register of the human voice. It’s produced by stretching and also tightening the vocal folds until they no longer vibrate in their typical fashion. A small space between the folds then creates a high-pitched “whistling” sound. This is similar to when we tense our lips and blow air through them. Now that a few questions have been answered, it's time to ask yourself a question: “Do I really NEED to develop this register of my voice?” Many singers grow obsessed with Whistle Voice because they hope it will make them like Mariah Carey or make them famous. But the truth is, the Whistle Voice is very rarely used and can be quite fatiguing if done too often. Be curious about all your Vocal Registers, but use them with WISDOM!
Vocal PRACTICE. What does that really mean to you? Does it evoke feelings of something that’s a chore, a task, a necessity, or a duty? If so, maybe think of another example of PRACTICE - A Yoga Practice. A Yogi “practicing” Yoga doesn’t have a relationship of HARD WORK with their Practice. Instead, they enter into a sacred space. A space where they are FREE to move, play, breathe, explore, feel, experiment, fall down, lengthen, strengthen, tone, fail, succeed, and love. What if we saw our Vocal Practice this way as well? What if we saw our Practice as a very "imperfect", yet beautiful inner experience? If we did, we’d probably find a much greater Joy whenever practice time rolls around. In fact, we’d probably want to get to practicing right away! NAMASTE!
Want to sing powerful high notes with more freedom? Then LEAN BACK! Okay, so maybe posture from “The Matrix” movie isn’t ideal for singing, but THINKING about leaning back can really help. Singing high with Chest Voice and Chest Dominant Mix can sometimes cause your beautiful, tall singing posture to wilt and weaken. The upper abdominals tighten, the shoulders slump down, the neck collapses, and the jaw thrusts forward. Instead of letting that forward pull get the best of you, use a gentle BACKWARDS LEAN to counter these tendencies. Glide your head back, bring the ears over your shoulders, and softly tug your shoulders back and down. LEAN BACK and you’ll notice that your voice instantly GOES FORTH!
How do your notes END? The way we finish a phrase is called an OFFSET. Offsets can often affect the rest of the phrase more than we think. Are you holding the note as long as it’s supposed to be held? Are you holding it TOO long? Notice the qualities of your Offset. Does the note get softer and fade out? Maybe you flip registers or your vowels get rounder as you reach the end of your phrase. Alternatively, maybe the notes get cut off sharply with a little kick of breath. All of these qualities are just fine if used in the right contexts. However, if you find yourself struggling with a particular song or phrase, pay attention to how the phrase ends. The problem may be hiding there. As a wise man once said - all’s well that ENDS well!
Our EMBOUCHURE (or mouth shape) can greatly affect the resonance of our voices! Try experimenting with different mouth shapes to achieve various resonances and stylistic characteristics! First try a NEUTRAL mouth shape. It’s important to be able to sing our entire range without any drastic changes to our Embouchure. If you’re looking for increased strength and brightness, attempt to SMILE while singing! If you’re attempting a style with a darker resonance quality or need increased vocal flexibility, PUCKERING your lips will help you achieve this effect. Lastly, SNARLING the upper lip is an Embouchure that promotes a lighter sound by encouraging nasal resonance. While we want to first master all vocal coordinations with MINIMAL Embouchure changes, we can later choose to color the sound with a wide variety of mouth postures as we see fit!
When seeking new song material for your Repertoire, don’t just search based on your musical and stylistic preferences. Instead, search also by what stands out to you LYRICALLY. Songs can be altered to suit many different styles in more ways than are initially obvious. If you find songs with lyrics that are meaningful, powerful, and personal to you, then your chances of eventually creating a magical performance increase exponentially. So, in selecting new songs, don’t just consider the SOUND - consider the special part of yourself that you would like to share with us!
Do you ever find that transitioning from Chest Voice to Head Voice can feel out of control? Then, how about a quick TUNE-UP? The voice works somewhat like a car with manual transmission. Vocal registers are like the gears in the car. As singers, we strive to navigate between gear switches with ease, so that the voice (car) doesn't become jerky through the transitions. One of the best ways to assist the transitions is to use Nasal Resonance in both the register you start in and the one you are transitioning to. The continuity of Nasal Resonance provides consistent vocal timbre, which helps minimize the aural perception that a “gear switch” is taking place. Nasal Resonance also helps to reduce the tendency to PUSH, which minimizes cracking and straining. Mastering Nasal Resonance will take your voice from manual to AUTOMATIC!
Overwhelmed by a song that's difficult to learn? Don’t get frustrated. Break it down! Here’s a 7-Step Guide! 1. Learn the melody and rhythms on a neutral word like MAY or MUM. 2. Read the lyrics aloud and look up any words you don’t know or can’t pronounce. 3. Try the melody with the words. 4. Sing the song once again, but this time only think about where and how you are breathing. 5. Find the technically tricky spots of the song and isolate them. 6. Sing through the song with all of the above skills intact. 7. Start to add in acting and performance choices. If you follow these 7 Steps, it’s likely that you’ll soon become friends with that very difficult song. Don’t get frustrated. Break it down!
If you could do only ONE thing to improve your singing posture and alignment, what should it be? Lift your STERNUM! The Sternum is your breastbone located in the center of the chest. Try an experiment - elevate your Sternum. Make sure to not move or tense any other muscles. Just lift the Sternum only. What do you notice? Your shoulders fall gently to the sides. Your neck lengthens. Your forehead moves forward while your jaw moves back. In other words, you achieve ideal singing posture - simply by focusing on ONE thing! So, the next time you're looking for ways for your posture to get good (and fast!), just make the Sternum rise to #1 on your list!
