One of the best alignment exercises for singers is the “WALL SIT”. Find a nearby wall and place your back against it. Slowly slide your back down the wall until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Adjust your feet so that your knees are directly above your ankles. With your back and head against the wall - take a few breaths to make sure you’re comfortable and not rigid. From here, sing your vocal exercise or a song you are working on. You'll instantly feel that it's very difficult to “cheat”. Your neck is long and lithe. Your back is open and wide. Your chest and shoulders remain tall and calm. And, the best part is that you're breathing DEEP into the body. Try the Wall Sit in your practice and you'll notice some immediate improvements - without ever getting up!
Are you LISTENING to yourself when you sing? If so, then STOP! “Wait. What?!” Yes. It’s true! You can’t LISTEN to yourself and sing well at the same time. This doesn’t mean to sing off-key, to throw pitch and musicality out the window, or to never record yourself and listen back. It means that listening to ourselves puts us in a physical and mental state that isn’t conducive to our best sounds. Physically - the body and breath lock up when we listen really hard. Mentally - we get into a judgmental, critical, and analytical mindset when we’re listening really hard to ourselves. Singers who listen too hard to themselves often sound contrived, planned, and stiff. Instead of listening - try trusting your ears. Your audience will do the listening! You can do the TRUSTING!
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!
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!
When you're learning a song you've heard other artists sing before, challenge yourself to make NEW choices! First, try stripping the song down to its bare elements. Take away as much Style as you can and sing it through plainly a couple times. Then, as you add Style back into the song, consider how the stylistic choices feel in your voice. Why do you think the original artist made their choices? Is there a choice that feels better for you? Challenge yourself to try something different. Even if you end up sticking with many of the original artist's choices, your performance will be stronger once you're conscious, engaged, and intentional in every musical moment!
Do you suffer from a Riff ADDICTION? Riffs are one of the singer’s best stylistic tools to heighten a melody or lyric. A well-placed Riff can bring a musical moment to an exciting peak or to a soothing resolution. Riffs also work as perfect transitions between words, musical ideas, and phrases. As great as these things are, we’ve all heard singers rely on Riffing TOO MUCH! When this happens, the benefits of Riffing are completely lost. It’s much like an artist using red, red, and more red on the same canvas. If you’re a singer capable of incredible Riffs, just remember you don’t have to use every Riff in your arsenal in one song. It’s far better to use Riffs in moderation. Friends don’t let friends let Riffing become a problem. Please Riff responsibly!
Sometimes we’re not the STAR. Sometimes we perform in small groups, in choirs, as backup singers, or as a part of an ensemble in a musical. In these moments, it’s important to still give our ALL! It’s sometimes tempting to give less than our best because we think nobody will notice or that it doesn’t matter as much since we’re in a group. Yet, the reverse is true! The great Stanislavski once said, “There are no small parts, only small actors”. These wise words remind us that no matter what role we play in a performance situation, we ought to put forward our best work. This way of thinking will impact those who see and hear you perform far more than you’d think. Approaching every performance situation with full excellence cultivates a star mentality that will lead to solo and leading role opportunities! Be a star ALL the time! …even when you think nobody is watching…
Have you ever APOLOGIZED before singing? "Sorry! I just got this song..." "Sorry! I have a cold..." "Sorry! I'm new to singing..." For casting teams, it is common to hear apologies from performer after performer. Everyone's circumstance, in their own view, is unique! "I had to run here from the train..." "I only got the material last night...". Do your friends behind the casting table a favor and be a COMMITTED auditioner. Even if you're not at your best, treat the room like you own it. Enter in a calm way, take your time when speaking with your accompanist, enjoy a deep breath, and give it your all. It is tempting to think self-deprecation is charming in an audition room, but relaxed, pleasant confidence is so much more appealing! Great auditioning means never having to say you’re sorry!
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!!!
Have you learned all the notes of a particular Riff, but still find it hard to execute? This is common due to the fact that Riffs require great flexibility. So, try following a few simple steps that promote vocal flexibility and agility. 1st - slowly sing each note of a Riff on any syllable. This enables you to separate each note individually and master the Riff's directional changes. 2nd - sing those same notes in a quick staccato fashion. The shortness and quickness of the staccato will build agility and precision. 3rd - vocalize the Riff on an OO vowel or a lip trill. This will encourage flexibility and allow you to feel the smooth flow of the Riff. Last - add back the original words or sounds of the Riff. You will likely notice a major improvement! You can always apply this step-by-step approach to any Riff that is getting away from you!
There are FOUR important questions to ask yourself as you prepare to act your song or monologue. WHERE am I? WHO am I with? What do I WANT? What do I stand to GAIN and what do I stand to LOSE? We can’t know who we’re with until we know where we are. We can’t know what we want until we know who we’re in front of. We can’t know what to do unless we know what we want and how far we’re willing to go to get it. Ask yourself these questions right now, where you sit, about your own life. Now imagine your character is a living, breathing person just like you. This is the true path to every actor’s goal of “living truthfully under imaginary circumstances.” Want to revolutionize your Acting? ASK first. ACT second!
How are Vowel sounds made? Each Vowel has its own FORMANTS. Formants are resonances of the vocal tract. The pharynx creates the first Formant and the oral cavity creates the second Formant. The first and second Formant are called Vowel Formants because they are responsible for the way we hear the strength and color of each vowel. The configuration of the tongue, larynx, soft palate, jaw opening, and pharynx determine the resonance of these Vowel Formants. As a result, there are endless ways that singers can articulate and modify vowels. However, our first goal is to produce consistently clear and understandable Vowel sounds throughout our vocal range. Once you’ve got your vowels all sounding like themselves, you can modify them for more strength and color. Or, in other words, you can FORM your FORMANTS!
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 misguided thinking. Don’t look side-to-side at others. Look AHEAD... toward the wonderful audition you are about to give.
Less is MORE! When it comes to having confidence in our performances, LESS goes much further than we think! When we don’t feel confident, we tend to do MORE. We look around a lot, we gesture with hands and arms, or we pace. But movement is about quality, not quantity. Trust that your acting and singing choices can speak for themselves. Even if you don’t feel that trust yet, you can fake it by lingering a bit. Keep your eyes where they are for at least 3 seconds before moving them. Move your hands 5 times slower than you think they should move. Don’t move your feet more than once per verse. Take a long pause physically somewhere in the song. Your audience will start to feel the importance and the GRAVITY of your acting choices. And that’s what confident performing is all about! … more or less…