Daily Vocal Tips

Before you walk into any high pressure situation, remind yourself: “I have the RIGHT to be here.” A very common mistake that singers make is to APOLOGIZE for their work. Maybe they don’t say the actual words “I’m sorry”. But, their body language and mindset display an apologetic essence. “Sorry” if I’m not good enough. “Sorry” if I’m wasting your time. “Sorry” if I’m not what you’re looking for. Throw that thinking away! Your voice, your talents, and your hard work earn you the RIGHT to shine! So, once you’ve earned it - OWN it! When you enter the audition room, the recording studio, or the stage, say to yourself: “This is MY time to GIVE my gifts to others.” Then, watch how making this one little adjustment transforms the way your singing is perceived!

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!

Being BREATHY doesn't mean being weak! Many singers use a "Breathy" (or aspirate) tone as an artistic choice. There is a difference, though, between being Breathy and singing everything in Head Voice or Falsetto. You can practice using Breathy qualities in your Chest and Mix Voice as well by using the letter H. Start by singing “MAH MAH MAH” on 1-2-1, low in your range where you are comfortably in your chest register. Then try “HAH HAH HAH,” letting the H sound extend into the vowel itself. Try other vowels, like “HOO” and “HAY.” Finally, try putting the H in front of words in whatever song you’re working on. Now you can use Breathiness as a stylistic texture without losing your lower registers' natural strength! Be strong AND be Breathy!

Today is the day to give THANKS! Have you ever stopped to think about what a beautiful gift the voice is? Through speaking and singing, the voice allows us to communicate with others, express our true selves, and create an INFINITE number of glorious sounds. The best part about this is that the voice is a gift freely given! You were born with it! This Thanksgiving, alongside the other blessings in your life, don't forget to be thankful for your voice! Use it today to tell your loved ones that you love them and are grateful for them. Or, maybe sing a song of Thanks for all the goodness in your life. All of us at NYVC are so blessed to be a part of your vocal journey. Make A THANKFUL Noise!

It’s no secret that medications have side effects. Rarely written in the fine print, though, is the impact medications can have on our VOICES! Some over-the-counter medicines, like aspirin and ibuprofen, make our vocal folds more susceptible to damage. If you have a headache, opt for Tylenol instead. Antihistamines can also affect the voice by drying out laryngeal mucosa. Stay away from fexofenadine (Allegra) and cetirizine (Zyrtec) if possible. Nasal steroid sprays (like Flonase and Nasonex) are much less harmful but still target seasonal allergy symptoms. Prescription drugs can sometimes affect your voice as well, so consult your physician for alternative options if you experience trouble. While your overall health comes first, there’s almost always a voice-friendly solution that won’t sacrifice your physical needs! 

Sometimes we get to choose the songs that we sing. Other times we don’t. You might be asked to sing a song for a wedding, a new musical, or a recording session that just doesn’t seem to suit your voice. Maybe the tessitura isn’t right for you. Perhaps it contains many vowels that aren’t your favorites. Or, maybe you don’t feel completely at home in the song’s style. Don’t get frustrated that the song isn’t a perfect fit. All songs inherently have assets and liabilities. Identify the challenging spots right away. Work to develop your technique and style in those specific areas. Don’t expect the process to come as easily as usual. But, DO expect it to open up something new in your voice. You will be surprised how often repertoire that initially intimidates you, later becomes your very best work!

Vocal Tension CHECKLIST! Are my neck muscles calm when I sing? Check! Are my shoulders and collarbone staying still with my inhalation? Check! Does my chest remain lifted as I sing through my exhalation? Check! Is my jaw staying back and is my tongue staying high as I sing? Double Check! Is my larynx staying in the position that I’ve chosen for my stylistic needs? Check! Are my vocal folds finding a balance between compression and decompression? Check! If any of these things aren’t happening, then you should CHECK in right away! But, if you’ve mastered this Checklist, then get ready for your very best singing. Just remember to bring the Soul. CHECK!!!

When breaking down Riffs, the devil is in the DETAILS! Even experienced Riffers can sometimes nail all the notes of a Riff while still missing other key elements. Did the artist SLIDE between the notes? Was there a change of vocal QUALITY, compression, or registration between the notes? Were there ascending or descending GRACE NOTES involved? Were there changes of VOWEL or word in the middle of the Riff? Was there RHYTHMIC variety between the notes? Listen even more carefully to the Riffs and Riffers that you love and discover insights that will transform your specificity and your Riff vocabulary. Becoming aware of these details will help you Riff with angelic agility and grace!

