Daily Vocal Tips

Presented by New York Vocal Coaching

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31

Friday

March

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...

30

Thursday

March

Have you ever wondered why your voice sounds different to you when you hear it back on a recording? The answer: ACOUSTICS! When you hear someone else speak or sing, you’re hearing their voice completely via sound waves traveling through the air. When you sing or speak, you’re hearing approximately 20% of your voice through the air. The other 80% is sound that vibrates in your body, bones, and head. This is why our perception of our own voice is quite skewed. These perceptions can wrongly influence our opinion of tone, beauty, and dynamics and thus limit our progress. Take the time to record your lessons, practices, and performances regularly and then listen back so that you can hear 100% of what others hear. And as you do, remember to be kind to yourself about what you’re hearing!

29

Wednesday

March

Have you ever heard of a “Baseline Scope”? It’s essentially a Vocal Fold checkup that singers get BEFORE something goes wrong. It’s unfortunately quite common for singers to wait until they have a problem with their voice before forming a professional relationship with an ENT or Laryngologist. But, how will you know what your vocal folds should look like if you’ve never seen them when you’re healthy? This is why most Voice Doctors strongly recommend having a Baseline Scope on file. Especially if you plan to have a long career as a singer. So, if you’re serious about long-term vocal health, start forming a team that is bigger than just you and your Voice Teacher. Start building a professional relationship with a trusted Laryngologist who understands the needs of professional vocalists. The best way to start is to schedule your Baseline Scope!

28

Tuesday

March

How is your Repertoire DIET? Is it balanced and healthy or is it only vocal Junk Food? The songs we sing have a direct effect on our vocal growth, coordination, and health. If, for example, we only ate food that we enjoyed the first time we tasted it, our diets would probably consist of chocolate ice cream and pizza. But, we would miss out on healthy foods that we can later come to love and appreciate for their benefits. In the same way, it’s important that you sing the songs you LOVE. But, it’s also important to sing the songs that you NEED. Some songs can be advantageous for our vocal growth while others hinder our development. Consider what qualities your voice is missing and be sure to find Repertoire that benefits you in those areas. Strike a balanced Repertoire DIET and you’ll grow big and strong vocally!

27

Monday

March

Letting go of TENSION is as easy as INTENTION! The tension that builds up in our bodies throughout the day often translates into vocal tension when we sing. Thankfully, you can work on eliminating vocal tension even when you aren't singing or in a practice session. It just takes intention! Stuck in traffic or in a crowd with a tense neck and shoulders? RELEASE! Do you sit at a desk all day and notice your body slumped forward for hours on end? RELEASE! Are your legs and feet tense from standing and walking around all day? RELEASE! Are you talking or shouting all day long and find your jaw, neck, and tongue are tense? RELEASE! Instead of only addressing vocal tension while singing, start thinking about it throughout the day so that you're already loose for your singing session! You can even start right now as you read this… RELEASE!

24

Friday

March

"Can you sing a HARMONY for this song?" With no sheet music in sight - what is your reaction? Is it an enthusiastic "Yes! Of course!" or an anxious "Ummmm…" Being able to create Harmonies in a song is a fantastic skill to have and can actually be far more FUN than scary! The most important part of being able to Harmonize is to truly LISTEN. Listen beyond the melody and focus on the chord progression. Common and simple harmonies include thirds, fourths, fifths, and sixths - but there are countless ways to spice things up within the movement of the chords. Practice singing along to the music of songs with clear melodies to see how different harmonies are created in the accompaniment. Harness the music ACCOMPANYING the melody and before you know it you'll be adding many beautiful Harmonies to your songs!

23

Thursday

March

Think of your larynx like an elevator. How many levels does it stop at? Maybe you feel like it has two stops: up and down. Maybe there are three: up, down, and neutral. What if there were four? Five? Ten? There are no physical limits to how many levels you can imagine this larynx elevator stopping at. Try to visualize as many as are helpful or useful to you in developing new sounds and greater control. If you're struggling with larynx position in a song, experiment with adding a few levels to your elevator or taking a few away. Or, maybe you've been jumping levels - not moving smoothly from one level to the next. Experiment with these visualizations until you arrive at where your voice feels freest! Next stop - vocal control!

22

Wednesday

March

Determining your Vocal Style is easy. It’s simple to know whether you're a Rock, Classical, or Jazz singer based on what kind of music you LIKE to sing. But finding your UNIQUENESS within your Vocal Style is often more of a challenge. In making your Style your own - don’t forget about the ACTING. So much of your phrasing, dynamics, rhythmic variety, and even vocal texture will be facilitated by your acting choices. Often, we get caught up in struggling to make the right SOUNDS for our Style. But, sometimes we need to focus instead on bringing our personality, attitude, sense of humor, confidence, emotion, honesty, and spirituality into our songs. If you take this approach, then the stylistic sounds will follow suit. And, you’ll be amazed at how much of your unique Style takes care of itself!

21

Tuesday

March

Take a BREAK with your inhales! The primary part of singing happens during the EXHALATION. Yet, what singers often worry about the most is getting a good inhale. We must work hard mentally and physically to control our exhale as we also manage all the other elements of our sound. So, the last thing we want to be stressed about is the inhale on top of all this. What if we reverse this tendency? What if the inhale is the time when you get a BREAK? You finish your phrase and now you get to recharge with a nice deep breath - like a drink of cold water on a hot day. Your exhale muscles relax and the air simply rushes into your body. Don't stress your inhales. Enjoy them instead! Give yourself and your singing a BREAK!