Have you practiced FORGIVENESS in your vocal life? It can be a very powerful tool. Have you forgiven the people who said that they didn’t like your voice or that you shouldn’t sing? Or, perhaps you need to forgive a teacher, school, or university that "wasted" years of your vocal life. What about a casting director or industry person who stomped on your dreams? You might even need to forgive yourself for a particular audition or performance that didn’t go how you planned. Or, maybe it’s time to forgive yourself for not being a perfect singer. Practicing Forgiveness in your vocal life will lead you to experiencing a whole new level of vocal freedom - a freedom that transcends the notes.
Happy Labor Day to our US Singers from all of us at NYVC! Today is the day that we celebrate all our hard work by taking a day of REST. This reminder of rest is helpful for singers all over the world. We should continue to work hard on our voices and stick with a regular practice plan. However, rest is just as important to the voice as hard work. Make sure that you are taking a day of rest to let your voice recover, to let your muscles repair, and to help solidify what you are working on. Usually, one day per week is the right amount of vocal rest. On your day of rest, reflect on your vocal accomplishments and take time to be grateful for the gift of singing. And, on this blessed Labor Day, celebrate the hard working person that you are!
Having trouble RELAXING while singing? Use your IMAGINATION! Mental imagery is often very effective in ridding the body of unwanted tension. Imagine a large body of water - calm and smooth - as you sing your most difficult passages. Try not to ripple the surface. Or imagine a tree - its canopy growing upwards as its roots lengthen deeper into the ground - while you glide, firmly grounded, through your high notes. Use these images or invent your own! Focusing your energy on an evocative image can often unlock body tension better than anything else. Your voice... free from tension... Imagine THAT!
These days Opera isn’t as popular as it once was, but it certainly ain’t over! While it’s a myth that classical training will make you skillful at singing other styles of music, don’t neglect at least SOME classical work in your technique practice. What does this mean? Learn to sing with lower larynx positions. Know how to sing every note with vibrato. Cultivate your Head Voice. Build the stamina for long legato phrases. Master your breath support and dynamic control. Experience how your voice can sing on pure vowels. Adding all of these elements to your technique practice will make you a better singer overall. You might even try out an Aria or Art Song for extra enrichment. Or, if you’re really inspired you might even buy a ticket to go and see an Opera! Chances are it will greatly expand your horizons.
Understanding Vocal Resonance is one of the best ways to create smooth transitions in our voices. The way we shape our resonators can either encourage smooth transitions (called “Passaggi") or hinder them. Transitioning successfully across various Passaggi requires a change in the way the vocal folds vibrate as well as a change in the way resonators are shaped. In fact, the secret is that both of these things influence the other. Rounding the lips and narrowing the mouth is often the first step to navigating a passaggio. Try gliding through transitional parts of your range while singing an “OO” vowel. This encourages flexibility and ease in your sound. Next, try the same slides with an “AH” vowel. This encourages more strength in the voice. Alternate between these sensations, compare them, and explore them. The better the resonance, the better the singer!
Looking to add some new stylistic elements to your singing? Try the Vocal Fry! Vocal Fry (also called Glottal Fry) is very often used as ONSETS in Pop, Rock, R&B, and Country Music. These Onsets are especially common in words that begin with vowels. Try using it just before actually hitting the first note of a phrase. It may become somewhat more difficult to do this for higher pitches. That's because we often associate Vocal Fry with lower pitches since it is the vocal register beneath our Chest Voice. Yet, Vocal Fry Onsets can be used before singing any notes in your range! To practice using Glottal Fry before singing, try singing “Oh No No No” on an 8-5-3-1 interval beginning with the Glottal Fry each time! Practice this throughout your range to get yourself acquainted with this contemporary stylistic gesture of Vocal Fry Onsets!
SCATTING is vocal improv that uses nonsense syllables that imitate a Jazz instrument. You get to focus on noise, melody, and tone only! How freeing! Start by listening to great Scatters like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Kurt Elling for inspiration. Then, try singing along with melodies, but without singing the words. Instead use syllables like "SKI", "DO", “BEEP”, and “WAH” - all sounds that imitate Jazz instruments. Once you’ve mastered Scatting with the melody, try Scatting along with the instrumental parts. Let your vocals imitate the melody, rhythm, and tone of the instrumental solos. With practice, you'll eventually start creating your own Scat solos! Remember - Scat singing is NOT about perfection. It's about getting into the groove and being creative. So, don't let Scat singing scare you or make you feel silly. Instead, start SCOODOOTIN' your way to Scatting success!
Looking to increase your Nasal Resonance? First, identify what it feels like to use Nasal Resonance. For many, vibrations are felt in the front of the face, around the nose, and under the eyes. This can be most easily felt while singing “MM”. Sing “MM” on ascending and descending pitches and experience these vibrations. Then, see if you can feel these same sensations while producing your vowels! Try singing “MM-AH”, slowly changing from the “MM” to the “AH” while continuing to keep the sensation towards the front of your face. You should be able to achieve this quite quickly and enjoy its benefits immediately. Increasing Nasal Resonance will greatly improve the quality and FLEXIBILITY of your voice!