What is your audition song FOR? Audition and performance success relies on you knowing the PURPOSE of every song in your repertoire. All of your material should be meaningful to you as an artist. However, it should also be meaningful for the circumstances for which it will be used. If a pop/rock tune suits you well, it probably won’t work for your upcoming Golden Age musical theater audition or for an evening of show-stopping standards. Or, if you only get to sing 16-bars for your audition, there's no point performing a song that really only works if you get through two verses. Consider the many circumstances at which you are asked to sing: auditions, concerts, showcases, open-mics, weddings, and more. The more you expand your repertoire with a purposeful approach, the more your songs will be perfectly suited to any singing situation!

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! 

Riffs aren’t harder than SCALES! Most Riffs in any style of music are variations on just a few simple scales. You can build your Riffing vocabulary by working these scales into your regular warm-ups and vocal practice. One of the most common scales you'll hear in Riffs is the major pentatonic scale (1-2-3-5-6). Try singing a pentatonic pattern instead of the usual 1-2-3-4-5 ascending scale. Then mix it up in as many ways as you can imagine! Leap between notes; start in the middle of the scale; sing on different vowels or words. Just remember to start slowly, and don't speed up until you feel comfortable at the slower pace. There's never a need to get frustrated! After all - Riffs aren’t harder than SCALES!

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! 

Give your Larynx the credit that it deserves! Your Larynx is more than just a house where your vocal folds live. Different POSITIONS of the Larynx can be used in a healthy way to produce a vast variety of vocal sounds and styles. Keep an open mind and try out laryngeal coordinations that you might not be used to. Explore a LOW Larynx to discover strong, deep, and robust sounds. Try a HIGHER Larynx to experience some softer, brighter, and thinner sounds. As long as they're done with thoughtful and conscientious technique, different Larynx positions can greatly expand our vocal horizons. Give your amazing Larynx all the credit!

From fry to falsetto, fantastic singers at the forefront of their vocal style employ a multitude of vocal tricks to excite their fans. But, the one stylistic element that is always present, regardless of style, is the use of TENSION and RELEASE. You hear it when a singer breaks their voice, or quickly releases the tension of chest voice into head voice. You hear it when a singer increases the compression in one word, only to release it on the next word. You hear it when a verse is relatively soft when compared to the more intense chorus. You even hear it on an emotional and dramatic level between song lyrics and phrases. The Tension/Release concept is present in every aspect of really great performances, both technical and emotional. So, don’t be tense about style! Just use tension and release to free up all kinds of new possibilities! 

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.

They say that you can't sing your best sitting down... or CAN YOU? As a singer, you will sometimes be asked to perform in positions (like sitting) that can be less than ideal for making your best sounds. Good news! Good singing posture can be achieved within almost any position! When you are in a less than ideal physical situation, search for opportunities to lengthen your neck and spine. Find chances to breathe deeply and freely in the abdomen and rib cage. Whenever possible, loosen as much muscle tension as you can while still performing the movement authentically. Whether sitting, standing, lying, or dancing, you'll prove that you can sing your best no matter what position you find yourself in!

“No PRESSURE!” But, are you aware that your voice has its own built-in pressure release system? As we approach higher notes or sing louder, the pressure within the larynx can get to be too much. YET - you can manually decrease this pressure by adjusting your larynx into a lower position! Place your finger on your “Adam’s apple” as you gently yawn and you’ll notice your larynx lower quite a lot. You can call upon a more subtle lowering action during singing to give your vocal cords extra room to stretch and loosen as notes get higher or stronger. This will improve your control, tone, range, pitch, and much more. So, practice using your new release system and feel the glory of singing with... NO Pressure! 

“No PRESSURE!” But, are you aware that your voice has its own built-in pressure release system? As we approach higher notes or sing louder, the pressure within the larynx can get to be too much. YET - you can manually decrease this pressure by adjusting your larynx into a lower position! Place your finger on your “Adam’s apple” as you gently yawn and you’ll notice your larynx lower quite a lot. You can call upon a more subtle lowering action during singing to give your vocal cords extra room to stretch and loosen as notes get higher or stronger. This will improve your control, tone, range, pitch, and much more. So, practice using your new release system and feel the glory of singing with... NO Pressure! 

Think for a moment about what happens when you blow into a bottle - a pitch is created! Larger bottles resonate lower pitches and smaller bottles resonate higher pitches. Our vocal tract (throat) is like these bottles in terms of resonance. As singers, we can change the size of our vocal tracts for better resonance throughout our range. We can alter vowels to resonate more efficiently in certain ranges where they may not naturally resonate so well. This is the basis for what is known as Vowel Modification. Vowel Modification sometimes gets a bad rap because it's often exaggerated, making vowels sound strange and affected. The key to Vowel Modification is to fine-tune your resonance over time so that a clearer sound is made with less effort, while still maintaining intelligibility with your lyrics. Enjoy this vocal message-in-a-bottle!