20

Monday

March

A Speaking Voice is considered to be pleasant when it is warm, full, and RESONANT. Since Resonance is determined by the shape of our head, mouth, and face - we need to learn to work with what we’ve got! Experiment with directing the air into the THREE reverberating cavities in your head. ONE - your oral cavity (mouth). TWO - your nasal cavity (nose). And THREE - your pharyngeal cavity (back of the throat). By adding or subtracting elements of any of the three, you’ll probably discover how many recognizable entertainers create their signature voices. But, to sound the most like yourself, you’ll want a balanced combination of all three resonant spaces. Use what you've been given!

17

Friday

March

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! This day is set aside to celebrate the heritage and culture of the Irish and the patron Saint of Ireland - St Patrick. On this Feast of St. Patrick many people party, eat, drink, and SING! Quite often, we can take singing very seriously. Being serious, strategic, and structured with vocal study definitely has its place most of the year. However, it’s important to take it easy sometimes! Why not share your voice while celebrating with friends and family this holiday? Let this St. Patrick’s day be a time where you let loose vocally! Be brave and let your singing voice be the true toast of the town! SLAINTE!

16

Thursday

March

Want to give a truly AUTHENTIC performance? Then avoid falling into the trap of trying to act out EMOTIONS while singing. Don’t attempt to be "happy" or "sad" (or any other emotion) because you feel that it’s a happy or sad song. In real life, our emotions are revealed to us and to others as a result of our CIRCUMSTANCES. Instead of focusing on which emotion to act out, try to identify a few elements of circumstances in your song lyrics. These elements include: the immediate problem that needs fixing (aka the “crisis”), what you want (your “objective”), who you want it from (your “other”), and what you will do to reach your objective (your “action”). If you focus on these elements, the emotions will often reveal themselves, allowing you to deliver a believable and truly authentic performance!

15

Wednesday

March

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.

14

Tuesday

March

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!

13

Monday

March

Do you know what it’s like to be a sound engineer? How about a freelance bassist? A theater producer? You don’t need to be an expert in every field, but it's very helpful to know what it’s like to work in other areas of the Music Industry. Learn more about the kind of hours your colleagues work, how they're paid, and how they go about finding jobs. It will help you grow both as an artist and businessperson. It will also help you understand circumstances that may seem frustrating or difficult. Often these are the result of factors from another facet of the business that you didn't know about. So, learn about your colleagues! You'll be happier, more professional, and others will value the fact that you know where they're coming from!

10

Friday

March

What is STACCATO? Staccato is a musical term that means “with QUICK, sharp sounds or movements”. You’ve probably heard singers and instrumentalists use Staccato as a stylistic or expressive tool. But, it also has amazing applications for improving Vocal Technique! Staccato assists with vocal fold looseness, agility, pitch precision, and vibrato. One way to practice Staccato is to repeatedly speak or sing the word “HA” like a panting puppy. It is helpful to accentuate the letter “H” with each sound you make. This consonant helps loosen the vocal folds and ensures that each note will come in free of tension and hopefully with great precision. Practicing Staccato will build surprising new skills for your singing… real QUICK!

9

Thursday

March

When a guitar or piano wakes up in the morning, it feels pretty much the same way it did before. But, our vocal instrument is different. Each day our bodies change depending on how we’ve been treating ourselves. It’s easy to think of the voice as something separate from the body, but really it’s entirely integrated with our overall health. Stress, sleep, diet, illness, hydration, and travel all can affect our instrument. Put yourself to the test! Try taking a week to treat yourself like GOLD! Exercise and stretch daily. Eat foods that you know your body needs. Take time to laugh, smile, and breathe. Get a few extra ZZs. Record yourself at the beginning of the week and at the end of the week. The results will show you just how much more your voice is willing to do for you when you do something nice for your voice. Be healthy. Sing healthy!

8

Wednesday

March

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 actually touch your vocal folds (unless you choke). Steaming or the consistent use of a humidifier is the only way to get water directly 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!

7

Tuesday

March

When selecting new Repertoire to build your voice, one of the greatest secrets is to find MODERATE challenges. In other words, don’t select a song that’s too easy or a song that’s too difficult. Many singers pick material that is far too challenging thinking “if only I can sing THIS song, then everything else will be easy”. This is actually a big mistake. The voice is built fastest and freest when it grows in small, steady increments. Look for songs that are mostly within your range except for a few difficult passages that stretch you. Consider not just range, but also tessitura, length of notes and phrases, agility, musical difficulty, stylistic details, and emotional depth. In finding songs that are challenging yet still achievable, you'll feel happier about your voice and you’ll also see it grow faster than ever!

6

Monday

March

Don’t be a Vocal POWER LIFTER! When attempting high notes, vocal tension can be caused by too much “weight”. Vocal “weight” means that short vocal folds are doing the work long vocal folds should be doing. For instance, when you’re in Chest Voice the vocal folds are generally shorter. Shorter folds tend to close with thicker vocal fold mass and musculature. High notes require the vocal folds to vibrate quickly. So, maintaining thick vocal fold contact higher up is a LOT of heavy lifting! Lengthening the vocal folds via Falsetto, Head Voice, and Mix is the way to prevent yourself from weighty strain. A good motto is “Lengthen THEN Strengthen”. If you can hit the notes in a lighter register, then you always have the option of adding the mass back in gradually from there! In fact, this is exactly how to achieve powerful high notes! Don’t be a Vocal POWER LIFTER!

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